Going Forward Together in 4th-Grade Oration

Fourth graders rehearsed for weeks leading up to their oration of Malala Yousafzai’s “We Go Forward” speech, which the class selected for performance by a vote. The Nobel Peace Prize-winner and women’s rights advocate delivered the speech in 2017 at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For many students, this annual oration of a social justice message was their first foray into drama. Directed by music and theater teacher Charmaine, they practiced essential elements of public speaking, such as projection, timing, and memorization. To begin, students considered what it means to be an orator and how well-known figures, including the late actor Chadwick Boseman, used their voices to affect change. 

As they studied this and other speeches, 4th graders were also dramatic detectives, searching for poetic and historical elements that orators used to add even more meaning to their words. Students completed a “scavenger hunt” activity in January based on Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. They watched a video from August 28, 1963, and listened closely to catch the phrases and words on their checklist. This helped our orators understand the context of events leading up to Dr. King’s speech and decide what text warranted emphasis in the delivery. For example, do you know how many times “Let freedom ring” appears in the speech? This repetition means something! They also identified meaningful metaphors like “thirst for freedom,” “drinking from the cup of bitterness,” and “an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.”

Similarly, students parsed Malala’s “We Go Forward” speech for alliteration and parallel structures, underlining repeating consonants and leaning on phrases like “too often” or “the road gets longer” each time they recur. 

We’re so proud of our 4th graders for sharing what they learned with their family and friends earlier today. Representing so much more than a recitation of words, all of their preparation ensured that this oration resonated deeply with our young students.