It was silent, all eyes were on Ishan who stood on the stage in front of the HOP. There were cameras and viewers. The audience was intrigued to see what these 6th graders had to share. The person on the stage was nervous, yet ready to show others what they knew.
Ishan and his classmates had been preparing and practicing for weeks - you could tell from the feelings and look of the presenters and the decor of the HOP. There were tables with fancy red velvet tablecloths, a beautiful background, a large room full of people, cameras, presenter.
A Pecha Kucha is a storytelling format in which a presenter exhibits a set number of slides, each changing every 20 seconds. The 6th graders followed a version of this, with each slide sharing something different about their culture. It is a very short and fast presentation where people explain a lot in little time.
This year, the 6th graders embraced all of their cultures and enjoyed telling students, teachers, and guests. They made the presentation specific to a topic about their countries. Some examples are Korean food, Norwegian folk dance, Ethiopian new year traditions, Indian superstitions, and Bengali music. Most of the full audience seemed to enjoy the presentations - they were filming and taking pictures, and they seemed really focused on the talks. Each Pecha Kucha got loud and real applause at the end.
These talks were more than just fun, though. They related to other cultures and spoke in multiple languages, which showed something about each of the students and their cultures. It was an excellent way to share with others like classmates, teachers, people from the
office, and other students from different grades.
After interviewing some students, we found out that this was an opportunity to embrace and learn more about their culture and country. One student said that they bonded with their family thanks to this opportunity; they enjoyed learning more and diving deeper into traditions, culture, and history about themselves and their ancestors.
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