Ennis 4th graders discover history with wax museum project
Elementary students learn new things about themselves, too.
ENNIS – The end of the school year is not an easy time for the kids, or their teachers. Everyone is looking forward to summer vacations and the freedom of not having to go to school.
However, Ennis Elementary school 4th graders recently completed a fun special project, one that led them down a trail of discovery, and taught them a few things along the way.
Fourth grade teacher Jenny Brozovich explains:
“This is my third year doing this project with my 4th graders,” Brozovich said. “I started it three years ago when I was looking for a fun writing project to do towards the end of the school year.”
“A fellow teacher gave me the idea and a book that had the project in it. Students had to choose someone from history who was deceased that was important in history,” she said. “After choosing they had to research their life and take notes on an outline. When their outline was complete they put a poster together that included a map of their person’s travels, a Venn diagram comparing that person with themselves, a word cloud with adjectives about their person, a picture of their person, a timeline of their (historical figure’s) lives and a biography.”
“Last, they had to put a speech together about their person’s life in first person and come up with a costume, then compare the life of this historical figure to this person’s life.”
“On ‘Wax Museum Day’ we set up in the gym,” she continued. “Each student with their poster, costume on and a paper button that says “press”. When visitors come to the museum they stop by the student’s poster, press their button and then the student says their speech.”
“This year at the museum there were several members of the Corps of Discovery, famous inventors, some great women in history, and Frank Sinatra… to name a few,” Brozovich said. “My students seemed to really enjoy the project and came up with some great costumes, she said. “Many of them memorized their speeches, although that wasn’t a requirement.”
“The kids did a really good job and I am very proud of their efforts,” she said.
“I really enjoy this project and love watching them get into character, Brozovich said, thanking all of the children’s families and Mr. Hilton for their support of the project.