Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 5:07 PM
Updated Sunday, May 11, 2008 3:53 PM
Carlan May brings a very convincing Shirley Temple to the Wax Museum.
Tameria James has a luminescent stage presence as Linda Ronstadt.
Sierra Simmons captures the look and personality of Marilyn Monroe.
Austin McCray runs through the highlights of Jesse Owens’ life to wax museum visitors.
J.C. Hardin (above) brings Neil Armstrong to life and tells listeners about life as an astronaut.
Wax Kids
Summerville Elementary students bring characters to lifeWalking into the media center at Summerville Elementary School last week was like taking a walk through a room where everybody who was anybody was present.
Marilyn Monroe stood beside John F. Kennedy.
Neil Armstrong was suited up for space, Linda Ronstadt belted out tunes and Shirley Temple was there, with her bouncing and behaving hair. Jesse Owens appeared to be running, but didn’t move.
Elvis was drawing more than his fair share of attention while, luckily, Al Capone was behaving himself. They were all there. Super stars and standouts from the past and present.
The Wax Museum was the culmination of a project completed by some of Summerville Elementary’s fifth grade language arts classes. The GATE students, who have been working on an independent unit of study called REACH (Researching Events and Characters in History,) finally had an opportunity to bring the subjects of their research to life.
The project involved biographical research supporting a person in history. As the project evolved, the students learned to locate sources, take notes, organize information, write biographical information, cite sources, write a biography and deliver an oral presentation.
By simply pushing the red button on each character’s hand, the icon would come to life and give a brief history of their accomplishments.
In terms of the academic needs of gifted students, independent studies enhance research skills and celebrate the process of research. It allows learners to have ownership of relevant, real-world concepts while providing numerous opportunities for flexible and critical thinking, reasoning and the creation of authentic ideas and products on the part of the individual child. Which is why J.C. Hardin could become Neil Armstrong. Austin McCray could run with the likes of Jesse Owens and Sierra Simmons could bring Marilyn Monroe to life. Tameria James could belt out tunes just like Linda Ronstadt and Carlan May could give Shirley Temple a run for her money in the cuteness department. For every student who participated, the characters they researched had, for them, come to life.
Contact Sharon Gnau at 873-9424, ext. 215 or sgnau@journalscene.com