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Fourth Grade’s “Wax Museum” Brings History to Life

June 9, 2017

Fourth graders took interdisciplinary learning to new heights in the spring—improving and applying research, writing, art, and oral presentation skills during a multi-week social studies unit on Missouri history.

Each student chose a famous Show-Me State figure and, during five weeks of research, learned about the individual’s life and achievements as well as about a wide range of issues such as politics (President Truman), ragtime music (Scott Joplin), Native American culture (Sacred Sun), aviation (Charles Lindbergh)—and even baseball (Yogi Berra, pictured above).

During that time, says teacher Denise Mouser (US’85, C’89), the students “learned how to write explanatory texts to convey ideas and information . . . and practiced clear, coherent writing.” Several more weeks were spent on editing and memorizing the “scripts” about each individual’s life and times, figuring out the costumes, and creating supporting visuals. Retired Lower School librarian Anne Banaskavich (C’86) happily returned to help support this intensive process.

Finally, the students were ready to create and present their very own Wax Museum of famous Missourians! At the exhibit, housed in the Lower School Gym, the “wax figures”—which sprang to life at the tap of a button—shared a well-researched (and well-rehearsed) speech about each individual. Bitmoji portraits, incorporating digital and traditional art forms, lent an added dimension to the informative and entertaining exhibit. Students used software to create these portraits of their historical figures, learning how to select and adjust facial features, coloring, and body position, for example. Then, they hand-created additional elements—such as the background or “props” that told a visual story about their figure’s interests or achievements.  

“It’s a lot to ask of a 10-year-old—to research, write, memorize, and present to a wide audience,” observes Mouser. But her students more than stepped up to the challenge. “They didn’t think that something was too hard or that they couldn’t do it,” she explains. “They didn’t limit themselves!”

Wax Museum visitors (parents and students from other grades) were educated, entertained, and visibly impressed by the students' informative presentations—and we think you will be, too, as you click through this album of the exhibit. 

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