It only took a simple press of a “button” on the poster display to bring the “characters” to life played by fourth-grade students. Many of them dressed their part and brought in props to make their display even more realistic.
The room soon filled with parents, other students, and teachers excited to listen to students give their reports.
“My name is Milton Hershey,” said Teion Fields, who handed out pieces of Hershey candies as part of his presentation. Fields said he liked making the poster and being able to give his speech to everyone who came. “It was hard, but it was kind of fun, too,” he said.
Lydia Fuller, in a NASA blue jumpsuit, stood like a wax statue by her poster, just waiting for someone to press the button and bring her character, Sally Ride, to life. Lydia said she picked Sally because she is an astronaut, and Lydia likes the idea of maybe becoming an astronaut herself someday.
The project included research, active listening, meeting deadlines, writing a research paper on the person, and then taking parts of that longer paper to include in their shortened presentation.
Raelynn Engle said she enjoyed doing the project and was excited to have people come to see their displays and hear about their research. “I’m happy about it and had a really good time working on the project,” she said, waiting her turn to bring Harriet Tubman to life.
Students portrayed a host of sports legends like Babe Ruth, LeBron James, Wayne Gretzky and Simone Biles. There were historical leaders like Theodore Roosevelt, Florence Nightingale, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Inspirational leaders like surfer Bethany Hamilton, Rosa Parks, and Helen Keller also showed up throughout the class presentations. The entertainment industry was represented by presentations from students portraying Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss, Steve Irwin, and George Lucas, to name a few.
All fourth-grade classes participated in this multi-week project. Teachers said it was a great multi-layered learning experience that included researching, writing, and public speaking.