Did you know that Ulysses S. Grant declined an invitation to the same theater performance where President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed? It’s one of Alto Elementary fourth-grader Miley Stormzand’s Top 10 facts about the 18th U.S. president.
Ask classmate Thomas Fryers about Elvis Presley’s famous jet black hair, and he won’t mince words: It was dyed. Not only that, Thomas will tell you that the king of rock ‘n’ roll paid $4 to have his first record made.
And Leah Schwinkendorf’s research revealed that Helen Keller toured Japan in the 1930s and ‘40s, where she promoted U.S.-Japan relations.
Students of Rachel Millhisler and Jennifer Bolhuis shared their research on biographical figures from Elvis Presley to Harriet Tubman, and Neil Armstrong to Malala Yousafzai.
The project was focused on the fourth-grade language arts curriculum, where students learn how to research and decide which facts are most important, as well as the text structure of chronological order. They use that information to fill in tree maps and timelines, then build a Top 10 list to present to the class, which illustrates how they interpret information and their oral presentation skills.
“It was really impressive, all they have done with writing, reading, art and history to make these projects come alive,” Millhisler said. “I learned things about some of the people I didn’t know before.”
