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BY ALISON ROSKOS BACK MOUNTAIN CORRESPONDENT
Thursday, February 03, 2000 Page: 7
DALLAS TWP. – Miniature log cabins, models of the great pyramids of Egypt,
tiny mummies, solar system models and physical maps filled the halls of the
Dallas Middle School during Cultures Night last week. “The quality of work
displayed by the students and the teachers is outstanding,” said Principal
Anthony Martinelli of Cultures Night. Parents came with their children to take
a look at the intricate projects that brought social studies lessons to life.
The students’ research had taken on new meaning as they worked on their own or
with parents and friends to develop projects illustrating what they had
learned. Robert Suppon and Bill Roberts teach seventh-grade world cultures
class at the school. Suppon said the students created their projects in the
fall and kept them until January to display. “We had our students working
primarily on Egypt and the Middle East,” Suppon said. Erin Lindbuchler, a
student in Suppon’s class, chose to do her project on Re, the Egyptian Sun
God. The papier-mache head took her more than a month to complete. “My
favorite thing in world cultures class was Egypt,” she said. “I always liked
how they lived.” One of Roberts’ students, Brian Gibbons, displayed a
detailed model of a pyramid complete with three small pyramids for the queens,
a walkway with a platform for making sacrifices to the dead and gold on the
tip of the pyramid. Like Lindbuchler, Gibbons was fascinated with Egyptian
culture. “I just think it’s very interesting, some of the stories about
Egypt,” he said. Eighth-grade students of American history learned about
colonial times. Many of them created miniature log houses to show the way the
colonists lived.
Adam Pajka, from Bill Stratiff’s class, used Popsicle sticks and wooden
dowels for his log cabin. He added a colonial-style fence to the yard outside
the cabin and used a mirror for a pond.
Sam Simmonette made a log house from pretzels. Her cabin’s removable roof
revealed a loft, including a ladder and railing, as well as a stone fireplace.
“They’re beautiful,” said Sue Holthause, who also teaches eighth-grade
American history, of the projects. “They did a great job this year.” Another
of Stratiff’s students, Ashleigh King, chose a unique way to show what she
learned. She gathered some friends to help her make a video portraying
colonial leisure activities.
While her mother, Donna, filmed the video, Ashleigh narrated the story as
boys and girls acted out common pastimes among colonial-era children. The
girls jumped rope and played hopscotch, while the boys practiced their hunting
skills with bows and arrows.
The young people on King’s video also demonstrated modern-day activities,
such as knockout and football, to compare and contrast them with colonial
games. “I just wanted to be different from everybody else,” King said. The
creativity spurred by these assignments is part of the purpose for the
projects, said Martinelli. “This is a great opportunity for the parents to
work with the kids in developing these projects,” he said. “It’s a good way
for the parents to know what the school is doing in the social studies
department.” Sixth-grade students made contributions to the displays as well.
Taylor Kelley, from Sam Jayne’s class, made a model of the solar system using
Styrofoam balls. A large yellow ball on a platform served as the sun. Smaller
balls were suspended on metal wires to depict the planets.
Elizabeth Heintz’s used modeling clay to make a colorful physical map of
the United States. Flags labeled rivers, mountains, lakes and plains on her
map. Mario Oliveri displayed a chart of his family heritage. A pie graph
illustrated his 25 percent Slovak, 25 percent German and 50 percent Italian
ancestry.
He used the Slovak, German and Italian flags to label the sections of his
graph, giving it an international flavor. Martinelli was pleased with the hard
work the students put into their projects and the interest they seemed to take
in learning. “They’re doing projects that take a lot of research,” he said.
“They use the library and the Internet. They use anything they can get
information from. Then they come up with a project to show what they’ve
learned