What started as a class biography unit educated New River Intermediate School fifth-graders on the lives of some famous historical figures.
They picked a ‘Who Was’ book to make a Bottle Buddy to profile.
“Teaches the kids not only about somebody within history that has made a difference in the world but also informational skills that they are required to learn in the fifth grade, such as chronological order on a timeline, finding the main idea,” said teacher Ali Quesenberry.
This fifth-grader chose Jane Austen.
“I got her book ‘Emma’ and I wanted to learn more about her. I thought it would be interesting ’cause it didn’t seem like anybody really knew who she was in my class,” said student Lilly Lockhart. “My favorite part about the whole project was probably making the Bottle Buddy.”
Quesenberry loves to collaborate with the kids.
“So often we’re just sitting at a desk learning with just the textbook,” she said. “I think it’s fun to kind of see their ideas of their bottles and how they want them to look.”
Jane Austen was a beloved and prolific writer.
“She wrote six books, four of which were published during her lifetime and two of which were published after her death in 1817,” Lockhart said.
Quesenberry loves all the faces, with particular interest in Napolean and Milton Bradley.This is the class’s final project. It took them three weeks of research, first reading a book and then uncovering anything additional.
“I liked this one (and) he was the inventor of board games like ‘Shoots and Ladders’ and the ‘Game of Life,'” said the fifth-grade teacher.
The students had to create a timeline with seven major events of their (profile person’s) life.
“They took all of the information from their early years and a difficulty that they have faced in their life and they turned that into a Time Magazine article to present to the class,” Quesenberry said.
The school has embraced the ‘Famous Faces Project!‘
“We are upstairs working on a surprise Bottle Buddy event,” said the fifth-grader teacher. “The third and fourth-graders come through here and look at them as well and give them something to look forward to come into the fifth-grade.”
