A Unique Way To Look At Some Famous Explorers

By Shannon Hicks

Talk about a living history lesson. To culminate a two-month unit on European explorers, Middle Gate School turned into a showcase of foreign visitors last Friday afternoon as the likes of Ferdinand Magellan, Ponce de Leon, Amerigo Vespucci, and other historic discoverers converged on the school’s cafeteria.

All of the fifth grade students have spent the last two months learning about explorers. For April 28, the students were given a challenge by their teachers: Come to school dressed as your favorite explorer, and be prepared to describe, in a living museum setting, who your explorer was and what he or she did.

At 2 pm, the hallways of Middle Gate were crowded with young versions of historically famous men and women. There were flowing capes, brightly colored shirts and pants, old-fashioned shoes, and all sorts of props being used to adorn the students as they made their way from their classrooms to the cafeteria en masse.

Once inside the cafeteria, the students made a large circle around the outer edge of the room, while parents and other invited guests waited to be introduced to the explorers. A bit of confusion ensued when the program began, with parents unintentionally interrupting the students during their presentations. But once the concept of a living museum was explained by one of the teachers, the presentations went much more smoothly.

In short intervals, students would step forward and recite their prepared statements. The cafeteria was abuzz with the voices of the youngsters, as they relived some of their chosen explorers’ greatest adventures.

Set up in groups of four, one student would step forward for his or her recital, while the other three remained silent behind the speaker. Parents and teachers were encouraged to walk around and listen to the presentations, but were not allowed to interrupt. After a tea/refreshments break, a question-and-answer period was next, followed by the informal mingling time during which students could finally speak freely among themselves and with parents.

“The students are expected to stay in their roles all afternoon,” Lora Sevarino, one of Middle Gate’s fifth grade teachers, explained. Mrs Sevarino joined Middle Gate teachers Chris Breyan, Rachel Ambrosio, Georgia Smith, and Maria Corti in putting together, teaching, and then organizing the explorers unit and its final showcase.

“This is the first time we are having the students presenting to their parents as a full grade, and we’ve already received some very positive feedback,” continued Mrs Savarino.

“I thought this was a fun unit,” Erica Federman said Friday afternoon. Erica was dressed as Ferdinand Magellan, and her friend Amanda Rose Norling was playing the part of Ponce de Leon. “We had a lot of time to do projects, and I felt like a real explorer. We learned that as an explorer, you had to plan everything carefully. You had to plan packing food, and you had to get along with your men or they could turn against you.”

“Today was a lot of fun,” said Amanda. “You don’t think of this as getting a grade, because you’re seeing your family and friends, but it was a lot of work.

“I liked my character because I liked that he always stuck up for his rights, and he stuck up for everybody,” she continued, munching on a cookie during the tea break.

Parents seemed to be enjoying the presentation as much as their children were, too.

“I thought this was good,” said Rich Frampton, whose son Willie was participating in the showcase. “The kids did a good job playing their parts, and they really did a fantastic job.”