When Joan Justice was a first-year social studies teachers, one of her students asked: “Why do we have to learn about dead people?”
That question challenged Justice to bring social studies to life, and she performed that miracle again Friday – 35 years later – at Warrenville Elementary.
Justice, who now is a K-5 English language arts content interventionist for Aiken County Public Schools, helped fifth-grade teachers and their students plan the school's first Living Wax Museum.
Students chose a famous American from the early 20th century, the focus of this quarter's social studies unit, and combined it with their study of autobiography and biography in English language arts.
The students researched their characters, wrote papers and speeches and, Friday morning, shared what they learned – dressed in period costumes – with their peers, parents, grandparents and friends.
“By combining reading and writing with social studies, we've brought back Shoeless Joe Jackson, Duke Ellington and Theodore Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt,” said Justice, who also is a former elementary English language arts student. “The students are just owning this today, and that is what truly is an educational experience for them.”
Read the full Aiken Standard article HERE