Fourth and fifth grade took the CPS community back through time to recognize and celebrate inspiring African-American figures from history. Each student prepared a display and then took on the persona of the individual they learned about, in order to share their story with visitors to their station.
Each “character” had a diverse story to tell about their contribution to American society as we know it. “Billie Holiday” shared her journey to becoming a jazz legend; “Wallace Henry Thurman” told about his role as a journalist during the Harlem Renaissance; “Annie Turnbo Malone” explained her entrepreneurial pursuits as the first black female millionaire in the United States.
The students used props and costumes to help their peers and other members of the community better understand their character’s life. In addition to helping them engage hands-on with history, students reported feeling inspired by seeing the accomplishments that these figures were able to make in spite of setbacks due to their race, gender, and/or class.
We hope that our graduating fifth graders will take the lessons that they learned from participating in the wax museum with them as they graduate and go on to become the leaders of the next generation.