History of the People : Yes, George Washington was a war hero. But he also trembled while taking the presidential oath of office. Eighth- graders learn the human side of their heritage.

Most kids learn in school that George Washington was a Revolutionary War hero who became the first president of the United States.

But the story of Washington, the man, who struggled with the same fears and doubts that plague most people, is sometimes lost when teachers recount the sweeping events of history.

Not so at Toll Junior High in Glendale, where social studies teacher Bill Sanderl recently plunged his eighth-graders directly into the Senate chamber in 1789 as a shaky George Washington took the oath of office.

The class read an eyewitness account from the journal of William Maclay, a Pennsylvania senator:

“He was dressed in deep brown, with metal buttons, with an eagle on them, white stockings, a bag and sword. . . . This great man was agitated and embarrassed more than ever he was by the leveled cannon or pointed musket. He trembled, and several times could scarce make out to read, though it must be supposed he had often read it before.”

The description gave Washington an aura of humanity that students would be hard-pressed to find in most history textbooks. It also placed students in the room at a pivotal point in history.

Reading from Maclay’s journal is just one way in which Sanderl is implementing the new multicultural, literature-based social studies curriculum adopted by the Glendale Unified School District this year.

In conjunction with their English class, history students are also reading the young adult novel “Johnny Tremain,” which details the adventures of a young American patriot in Boston during the events leading up to the Revolutionary War.

Students are tested in English for reading comprehension and vocabulary and in history for their grasp on events and facts. Sanderl said he and English teacher John Dieterich worked out lesson plans together and even team-taught several classes.

That’s not to suggest that Sanderl neglects the hefty eighth-grade history text, Houghton Mifflin’s “A More Perfect Union.” He picks and chooses excerpts and selections from the 747-page tome, which is supposed to function more as a teaching tool than an educational bible.

Although reading a novel in history class was an experiment this year, “It worked out well,” Sanderl said.

Students enjoyed the book, in part, because they could witness history through the eyes of another teen-ager, the 14-year-old apprentice silversmith Johnny Tremain.

The book, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Esther Forbes, describes Johnny’s encounters with historical figures, such as Paul Revere, Sam Adams and John Hancock. Eventually, Johnny gets a job delivering the revolutionary Boston Observer newspaper and undergoes a political awakening as he turns from carefree youth into determined patriot.

“Every Sunday of late, he had gone out to Lexington to watch the Minute Men drilling,” according to the novel. “It might be Sabbath-breaking, but these men were so sure they were doing God’s will in preparing to resist tyranny they did not care.

“Already on every village green throughout New England, men and boys were drilling in defiance of the King’s orders. . . . These men had no uniforms. They came from the fields and farms in the very clothes they used for plowing. . . . Many had ancient flintlocks, old squirrel guns, handed down for generations.”

Eighth-grader Jennifer Han, 14, mused that she “would have stood with the Whigs about the taxes. I think the colonists were right to stand up for their freedom.”

After studying the Revolutionary War for weeks, the class moved on to the inauguration of Washington as president. Last week, they spent 50 minutes analyzing a historical painting of Washington taking the presidential oath of office.

“Our purpose here is to find out about Washington the man, America the people and America the country,” Sanderl told the class as he put on a recording of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“What value does this painting have for us now; why is it important?” Sanderl continued. Then he gave the students a task. “I want you to find the two women in the picture.”

Thirty heads bent over their desks, scrutinizing the painting that showed a crowd of middle-aged, white men in fancy breeches crowding into the Senate chamber.

The students were stumped. They reacted with embarrassed shrugs when Sanderl called on them. Something was wrong. Finally, Sanderl explained.

“You didn’t find any women because there are none,” he said. “Where are the people in that painting who aren’t male, who aren’t white, who aren’t rich? There aren’t any.

“What’s not good enough about this country in 1789? Are all people treated equally? Why is only one segment of the population represented here? How do we explain that? We have to find out. We have a lot of work to do,” Sanderl said, launching into a discussion.

After class, 13-year-old Maggie Lopez considered what Sanderl had said.

“I never stopped to think about the founders of our country before,” she said. “It’s not like that now. Times have changed a lot. Of course,” the teen-ager added thoughtfully, “things could be better.”