Pupils Study Indians --and Messengers Too

Using a variety of media from storytelling to books to the Internet, second- and third-graders at Bay Laurel Elementary School created an unusual display of the history of the Native American.

Six weeks of studying about the Cheyenne, the Hopi, the Chippewa, the Cherokee and the Navajo culminated Thursday in an hourlong presentation of their projects, beginning with a demonstration of the school’s home page on the World Wide Web.

Created by teacher Michael Persinger using the students’ work, the site--https://www.lvusd.k12.ca.us/elem/baylaurel--features information about the school and a report on the work students prepared on Native Americans.

After finding that they had to go elsewhere to find what they needed, they decided to eliminate that problem for future students. The students also created books, with essays and pictures they’ve had bound and which will be on display in the library.

On Thursday, the five groups of students performed original plays created to inform classmates about the Indians’ hunting habits, clothing and beliefs.

Most of the students said the plays were their favorite part of the exercise.

“When you’re doing the plays you already know what you’re going to say,” said Jenna Lolli, 8. “But when you’re doing the report, you have to look through the books, write things down.”

Persinger said the project was designed not only to dig into a subject, but to teach students there are many different ways to convey the message.

“They hooked into some valuable pieces of information,” Persinger said, “and they’ve learned all the different ways to get that information out to other people. That is the underlying curriculum.”