Armstrong Students Transform into Historical Figures

Armstrong Elementary fifth- and sixth-grade students transformed into some of the most revolutionary and significant figures in American and world history, from Cleopatra and Thomas Jefferson to Jane Goodall and Steve Jobs, for the Diamond Bar school’s second annual “Living Museum of Historical People” program.

Nearly 120 students on Jan. 29 fashioned themselves in historic period costumes for hundreds of visitors, who upon pressing a “Play” button, brought to life the characters who told impactful stories of how they changed the world.

“Watching our students be so engaged in this historical reproduction is a great reflection of the quality cross-curricular activities we have within Pomona Unified, as well as the rich and meaningful experiences they are providing for our students and the PUSD community,” said Board of Education President Andrew Wong.

The Living Museum included student-created exhibits and visual aids, written reports and iMovie trailers that were created with iPads to showcase the variety of subjects they are learning.

“I liked everything about this project, like creating the posters and performing and learning about someone I never knew about. It’s really fun,” said sixth-grader Sophia Smalley, who played Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States.

Armstrong teachers developed the project-based learning program to align with the Common Core State Standards, which emphasize problem-solving, research and inquiry, digital literacy, critical thinking and collaboration, among other skills needed to be college- and career-ready. The new standards have been fully implemented at the school for the last two years.

“Children can learn in many different ways and the Living Museum allows them to blossom, showcase their gifted talents and demonstrate that they can learn anything no matter the topic,” said fifth-grade teacher Paula Richards, who helped organize the program with fifth-grade teacher Jaime Santana and sixth-grade teachers Gloria Brosky and Trish Hatch.

“These projects are also instilling a sense of pride in these kids because of the constant positive feedback they are receiving from the community,” Santana said.

Fifth-graders represented historical figures from colonial America, such as Pocahontas and George Calvert; the Westward Movement, including Lewis and Clark and Susan B. Anthony; and the American Revolution, which included Benjamin Franklin and Martha Washington.

Sixth-graders were able to select the figures they wanted to embody, including scientists Albert Einstein and Marie Curie; ancient rulers Alexander the Great and Julius Cesar; historical figures Anne Frank and Amelia Earhart; technology pioneers Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg; Greek Gods Athena and Aphrodite; and inventors Guglielmo Marconi and the Wright Brothers.

“You can see that the kids are excited to show what they’ve learned, and we couldn’t do this without the dedication of our teachers,” Principal Cynthia Sanchez said. “This is the result of having such high expectations for all of our students, who are continually improving their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.”

In addition to exemplifying the Common Core standards, the program also incorporates one of the District’s instructional focuses to demonstrate AIR: Academic vocabulary, Informational text in reading and writing, and Rigor.

“The Living Museum is an extraordinary program that takes a tremendous amount of work to produce, both for the teachers and the students, who are setting the example of how to implement the four Cs of the Common Core State Standards – communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking,” said PUSD Superintendent Richard Martinez. “I want to commend these teachers for their teamwork and going above and beyond the call of duty to do what’s best for our children.”