GOing back in time
at Tracy Area Elementary School
While time travel may be the subject of movies like “Back to the Future,” Tracy Area Elementary School fifth-graders last Thursday proved even in real life, you can take a step back in time. And better yet, you can learn a thing or two from it.
A “wax museum” was held last week at the school, giving fifth-graders an opportunity to research and present what they learned about an historic figure — either dead or live — and dress up as their chosen character.
There was posthumous recognition of people like Leonardo DaVinci, Johhny Cash, Mahatma Gandhi, George Washington, Elivs, Einstein and not one, but two Michael Jacksons, as well as cameos from still-living celebrities such as George Lucas and Dolly Parton.
All this after about a month-and-a-half of research by the kids. “In my classroom, they do the biography piece where they research their famous person,” said teacher Cassie Bangasser. “Then they write a biography about that person. Then they do the notecards and presentation piece. A lot of writing and researching goes into the language arts classroom.”
But that’s just the half of it. Everything “comes to life,” Bangasser said, when the students get to dress up as their alter-ego for a day. That’s the fun part — for both the students and Bangasser, who was involved in plays in high school. She appreciates all the work the students and parents put into dressing up.
The garb either came from older family members, or the library where so many costumes used for community and school plays and musicals are stored.
“It’s a combination of home and parents, and the community,” Bangasser said. “The paper is what they started with, and then worked toward their presentation piece. They’ve had a lot of fun; it’s been a great project to work on. I’m glad that they started it last year because it was a program I was looking forward to.”
Marlene Soupir was the leader of last year’s program, but retired after the 2023-24 school year, meaning it was Bangasser’s turn to work with fellow teacher Lucas Novosad in her first year as a full time fifth-grade teacher at TAES.
“It was something that I was looking forward to in my first year here,” Bangasser said. “I was looking forward to it just as much as the kids were; I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s these experiences that they’ll remember forever. There’s a lot of things that come and go, but it’s these experiences that they’ll always remember.”
Everett Bain portrayed Henry Ford, and his favorite part of the assignment was dressing up. Although, he did learn plenty about Ford besides what he looked like.
“I like cars, and it’s kind cool how he made the Ford Motor Company,” Bain said. “He was also known for his generous giving. At the age of 7, he took apart watches and put them back together. In 1899, he helped organize the Detroit Automobile Company.”
James Hohler choose to pay homage to his favorite movie.
“My name is George Lucas, and I’m the creator of Star Wars,” Hohler stated through his fake beard as a means to grab people’s attention. “I am a really big Star Wars fan. I learned a lot about his childhood.”
Hohler called the project “pretty cool, but it’s a lot of work.”
The students gave two presentations last Thursday — the first to their fellow classmates, plus an evening one to the adults in their lives.
“It breaks the ice a little bit for them to do it first in the afternoon,” said Bangasser. “Then by the evening, they’re feeling more confident. It’s a dry run.”
Bangasser believes the kids are more comfortable “performing” in front of their parents, compared to presenting to their fellow students.
“You want to impress the ones you’re around every day, all day,” she said. “I think they’re a little more comfortable with their parents.”
For the first presentation to the students, some, like the sixth-graders who were in the spotlight last year, are charged with asking the performers certain questions about their character as an assignment.
“They’re interviewwing them,” Bangasser said. “Some of the grades just walk through, some of them have assignments to do. They learn, too.”
