While many students spend the waning days of the school year watching movies or playing games, Meeting Street Schools students spent their final days learning something meaningful about America in honor of its 250th anniversary.
Kindergarteners through eighth graders studied history and culture, from state capitals to historical landmarks, then showed what they learned by creating an art project.
“We want students to see that the story of America is one of growth, opportunity and contribution,” said Elizabeth Ulles, senior director of curriculum and instruction.
Alison Butler, art teacher at Meeting Street Elementary & Middle – Brentwood, helped design the 250th commemorative projects for each grade so students could make purposeful connections from what they learned to artistic expression.
“I hope that students are able to connect that architecture, sculpture and even song are forms of art and one of the most joyful representations of pride for our nation,” Alison said.
Elizabeth said incorporating art makes learning more engaging and allows students to show their understanding creatively.
“It is important that students don’t just encounter isolated facts, but instead develop a strong foundation of knowledge about key ideas, symbols, people and moments that have shaped the nation,” Elizabeth said.
Below are a few examples of students’ art projects.
What students said
Second grade
At Meeting Street Elementary – Burns, Bryson Brown learned about natural landforms in America and painted a picture of the Mississippi River.
“I learned that the Mississippi River can transport people to different places and it’s huge,” Bryson said.
Third grade
Amiya Brown at Meeting Street Academy – Charleston learned about the 50 states and chose to do a project about Pennsylvania. In the outline of the state, she drew symbols of Pennsylvania such as the state flower, a mountain laurel and the state animal, the white-tailed deer.
“I have learned about a lot of states, but not Pennsylvania and it looks cool,” Amiya said. “The thing that surprised me was that they have white-tailed deer there.”
Fourth grade
Dareyli Martinez at Meeting Street Elementary & Middle – Brentwood learned about the states and their capitals, and she chose to do her project on Arizona.
“Arizona is called the Valentine State because it became one of the United States on Feb. 14, 1912,” she said.
First grade
After reading about the Liberty Bell, Shari’yah Whiteside, a first grader at Meeting Street Academy – Spartanburg, drew a picture of the bell.
“The Liberty Bell is a symbol of freedom,” Shari’yah said.
