Sjoerd Witteveen
Pierre Elliot Trudeau High School Grade 11 student Anu Chandrakumar explains the rules of the Amazing Race to Grade 8 students.
Y-Files
January 18, 2008 07:48 PM
By: Adrian Cheung
With a loud whoop and holler, the library that became an “international race course” was set abuzz with excitement. The reason? The study of ancient history.
No, that’s not a typo.
On Thursday, Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School’s history students created their own “museum exhibits” and participated in a world fair. Ancient civilizations ranging from the Japanese, to the Meso-American empire of the Aztecs, were represented.
The Grade 11 students’ task was not only to present information about their civilizations, such as art, language, social customs and legal systems, but to also teach visiting Grade 8 students what it was like to live in that civilization; by injecting them into games and activities.
For instance, the Chinese exhibit showcased their ancient version of jacks, the Indian exhibit had fortune telling and henna tattoos and the medieval era taught elementary school students a simple dance that would have been performed in the royal court.
The World Fair also served as an interactive game; mimicking The Amazing Race TV show.
Students from neighbouring elementary schools were split into teams and performed the activities in each exhibit to earn game points; eventually used for strategic advantage over other teams, as well as the crowning of an eventual winner, all while travelling from nation to nation.
History is commonly seen as dull; the memorization of names and dates seem to wring out interest.
“It wasn’t until high school that I found my passion for history,” said Allen Priest, 18, a teaching assistant who helped develop the exhibit.
Even after elementary students had left, more than 100 high school students filed into the library to witness the spectacle.
Students responsible for creating the exhibit faced great obstacles; from research to filming their documentaries, to finding a creative way to exhibit the unique qualities of their civilization through activities.
Anu Chandrakumar, 15, a Grade 11 student, said those who were involved got to “experience what the ancient civilizations were like, as well as getting a bit of fun from it”.
Jennifer Miyauchi, the history teacher who created the concept of the project, worked with the York Region District School Board innovation fund, York Region schoolhouse and heritage museum, Markham Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum.
Students “came up away with an appreciation for the past and (learned) how history can be fun and that it’s something worth learning about and worth caring about”, she said.
Adrian Cheung is a student at Pierre Elliot Trudeau High School and a member of the York Region Media Group’s y-team. Contact him c/o dteetzel@yrmg.com