Fourth-graders did research for their California state report, while the fifth-graders prepared their presentations on landmarks.
Fifth-grader Soli Jones, 11, picked the Statue of Liberty as a landmark to present.
She Googled the information she needed and typed up facts of interest for the slide presentation.
“I kind of like all of these landmarks because I’m interested in American history,” Soli said.
“I like learning interesting facts and looking at pictures.”
After students finish the PowerPoint projects, they will showcase their work in class on a laptop computer.
Clytie Kim, 9, looked at a photo of yellow poppies, California’s state flower. She was doing research on California and the state seal.
Clytie gathered facts about the seal to share what she learned with her peers.
“I think the state seal is the best one to learn about,” she said.
“The symbols, like the tools, represent the Gold Rush, and the grizzly bear is the California animal.”
Michael Kim decided to do research on a place he was familiar with: the Grand Canyon.
“I’ve been there before and the California river runs through it,” the 10-year-old said.
“The river is really large, about 200 miles long.”
Michael planned on doing six slide presentations on different landmarks and sites.
The project is part of the social studies standards to integrate language arts and technology, Araradian said.
“They practiced using PowerPoint, and once they got the assignment, they were off,” she said.
KIDS TALK BACK
The Glendale News-Press visited Monte Vista Elementary School and asked students: “What do you find most interesting about the U.S. landmark or California state report you are working on?”
“I think the Statue of Liberty is the most interesting because of why it was brought here and who gave it to us. It was brought here because of the friendship America had with France.”
ALISHA SHAH, 10
La Crescenta
“The Statue of Liberty. I find that the most interesting. It’s interesting how large it is and how talented the sculptor was. What a nice gift to give to the U.S.”
KALEY POMEROY, 11
La Crescenta
“I think the state seal is interesting because each part represents something.”
PHILIP THOMAS, 10
La Crescenta
“In the state seal, the mountains have different meanings. I think the symbols and what they mean are interesting.”
NAZAR ABOU-CHAKRA, 9
La Crescenta
“The California state seal has all these symbols. The miner represents that there is gold in California. The grizzly bear represents the flag, and the goddess represents wisdom.”
TAMARAH SIMONIAN, 9
La Crescenta
