Wantagh Fifth-Graders Portray Famous Figures

Where else besides Wantagh Elementary School can you find the first, 16th, 18th and 35th presidents of the United States at the same time? Together, they stood, along with dozens of other famous figures at the fifth grade’s annual living wax museum last month.

The annual tradition is culmination of a biography writing unit. Students select and research a famous person from the past or present. Teachers note that the person must be someone who made a positive impact on society.

Students studied athletes, authors, business leaders, entertainers, politicians, scientists and more. They used books and online resources to learn about their subjects, before writing their biography reports in the form of a speech. The research and writing were done in school, while posterboard presentations were made a home.

When the wax museum opened, students stood with their posterboards and in costume, ready for their guests to arrive. In the morning, parents came for a tour, while fourth-graders roamed the museum in the afternoon, a sneak peek of a project they will do next year.

Fifth-grader Lucas Iacona researched Albert Einstein, and said he selected the scientist known for his work on the theory of relativity because he admires people who use their brains to make the world a better place. Lucas enjoyed seeing all of the famous people his classmates portrayed at the wax museum.

“We all got to learn a lot about these famous people and how they impacted U.S. history,” he said. “If some of these people weren’t here, maybe we wouldn’t have stuff we have today.”

—Submitted by the Wantagh School District

It was the hall of presidents in the Wantagh Elementary School gymnasium, where fifth-graders, from left, Hunter Arredondo, Aidan Sellars, Dean Spinelli and Landon Tuthill each portrayed former United States leaders.