TTE artists honor U.S. presidents
Fifth grader Kylee Ingram puts the finishing touches on her portrait of Richard Nixon. Ingram’s work was part of Timber Trail’s “Wall of Presidents” exhibit, which combined art with historical research.
Article and photo by Lisa Crockett
Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president. John F. Kennedy could read and comprehend 2,000 words per minute. Grover Cleveland served two terms as president, but they were non-consecutive so he was both the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth president of the United States. Richard Nixon graced the cover of Time magazine a total of 56 times – more than any other person.
Fifth graders at Timber Trail Elementary learned all these facts and more as they researched various presidents for the school’s “Wall of Presidents” exhibit, which was organized by the school’s art teacher, Wendy Wilson.
Each student learned interesting facts about a president and then created a poster, which incorporated those facts along with a portrait.
“This is a good opportunity for the kids to research and learn from the past,” said Wilson. “When we put it in this poster-type format it makes it visually dynamic. I watch the younger students come by and look, and when they see these posters, they will stop and read.”
Because the projects are tactile and out of the ordinary, they help engage students who might otherwise not have much of an interest in history.
“It was interesting to learn about Abe Lincoln,” said fifth grader Jonathan Werner. “He was good at wrestling and he was the first president to grow a beard. He was also the first president to have his likeness engraved on a coin. Those were things I didn’t know before,” he said.
