Students in 4th and 5th grade at Edgeworth Elementary School are working on units for Black History Month.
In 4th grade, they're learning about a new unit called Be a Historian: The Tuskegee Airmen. This project is done in conjunction with classroom teachers and Mrs. Gabriella Miller, the school's librarian.
The students used primary and secondary sources to learn about this elite group of WWII heroes and the battles that they fought both abroad and at home. (The Pittsburgh Courier coined the Double V campaign). At the end of the unit, students will learn about the seven airmen who came from Sewickley and visit (virtually) the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial in the Sewickley Cemetery.
Mrs. Miller is working with Mrs. Zacharias, a member at the St. Matthew’s AME Zion Church who helps manage the Daniel B. Matthews Historical Society. She’s sharing artifacts with the students including papers and photographs about the Tuskegee Airmen, as well as information from Mr. Regis Bobonis, Sr., who worked for many years researching the Tuskegee men and women and spearheaded the building of the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial in Sewickley.
In 5th grade, students kicked off a unit about the power of captions. This unit is tied to a novel study in English Language Arts, The Watsons Go to Birmingham. Students analyzed photographs of various events during the Civil Rights Era (1950s-1960s). Then used secondary sources to learn about the event in the photograph. On Friday, February 26, students shared the research on the photos during a gallery walk-through. Click here to watch a video of the students sharing their research.