Troy Elementary School third-graders traded in school uniforms for saris and kimonos Monday. The outfits were part of the school’s new third-grade project on world cultures.
“They have been studying a unit on cultures. As third-grade teachers, we decided to extend the unit where students would share information from eight countries,” said Sharla Wilkes.
Teacher Mashasta McCullough introduced the idea. Her class studied Japan. Other countries included France, India, Greece, Australia and Mexico.
Xiaofeng Chen of Troy University’s Confucius Institute helped Carol Stuart’s class learn more about her homeland.
“I feel so proud of these students who have done this amazing work to learn about Chinese Culture,” she said.
During Monday’s program, students gave presentations on their countries. The day also included a catered lunch with a dish native to each country.
“It’s just a fun learning experience for the third-grade class,” said McCullough.
Teachers polled classes to see which country they might be interested in covering. Wilkes was surprised to find how much her students wanted to know about Egypt.
The class performed a dance routine to the tune of “King Tut.”
“The first thing I learned about Egypt was how they dance and how they look,” said Kayla Grant.
She joined classmates John Owens and Damari Thomas as featured dancers in the performance. Thomas enjoyed learning about the young king’s life. Owens enjoyed the headdress. He said he’d wear it all of the time, if he could.
Classmate Jadai Finch was also intrigued. She studied the country and prepared for the performance for two weeks.
“I liked the way they dress,” she said.
McCullough said the experience tied in map skills, reading, history and social sciences.
“We teach Alabama history, but you kind of have to tie in the rest of the world,” she said.