On Tuesday, students in grades 3, 4 and 5 visited the Connecticut Historical Society to participate in three different learning programs.

The third grade students took part in the  This Is Connecticut  program which focused on everything Connecticut, from famous people to things made in the state. Students distinguished real nutmeg from wooden carved models, worked on an assembly line creating mess kits for the army, watched commercials from the 1950's and used a large map and map key to identify the three original colonial regions in Connecticut- Saybrook, New Haven, and Hartford. "I liked comparing the 1950s commercials with the ones today," said Alex Patt. Eli Gold commented, "Working on the assembly line would be fun for a short amount of time but would get boring fast." Lily Temkin said "It interesting that factories were close to the water since the water helped power the machines like the lathe on display." 

Fourth graders learned about The Legend of the Charter Oak. They re-enacted the signing of the Connecticut Charter between Governor Winthrop and King James and then the subsequent hiding of the charter for safe keeping. Miriam Newman and Abigail Gordon agreed, "This was a good way to learn history, by acting it out." "I really liked getting dressed up in the costumes," said  Cooper Govoni-Raich and Halaylah Schechtman.  Ava Leshem said, "It was cool to see why and how the people hid the document." 

The fifth grade had the opportunity to explore Connecticut's executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and discover who makes the rules in Connecticut. To better understand the role of each branch, the students elected a governor from among their classmates, debated a bill, and held a mock trial. Sal Katz said, "It was an enjoyable experience, very innovative. I enjoyed being part of the election." Sal was elected class governor by his classmates. Alyssa Temkin said, "It was really cool pretending we were voting because normally we can't." Through movement, improvisation, role-playing, and active participation, the students learned the purpose of rules and laws, explored the separation of powers, and discovered the rights and responsibilities of individuals. Maya Patt liked that the program it was interactive and that they got to participate in a mock trial.  

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