Oceanside fourth graders present a 'Living Wax Museum'

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To culminate their most recent English project, fourth-graders at Oceanside School No. 4 became famous figures for a morning in a performative presentation for parents and the community.

Students dressed and acted as the subjects of biographies they wrote for class at the “Living Wax Museum” event on April 11. The 43 children in teachers Linda McGrath and Jami Rosario’s classes came in costume with facts to share with visitors, as well as backdrops they created to indicate the celebrity or historical figure they would mimic.

The young artists, athletes, historians, businesspeople, actors and more stood still in their spots in the gym until they were “activated.” When a parent or visitor pressed their button, they came alive and told their story in first-person.

“They became that person through costume or spirit or understanding and knowledge of that person,” McGrath said. “The kids really became and embodied the person they did the biography on. They gave parents a lot of information.”

Before the event, students chose the person they wanted to be and submitted five-paragraph reports on the biography subjects. “It’s something [the students] really wanted share with their families to give them a bird’s-eye view of the hard work and research they’ve been doing,” McGrath said.

“Both performances went very well and parents loved it,” Rosario added. “They were raving about it and they were overwhelmed with how well the children did.”