A recent project for Waterville 7th and 8th graders not only served as an academic lesson but helped raise money for a Waterville family, whose seven-year-old is battling a rare disease.
For the living wax museum project, English teacher Elizabeth Brennan tasked the students with choosing a person who made the world a better place then researching their lives, failures, struggles and how they persevered and moved on to greatness.
Students then wrote a monologue from the point of view of their choice and performed it, in costume, at “The Impact of a Life: A Living Wax Museum” showcase night at Waterville Jr./Sr. High School in June.
Students focused on building research skills by finding articles from academic databases, taking accurate notes, creating MLA works cited pages, and synthesizing what they learned from their primary and secondary sources into a minute-long speech.
This public speaking opportunity was a first for some students. They added visual aids to complement their speeches by creating posters featuring their works cited page, a timeline, an image, and a significant quote from their character. Some students even provided brochures that they created to enhance their performance.
Students decided there was an opportunity for a fundraiser and chose to raise money for the family of Gavin Jerzak, who is battling a rare disease called Biliary Atresia, which affects the liver. Gavin’s father, Fred Jerzak, is a teacher at Memorial Park Elementary School.
The monologues were rehearsed several times and on the night of the showcase, those who attended could put money in a jar by the student and the student would “come to life” and recite the monologue.
A total of $790 was raised for the Jerzak family.
The project went even further beyond the classroom, Brennan said, and gave students confidence.
“They learned they can persevere and do something that many thought they couldn’t. Not only did they do it, they did it very well,” said Brennan.
“They can trust in their voices,” she said.