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MANSFIELD: Fifth-graders take fellow students back in time

Fifth-graders stepped back in time Monday morning at Mansfield Township Elementary School’s 12th annual Colonial Fair.

MANSFIELD — Fifth-graders stepped back in time Monday morning at Mansfield Township Elementary School’s 12th annual Colonial Fair.
   ”When we first began, the fair just involved students researching and presenting information about colonial trades (jobs),” said coordinator Lisa Dolci in an email. “It has evolved into a research project about all aspects of an assigned colony, not just trades.”
   Over a 100 students participated in the researching six of the original 13 colonies, which included colonial communities of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts Bay, Georgia and Rhode Island.
   ”Students have spent the past month researching their colony,” Ms. Dolci said. “They researched information about the history of their colony, geography, economy, interesting information, as well as five pictures that represent their colony.”
   Students were assigned into small groups where they showcased the facets of colonial life. Students dressed in character, highlighting various roles of the times — blacksmith, farmer, storyteller.
   Alyssa Schmidt, 10, of Mansfield studied Massachusetts Bay, which was founded in 1630 by Puritans and was established by John Winthrop.
   ”It was a fun experience,” said Alyssa.
   Jasmine Boyd, 10, learned that the colony left the Church of England because they wanted religious freedom.
   ”There were lots of neat things to learn,” said Jasmine.
   An interesting fact was that the Puritans established a law where you could not live further than 2.5 miles from the church and school.
   Jessie Hu, 10, of Mansfield, explained to visitors about the various tools used during colonial times.
   Jessie said the highlight was making the tools for display.
   Taralynn Rockwell, 10, of Mansfield learned that most people during that time worked as farmers and were very important to the colony.
   Farmers grew crops like corn, potatoes, vegetables and various fruit. They also raised animals like pigs, chickens, cows, horses, dogs and cats. They provided lots of crops and livestock for the town so people had food on their plates, according to the display board.
   Taralynn said back then candles were made out of whale fat instead of wax.
   ”It was really fun to work with friends,” said Taralynn.
   Robert Moran, 10, of Mansfield found it interesting that Maryland once had an eight dollar bill.
   ”They had it back then, but they don’t have it anymore,” said Robert.
   ”We got to learn about Colonial Maryland while doing a project that the whole school would be able to see,” he added.
   Joseph Greco, 10, of Mansfield particularly enjoyed the research aspect of the project during which information was gathered from their social studies book and internet.
   ”I liked it a lot,” said Joseph, adding that the team completed their research in October and finished putting the display together last Thursday.
   Georgia was named after King George the third, according to Lanae Lopez, 10, of Mansfield.
   ”It was very educational,” said Lanae.
   David Han, 10, of Mansfield was dressed as a blacksmith in his group and had made an anvil as part of the display.
   Blacksmiths have very important jobs like making horse shoes, tools, nails and other important metal objects, according to its display board.
   Laura Tavener, 11, of Mansfield learned that Coca-Cola was invented in Georgia in 1886.
   Brian Bressler learned that Pennsylvania, which was founded by William Penn, means “Penns Woods.”
   Family members as well as students from third, fourth and sixth grades were in attendance to explore the fair.
   According to Ms. Dolci, even Yale students were invited to attend.
   ”The other students in the school were coming in to learn about the colonies,” Ms. Dolci said, adding that some were even taking notes about the colonies while walking around.
   Mikyung Han, of Mansfield has experienced the fair for the third time now.
   ”It’s a very good opportunity to do something with responsibility,” Ms. Han said of the students’ work.
   Ms. Han helped her son David make the anvil on display.
   ”I didn’t know about the blacksmith at all,” Ms. Han said, as the project turned into being a learning lesson for her as well.
   ”Students in fifth grade are expected to learn about U.S. History,” Ms. Dolci said adding that it includes learning about colonial times.
   ”We decided to do the colonial fair because it is a more hands on approach to learning about the colonial period,” Ms. Dolci said. “The students seem to gain a deeper understanding of the colonies and enjoy working with each other to research information about their assigned colony, type the information in their own words and creatively assemble tri-fold boards to display their research.
   ”They also enjoy bringing in and making items to display that represent their colony,” she added.
   Parent Adela Lopez said she was “very impressed” with what the students did and the “depth” of the information.
   ”They are really excited and want to share that,” said Ms. Lopez, adding that she has twins who did not share what they were doing and wanted her to attend the fair to find out.
   ”They wouldn’t tell me anything about it,” Ms. Lopez said. “They wanted me to be surprised.”
   ”It is so rewarding to see the students enjoy learning and working together,” Ms. Dolci said.” This is a big event they look forward to in fifth grade.”