The MA Curriculum Frameworks for third grade social studies require that after reading biographical information about a person from Massachusetts, students summarize the person’s life and achievements. Classroom teachers assigned a famous person from MA to each student (Paul Revere, Clara Barton, etc.). After learning to scan non-fiction materials (both print and electronic) for information and take notes, students used the library and computer lab to research that person.  Students used the information they found to create a puppet in art class. Students sculpted and painted papier-mâché heads, and created fabric bodies and embellishments. For example, Benjamin Franklin might carry a kite and key; Paul Revere might carry a silver pot. Finally, students created the web page listed below. Each web page includes a paragraph, written and word-processed by the student, and a digital photograph of the student's puppet, taken by the student.

Created by the 3rd grade students at John R. Briggs Elementary School, May 2007.