Students Create Lighthouses
By Sue Clark on May 29, 2008 in Other 
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How Come I Never Had Such a Fun Project In School?
Combining Social Studies, Science and Language Arts, students at Palms Elementary School in Fair Haven, Michigan, the fourth grade taught by Patti Adams got to do a really neat project for their Michigan Studies curriculum. They built lighthouses. Well, not full size ones, but little working models that will be on display beginning May 30 at the “Michigan Lighthouse Museum” in their classroom. And they will be viewed in the dark, so the lights can shine just like a real one.
Michigan requires (state mandated) a section on Michigan History, and Adams thought this would be an excellent and fun way to combine all the units into one. How come I never had something like that when I was in school? We had Michigan History Week, and it was mostly facts and figures. From the story:
Doing research regarding a lighthouse was a Social Studies project, while in language arts, the children had to write a paper that followed a rubric, answering questions about the light’s history, city and the Great Lake on which it is located, construction and features of the lighthouse, as well as give an oral presentation of their work. Requiring the fourth-graders to build a circuit system that results in a working light in the tower covers the science lessons.
And using the Distance Learning Lab, the students got to talk with Bob Hanford, of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse in Port Huron.
Kudos to Ms. Adams for taking a normally dry subject and turning it into a fun, family project, all the while highlighting the Great Lakes lighthouses. Wish I could be there to see these. Great work, kids. 
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