Elementary Students Visit OBU Teacher Education’s Wonders of the World

April 17, 2000

Fifty Will Rogers Elementary School students were able to swim in a great barrier reef made of construction paper, peek inside pyramids made of PVC pipe, and touch a foam great wall of China recently during "A Magic Carpet Ride to the Wonders of the World" sponsored by Oklahoma Baptist University education majors.

The 12 members of OBU's social studies methods class taught by Dr. Jeanne Akin, assistant professor of teacher education, developed an interactive museum, concentrating on the sites and cultures surrounding seven wonders of the world.

The class invited Will Rogers third, fourth, and fifth grade gifted education students from the classrooms of Glenna Jackson, Marcia Scott, and Jeannie Hill to visit the museum.

The interactive museum featured seven stations representing the seven wonders of the world that the OBU students had selected from modern, ancient, forgotten and natural wonders of the world. The wonders included the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Statue of Liberty.



At each station, the students received arrival and departure stickers for their wonders of the world passports as well as a souvenir from each site.

"I thought it was a great day," said Marcia Scott, fifth grade teacher. "I think our kids are interested enough to go back and research some of these places on their own because they've already been asking questions."

"I was nervous when I woke up this morning," said Rene Clark, junior elementary education major. "But I think it went well and I learned many new ways to keep kids interested. This type of theme based learning works so much better to keep the kids interested in a topic."