Every new school year in September when fall entered DeKalb County, Douglasville had it's own Labor Day celebration. The Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs came back to DeKalb County for the citizens of the county and other visitors to admire. In Douglasville, we had our own special car show. I would put the students into groups: The Cords, The Auburns and The Duesenbergs. Then the fun would begin. We listened to stories about the history of the auto industry in Indiana. We read books about cars. We had a famous artist who made the posters and other art work for the ACD Festival visit our classroom. A friend brought his Auburn to our school for us to really see how the car looked. We had another museum volunteer come and give us the history of how the cars were made. We learned so much.
But, the most fun of all was when the groups made their own cars. There was one Cord, one Auburn and two Duesenbergs. Each group has a BIG box. They painted the cars and decorated them however they wanted. Then on the last day before the Labor Day weekend, we had our big parade. The cars went up and down the halls with a sign holder in front of each one. Oh, yes, we also had a band...can't have a parade without a band!
When we got back to our classroom, many parents had come to watch the rest of the festival. Now it was time for the auction. In Douglasville we had Douglasville Dollars that each child earned. So we auctioned off the cars. (We learned all about auction calling and how to bid.) Our principal was nice enough to act as honorary auctioneer. The parents would help their children see if they had enough money to bid. And bid they did! Four happy citizens went away with a brand new car...made in Douglasville!
What a great way to introduce boys (and girls, too) to a world where reading, writing and SCHOOL is fun!
That is an authentic purpose for learning. I'm sure your students always remember those fun times.
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