Selling The Seven Wonders

By Laurie Borst

Teachers are always on the look-out for interesting topics to use in the classroom. When fourth grade teacher Ellen Therrien read an article about the campaign for seven new wonders of the world, she knew she had a great subject.

Working in small groups, students in her class at Middle Gate School chose sites that have been nominated and developed commercials for them. The project spread out to include all the fourth grades at Middle Gate.

The students spent a month working on the project which grew to be multi-disciplinary in scope. Students used technology to do research on the web. They wrote five-paragraph persuasive essays. Skits were created for commercials promoting the chosen sites.

In art class, students created models of the sites. Ancient history was studied as the children learned about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Math was included as the fourth graders voted for their favorites and graphed the results.

Mrs Therrien’s students chose Timbuktu, Stonehenge, Sydney Opera House, Taj Mahal, and the Statue of Liberty. The skits the students wrote were creative and, in some cases, very funny.

One group wrote a skit about college students backpacking through Timbuktu in Mali. While Timbuktu often symbolizes remoteness, it actually stood at the crossroads of several ancient trade routes. It is the site of one of the world’s first universities and ancient mosques.

Another group had students dressed as rocks, extolling the virtues of Stonehenge and its significance as a wonder of the world. The circle of stones on Salisbury Plain in Amesbury, England, has been a mystery for the ages. Built around 2500 BC, it is believed that Stonehenge was a center for religious celebration in the times of the Celts and Druids.

The group that chose to promote Sydney Opera House created a news piece complete with an anchorman, local newsman, and a weatherman. The students “broadcast” news about the opera house and its consideration as a new wonder.

At the end of the unit, the fourth graders held a vote to see which seven wonders the school would choose. Each student got seven votes. The seven new wonders selected by the fourth graders were the Great Pyramid at Giza, Kiyomizo Temple, Petra, Machu Picchu, Neuschwanstein Castle, Stonehenge, and the Taj Mahal.

Mrs Therrien also pointed out that one of the people on the team who developed the New Seven Wonders website is a graduate of Middle Gate School. Audra Shanley graduated from NHS in 1985. Photos of the Middle Gaters’ work will be placed online; visit  New7Wonders.com.