Fifth grade students make personal connections with History lesson

Recently, Ishan Hartke shared his personal connection to the war by using a book written by his great grandfather, Stanley Mark Wright, with his classmates. Staff Sargent Wright was a member of the Ghost Army during the war. The Ghost Army was an elite specialty unit of the U.S. Army who created and deployed inflatable tanks, trucks, jeeps, and artillery to fool the Germans in World War II. These artists saved countless lives with their decoys and played a key role in the D-Day Invasion in Normandy, France. Mr. Wright also used his artistic talents during the war to take photographs and create sketches and paintings while deployed using salvaged materials like boards and pieces of broken furniture to capture the people and landscape of the war.

“I really enjoy when my students make a personal connection to the topics we are discussing in class,” said Fifth Grade English/Social Studies Teacher Michelle Miesko. “They begin to relate to the information on a deeper level and appreciate, in this case, the sacrifices people have made in the past to provide us with the opportunities that we have today.”