A TIME MACHINE, A GIANT 3D map, children dressed as cowboys, prairie girls, a 49er and boys dressed as bodies of water were everything needed to cover more than one thousand years of California history in two and a half hours.
On Jan. 21 in front of their families, St. Juliana Falconieri Catholic School’s fourth-grade class participated in Walk Through California, an interactive presentation put on by California Weekly Explorers. The Tustin-based company hosts educational presentations based on fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade social studies standards.
“This presentation is important because it allows students to live the history they are learning,” said fourth-grade teacher Allison Saner. “It allows, especially for the students that love to be creative, the chance to get that energy out and be dramatic if they need to be. They can show what they are made of, which I love.”
The competitive event covered all social studies standards taught in fourth grade. It started with life 1,000 years ago with the Indigenous peoples of California before heading onward to 1542, the year of arrival for Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the first European explorer and conquistador; St. Junípero Serra’s creation of the first nine Missions; 1822, around the time when Spain lost control of California to Mexico; and 1850, when California became the 31st state.
CHARLIE GONZALEZ PORTRAYS SPANISH EXPLORER JUAN RODRÍGUEZ CABRILLO. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Saner, who has shepherded her students through the Walk Through California for the last three years, went through the experience herself as a student at St. Juliana. She still remembers dressing up as a prairie girl. Saner noted how the presentation covers all the history she teaches over the year. She hopes her students take away not just California history, but the joy of diving into history.
“It’s amazing because I get to see the shyest of students come out of their shells,” Saner said. “They get to perform, they find joy and it allows them to learn in a way that doesn’t require them to sit down at a desk.”
ST. JULIANA FALCONIERI CATHOLIC SCHOOL FOURTHGRADE STUDENTS POSE FOR A PHOTO DURING A WALK THROUGH CALIFORNIA PRESENTATION HELD ON JAN. 21.
The students started preparing for the presentation in mid-December and just completed their learning on the Missions. “So, they get a sneak peek into the Gold Rush and the other countries that
were governing California at one time,” Saner said.
Each student was given a key vocabulary word to become experts in. Students recited definitions from memory for words like “governor,” “plateau” and “farm produce,” and had to answer a question about their word.
For fourth-grader Jameson Pohlen, the history of the Gold Rush struck his interest. But the 10-year-old, who dressed as a lake to go with his expert word “reservoir,” found it all interesting.
“I liked learning everything,” Pohlen said. “It was a fun experience.”
Madelyn “Maddie” Garcia, whose word was “earthquake fault,” said she has been studying a lot and reading her word every day to practice. New to St. Juliana, Garcia felt fortunate to have such a unique experience.
“At my old school, we never get to do this,” Garcia said, “so it’s fun that I experienced it.”
Both Garcia and Pohlen said they would recommend the experience to next year’s fourth graders. Pohlen shared some advice: “Don’t be scared,” he said. “It’s OK to be scared but try your best.”