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Birds, Postcards Teach Armstrong Students About Exploring the Country
WHERE IS BALDWIN? Alexander Barfield, Alanah Fahey and Cameron Wright, third grade students at Armstrong Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District, show off post cards they’ve received from the Baldwin Project, (not Baldwin, MO.) a social studies activity designed to teach lessons about different parts of the country. The display board shows where the birds have been in the country, along with copies of various post cards sent to students.
Third grade students at Armstrong Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District have embarked upon the Baldwin Project, a social studies activity designed to teach lessons about different parts of the country by sending paper birds “to explore the world.”
Alanah Fahey, Alexander Barfield and Cameron Wright explained the project. The birds, each named Baldwin, are eagles colored by students that were mailed in envelopes to people in different states. The people who receive the birds are asked to send a post card back to the student, and then send the bird on to someone else.
Fahey sent her Baldwin to an aunt, who then sent it to a friend. She now has a post card from New York City.
“I know something about New York,” said Fahey proudly. “There are lots of museums, lots of art and Ellis Island.”
Barfield sent his bird to his great grandmother who lives in Colorado. She sent back nine post cards, each one with a different characteristic of the state. “I learned that there’s a Union Station in Denver, the 16th Street Mall, and a senate chamber,” he said.
Wright sent his to his grandfather, who lives in Hanley Hills, and he got a post card from someone who lives in a different Missouri city.
The students are enthusiastic about the project. Wright said he hopes to “learn about different states.” They each said they are interested in learning about places they’ve never been.
Each third grade class at Armstrong is involved in the project. Together, the classes have received post cards from the states of Illinois, Arizona, Missouri, Georgia, Indiana, Texas, California, Connecticut, Alaska, Florida, New York, Colorado, Kentucky and Nevada, including Washington, D.C.
Students in Michelle Stevens’ class shared what they enjoy about the Baldwin Project. They said they like “knowing the states, getting a lot of mail and getting a chance to find out where their birds have been.” And they enjoy being able to work with their families on the project.
Stevens said the students are “learning about their country in several ways. They are using map skills to locate states that we hear from and to learn about the region of the country they are found in. They are also learning about specific places and landmarks from the people who write to us.
“One class keeps a log of things they learn about the places the post cards come from. At times, the students become interested in a place and they get on the Internet to supplement what they have learned,” she said. (story courtesy of Hazelwood District Communications Dept.
