The Holocaust: Not a Time to Smile

Follow this link to see my entire multi-genre project on the Holocaust:

http://maxinemakinghistory.weebly.com/

Holocaust Poems

Note from Maxine's Mom: At the end of 4th grade, Maxine's class took on the task of writing about one subject in multiple genres.  Each student selected a topic, researched the topic, then wrote about the topic in a variety of formats.  Maxine selected the Holocaust as her topic.  The following are the poems she wrote on the Holocaust and submitted as part of her final draft.

JEWS JEWS

Jews, Jews

skinny and scared

concentration camps

cold cots

no pillows

gas chambers

leafless trees

piles of shoes

Gold teeth too

THE FINAL SOLUTION

Death

Nazi

Here I come

I seek Jews to kill

Adolf Hitler

guns

kill all the Jews

Its the final solution

The Holocaust

I am the Holocaust*

I am a friend of Adolf Hitler

I am a terrifying event 

I am a nemesis of all of Europe's Jews

I am a trickster who makes Jews think their taking a shower but instead I kill them

I am a killer to Jews, gypsies and more

I am a time that says the Holocaust is my name and killing Europe's Jews is my game

*denotes the version submitted as her final work. The following represent the poem as a work in progress:

I am the Holocaust (draft version)

I am a friend of Adolf Hitler
I am a terrifying event
I am an enemy of the Jews
I am in Europe
I am a trickster who says, "Take a shower."
But instead of coming out alive and wet, you come out dead.
I am a Nazi thing
I am a horrible time
I am a killer of Jews, gypsies and homosexuals
I am a time that says, "the Holocaust is my name and killing Jews is my game."

Days Go By

Days go by

I fell (feel) alone and dry

My heart pounds at the sound of boots

snowy days

rainy days

cloudy days

even sunny days

all is miserable 

in my life

during the Holocaust

Abe Lincoln voki

This is my voice saying the Gettysburg Address while looking like Lincoln.  You can do it too if you go to http://www.voki.com/.

Searching for History

This Memorial Day weekend, my family and I spent time in Lewiston, New York.  On our last day we went to Apple Granny for lunch.  The placemats had a local history quiz on them. It said: 

“Put your Sherlock Holmes hat on and go out and do a little investigating. With a little skill and some luck you could be one of the weekly prize winners.”   

I thought it would be really cool to do it because I like history and it was kind of like a mystery you had to solve.  It seemed really cool.  After lunch my brother, my mom and I went out in search of the answers.  My dad and Uncle Kenny joined later.

My brother and I - just before we went on our history quiz hunt. We are in front of the Frontier House - one of Lewiston's most historic buildings.

Important Note: If you want to find the answers to any of the questions on this quiz for yourself then you may, but don’t read the last paragraph.  If you want to find out the answers without taking a trip to Lewiston, then you can read the bottom paragraph.

Stop #1: 4th and Center Street 
 
Question: Chabert de Joncaire obtained permission from the local Seneca tribe to build a trading post in Lewsiton in what year? 

  



Stop #2:  Freedom Crossing Monument 
A Note from Maxine: The Freedom Crossing Monument was erected to help people remember that slaves were carried across the Niagara River near Lewiston to Canada. Some people say Harriet Tubman helped bring slaves to this spot on the Underground Railroad. When I first saw the statue, I didn’t notice that there were secret codes, but now I know that there are 5 hidden messages on the statue.

Question:  What is engraved on the baby’s foot and what does it mean?  

A Hint from Maxine: It is a bible verse.  Can you guess what bible verse it is?  

Stop #3: Just south of the monument

Question: On October 13, 1812 the United States invaded British Canada from Lewiston. It was called the Battle of Queenston Heights. At what time of day did the American troops raise the American Flag on the Canadian side?

Stop #4: The broken anchor by the Lewiston Museum

 
Question: The large steamship the Cibola caught fire off the Lewiston dock in 1895. What was the name of the engineer who died in the blaze?  

Stop #5: Center and 8^th Street

  

Question: Lewiston's Catherine Hustler invented the cocktail. She described it by saying, "It warms both the body and soul and it is fit to be in a vessel of __________.

A Note from Maxine: I've never tasted a cocktail, except for a Shirley Temple. Shirley Temples are very good. I think they are fit for a vessel of __________ too.

When I found all of the answers, I felt like I had solved a mystery.  It was fun.

The Answers:

1. 1720
2. Exodus 5:1. Let my people go.
3. 9:00 am
4. William Hammond
5. diamonds

Spring Break

It is Spring Break for me.  The first few days I hung out with my cousins.  Then just me and my brother went to my grandparents.  Yesterday we went to see hop.  And today we are going out to lunch and then, we will see our cousins and go to see baby lambs with them.  On Monday night me and my brother found out we were getting picked up early from my grandparents on Thursday to go to... CHICAGO!   I am so exited.  We are staying at the hotel my uncles staying at.  We are going to the Series tower and to the American Girl Doll store!  we are going to the aquarium to. 
I will tell you more as the week goes on.

Amelia Earhart and Me

Note from Maxine's Mom:
Mrs. B-W's 4th grade class at Symons Elementary in Milan, Michigan studied famous people in history. Each student researched one person, dressed in costume and gave a presentation. The students then wrote comparative biographies about their historical subject and themselves. Maxine's comparative biography, Amelia Earhart and Me, follows.

________________________

Maxine as Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was born July 24th 1897 in Atchison Kansas.  Her parents were Amy and Edwin Earhart. She had a little sister too her name was Muriel.  Amelia took vacations to her grandmothers.

She was a little bit of a tom-boy but not all of her was a tom-boy. She saw her first plane when she was 11; ever since she saw it she was fascinated.  In high school her family had to move a lot so before she could graduate she had gone to 6 different high schools. Later on she became a pilot.  She married Gorge Putnam also a pilot. On her flight around the world her plane crashed and she was never seen again.  Her plane crashed in 1937.

Maxine Tewsley was born on November 12th 2001 in Ann Arbor Michigan. It had been over a century since Amelia was born. Maxine moved when she was 2 years old she moved from a small green house with a large backyard to a big purple house with a small backyard and large stone driveway.  When she was 2 she went to Milan's children nursery.  It was a small school right above of a park. When she was there she met some of her best friends. Soon she started dance.  In 2005 her brother was born her parents named him Alden. Not long after in 2006 her grandpa died.  She is now a competitive dancer.  Her 2010 2011 numbers are Martian hop, Barefoot-en, and Itty Bitty Pretty One.

Both girls had been on a plane but the plane Maxine was on did not take off, however Amelia flew so much.  Amelia's  trips were long and high but Maxine's life took place on the ground not the sky. Amelia's family gave her the money to fly they bought Amelia her first plane. One of Amelia's planes was called lock head Vega.

Both girls had siblings. Maxine had a brother and Amelia had a sister.  Maxine's brother is kind of crazy.  And people don't know about Amelia's sister Muriel.  When Amelia got her plane she gave her sister a big hug.  Maxine's best Christmas present from her family was her DSI. 

Maxine and Amelia had different lifestyles, talents, toys, siblings and parents they had some of the same interests like reading, history and fashion. They would probably love to meet each other.  Both girls had some of the same likes and dislikes. 

A lot of famous people showed up that day....

The Whole Gang

Gertrude Ederle

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Thomas Edison

Alexander Graham Bell

Albert Einstein

Queen Elizzbeth I

Henry Ford

Milton Hershey

Michael Jackson

John Lennon

Abraham Lincoln

Rosa Parks

General George S. Patton

Molly Pitcher

Squanto

Shirley Temple

Sir William Wallace

Martha Washington

Benjamin Franklin

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Betsy Ross

Lucille Ball

Louis Armstrong

School and History

Me as Amelia Earhart

Recently my class did a thing called the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is where each individual in my class chooses a famous person and studies about him or her. After studying we write speeches and dress up in costumes.  Then the whole school comes and listens to us and we stand and give our speeches.  I played Amelia Earhart . Some of the other people who came were, Louie Armstrong, Gertrude Ederle, Squanto, Albert Einstein and Betsy Ross. 

I was watching the News this morning and discovered that people in a different country claim to have found Amelia Earhart's plane in a a cave 250 feet underwater.  

 

My friend Sophie (Gertrude Ederle) & me 

On Friday author Laurie Keller came to my school.  She taught us how to draw some of her favorite characters that she drew in her books.  She taught us how to draw otters from her book, Do Unto Otters and a doughnut from her book Arnie the Doughnut. 

On March 24th  my class is doing a dessert theater for that we will be reading Laurie Keller's Scrambled States of America.  We are doing the Dessert Theater as a fundraiser to raise money for our spring trip to Greenfield Village, where we will spend the day in a school building there and imagine that we are students from along time ago.  You can dress up to look like a pioneer kid.  I am very excited.

It has been a fun school year.