Second-graders got a glimpse of the project they will undertake next year when they study the Native American social studies unit, and if the past decade is any indication, current grandparent Richard Chiaramonte will be on hand to assist with any necessary wigwam building.

Four groups of third-graders presented Native American projects today that showcased their knowledge of the culture and came complete with large-scale visuals including totem poles, tepees, and pueblos – also known as adobe houses!

Mr. Chiaramonte, whose grandsons are Austin and Michael DiMartino, a senior and junior respectively, has been lending a carpentry-skilled hand to the third-grade classes on this project for the past 10 years (ever since Austin was in third-grade and tackled the Native American unit).

This year’s assist came in the form of wigwam building – specifically, the frame of the structure, the pieces of which he constructed at home. A follow-up visit to Linae Schroeder and Joan Aceto’s third-grade classroom entailed a discussion with students on materials we have today versus those available to Native Americans hundreds of years ago and a Construction 101 lesson to direct students on tying the wigwam’s hoop pieces together and other building elements.

“Over the years we’ve found a way to work with the kids,” said Mr. Chiaramonte, a former wood working teacher. “One year we tried to incorporate bark into the wigwam, but it didn’t work out.”

According to Mrs. Schroeder, the entire project takes “a village” – tribe?!

Students gather facts and also spend class time assembling the visual elements of their presentations. In the case of the totem pole, cardboard boxes had to be painted and illustrated and carefully constructed on top of one another.

“We didn’t make a dwelling like the other groups,” said third-grader Maya Swain. “We made a totem pole.”

Each group was responsible for presenting details about four Native American tribes: the Hopi, Pequot, Sioux, and Tlingit. Facts included where they lived, what they ate, and other interesting items – such as the fact that the Sioux were the “first ones to have horses,” according to Saleem Khan.

Presentations were then made to the second-grade class, which also had an opportunity to ask questions of their third-grade peers. Also helping coordinate the day’s presentations were second-grade teachers Lisa Collins and Sandy Cunningham.

“This project is a little bit of an introduction for the second-graders and it gives the third-grade kids a chance to display what they’ve learned because they have a test on this tomorrow,” explained Mrs. Schroeder.

Mrs. Schroeder further noted that both Austin and Michael DiMartino were invited to return to their former third-grade classroom earlier in the week in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their grandfather’s support of the project.