A challenging lesson: Sixth graders delve in to Armenian Genocide
Recently, sixth graders had an opportunity to share their knowledge about a horrific period in history. The students had done weeks of research, wrote papers and even created a website so they could share the information they had learned. In addition, students shared their work in presentations to parents and friends.
Each year sixth graders at Pocantico engage in a weeks-long research project where they delve into the Armenian refugee crisis in the early part of the last century and its aftermath. The class visits the nearby Rockefeller Archive Center where part of their research included looking and studying primary sources, including letters and newspaper articles.
The Armenian Genocide resulted in the estimated death of between 600,000 and more than a million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The Near East Relief Foundation was established in 1915 to aid the humanitarian crisis suffered by the Armenian people.
“It looked interesting,” noted Selen, explaining her reaction to working with primary sources, a new experience for her and her classmates.
Selen said what she found the most fascinating in her research are the number of refugees who were saved by the Near East Relief Foundation.
“It was a new experience,” Sofia said of the project. “It’s unusual,” she added about being able to use the resources available at the archive center.
This year the information students had available to them was a bit different than in past years, said Sona Viola, Director and Curator at the Near East Relief Historical Society. This year, students were introduced to archival posters, which Ms. Viola said added a hands-on element to the students’ research.
Initially, Ms. Viola said, students are intimidated with the material, but as they learn literacy skills and sharpen their research skills, they begin to feel more comfortable and begin to make connections.
“It will take them far in their education,” she said of how this type of project will benefit students.
Archer said when she was first assigned the project, she thought it was going to be interesting.
“It was like so cool they had posters, all of them from more than one hundred years ago,” she said, adding that she also enjoyed doing the research with her friends.
Her favorite part, however, was putting together a website that she created on her own to share the information she had researched and learned.
Riley said the project was an emotional one. First, they learned about what happened during the Armenian genocide, which she said was very sad. However, that was balanced by the work the Near East Foundation did to help and develop a solution for the refugees.
“It made me reflect on it more,” Riley said.