A Learning Links grant provided by the Ben W. and Dixie Glenn Farthing Charitable Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina will help Saluda Elementary fourth graders learn more about science, reading and social studies.
The $600 grant awarded to fourth grade teacher Stephanie Uhrich, in conjunction with a grant from the Tryon Fine Arts Center, will be used to fund the Serafina and the Shadow Puppet Theater, Science and Social Studies Project.
As part of the project, students will visit the Biltmore House in Asheville, the setting for the Serafina book series authored by Robert Beatty.
Hobey Ford, an award-winning performer internationally renowned in the puppetry field and a Kennedy Center Partner in Education teaching artist, will come to Saluda Elementary and teach students how to create puppets. These puppets will be used to teach reading strategies, increase comprehension of complex texts and assist in introducing the topic of light in science.
In addition, the students will experience “Do the Wave,” a program that teaches that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object. Students will investigate reflection, refraction and absorption during this program.
