CRESTVIEW — Liz Bears’ students at Walker Elementary School knew they were in for a different kind of year when they saw an armored knight beside the door.
“Our room was decorated like a castle,” Bears said, noting how she set the tone for Middle Ages-themed lessons. “We read books about castles and other books set in that time frame.”
“Our room was decorated like a castle,” Bears said. “We read books about castles and other books set in that time frame.”
Throughout the year, Bears awarded the kids a jewel for each 100 earned on a test or project. To prepare for year-end jousting, the jewels added dazzle to students’ hand-crafted shields.
“It was a great motivator because they could really see their progress,” Bears said. “Each student made their own shield. They picked the shapes and the symbols.”
Foam swimming pool noodles made safe lances for the mounted competitors, who charged aboard their steeds — another foam pool noodle with a paper bag horse’s head on one end — toward the target.
“We set water bottles on a bench,” Bears said. “They stood at poles, then we’d blow an actual ram’s horn and they’d ride their noodle horses to a bottle and try to knock it off the bench. It was a lot of fun. They were so cute.”
Students wrapped up the school year by taking a final tally of how much reading each accomplished.
Between them, they discovered they had read more than 4.5 million words, with the top reader reading about 700,700 words.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fair sport occurs for Walker knights and dames