JACKSON STUDENTS SAY, `SHOW ME'

Fourth-graders at West Lane Elementary were among those marking Missouri Day Wednesday.

The students were given a whirlwind tour and an audio and visual history of their state right from the comfortable confines of the Jackson elementary school.

Among the various presentations made during the morning program were a slide show presentation on the life and career and President Harry S. Truman, another on the construction of the Arch at the Jefferson Expansion Memorial Park in St. Louis, another on Tom Sawyer and the writings of Missouri author Mark Twain and a demonstration of stream erosion and presentation on the state's streams.

"It's a yearly program that we do here," said West Lane Elementary fourth-grade teacher Christina Ludwig. "A few years ago we had a teacher who was very interested in putting a program together and, of course, many of the other teachers were also interested. We knew the program would be a lot of work but we split Missouri into eight regions and each of the eight fourth-grade teachers was responsible for putting together a program relating to the region.

The program is particularly appropriate for the students because it allows them to kickoff their study of Missouri's history. Ludwig said that the Show-Me State's past is the focus of much of the history studied by Jackson fourth-graders.

"I think the fourth-graders thoroughly enjoyed the program because it was something different from the norm and it's kind of a nice kickoff of Missouri history because it gives us some things that we can relate back to all through the year," she said.