43
Learning history: It’s magic
The Magic of Ohio
Video
Photo
Jim Kleefeld gives photos of Ohios 8 presidents to Allison Cooper 4th grader as part of his THE MAGIC OF OHIO show to CH Campbell in Canfield.
By Elise Franco
CANFIELD — Fourth-graders at C.H. Campbell Elementary believe in magic.
Jim Kleefeld paired magic tricks with history lessons for pupils during his Magic of Ohio program Wednesday afternoon.
He said the program, which he created and has been performing full time for 10 years, is based on historical aspects of Ohio.
“My goal was to present fun and interesting concepts of Ohio in a light and lively way,” said Kleefeld, who taught for Cleveland public schools for 30 years.
Kleefeld performs basic magic tricks using educational props as a way to keep pupils entertained while teaching.
“I took my kids to assemblies all the time, and most were dull and a waste of time,” he said. “I wanted to create an assembly program that was different.”
Kleefeld discussed the eight U.S. presidents who were born in Ohio, as well as the state bird, flower, insect and flag.
Pupils said their favorite part of the assembly was interacting and being a part of the magic.
Allyson Cooper, 10, was asked to be a part of a guessing-game trick Kleefeld performed.
“The magic was really cool,”Allyson said.
She said one of her favorite tricks was when Kleefeld waved his wand over a rubber ball so that it didn’t bounce.
He was teaching the children about vulcanized rubber, which was invented by Charles Goodyear.
In 1843, he discovered that if you removed the sulphur from rubber and then heated it, it would retain its elasticity yet be waterproof.
Before Goodyear, in other words: No bouncing rubber ball.
“I really liked learning about the rubber and what made it bounce,” Allyson said.
Jessica Meissner, 9, said she’s interested in Ohio’s history.
“I like learning about the cool stuff in Ohio,” she said. “And I liked all the magic tricks he did.”
The program takes Kleefeld all over Ohio, as well as parts of Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Michigan.
Diane Tuchek, fourth-grade math teacher, said Principal Kent Polen decided to bring Kleefeld in after discovering the program follows fourth-grade social studies standards for Ohio.
Kleefeld, of Avon, said he purposely gears his program toward what pupils are already learning in class at the fourth-grade level.
“I couple that with magic tricks, and the kids seem to love it,” he said.
Tuchek said the program is especially beneficial to C.H. Campbell fourth-graders.
“Our whole unit is Ohio’s history,” she said. “We cover the Ice Age and how it changed the land in Ohio, up through present day.”
Tuchek said Magic of Ohio is different from how pupils are used to learning, and that’s a good thing.
“For a child, it’s a new way of learning, and it’s presented in an exciting way,” she said. “It’s nice that he can pull in the facts like that ... with a little bit of fun and a whole lot of knowledge.”