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South Range students study, impersonate Hall of Fame inductees
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South Range seventh-grader Chris Herubin plays the guitar Tuesday while in character as Tom Petty. All seventh-graders researched projects about musicians who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.
South Range students study, impersonate Hall of Fame inductees
GREENFORD
A singer from ABBA, The Beatles and Rod Stewart were just a few of the many rock ’n’ roll legends portrayed by students at South Range Middle School on Tuesday.
South Range seventh-graders dressed up and gave first-person speeches as famous musicians for the finale of the project in which they researched the life and times of honorees inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.
Zoey Novak donned a sequined headband, feather boa and blue iridescent pants with a matching tank top to represent the Swedish pop group, ABBA.
“I didn’t know much about them, but my mom watched the movie ‘Mamma Mia!’ and she told me most of the songs in it are by ABBA,” Zoey said.
She and other students filled the school gym and stood still next to their posters, like statues in a wax museum, and “came alive” with a first-person speech when elementary and middle-school students visited their stations.
Jacob Stellers strummed a guitar and wore a suit for his presentation about The Beatles.
“I chose The Beatles because they started the British invasion before The Who and Rolling Stones came to the U.S. I learned there were originally five Beatles and then one quit and later died and then another was replaced with Ringo Starr,” Jacob said.
Michele McCaughtry, who teaches language arts, oversaw the students’ research projects. The only stipulation for students was choosing an artist who was inducted into the rock hall, to which students took a field trip May 31.
“This is a nontraditional way of showing off their research,” McCaughtry said.
Each student was required to create a poster with a time line and musical file about the artist and write a first-person speech in the voice of the performer.
Students also had to research the time period when the musicians were at the height of their career and drew album covers for their artists in art class, she said.
The day closed for students with a performance by bands No Clue and Eclipse, both of whose members are South Range students.
McCaughtry said the project also brought together students and parents.
“Maybe they didn’t know the musician but it opened communication up with parents and the whole family,” she said.
That was true for Randy Skripac, who spent the day dressed as Rod Stewart.
“I chose Rod Stewart because I like his raspy voice and he’s one of my mom’s favorite singers. ... He goes from hard rock to almost disco,” Randy said.
He looked up pictures of Stewart online and focused on making his hair identical to Stewart’s.
“I used a lot of hair spray to make my hair look like this,” he said with a laugh as he held up a can of hair spray.