Youngsters convey history through music

Dec. 22—HERMITAGE — As the students gathered onstage to sing different carols, some sounded familiar such as "Silent Night," while others carried a familiar tune — such as "O Tannenbaum," but were sung in German.

The sometimes-multilingual songs were just one part of the holiday program "A Christmas Truce," performed by the fourth-graders of Ionta Elementary School in Hermitage, and told the story of the Christmas truce of 1914.

As the holiday season came during the first year of World War I, soldiers from both sides stopped the fighting for their own separate Christmas celebrations — eventually meeting in the middle of No Man's Land, if only temporarily, to celebrate together.

"They were able to stop fighting because they all missed their families," said fourth-grader Xander Collar, who added that he enjoys seeing his own family during the holidays.

Throughout the show, the students sang songs, sometimes in English or German, and read letters written by soldiers to their families, describing the unusual Christmas truce as soldiers met and talked with their opponents about jobs, relatives and why they had to fight.

"The soldiers could see they were people, too, and they were all cold and in the mud," fellow fourth-grader Kaden Yasnowski said.

Teacher Kristin Malenky, who joined the district last school year, said she wanted to reintroduce a musical program into the fourth grade due to the gap between musical programs offered in the Artman Elementary School through third grade, and the musical programs offered in fifth and sixth grades in the Delahunty Middle School.

Malenky credited Ionta Elementary School's Music Teacher Mary Rumelfanger for her support toward developing "A Christmas Truce," and added that there was also an educational aspect aside from just singing.

This includes an English and language arts element to the show, which Malenky referred to as a "reader's theater," since the students practice reading, fluency and public speaking, since the students are reading the letters to their friends and relatives.

"It's not just reading, you have to read it like you're the person who wrote it," said fourth-grader Owen Raatz, whose turn at reading a letter included a stanza of "Silent Night" in German.

Since Malenky teaches both English and social studies, she was also able to incorporate a history lesson for the students, utilizing the book "Truce" by Jim Murphy.

Although World War I is not normally covered at the fourth-grade level, Malenky said the students learned about the impromptu Christmas truce of 1914 that sprung up between soldiers from both sides, particularly the British and German soldiers.

"We really just skimmed the surface in terms of the truce's connection to history, but the kidsreally learned how you can empathize with others since all of the soldiers had families back home," Malenky said.

"A Christmas Truce" also tied in with the district's Character Strong program, which addresses some of the social and emotional learning that was lost during periods of remote learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part of the Character Strong program involves learning different qualities per month, including "gratitude" for November and "empathy" in December — both of which were incorporated into the show, Malenky said.

While the students learned about empathy through the soldiers' peaceful interactions during the Christmas truce, the students also wrote letters of gratitude toward current or former teachers, and what specifically the teachers did that the students were thankful for, Malenky said.

"They would work with you to make sure you understood and they'd ask you if you were having any trouble," fourth grader Aubri Manganello said of her favorite teachers.

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Like David L. Dye on Facebook or email him at ddye@sharonherald.com.