For the past couple months my 3rd/4th grade group and I have been knee-deep in Marianne Moore's novel, "The Sixty-Eight Rooms." This book unravels a magical mystery set in the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Chicago Art Institute.
Narcissa Niblack Thorne is the designer of the Thorne Miniature Rooms. When exploring these dollhouse sized rooms it is like time-traveling through history. Each room depicts a time period, and Marianna Moore did a great job adding a sprinkle of make-believe to each of the rooms through her story. The rooms feel like bite-sized history lessons wrapped in a dash of fantasy.
As we cracked open the book, we didn't just stick to decoding the characters and unraveling the plot. We took a detour through the Thorne Rooms, hopping from one era to another. The kids were hooked. Class always seemed to end with them begging for more!
On December 11th, we took a field trip to the Art Institute in Chicago. The Thorne Miniature Rooms, which were just pixels on a screen before, became a real-life adventure. The kids were captivated, spotting the tiny details they'd read about in the story. It was like watching the story unfold right in front of them.
Now that we have read the book and seen these incredible rooms firsthand, they have become mini-architects and historians. They picked a time period, dove into the nitty-gritty of research, and now they're creating their very own Thorne Room. These kids are crafting little masterpieces bringing history and their own sprinkle of fantasy to their designs.
This journey isn't just about reading and regurgitating facts. It's about immersing ourselves in history and creativity. I love seeing their young minds take what they've learned from their reading, research, and exploration and applying if firsthand through a hands-on project. The Thorne Rooms aren't just static displays; they're gateways that have let this group become history enthusiasts and storytellers.
Take a look at our trip to the Art Institute (below):
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