Welcome to the 4th grade Open Court Challenge Project on Matthew Henson. You will be doing research on the life of Matthew Henson- arctic explorer. Please visit and read information from the following web sites about Matthew and all that he accomplished in his life- particularly about his expedition to the North Pole with Robert Peary.

Matthew Henson Research Websites

Project #1
As you are reading about Matthew's life, please write down 10 important events from his life (be sure to include his birth, death and expeditions). You are then going to create a timeline of Matthew's life using the program INSPIRATION. You can access INSPIRATION from any computer in the school by going to the cloud and pulling down to the program. You may also download a free trial version of Inspiration to use at home- go to the Inspiration web site. If you need some help using INSPIRATION please visit this web site- Learning to use Inspiration. I can also help you get started. Please save your completed timeline in your folder on Lincoln.Students. You may also email me your project at mkuntz@op97.org

Project #2
For this part of the project you will create an original IMPORTANT poem about Matthew and his expedition to the North Pole. Use this template to help you organize your thoughts- IMPORTANT TEMPLATE. Type your final poem in Appleworks and save in your Lincoln.Students folder. You may also email me your project at mkuntz@op97.org

Project #3
Why was Matthew Henson so extraordinary as an explorer? What qualities made Matthew a hero and extraordinary? Make a list of the qualities that you think made him extraordinary and rank them according to importance. What people in and around Oak Park have those same qualities? Could be a local pioneers/heroes/explorers or someone from your family. Would that include Frank Lloyd Wright who pioneered a new style of architecture, Percy Julian's children who were the first African Americans at OPRF HS, or Harriet
Robiniet who tries to write thrillers without violence? You decide! When you have selected a person that matches your list of qualities, create an Appleworks file that includes a picture of the person and what makes them so extraordinary. Please save your list of qualities that makes Matthew Henson so special and your person so special in Lincoln.Students. You may also email me your project at mkuntz@op97.org

Project #4
For your last project, please select one of the following:

*you can update the Matthew Henson stamp from 1986- create your own stamp honoring Matthew and his accomplishments- you may want to include those qualities that made his great! Create this using Appleworks Drawing and save in your Lincoln.Students folder. Please include a written explanation to go along with your project- a paragraph that explains what you did and the importance of this to Matthew Henson's life. You may also email me your project at mkuntz@op97.org

*or you can create a new item to include in the Matthew Henson museum- honoring his accomplishements. This can be a small sculpture, a drawing, a painting, a comic strip detailing his arctic adventures or a slideshow about his life and adventures- there are many possibilities. Please include a written explanation to go along with your project- a paragraph that explains what you did and the importance of this to Matthew Henson's life. You may also email me your project at mkuntz@op97.org

Please save your completed projects in your folder on Lincoln.Students.