
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 13, 1994                   TAG: 9405130111
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AT ADDISON, IT'S A SMALL WORLD, AFTER ALL

Ten years ago, Sima Gill left her home in India to come to the United States with her family. They moved to Roanoke because they had relatives in Western Virginia.

Gill, a seventh-grader at Addison Middle School, has not been back to India since she left. Although she likes Roanoke, she would like to see her homeland and may visit India this summer.

When she had to select a topic for a report and exhibit for Addison's social studies fair this year, it was natural that she chose India.

Gill, 13, spent several weeks preparing her report and an exhibit that includes shoes and clothing from India and pictures of the country.

Her exhibit is among more 200 that fill the gymnasium at Addison for the social studies fair. The written reports and exhibits range from rap music in the 1990s to pyramids in Egypt.

Beth Obenchain, a seventh-grade teacher of English and language arts, said some students have been working on the projects since January.

Obenchain said a social studies fair is similar to a science fair: The students are required to do their own research and design their exhibits. They chose their topics, but they had to get clearance from their teacher to avoid duplications.

Some students prepared reports on famous athletes past and present, such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Joe Louis.

The students could do research in humanities, world culture, biographies, government, world history, American history, economics or geography.

Several focused on historic events and people such as World War I, World War II, the Holocaust, Anne Frank, Charles Lindbergh and Pearl Harbor.

Many students built their exhibits and reports around black leaders and culture, including rap music, black history, Malcolm X and slavery.

There were also some lighter topics.

One student did a report and exhibit on the history of fly fishing. Another researched the history of basketball.

Obenchain said there were twice as many exhibits this year as in the first fair last year.

by CNB