Rationing depicts World War II era at Mill Creek

“The Great Ration Experiment” flashed back to World War II lifestyles when sixth-graders at Mill Creek Elementary School lived by rationing for a week.

Teacher Amber Merrill made “history seem more intriguing by putting students in the shoes of the people who lived it.” Her goals were to waste less, appreciate more and develop camaraderie.

Their slogan was “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.” Merrill “seized the chance to give students a glimpse into what scarcity really was like.”

Propaganda posters, like Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter, provided “a lesson by themselves,” Merrill said.

Their first task was removing all desks and chairs. Students sat in the floor, unless they ‘bought’ a desk with ration stamps.

Students organized in four-member ‘families’ with the decade’s most popular surnames. Step Two was moving all consumables out of students’ reach. Merrill relocated her desk “to block possible black-market dealers.”

“We established a general goods store and determined prices,” Merrill said. “I set prices high purposely so they had to be smart in their decision-making.”

Students created ration booklets, mimicking two authentic booklets that belonged to Merrill’s great-grandfather. Students received two ration pages, each with 48 stamps.

Merrill also limited merchandise quantity but planned activities requiring ‘goods,’ like pencils, scissors and rulers. Students had to pay a gas ration for library or bathroom trips. One class asked to ‘carpool’ to the bathroom for optimum rationing.

Some students immediately wanted to buy ‘expensive’ items, like a locker or backpack, without consulting their family. Other families pooled their rationed resources. “Some hoarded their stamps compulsively,” Merrill said.

One family had a “falling out,” arguing about who owned their desk: the family or the student who bought it.

“You may wonder what I rationed to show solidarity with my students,” Merrill said. “I didn’t use my SmartBoard at all to teach.”

In addition, Merrill’s students created radio news broadcasts in first-person accounts of the era’s events.

Madison

MVP names Madison Visionary Award recipients

Bob Jones High School

Local Talent Shines In Alabama Baseball Victory At Toyota Field

Bob Jones High School

Bartlett selected as Executive Director of US Chess Federation

Madison

Mill Creek students shine in Elementary Science Olympiad

Madison

Facility dog Daryl comforts, ‘listens’ to children at Midtown elementary

Madison

Batt-Rawden named ‘Alabama School Psychologist of the Year’

Madison

Madison city councilman Teddy Powell loses to Marilyn Lands in special election for HD10

Bob Jones High School

Bob Jones’ population fondly remembers Angela Mooney

Digital Version

Digital version of The Madison Record – March 27, 2024

Events

AUSA showcasing the U.S. Army’s technological advances in Huntsville

Madison

Voters in HD10 to decide who fills unexpired term today

Madison

Jackie Smith’s legacy thrives through her students at Mill Creek

Harvest

AUSA sponsors ‘Operation Deploy Your Dress’ for women’s gowns

Bob Jones High School

Bob Jones ‘fetches’ ‘Mean Girls – High School Version’ for Spring Musical

Events

Arts Huntsville announces Panoply Arts Festival 2024 highlights  

Huntsville

Women in Tech – Huntsville event to view business future, open scholarships

James Clemens High School

Students in grades K-11 earn City Chess Champ titles

Madison

MVP Community Impact Grant helps library’s Music Garden

Harvest

Enjoy a day of celebration at TARCOG’s Senior Fun Fest

Madison

Kim Dykes named state’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication Professional

Bob Jones High School

All-Girls National Chess Championships set for Chicago

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Mustang Mud Run Set For April 13- Register Now

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Madison Miracle League Facility Hopes To Be “Shining” Location

Bob Jones High School

Madison Visionary Awards: Madison residents and business leaders named finalists for volunteerism awards

x