Fifth grade students at Deauville Gardens West Elementary School looked at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade differently this year. They recently discussed “Balloons Over Broadway,” a story that tells the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The students discovered how Tony Sarg evolved from being a puppeteer to inventing the first balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

After listening to the story, the fifth graders were inspired by Sarg and evolved from students to researchers and artists. They studied Sarg’s history and researched this year’s parade. They made their own flyers about the parade and included information such as who is hosting and performing, what channel to watch it on, the various types of floats and the parade route. The students also created window displays, marionettes, puppet scenes and balloons. To conclude the lesson, the class conducted a science experiment showing how helium needs weight to stop it from rising.