How did Michelangelo feel? SJA students get hands-on for Renaissance project

Published 12:03 am Saturday, September 2, 2017

LAPLACE — The seventh grade students at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School studied the Renaissance as part of their World History class with Ryan Flynn.

As they were completing the unit on this time period, they experienced a little of what Michelangelo must have felt as he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The underneath surfaces of their desks became ceilings as they drew depictions of something they learned about the Renaissance while lying on their backs.

Some of them engineered scaffolds of books and school bags to help them reach the “ceilings” as they drew. The challenges Michelangelo faced as he painted in that position for almost four years became evident quickly.

Some students chose a pivotal person from the Renaissance time line and created Twitter feeds as that person, reporting on “Michelangelo’s” progress.