Fifth-graders at Gettysburg Elementary in Clovis didn't just learn about history on Thursday morning -- they lived it.
The living history lesson was to demonstrate what life was like for American Plains Indians and pioneer settlers in the 1840s. Teacher Mike Murphy organized the daylong experience. Students wore period clothes, built teepees, used tools and weapons from the time and cooked a lunch of stew -- helped by parents and staff members -- in cast-iron pots. Chuck Streeper, a history re-enactor from Visalia, led the students through various exercises.