TOPANGA CANYON : 5th-Graders Give School Parting Gift

Graduating fifth-graders at Topanga Elementary School put the finishing touches on a volleyball court-sized map of the United States on the playground blacktop Tuesday, a project teachers hope will help students learn as they play.

The map, painted between two kick-ball courts, “will help the younger kids learn to identify the states while they’re playing outside,” said Kay Price, one of the fifth-grade teachers whose students worked on the project.

Each of the school’s 46 fifth-graders painted a state, labeled with its abbreviation, during the past two weeks of morning social studies classes. The map is a parting gift from the graduating students to the school.

Several parents helped chart the map with grids before the painting began. Local businesses chipped in to help purchase $300 worth of paint and other supplies, Price said.