Making history

His students hit the books – and write them

NOT MANY 12-year-olds can say they are published authors.

But students of history teacher Carl Ballenas helped write three books on Queens.

“Imagine them going on college interviews and being able to say they contributed to a book that you can find in the Library of Congress,” said Ballenas, who teaches at the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica Estates.

Ballenas (inset) shares his enthusiasm for history with his young students, engaging them through a series of hands-on and research projects that range from creating life-sized mummies to foraging in their own backyards as hunters and gatherers.

“Kids are bombarded with visuals — videos and games,” said Ballenas, who also works on historic preservation as part of the Richmond Hill Historical Society and the Friends of Maple Grove cemetery. “Every year, I try to find something new and something different that will spark their interest.”

The fifth- and sixth-grade teacher’s extraordinary efforts to bring history to life for students has earned him a nomination for a Daily News Hometown Heroes in Education award.

People throughout the five boroughs are nominating teachers, principals and staffers who go beyond their job descriptions to make a difference in the lives of city students.

Winners will be selected by a panel of esteemed judges and celebrated at a star-studded breakfast on Oct. 1

Ballenas’ love of history and teaching goes back to his childhood in Richmond Hill, where he would conduct his own “classes” for playmates.

He has led students in the school’s Aquinas Honor Society on several ambitious projects — including the three books, through Arcadia Publishing. His students were distressed to hear there was no memorial to the 38 people killed in a noontime bombing on Wall St. in 1920. But research showed one victim, Rudolf Portong, was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens. The kids are planning a memorial to mark the anniversary in September and are inviting the community.

“This brings history to life, grabs hold of them and opens their eyes,” Ballenas said. “They become teachers themselves and teach the community.”