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Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USW3-039101-D].
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1. When writing a biography, the author might prefer to interview his or her subject in order to glean personal viewpoints, experiences and anecdotes. However, many biographies aren't written until after the subject's death, when information must be based on speculation, personal papers, newspaper accounts and interviews with relatives.
Have you ever read an account of another person's life? Why do you think the subject was chosen as the focus of a book? What made his or her life interesting?
Based on a topic recently discussed in class, ask students to select a little-known personality to explore. Encourage students to use the library, archives, local or state historical society and the Internet to locate primary and secondary materials about the subject's life. Instead of writing a report, have students prepare a timeline, and provide a bibliography of available source materials such as published books, diaries and personal papers, newspaper articles, photographs and Web sites.
Find out what it takes to write a biography in:
"Biographies: Creating Timelines of a Life" (3-5) from ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English
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"Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce and the Unreliable Biographers" (9-12) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities
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"More Amazing Americans: A WebQuest" (3-5) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities
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© MCI Foundation
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2. Two hundred years ago this spring, Meriweather Lewis was in Philadelphia, studying and preparing for his famous expedition westward, for which he enlisted William Clark to be his traveling companion. Lewis studied botany, medicine and celestial navigation, and Clark was a skilled riverman, a geographer, and a first-rate map maker.
Do you like to travel? Have you been to a different state, or even a different country? How did you get there -- by car, bus, boat, airplane or another mode of transportation? Where is your favorite place to visit?
Depending on the traveling experiences of your students, supply them with a map of your town, state or country. (State and country maps are available through Xpeditions' Atlas.) Have students plot areas they've visited in the past. Where would they like to visit in the future? What should they do to prepare for a visit to that location? What can they expect to find when they arrive? Ask students to bring in photographs of past trips, or magazine clippings of future trips to create a geographical scrapbook.
Learn about yourself by studying your surroundings in:
"Traveling Along: Measuring and Mapping" (K-2) from Illuminations, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
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"Travels of Ibn Battuta" (3-5) from Xpeditions, National Geographic Society
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3. In today's economy, many people are finding it necessary to look for jobs that might differ from their idea of a "perfect career." Their resumes often resemble mini-biographies, detailing where they've been and for how long, and what they learned along the way.
What are some of the jobs that your parents or relatives do? Why do they work at these jobs? What kinds of goods and services do they provide? What special skills do they need?
Ask students to pretend they have to apply for "positions" in the next grade level for the fall. Invite the principal or a teacher from the next grade level to speak to the class about what they can expect to learn in their new position. Then, ask students to list the skills they learned over the past school year, and how they can use those skills toward what they likely will learn next year.
Learn about your classmates in:
"Groups We Belong To" (K-2) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science
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"Uses of Numbers" (K-8) from Illuminations, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
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"What Do You Want to Be?" (K-2) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education
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4. Johann Sebastian Bach was born March 21, 1685, in Germany. The son of a town musician, Bach studied the keyboard and violin, and used his skills to write church music and concertos. Bach was a devout family man, and happily spent his life creating elegant music for the harpsichord and organ.
Listen to some recordings of symphonies, concertos and songs composed by various musicians from various time periods. What instruments do you hear? What kinds of emotions are expressed? Can you determine the temperament of the musician by listening to his or her music?
Identify instruments that express strong emotions. (For example, a flute can signify playfulness, while a cello can express sadness or despair.) Ask students to describe an important event in their life, and to select an instrument that would help explain the event.
Put a soundtrack to your life in:
"Middle School Orchestra: Studying J.S. Bach" (6-8) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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