Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...

Help learners discover more about their backgrounds. This family history activity includes links to sites about heraldry and family names. Begin by sharing your family history with the class and then allow students to do some internet...

Students investigate inspirational figures by researching Helen Keller.  For this biography lesson, students utilize the Internet to take notes about the life of Helen Keller.  Students complete a biography question worksheet...

Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...

Every child is an author with this engaging reading activity. First the class reviews the various parts of a book such as the title, author, dedication, and author-biography. Then each individual will choose a story of their...

In this engaging activity involving close analysis of abstract expressionist art, your class members will not only discover more about artist Friz Scholder's Native American art, but they will also have the opportunity to consider...

Students integrate Author and Biography study with Students personal perspective. They make connections between research and creative writing. Students enrich research and critical thinking skills. They encourage students to think about...

Despite the slightly off-putting title, the instructions and activities detailed in these project guidelines for researching a noteworthy figure will serve as a fantastic supplement to your next famous person research...

Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...

Art history projects can be a lot of fun. Budding art historians research the life, art, and times of Pablo Picasso, visit the local art museum, and create a multimedia presentation showcasing his art and personal history. Handouts,...

Teams select a society to investigate and create a chart comparing and contrasting the status of girls in that society with their own. They then craft and illustrate a personal narrative written from the point of view of a girl living in...

Elementary schoolers learn about young John F. Kennedy. After a teacher-led discussion about his high school years, pupils examine a photograph of Kennedy and four of his friends taken on the grounds of the Choate School in Connecticut....

Eighth graders identify the impact of the political and social changes in North Carolina after the Civil War. Using their text, they explain the role of agriculture, textile and tobacco in the area and how it helped economically develop...

Students interview another student using a twenty question format and write a three-part biography of that person. They create a collage representing the person they interviewed.

Students explore U.S. history by researching famous Americans. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson plan, students read portions of a biography about Franklin and identify his position within U.S. politics and as a leader in the battle for...

Designed specifically for lower elementary pupils, this is a great biographical research project in which students research a famous American, and then design creative poster boards to help them "become" the famous...

Fidel Castro was the iconic leader of Cuba. Yet, individuals may know little about the man or his motivations. In an engaging Web quest activity, scholars investigate Castro's political aspirations and his more ephemeral personal life...

Students study about George Washington Bush and write a biography about him in a small group. To gain a better understanding of him, they listen to a biography on a tape about him. They visit various sites about him to help them examine...

The Holocaust is the focus of this interactive poetry strategy. The classroom will be set-up to remind students of the Secret Annex, with a table, lamp, and various other props. Each participant will receive 3  Saltine crackers and...

In this aviation lesson, young scholars research Charles Augustus Lindbergh and other early aviators and their flying machines. They then write a letter to one of the aviators asking questions about the mechanics of flight and their...

Students discover the impact "Lady Bird" Johnson had on America by reading a short biography.  For this historical persons lesson, students read a multi page biography of the former first lady and write a summary of her life's work....

Here is a good interdisciplinary project that combines creative and narrative writing with studies of the Holocaust. Your young historians will compose a diary of experiences from the perspective of an individual living during the time...

Explore the abundance of spring, no matter what season you are covering in your class! Using the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, GALE Biography Resource Center, and Litfinder, pupils work on researching the poet and analyzing the use of...