Assignment Biography: Student Criteria and Rubric for Writing

Researching an Individual Aligned to Common Core Writing Standards

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  • M.A., English, Western Connecticut State University
  • B.S., Education, Southern Connecticut State University

The genre of  biography can also be categorized in the sub-genre of  narrative nonfiction/historical nonfiction. When a teacher assigns a biography as a writing assignment, the purpose is to have a student utilize multiple research tools to gather and to synthesize information that may be used as evidence in a written report about an individual. The evidence gained from research can include a person’s words, actions, journals, reactions, related books, interviews with friends, relatives, associates, and enemies. The historical context is equally important. Since there are people who have influenced every academic discipline, assigning a biography can be a cross-disciplinary or inter-disciplinary writing assignment. 

Middle and high school teachers should allow students to have a choice in selecting the subject for a biography. Providing student choice, particularly for students in grades 7-12, increases their engagement and their motivation especially if students select individuals they care about. Students would find it difficult to write about a person they do not like. Such an attitude compromises the process of researching and writing the biography.

According to by Judith L. Irvin, Julie Meltzer and Melinda S. Dukes in their book  Taking Action on Adolescent Literacy:

"As humans, we are motivated to engage when we are interested or have real purpose for doing so. So motivation to engage [students] is the first step on the road to improving literacy habits and skills" (Chapter 1).

Students should find at least three different sources (if possible) to make sure the biography is accurate. A good biography is well-balanced and objective. That means if there is disagreement between sources, the student can use the evidence to state that there is a conflict.  Students should know that a good biography is more than a timeline of events in a person's life.

The context of a person's life is important. Students should include information about the historical time period in which a subject lived and did her/his work. 

In addition, the student should have a purpose for researching another person's life. For example, the purpose for a student to research and write a biography can be in a response to the prompt:

"How does this writing this biography help me to understand the influence of this person on history, and quite possibly, this person's impact on me?"

The following standards-based criteria and scoring rubrics can be used to grade a student-selected biography. Both criteria and rubrics should be given to students before they begin their work. 

Criteria for a Student Biography aligned to Common Core State Standards

A General Outline for Biography Details

  • Birthdate /Birthplace
  • Death (if applicable).
  • Family Members.
  • Miscellaneous (religion, titles, etc).

Education/Influences

  • Schooling.Training.
  • Work Experiences.
  • Contemporaries/Relationships.

Accomplishments/  Significance

  • Evidence of major accomplishments.
  • Evidence of minor accomplishments (if relevant).
  • The analysis that supports why the individual was worthy of note in their field of expertise during his or her life.
  • Analysis why this individual is worthy of note in their field of expertise today.

Quotes/Publications

  • Statements made.
  • Works published.

Biography Organization using the CCSS Anchor Writing Standards 

  • Transitions are effective in assisting the reader to understand shifts.
  • Ideas within each paragraph are fully developed.
  • Each point is supported by evidence.
  • All evidence is relevant.  
  • Important terms are explained to the reader.
  • Purpose of each paragraph (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion) is clear.  
  • Clear relationship between topic sentence(s) and paragraph(s) that came before is evident.

Grading Rubric: Holistic Standards with Letter Grade Conversions

(based on extended response Smarter Balanced Assessment writing rubric)

Score: 4 or Letter Grade: A

Student response is a thorough elaboration of the support/evidence on the topic (individual) including the effective use of source material. The response clearly and effectively develops ideas, using precise language:

  • Comprehensive evidence (facts and details) from source materials are integrated.
  • Relevant, and specific clear citations or attribution to source materials.
  • Effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques.
  • Vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose. 
  • Effective, appropriate style enhances content.

Score: 3  Letter Grade: B

Student response is an adequate elaboration of the support/evidence in the biography that includes the use of source materials. The student response adequately develops ideas, employing a mix of precise and more general language:  

  • Adequate evidence (facts and details) from the source materials is integrated and relevant, yet the evidence and explanation may be general.
  • Adequate use of citations or attribution to the source material.  
  • Adequate use of some elaborative techniques.
  • Vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose.
  • The style is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose.

Score: 2 Letter Grade: C

Student response is uneven with a cursory elaboration of the support/evidence in the biography that includes the uneven or limited use of source material. The student response develops ideas unevenly, using simplistic language:

  • Some evidence (facts and details) from the source materials may be weakly integrated, imprecise, repetitive, vague, and/or copied.
  • Weak use of citations or attribution to source materials.
  • Weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques.
  • Development may consist primarily of source summaries.
  • Vocabulary use is uneven or somewhat ineffective for the audience and purpose.
  • Inconsistent or weak attempt to create the appropriate style.

Score: 1 Letter Grade: D

Student response provides a minimal elaboration of the support/evidence in the biography that includes little or no use of source material. The student response is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing:

  • Evidence (facts and details) from the source material is minimal, irrelevant, absent, incorrectly used. 
  • Insufficient use of citations or attribution to the source material.
  • Minimal, if any, use of elaborative techniques.
  • Vocabulary is limited or ineffective for the audience and purpose.
  • Little or no evidence of appropriate style.
  • Insufficient or plagiarized (copied without credit) text.
  • Off-topic. 
  • Off-purpose.
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201+ Creative Biography Project Ideas For School Students

biography project ideas

Biography is a subject that opens a gateway to the intricate narratives of human lives, inviting us to explore the fascinating stories that shape our world. In this blog, we dive into the realm of Biography Project Ideas, uncovering diverse and compelling ways to study the lives of individuals who have left an enduring impact. From unsung heroes to influential figures, we’ll navigate the art of storytelling and creative presentation, providing a plethora of ideas for both students and enthusiasts. 

Join us on this exploration of the captivating world of biographies, where each life unfolds as a unique and inspiring tale waiting to be shared.

What is a Biography Project?

Table of Contents

A Biography Project involves in-depth research and presentation of an individual’s life, capturing significant aspects and achievements. It goes beyond a standard biography by encouraging creative and critical exploration. Students undertaking such projects choose subjects ranging from personal heroes to historical figures or even fictional characters. The project can take various formats, including written narratives, visual presentations, or multimedia creations, fostering skills such as research, writing, and communication. By delving into the lives of inspiring figures, Biography Projects offer students a dynamic and engaging way to enhance their educational experience.

Benefits of Biography Projects for School Students

Here are some benefits of biography project ideas for students:

1. Enhancing Research and Writing Skills

Creative biography projects require in-depth research, promoting valuable skills such as information gathering, analysis, and effective writing. Students learn to navigate diverse sources, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of their chosen subject.

2. Encouraging Creativity and Critical Thinking

Unlike standard research papers, creative biography projects allow students to infuse their unique perspectives. This encourages creativity and critical thinking as students explore different aspects of their subject’s life, making connections and drawing insightful conclusions.

3. Fostering Presentation and Communication Skills

In addition to written components, these projects often involve presentations. Students develop strong communication skills, learning how to convey complex information in a compelling and accessible manner.

4. Promoting Self-Expression and Individuality

Creative biography projects empower students to express themselves uniquely. Through the exploration of their chosen subject, students find opportunities to showcase their individuality, fostering a sense of self-expression and creativity.

5. Building Time Management and Organization Skills

Completing a creative biography project requires students to manage their time effectively and organize their research and presentation materials. This not only enhances their project-specific skills but also instills valuable time management habits that can benefit them in various aspects of their academic and personal lives.

How do I Choose the Biography Project?

Discover some steps to choose the right biography project for students:

  • Identify Personal Interests: Begin by exploring your own interests, hobbies, or areas of passion.
  • Research Potential Subjects: Conduct preliminary research on individuals who align with your interests, considering historical figures, personal heroes, or even fictional characters.
  • Evaluate Significance: Assess the impact and relevance of each potential subject, ensuring they have a compelling story worth exploring.
  • Consider Resources: Consider the availability of resources for research and presentation, ensuring you can access ample information and materials.
  • Seek Educator Guidance: Consult with teachers or mentors for advice and feedback on your chosen subject and project approach.

List of Biography Project Ideas For School Students

Discover the complete list of biography project ideas for students in 2024:

Historical Trailblazers

  • The Life of Cleopatra
  • Winston Churchill: Architect of History
  • Joan of Arc: A Heroine’s Journey
  • Marco Polo: Journey Across Continents
  • Alexander the Great: Conqueror of Empires
  • Harriet Tubman: Underground Railroad Guide
  • Queen Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
  • Julius Caesar: Statesman and General
  • Gandhi: The Mahatma’s Path to Peace
  • Amelia Earhart: Skyward Soarer
  • Leonardo da Vinci: Renaissance Polymath

Innovators and Inventors

  • Thomas Edison: Inventor Extraordinaire
  • Marie Curie: Pioneer of Radioactivity
  • Steve Jobs: Apple Visionary
  • Nikola Tesla: Electrical Genius
  • Jane Goodall: Primatologist Explorer
  • Elon Musk: Trailblazing Entrepreneur
  • Ada Lovelace: Enchantress of Numbers
  • Leonardo Fibonacci: Mathematician Maestro
  • Grace Hopper: Computer Programming Pioneer
  • Alexander Graham Bell: Communication Revolutionary
  • George Washington Carver: Agricultural Innovator

Literary Legends

  • William Shakespeare: Bard of Avon
  • Jane Austen: Master of Romantic Realism
  • Mark Twain: American Literary Icon
  • Gabriel García Márquez: Magical Realism Maestro
  • Maya Angelou: Poet and Civil Rights Activist
  • J.K. Rowling: Wizardry Wordsmith
  • Leo Tolstoy: War and Peace Author
  • Agatha Christie: Queen of Crime
  • Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance Poet
  • George Orwell: Dystopian Visionary
  • Emily Dickinson: Poetic Recluse

Artistic Visionaries

  • Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night Painter
  • Frida Kahlo: Surreal Self-Portraits
  • Michelangelo: Sculptor of David
  • Georgia O’Keeffe: Flower Power Artist
  • Pablo Picasso: Cubism Creator
  • Salvador Dalí: Surrealist Dreamer
  • Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa’s Creator
  • Claude Monet: Impressionist Water Lilies
  • Banksy: Street Art Activist
  • Edvard Munch: The Scream
  • Auguste Rodin: The Thinker Sculptor

Political Pioneers

  • Nelson Mandela: Anti-Apartheid Activist
  • Margaret Thatcher: Iron Lady of Politics
  • Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil Rights Leader
  • Golda Meir: Israel’s First Female Prime Minister
  • Winston Churchill: Bulldog Statesman
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt: New Deal President
  • Angela Merkel: Chancellor of Unity
  • Jawaharlal Nehru: Architect of Modern India
  • Indira Gandhi: Iron Lady of India
  • Theodore Roosevelt: Rough Rider President
  • Malcolm X: Human Rights Advocate

Scientific Explorers

  • Carl Sagan: Cosmos Guide
  • Charles Darwin: Evolutionary Theorist
  • Richard Feynman: Quantum Physicist
  • Jacques Cousteau: Ocean Explorer
  • Rosalind Franklin: DNA Pioneer
  • Stephen Hawking: Black Hole Theorist
  • Neil Armstrong: First Moonwalker
  • Mae Jemison: Space Trailblazer
  • Rachel Carson: Silent Spring Author
  • Albert Einstein: Relativity Revolutionary

Athletic Icons

  • Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
  • Serena Williams: Tennis Trailblazer
  • Michael Jordan: Basketball Legend
  • Usain Bolt: Fastest Man Alive
  • Babe Ruth: Baseball Legend
  • Simone Biles: Gymnastics Marvel
  • Jackie Robinson: Breaking Baseball’s Color Barrier
  • Jesse Owens: Olympic Track Star
  • Pelé: Soccer Superstar
  • Billie Jean King: Tennis Equality Advocate
  • Michael Phelps: Olympic Swimming Phenom

Humanitarian Heroes

  • Mother Teresa: Angel of Mercy
  • Nelson Mandela: Advocate for Equality
  • Malala Yousafzai: Education Activist
  • Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Revolutionary
  • Clara Barton: Founder of the Red Cross
  • Cesar Chavez: Farm Workers’ Champion
  • Elie Wiesel: Holocaust Survivor and Activist
  • Princess Diana: People’s Princess
  • Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil Rights Visionary
  • Kofi Annan: UN Secretary-General

Tech Trailblazers

  • Bill Gates: Microsoft Mogul
  • Steve Wozniak: Apple Co-Founder
  • Sheryl Sandberg: Lean In Advocate
  • Tim Berners-Lee: Inventor of the World Wide Web
  • Elon Musk: Entrepreneurial Visionary
  • Jack Dorsey: Twitter Founder
  • Ada Lovelace: First Computer Programmer
  • Larry Page: Google Co-Founder
  • Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Pioneer
  • Marissa Mayer: Yahoo CEO
  • Jeff Bezos: Amazon Architect

Musical Maestros

  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Composer Extraordinaire
  • Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Child Prodigy
  • Bob Dylan: Voice of a Generation
  • Freddie Mercury: Rock Legend
  • Ella Fitzgerald: Jazz Queen
  • Michael Jackson: King of Pop
  • John Lennon: Imagine Visionary
  • Beyoncé: Queen Bey
  • Jimi Hendrix: Guitar Virtuoso
  • Duke Ellington: Jazz Pioneer

Film and Theater Icons

  • Charlie Chaplin: Silent Film Star
  • Meryl Streep: Acting Chameleon
  • Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense
  • Audrey Hepburn: Hollywood’s Graceful Star
  • Sir Laurence Olivier: Shakespearean Legend
  • Quentin Tarantino: Modern Filmmaking Maverick
  • Katharine Hepburn: Leading Lady
  • Steven Spielberg: Blockbuster Visionary
  • Marilyn Monroe: Blonde Bombshell
  • Cate Blanchett: Versatile Actress
  • Orson Welles: Citizen Kane Auteur

Space Explorers

  • Yuri Gagarin: First Human in Space
  • Valentina Tereshkova: Pioneer Cosmonaut
  • Neil Armstrong: Lunar Pioneer
  • Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space
  • Buzz Aldrin: Apollo 11 Astronaut
  • Kalpana Chawla: Trailblazing Astronaut
  • Chris Hadfield: Social Media Space Commander
  • Mae Jemison: Spacefarer and Physician
  • John Glenn: Mercury 7 Astronaut
  • Alan Shepard: First American in Space
  • Elon Musk: Mars Mission Visionary

Environmental Advocates

  • Greta Thunberg: Youth Climate Activist
  • Wangari Maathai: Green Belt Movement Founder
  • Al Gore: Environmentalist and Politician
  • Sylvia Earle: Oceanographer and Explorer
  • David Attenborough: Nature Documentarian
  • Erin Brockovich: Environmental Crusader
  • Leonardo DiCaprio: Actor and Environmentalist
  • Jane Goodall: Primatologist and Conservationist
  • Jacques Cousteau: Underwater Explorer

Medical Visionaries

  • Florence Nightingale: Nursing Pioneer
  • Jonas Salk: Polio Vaccine Developer
  • Paul Farmer: Partners In Health Founder
  • Elizabeth Blackwell: First Female Physician in the U.S.
  • Christian Barnard: Pioneer of Heart Transplants
  • Edward Jenner: Smallpox Vaccine Creator
  • Marie Curie: Pioneer of Radioactivity in Medicine
  • Benjamin Carson: Pediatric Neurosurgeon
  • Anthony Fauci: Immunologist and Public Health Advocate
  • Virginia Apgar: Creator of the Apgar Score
  • Albert Sabin: Developer of Oral Polio Vaccine

Fashion Influencers

  • Coco Chanel: Fashion Icon
  • Karl Lagerfeld: Fashion Maestro
  • Christian Dior: Revolutionizing Couture
  • Anna Wintour: Vogue Editor-in-Chief
  • Yves Saint Laurent: Pioneer of Modern Fashion
  • Gianni Versace: Luxury Fashion Designer
  • Alexander McQueen: Avant-Garde Couturier
  • Audrey Hepburn: Style Icon
  • Ralph Lauren: American Fashion Mogul
  • Iris Apfel: Fashion and Interior Designer
  • Vivienne Westwood: Punk Fashion Trailblazer

Inspirational Educators

  • Maria Montessori: Pioneering Educator
  • Booker T. Washington: Advocate for Education
  • John Dewey: Father of Progressive Education
  • Anne Sullivan: Helen Keller’s Teacher
  • Paulo Freire: Critical Pedagogy Proponent
  • Horace Mann: Education Reformist
  • Jaime Escalante: Math Educator
  • Ken Robinson: Advocate for Creativity in Education
  • W.E.B. Du Bois: Scholar and Activist
  • Temple Grandin: Advocate for Autism Awareness

Digital Content Creators

  • PewDiePie: YouTube Sensation
  • Michelle Phan: Beauty Vlogging Pioneer
  • Casey Neistat: Filmmaker and YouTuber
  • Huda Kattan: Beauty and Lifestyle Influencer
  • Marques Brownlee: Tech Reviewer
  • Jenna Marbles: Comedy and Lifestyle YouTuber
  • Lilly Singh: Online Entertainer
  • David Dobrik: Vlogger and Philanthropist
  • Tati Westbrook: Beauty Guru
  • Shane Dawson: Internet Personality
  • Nabela Noor: Body Positivity Advocate

Historical Mystery Figures

  • The Unknown Soldier: Symbol of Sacrifice
  • The Man in the Iron Mask: Enigmatic Prisoner
  • Anastasia Romanov: Russian Princess Mystery
  • D.B. Cooper: Unsolved Hijacking Case
  • Jack the Ripper: Victorian Serial Killer
  • Amelia Earhart: Disappearance Over the Pacific
  • Cleopatra’s Tomb: Lost to History
  • The Voynich Manuscript Author: Cryptic Writer
  • The Lost Colony of Roanoke: Unexplained Disappearance
  • The Zodiac Killer: Unsolved Murders
  • The Bermuda Triangle: Nautical Enigma

Political Visionaries

  • Aung San Suu Kyi: Burmese Activist
  • Nelson Mandela: Father of South Africa
  • Benazir Bhutto: Pakistan’s First Female Prime Minister
  • Fidel Castro: Cuban Revolutionary
  • Frankli n D. Roosevelt : New Deal President
  • Golda Meir: Iron Lady of Israel
  • Ronald Reagan: 40th President of the United States

Tips for Engaging Biography Projects for Students

Here are some tips for engaging biography project ideas for high school students:

  • Encourage Student Choice: Foster enthusiasm by allowing students to choose subjects they are passionate about.
  • Facilitate Collaborative Projects: Stimulate diverse perspectives and skills through group efforts, creating a collaborative learning environment.
  • Showcase Finished Projects: Boost confidence and celebrate achievements by organizing showcases for students to present their projects to peers, teachers, and parents.

In conclusion, interesting biography project ideas emerge as powerful tools in the educational landscape, offering students a holistic and engaging approach to learning. Beyond the enhancement of research, writing, and presentation skills, these projects foster creativity, critical thinking, and self-expression. By delving into the lives of diverse subjects, students not only gain a deeper understanding of history, literature, or personal heroes but also cultivate a passion for learning. The incorporation of presentations nurtures effective communication skills, a vital asset in today’s dynamic world. 

As students showcase their unique perspectives, these projects become catalysts for personal growth. Ultimately, Creative Biography Projects stand as a testament to the transformative potential of hands-on, imaginative learning experiences.

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How to Write a Biography

biography assignment high school

Biographies are big business. Whether in book form or Hollywood biopics, the lives of the famous and sometimes not-so-famous fascinate us.

While it’s true that most biographies are about people who are in the public eye, sometimes the subject is less well-known. Mostly though, famous or not, the person who is written about has led a life that is in some way incredible.

While your students will most likely have a basic understanding of a biography, it’s worth taking a little time before they put pen to paper to tease out a crystal clear definition of a biography.

Visual Writing Prompts

What Is a Biography?

how to write a biography | how to start an autobiography | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Simply put, a biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else . While there is a genre known as a fictional biography, for the most part, biographies are, by definition, nonfiction.

Generally speaking, biographies provide an account of the subject’s life from the earliest days of their childhood right up to the present day or their death if the subject is deceased.

The job of a biography is more than just to outline the bare facts of a person’s life.

Rather than just listing the basic details of their upbringing, hobbies, education, work, relationships, and death, a well-written biography should also paint a picture of the subject’s personality, and as well as their experience of life.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING BIOGRAPHIES

how to write a biography | biography and autobiography writing unit 1 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Teach your students to write AMAZING BIOGRAPHIES & AUTOBIOGRAPHIES using proven RESEARCH SKILLS and WRITING STRATEGIES .

  • Understand the purpose of both forms of biography.
  • Explore the language and perspective of both.
  • Prompts and Challenges to engage students in writing a biography.
  • Dedicated lessons for both forms of biography.
  • Biographical Projects can expand students’ understanding of reading and writing a biography.
  • A COMPLETE 82-PAGE UNIT – NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

What Are the Main Features of a Biography?

Before students begin writing a biography, they’ll need to have a firm grasp of the main features of the genre. A good way to determine how well they understand these essential elements of the genre is by asking them to compile a checklist.

At a minimum, their checklists should contain the items below. Be sure to help them fill in any gaps before moving on to the writing process.

The purpose of a biography is to provide an account of someone’s life.

Biography structure.

ORIENTATION (BEGINNING) Open your biography with a strong hook to grab the reader’s attention

SEQUENCING: In most cases, biographies are written in chronological order unless you are a very competent writer consciously trying to break from this trend.

COVER: childhood, upbringing, education, influences, accomplishments, relationships, etc. – everything that helps the reader to understand the person.

CONCLUSION: Wrap your biography up with some details about what the subject is doing now if they are still alive. If they have passed away, make mention of what impact they have made and what their legacy is or will be.

BIOGRAPHY FEATURES

LANGUAGE Use descriptive and figurative language that will paint images inside your audience’s minds as they read. Use time connectives to link events.

PERSPECTIVE Biographies are written from the third person’s perspective.

DETAILS: Give specific details about people, places, events, times, dates, etc. Reflect on how events shaped the subject. You might want to include some relevant photographs with captions. A timeline may also be of use depending upon your subject and what you are trying to convey to your audience.

TENSE Written in the past tense (though ending may shift to the present/future tense)

THE PROCESS OF WRITING A BIOGRAPHY

Like any form of writing, you will find it simple if you have a plan and follow it through. These steps will ensure you cover the essential bases of writing a biography essay.

Firstly, select a subject that inspires you. Someone whose life story resonates with you and whose contribution to society intrigues you. The next step is to conduct thorough research. Engage in extensive reading, explore various sources, watch documentaries, and glean all available information to provide a comprehensive account of the person’s life.

Creating an outline is essential to organize your thoughts and information. The outline should include the person’s early life, education, career, achievements, and any other significant events or contributions. It serves as a map for the writing process, ensuring that all vital information is included.

Your biography should have an engaging introduction that captivates the reader’s attention and provides background information on the person you’re writing about. It should include a thesis statement that summarizes the main points of the biography.

Writing a biography in chronological order is crucial . You should begin with the person’s early life and move through their career and achievements. This approach provides clarity on how the person’s life unfolded and how they accomplished their goals.

A biography should be written in a narrative style , capturing the essence of the person’s life through vivid descriptions, anecdotes, and quotes. Avoid dry, factual writing and focus on creating a compelling narrative that engages the reader.

Adding personal insights and opinions can enhance the biography’s overall impact, providing a unique perspective on the person’s achievements, legacy, and impact on society.

Editing and proofreading are vital elements of the writing process. Thoroughly reviewing your biography ensures that the writing is clear, concise, and error-free. You can even request feedback from someone else to ensure that it is engaging and well-written.

Finally, including a bibliography at the end of your biography is essential. It gives credit to the sources that were used during research, such as books, articles, interviews, and websites.

Tips for Writing a Brilliant Biography

Biography writing tip #1: choose your subject wisely.

There are several points for students to reflect on when deciding on a subject for their biography. Let’s take a look at the most essential points to consider when deciding on the subject for a biography:

Interest: To produce a biography will require sustained writing from the student. That’s why students must choose their subject well. After all, a biography is an account of someone’s entire life to date. Students must ensure they choose a subject that will sustain their interest throughout the research, writing, and editing processes.

Merit: Closely related to the previous point, students must consider whether the subject merits the reader’s interest. Aside from pure labors of love, writing should be undertaken with the reader in mind. While producing a biography demands sustained writing from the author, it also demands sustained reading from the reader.

Therefore, students should ask themselves if their chosen subject has had a life worthy of the reader’s interest and the time they’d need to invest in reading their biography.

Information: Is there enough information available on the subject to fuel the writing of an entire biography? While it might be a tempting idea to write about a great-great-grandfather’s experience in the war. There would be enough interest there to sustain the author’s and the reader’s interest, but do you have enough access to information about their early childhood to do the subject justice in the form of a biography?

Biography Writing Tip #2: R esearch ! Research! Research!

While the chances are good that the student already knows quite a bit about the subject they’ve chosen. Chances are 100% that they’ll still need to undertake considerable research to write their biography.

As with many types of writing , research is an essential part of the planning process that shouldn’t be overlooked. If a student wishes to give as complete an account of their subject’s life as possible, they’ll need to put in the time at the research stage.

An effective way to approach the research process is to:

1. Compile a chronological timeline of the central facts, dates, and events of the subject’s life

2. Compile detailed descriptions of the following personal traits:

  •      Physical looks
  •      Character traits
  •      Values and beliefs

3. Compile some research questions based on different topics to provide a focus for the research:

  • Childhood : Where and when were they born? Who were their parents? Who were the other family members? What education did they receive?
  • Obstacles: What challenges did they have to overcome? How did these challenges shape them as individuals?
  • Legacy: What impact did this person have on the world and/or the people around them?
  • Dialogue & Quotes: Dialogue and quotations by and about the subject are a great way to bring color and life to a biography. Students should keep an eagle eye out for the gems that hide amid their sources.

As the student gets deeper into their research, new questions will arise that can further fuel the research process and help to shape the direction the biography will ultimately go in.

Likewise, during the research, themes will often begin to suggest themselves. Exploring these themes is essential to bring depth to biography, but we’ll discuss this later in this article.

Research Skills:

Researching for biography writing is an excellent way for students to hone their research skills in general. Developing good research skills is essential for future academic success. Students will have opportunities to learn how to:

  • Gather relevant information
  • Evaluate different information sources
  • Select suitable information
  • Organize information into a text.

Students will have access to print and online information sources, and, in some cases, they may also have access to people who knew or know the subject (e.g. biography of a family member).

These days, much of the research will likely take place online. It’s crucial, therefore, to provide your students with guidance on how to use the internet safely and evaluate online sources for reliability. This is the era of ‘ fake news ’ and misinformation after all!

COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS USING GOOGLE SEARCH

how to write a biography | research skills 1 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Teach your students ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF THE INFORMATION ERA to become expert DIGITAL RESEARCHERS.

⭐How to correctly ask questions to search engines on all devices.

⭐ How to filter and refine your results to find exactly what you want every time.

⭐ Essential Research and critical thinking skills for students.

⭐ Plagiarism, Citing and acknowledging other people’s work.

⭐ How to query, synthesize and record your findings logically.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip #3: Find Your Themes In Biography Writing

Though predominantly a nonfiction genre, the story still plays a significant role in good biography writing. The skills of characterization and plot structuring are transferable here. And, just like in fiction, exploring themes in a biographical work helps connect the personal to the universal. Of course, these shouldn’t be forced; this will make the work seem contrived, and the reader may lose faith in the truthfulness of the account. A biographer needs to gain and maintain the trust of the reader.

Fortunately, themes shouldn’t need to be forced. A life well-lived is full of meaning, and the themes the student writer is looking for will emerge effortlessly from the actions and events of the subject’s life. It’s just a case of learning how to spot them.

One way to identify the themes in a life is to look for recurring events or situations in a person’s life. These should be apparent from the research completed previously. The students should seek to identify these patterns that emerge in the subject’s life. For example, perhaps they’ve had to overcome various obstacles throughout different periods of their life. In that case, the theme of overcoming adversity is present and has been identified.

Usually, a biography has several themes running throughout, so be sure your students work to identify more than one theme in their subject’s life.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip: #4 Put Something of Yourself into the Writing

While the defining feature of a biography is that it gives an account of a person’s life, students must understand that this is not all a biography does. Relating the facts and details of a subject’s life is not enough. The student biographer should not be afraid to share their thoughts and feelings with the reader throughout their account of their subject’s life.

The student can weave some of their personality into the fabric of the text by providing commentary and opinion as they relate the events of the person’s life and the wider social context at the time. Unlike the detached and objective approach we’d expect to find in a history textbook, in a biography, student-writers should communicate their enthusiasm for their subject in their writing.

This makes for a more intimate experience for the reader, as they get a sense of getting to know the author and the subject they are writing about.

Student Examples of Biography Writing

  • Year 5 Example
  • Year 7 Example
  • Year 9 Example

“The Rock ‘n’ Roll King: Elvis Presley”

Elvis Aaron Presley, born on January 8, 1935, was an amazing singer and actor known as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Even though he’s been dead for nearly 50 years, I can’t help but be fascinated by his incredible life!

Elvis grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a tiny house with his parents and twin brother. His family didn’t have much money, but they shared a love for music. Little did they know Elvis would become a music legend!

When he was only 11 years old, Elvis got his first guitar. He taught himself to play and loved singing gospel songs. As he got older, he started combining different music styles like country, blues, and gospel to create a whole new sound – that’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!

In 1954, at the age of 19, Elvis recorded his first song, “That’s All Right.” People couldn’t believe how unique and exciting his music was. His famous hip-swinging dance moves also made him a sensation!

Elvis didn’t just rock the music scene; he also starred in movies like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.” But fame came with challenges. Despite facing ups and downs, Elvis kept spreading happiness through his music.

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Tragically, Elvis passed away in 1977, but his music and charisma live on. Even today, people worldwide still enjoy his songs like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Elvis Presley’s legacy as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll will live forever.

Long Live the King: I wish I’d seen him.

Elvis Presley, the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend born on January 8, 1935, is a captivating figure that even a modern-day teen like me can’t help but admire. As I delve into his life, I wish I could have experienced the magic of his live performances.

Growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis faced challenges but found solace in music. At 11, he got his first guitar, a symbol of his journey into the world of sound. His fusion of gospel, country, and blues into Rock ‘n’ Roll became a cultural phenomenon.

The thought of being in the audience during his early performances, especially when he recorded “That’s All Right” at 19, sends shivers down my spine. Imagining the crowd’s uproar and feeling the revolutionary energy of that moment is a dream I wish I could have lived.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical prodigy; he was a dynamic performer. His dance moves, the embodiment of rebellion, and his roles in films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock” made him a true icon.

After watching him on YouTube, I can’t help but feel a little sad that I’ll never witness the King’s live performances. The idea of swaying to “Hound Dog” or being enchanted by “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in person is a missed opportunity. Elvis may have left us in 1977, but he was the king of rock n’ roll. Long live the King!

Elvis Presley: A Teen’s Take on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Icon”

Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935, was a revolutionary force in the music world, earning his title as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Exploring his life, even as a 16-year-old today, I’m captivated by the impact he made.

Hailing from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis grew up in humble beginnings, surrounded by the love of his parents and twin brother. It’s inspiring to think that, despite financial challenges, this young man would redefine the music scene.

At 11, Elvis got his first guitar, sparking a self-taught journey into music. His early gospel influences evolved into a unique fusion of country, blues, and gospel, creating the electrifying genre of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In 1954, at only 19, he recorded “That’s All Right,” marking the birth of a musical legend.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical innovator; he was a cultural phenomenon. His rebellious dance moves and magnetic stage presence challenged the norms. He transitioned seamlessly into acting, starring in iconic films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.”

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However, fame came at a cost, and Elvis faced personal struggles. Despite the challenges, his music continued to resonate. Even now, classics like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” transcend generations.

Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is undeniable. He was known for his unique voice, charismatic persona, and electrifying performances. He sold over one billion records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling solo artists in history. He received numerous awards throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Elvis’s influence can still be seen in today’s music. Many contemporary artists, such as Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Justin Timberlake, have cited Elvis as an inspiration. His music continues to be featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

Elvis left us in 1977, but his legacy lives on. I appreciate his breaking barriers and fearlessly embracing his artistic vision. Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is timeless, a testament to the enduring power of his artistry. His music has inspired generations and will continue to do so for many years to come.

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Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING TEACHING IDEAS AND LESSONS

We have compiled a sequence of biography-related lessons or teaching ideas that you can follow as you please. They are straightforward enough for most students to follow without further instruction.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 1:

This session aims to give students a broader understanding of what makes a good biography.

Once your students have compiled a comprehensive checklist of the main features of a biography, allow them to use it to assess some biographies from your school library or on the internet using the feature checklist.

When students have assessed a selection of biographies, take some time as a class to discuss them. You can base the discussion around the following prompts:

  • Which biographies covered all the criteria from their checklist?
  • Which biographies didn’t?
  • Which biography was the most readable in terms of structure?
  • Which biography do you think was the least well-structured? How would you improve this?

Looking at how other writers have interpreted the form will help students internalize the necessary criteria before attempting to produce a biography. Once students have a clear understanding of the main features of the biography, they’re ready to begin work on writing a biography.

When the time does come to put pen to paper, be sure they’re armed with the following top tips to help ensure they’re as well prepared as possible.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 2:

This session aims to guide students through the process of selecting the perfect biography subject.

Instruct students to draw up a shortlist of three potential subjects for the biography they’ll write.

Using the three criteria mentioned in the writing guide (Interest, Merit, and Information), students award each potential subject a mark out of 5 for each of the criteria. In this manner, students can select the most suitable subject for their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 3:

This session aims to get students into the researching phase and then prioritise events and organise them chronologically.

Students begin by making a timeline of their subject’s life, starting with their birth and ending with their death or the present day. If the student has yet to make a final decision on the subject of their biography, a family member will often serve well for this exercise as a practice exercise.

Students should research and gather the key events of the person’s life, covering each period of their life from when they were a baby, through childhood and adolescence, right up to adulthood and old age. They should then organize these onto a timeline. Students can include photographs with captions if they have them.

They can present these to the class when they have finished their timelines.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 4:

Instruct students to look over their timeline, notes, and other research. Challenge them to identify three patterns that repeat throughout the subject’s life and sort all the related events and incidents into specific categories.

Students should then label each category with a single word. This is the thematic concept or the broad general underlying idea. After that, students should write a sentence or two expressing what the subject’s life ‘says’ about that concept.

This is known as the thematic statement . With the thematic concepts and thematic statements identified, the student now has some substantial ideas to explore that will help bring more profound meaning and wider resonance to their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 5:

Instruct students to write a short objective account of an event in their own life. They can write about anyone from their past. It needn’t be more than a couple of paragraphs, but the writing should be strictly factual, focusing only on the objective details of what happened.

Once they have completed this, it’s time to rewrite the paragraph, but they should include some opinion and personal commentary this time.

The student here aims to inject some color and personality into their writing, to transform a detached, factual account into a warm, engaging story.

Biography Graphic Organizer

Get our FREE Biography Writing Graphic Organizer

Use this valuable tool in the research and writing phases to keep your students on track and engaged.

WRITING CHECKLIST & RUBRIC BUNDLE

writing checklists

To Conclude

By this stage, your students should have an excellent technical overview of a biography’s essential elements.

They should be able to choose their subject in light of how interesting and worthy they are, as well as give consideration to the availability of information out there. They should be able to research effectively and identify emerging themes in their research notes. And finally, they should be able to bring some of their personality and uniqueness into their retelling of the life of another.

Remember that writing a biography is not only a great way to develop a student’s writing skills; it can be used in almost all curriculum areas. For example, to find out more about a historical figure in History, to investigate scientific contributions to Science, or to celebrate a hero from everyday life.

Biography is an excellent genre for students to develop their writing skills and to find inspiration in the lives of others in the world around them.

HOW TO WRITE A BIOGRAPHY TUTORIAL VIDEO

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15 Awesome Recount & Personal Narrative Topics

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Personal Narrative Writing Guide

The content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh.  A former principal of an international school and English university lecturer with 15 years of teaching and administration experience. Shane’s latest Book, The Complete Guide to Nonfiction Writing , can be found here.  Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team.

It's My Life: Multimodal Autobiography Project

It's My Life: Multimodal Autobiography Project

  • Resources & Preparation
  • Instructional Plan
  • Related Resources

In this unit, students write autobiographies, illustrate them, and set them to music. Music is a powerful tool to evoke emotion, and students will carefully select songs to accompany the stories from their lives. Students brainstorm lists of important events in their lives, along with images and music that represent those events. They then create storyboards in preparation for the final PowerPoint project. After making revisions, they present their final projects to their peers in class. If PowerPoint is unavailable, students might create posters and play soundtracks using cassette or CD players.

Featured Resources

Stapleless Book : Students use this online tool to plan each slide of an autobiographical PowerPoint presentation.

From Theory to Practice

According to William Kist, "students should be able to both read critically and write functionally, no matter what the medium." We have "broadened the concept of literacy" (cf. Kist) to include multimodal projects so that no student will feel isolated, and every student will gain knowledge and understanding from the sharing of ideas. As the NCTE Statement on Multimodal Literacies states, "The use of different modes of expression in student work should be integrated into the overall literacy goals of the curriculum and appropriate for time and resources invested." This lesson plan encourages such integration by asking students to create multimodal presentations. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

  • 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
  • 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
  • 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
  • 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
  • 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
  • It’s My Life Assignment
  • Presentation Music and Image Planner
  • It’s My Life Project Rubric
  • Sample Multimodal Autobiography
  • It’s My Life Self-Assessment

Preparation

  • Arrange for the use of a computer lab, projector, and CD player.
  • Familiarize yourself with PowerPoint. Visit the PowerPoint in the Classroom Website and the PowerPoint tutorials on adding sound and adding music for helpful information and guides. You may also choose to share these Web resources with your students.
  • Create a model autobiography presentation for students to view (optional).
  • Review fair use and copyright guidelines before having students use copyrighted music and images in their projects.
  • Make copies of the Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for School Projects , It’s My Life Assignment , Presentation Music and Image Planner , Sample Multimodal Autobiography , It’s My Life Self-Assessment , and It’s My Life Project Rubric sheets for your students.
  • Test the Stapleless Book on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page .

Student Objectives

Students will

  • examine the lyrics to songs and describe how the music and words relate to their life stories.
  • organize their thoughts and express their stories by using PowerPoint presentations.
  • improve technical skills by familiarizing themselves with PowerPoint.
  • evaluate their own work.

Session One

  • Present the PowerPoint autobiography assignment to students and explain the required elements. If you have created a model presentation, you can use it to present the concept to students.
  • Students will select five important events in their lives. Using written summaries of these events, they will create PowerPoint multimodal autobiographies.
  • Students may use recordings from the radio or their personal music collections.
  • Students will follow guidelines for fair use of copyrighted images and music. (Explain that this topic will be discussed in detail in the next session.)
  • Student will present their slideshows in class. Slideshows are limited to 5–10 minutes in length.
  • Students will respond to their peers’ presentations in writing.
  • First day of school (e.g., preschool, kindergarten, first grade, middle school, high school)
  • A special family trip or vacation
  • A family event or milestone
  • A personal achievement (e.g., first place in a competition)
  • A personal loss
  • Explain that in this stage of the writing process, students should write down all of their ideas. If they are working in groups or with the whole class, lay ground rules that encourage all students to share their ideas with the group and that discourage students from critiquing their peers’ responses during this brainstorming stage. Explain that students will have the opportunity to evaluate their lists and select the events that they want to include in their autobiographies in later sessions.
  • Have students view the PowerPoint presentation Finding Your Focus: The Writing Process . Discuss the stages of the writing process—including drafting, revising, and editing—and explain that students will go through each of these stages as they work on their autobiographies. The final stage will be the actual publishing of their autobiographies in the form of PowerPoint presentations.
  • Ask students to select 8–10 events from their lists and write a brief paragraph summary for each one. Students may also include events that were not included on the lists they created during their brainstorming sessions.
  • Have students set aside these summaries to use in a later session. If necessary, have students complete this activity for homework.

Session Two

  • Initiate a class discussion by describing a significant event from your own life (i.e., birth of a sibling, parents’ divorce, first car). You can refer to the Sample Multimodal Autobiography for an example.
  • Ask a few students to share an event from their own lists, and record each event on the board.
  • Have students think about the events described and to connect songs to these events. For example, a student might associate a love song with a family member’s wedding ceremony.
  • How does the song make you feel?
  • What images come to mind when you think of this event?
  • What images come to mind when you think of this song?
  • Next play a song or two that you associate with the event from your own life that you’ve described. It doesn’t matter if the songs are not “current” hits; students will understand the feelings behind the music.
  • Ask students to discuss how the song fits the event and to suggest other songs they might associate with the same event.
  • Have students review the summaries they wrote in Session One.
  • From the list of events they described, ask students to select five to include in their autobiographical presentations.
  • Pass out the Presentation Music and Image Planner and have students list each of the five events they’ll include.
  • Have students use the Presentation Music and Image Planner to write the title of a song and describe an image for each event they will include in their presentations. Students can work with a classmate or in small groups if they are having trouble generating ideas. You may wish to have students begin this activity in class and then complete their planners for homework.
  • Be sure to discuss lyrics with students to assure that song selections are classroom-appropriate as determined by teacher and school policy.
  • Emphasize that students should avoid using music that involves profanity or derogatory remarks towards any race, gender, and/or religious affiliation. Encourage students to discuss any questionable lyrics with you in advance. Point out you will either approve students’ choice of songs and images or provide suggestions for revision on their planning sheets.
  • Have you ever downloaded music or other content from the Internet? What other Internet resources have you used?
  • You will need to use music for your presentations. What are some ways you can get the songs you’ll need? From what sources can you download music? Are all of these ways legal?
  • Is it OK to use other people’s music in something you are creating?
  • Students can use 1–5 images from the same photographer or illustrator without permission.
  • Up to 10% of a song can be used in a presentation. That translates to about 30 seconds from one song.
  • Students must include a bibliography of any work used in their presentations.
  • Before beginning Session Three, review students’ planners to ensure that they understand the assignment and have selected appropriate images and songs. Approve each plan, providing feedback, or make suggestions for revision.
  • Meet with students individually to discuss any necessary changes.

Session Three

  • Tape sheets of plain paper together along the short edges.
  • Divide a large piece of blank paper into equal rectangles.
  • Use a blank index card for each PowerPoint slide.
  • Use the ReadWriteThink Stapleless Book interactive to plan each slide of their presentation. This tool provides space for students to write the text that will appear on the slide and information about the song they will include, along with space for a simple illustration.
  • Before beginning their PowerPoint presentations, students should use the storyboards to lay out their text and images, and to write the titles of the songs and specific lyrics they will use for each slide.
  • Have students add the text of the paragraphs they wrote in Session One to their storyboards in this drafting session.
  • Remind students of the writing process and explain that they will have the opportunity to revise their text and other elements when they reach the revising stage.
  • Allow more than one session of class time to complete this work if required. You can choose to extend this activity to the next class period or have students complete their drafts for homework. Students should also have any CDs or music they want to use available for the next session.
  • Provide access to a scanner for students who wish to scan photographs or other images for use in their projects.
  • Before moving to the next session, review students’ drafts and provide feedback.

Sessions Four through Six

  • PowerPoint in the Classroom
  • PowerPoint Tutorial—Adding sound
  • Demo: Add music to a presentation
  • Once students are comfortable with PowerPoint and have practiced with the software, have them begin creating slides using their drafts/storyboards.
  • Remind students of the guidelines for using copyrighted music in their projects.
  • Share this adding sounds page from PowerPoint in the Classroom with students, which details how to add portions of a song from a CD to a PowerPoint slide.
  • Review students’ progress as they work and provide assistance to students who are having difficulty using PowerPoint.
  • Allow additional time as needed for students to work on their projects in or out of class.

Session Seven

  • Are slides arranged in an effective way? How are the events in my autobiography arranged? Sequentially? Thematically?
  • Can I do a better job of describing each event? Will the reader/viewer understand what I’m trying to communicate?
  • Do the images I’ve selected adequately represent the events?
  • Does the song reflect my feelings about each event?
  • Guide students in working through this stage of the writing process and encourage them to make revisions that will help them more effectively communicate the information included in their autobiographies.

Sessions Eight and Nine

  • When students have finished making revisions, have them take turns presenting their PowerPoint autobiographies to the class. Use a projector if you have access to one.
  • After all students have completed their presentations, have them respond in writing by completing the It’s My Life Self-Assessment .
  • Teach the ReadWriteThink lesson Copyright Infringement or Not? The Debate over Downloading Music to reinforce the concepts of fair use and copyright infringement explored in this lesson.
  • Teach the ReadWriteThink lesson The Year I Was Born: An Autobiographical Research Project to have students further explore the autobiography writing genre.
  • In place of or in addition to PowerPoint presentations, have students write a typed autobiography, a narrated audio autobiography (set to music) on CD, cassette, or MP3, or a videotaped biography. Students can use the CD/DVD Cover Creator to design and print their covers for their finished presentations.
  • Have students use the Profile Publisher to enhance their autobiographies by creating one or more profiles to represent themselves at different times in their lives, with a special focus on the connection between experiences and music.

Student Assessment / Reflections

  • Have students reflect on their projects by completing the It’s My Life Self-Assessment .
  • Assess students’ PowerPoint projects using the It’s My Life Project Rubric .
  • Professional Library
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The Stapleless Book can be used for taking notes while reading, making picture books, collecting facts, or creating vocabulary booklets . . . the possibilities are endless!

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Biography Project

In this activity, activity overview, template and class instructions, more storyboard that activities.

  • This Activity is Part of Many Teacher Guides

Country Project Biography Poster

A Changemaker Project is a popular way for students to learn about different people from throughout history and all over the globe and research how they have positively impacted the world today.

In this activity, students will create a biography poster of someone past or present that was a positive agent of change. Students should be sure to include facts about their life, education, work, and more. As they research, they can use biography worksheets to keep track of information. Teachers may allow students to choose someone on their own, or provide a list for students to choose from. Our picture encyclopedia of biographies can be a great place to start! Students can find figures who have impacted history, literature, politics, science, and more! This example focuses on the life of Nelson Mandela , and can be used as a guide to show students what is possible. Their poster could be on any important Changemaker from history!

When finished, students' Changemaker posters can be printed, laminated, and hung around the classroom or school. Students can also present their posters to their classmates, adding a public speaking component to the project. Teachers may wish to organize a "gallery walk" where students have the opportunity to walk around as if they are in a museum and learn more about the lives of changemakers and notable figures from around the world!

For more templates to add to this assignment, check out our history infographic templates and biography poster templates !

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Objective: Research a "Changemaker" or important person and create a biography poster about them.

Student Instructions:

  • Click "Start Assignment"
  • Research a notable figure who made a positive impact on the world. Use a graphic organizer to write down and organize the important information you discover about this person.
  • Using a poster template, create an eye-catching poster about your person.
  • Include a character that looks like your person. Add other appropriate characters, items, and scenes to your design that represent your person.
  • Save and exit when you're finished.

Biography Poster Template

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)

Type of Assignment Individual or Partner

Type of Activity: Biographies

  • [ELA-Literacy/RH/9-10/3] Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
  • [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/1] Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence
  • [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/2] Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content
  • [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/6] Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically
  • [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/7] Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation
  • [ELA-LITERACY/CCRA/R/1] Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric .)

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biography assignment high school

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Biography Rubric

100 points possible

  • 5 points: Birth Date/Birthplace
  • 5 points: Death Date/Place of Death
  • 15 points: Early Influences (Must include 3 events that influenced the individual.)
  • 15 points: Education (Must include its role or significance in later life.)
  • 20 points: Major Accomplishments (Must provide dates if applicable.)
  • 20 points: Significance (Must explain why this individual is worthy of note in their field of expertise.
  • 15 points:  Grammar and Spelling (Each error results in one point off.)
  • 5 points: Neatness

Adapted from Georgia Virtual Learning rubric pdf

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Biography Themed Teaching Resources

Our biographies on famous and historical figures will enhance your lessons and students will enjoy studying them. Included are reading warm-ups, poems, discussion guides, and more. These resources are appropriate for a variety of grade levels, from kindergarten through high school.

Printables for Grades K-5

  • Nelson Mandela Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
  • Helen Keller Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
  • Walt Disney Biography: A Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up
  • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
  • Helen Keller
  • Getting to Know Me
  • Learn About Susan B. Anthony
  • More Popular Biography Printables for Grades K-5

Printables for Grades 6-12

  • We Beat the Street Discussion Guide
  • Albert Einstein Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
  • Albert Einstein, Physicist
  • The Peanuts Gang: Charles Schulz
  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • Fastest Woman in the World: Wilma Rudolph
  • More Biography Printables for Grades 6-12

Lesson Plans for Grades K-12

  • An Autobiographical Poem
  • Sunflowers, Van Gogh, and You
  • Rachel Carson: The Coming of a Silent Spring
  • Martin Luther King Jr, Civil Rights Leader
  • Marie Curie's Discovery
  • Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights
  • The Era of Thomas Jefferson
  • More Biography Lesson Plans

Biography Teaching Guides

  • Red Scarf Girl Teacher's Guide
  • Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Teacher's Guide
  • A Long Way Gone Teacher's Guide
  • The Henry Books: A Teacher's Guide
  • Up Close: Jane Goodall Discussion Guide
  • Listening Is an Act of Love Teacher's Guide
  • Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy's Day Parade Educator's Guide
  • More Biography Teaching Guides

Social Studies Activities

  • Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl Discussion Guide
  • Chronology of Conscription in the U.S. -- Colonial Era to 1999
  • Benjamin Franklin Little Book
  • Abraham Lincoln Biography & Mini-Book
  • Ryan White, My Own Story
  • Betsy Ross Little Book
  • More Biography Activities for Social Studies

Reading & Language Arts Activities

  • Babe Ruth Reading Warm-Up: Biography
  • Henry Ford Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal
  • Learning About Famous People
  • More Biography Activities for Reading & Language Arts

Science Activities

  • Learn About Johnny Appleseed
  • Science and Social Studies: Benjamin Franklin
  • Bio of a Famous Scientist
  • Jane Goodall, Ethologist
  • The First Man in Space
  • Early Astronomers
  • More Biography Activities for Science Class

Holidays & Seasonal Resources

  • "I Have a Dream" Little Book
  • Jackie Robinson Coloring Page
  • Rosa Parks Coloring Page
  • Learn About Pocahontas
  • Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up: Sacagawea Biography
  • More Biography Resources for the Holidays

Art & Music Activities

  • My Book About Abraham Lincoln
  • My Book About George Washington
  • George Washington Carver Coloring Page
  • My Book About Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Claude Monet Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
  • I Have a Dream: Drawing Activity
  • More Biography Activities for Art & Music

Biographies & Physical Education Connected

  • Past Olympic Athletes: Profiles, Biographies, and Activities
  • Michelle Kwan Reading Warm-Up
  • Jesse Owens: Olympic Champion
  • Jackie Robinson Mini-Biography
  • Jim Thorpe Reading Warm-Up
  • Althea Gibson
  • More Physical Education Biographies
  • Overview of the Presidents: Basic Facts & Figures
  • Martin Luther King Jr.'s Life
  • Assassinations and Attempts in U.S. Since 1865
  • Just Where Was Columbus?
  • President Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Biography
  • President George Washington Biography
  • President James Monroe Biography
  • More Popular Biography References
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Quiz
  • Notable African-American Women Quiz
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Printable Book (Grades 4-8)
  • Popular Presidents' Day Printables

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Creative Project Ideas

221+ Interesting Biography Project Ideas for School Students

Biography is not just a subject; it’s a dynamic gateway to understanding lives that have shaped history. Our blog on “Biography Project Ideas” transcends conventional approaches, offering a reservoir of innovative concepts for both educators and students. Uncover unconventional subjects, explore interactive multimedia, and dive into the realms of historical and contemporary figures. 

However, this space is a resource hub, redefining how biography projects can be both educational and engaging. From personal connections to collaborative endeavors, we delve into diverse angles, ensuring your biography project becomes a unique tapestry of exploration. Join us as we navigate the exciting landscape of biography projects, where stories come alive, and creativity knows no bounds.

Table of Contents

What is a Biography Project?

A Biography Project is an educational endeavor that involves in-depth exploration and presentation of an individual’s life story. Students undertake these projects to enhance research, writing, and presentation skills. It goes beyond traditional learning, encouraging creativity and critical thinking. From historical figures to contemporary influencers, a Biography Project provides insights into diverse lives. It often includes multimedia elements, adding depth and engagement to the presentation. These projects foster a deeper understanding of individuals, their impact, and the broader historical or societal contexts in which they lived, making learning a dynamic and personal experience.

Benefits of Biography Projects

Here are some benefits of biography project ideas for school students:

  • Enhanced Research Skills: Biography projects necessitate thorough research, honing students’ ability to gather information from diverse sources.
  • Improved Writing Proficiency: Crafting a compelling biography sharpens writing skills as students learn to structure narratives and convey information effectively.
  • Critical Thinking Development: Analyzing an individual’s life story fosters critical thinking, encouraging students to evaluate significance and draw connections.
  • Creativity Promotion: Biography projects offer opportunities for creative expression, allowing students to explore innovative presentation formats and multimedia elements.
  • Enhanced Presentation Skills: Presenting biographies to peers refines public speaking and presentation abilities, crucial for academic and professional success.

Also Read: Ofrenda Project Ideas

List of Biography Project Ideas for School Students

Here is a complete list of biography project ideas for school students:

Historical Figures

  • Leonardo da Vinci: The Renaissance Polymath
  • Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile
  • Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Indian Nation
  • Amelia Earhart: Pioneer Aviator
  • Nelson Mandela: Apartheid Activist and Statesman
  • Marie Curie: Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist
  • Winston Churchill: British Prime Minister and Orator
  • Joan of Arc: The Maid of Orleans
  • Alexander the Great: Conqueror of Empires
  • Hatshepsut: Egypt’s Female Pharaoh
  • Marco Polo: Explorer of the Silk Road
  • Harriet Tubman: Underground Railroad Conductor
  • Thomas Jefferson: Architect of American Independence
  • Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
  • Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil Rights Leader
  • Queen Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
  • Isaac Newton: Laws of Motion and Gravity
  • Joan Baez: Folk Singer and Activist
  • Malcolm X: Human Rights Activist
  • Elizabeth I: The Tudor Monarch

Scientists and Inventors

  • Albert Einstein: Theoretical Physicist
  • Jane Goodall: Primatologist and Conservationist
  • Nikola Tesla: Inventor and Electrical Engineer
  • Rosalind Franklin: DNA Structure Pioneer
  • Steve Jobs: Co-Founder of Apple Inc.
  • Grace Hopper: Computer Programming Pioneer
  • Jonas Salk: Polio Vaccine Developer
  • Alan Turing: Father of Computer Science
  • Marie Van Brittan Brown: Inventor of Home Security System
  • Thomas Edison: Inventor and Entrepreneur
  • Rachel Carson: Environmentalist and Author
  • James Clerk Maxwell: Electromagnetic Theory
  • Linus Pauling: Chemist and Peace Activist
  • Mae Jemison: Astronaut and Physician
  • Galileo Galilei: Astronomer and Physicist
  • George Washington Carver: Agricultural Scientist
  • Hedy Lamarr: Actress and Inventor
  • Edwin Hubble: Hubble Space Telescope Namesake
  • Carl Sagan: Astrophysicist and Science Communicator
  • Gregor Mendel: Father of Genetics
  • Tim Berners-Lee: Inventor of the World Wide Web

Writers and Poets

  • William Shakespeare: The Bard of Avon
  • Jane Austen: Regency Era Novelist
  • Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance Poet
  • Emily Dickinson: Reclusive Poet
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald: Author of “The Great Gatsby”
  • Maya Angelou: Poet and Civil Rights Activist
  • J.K. Rowling: Creator of Harry Potter
  • Edgar Allan Poe: Master of the Macabre
  • Roald Dahl: Children’s Book Author
  • Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Magical Realism Author
  • Virginia Woolf: Modernist Writer
  • Chinua Achebe: Nigerian Novelist
  • Sylvia Plath: Confessional Poet
  • Mark Twain: Author of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
  • Haruki Murakami: Contemporary Japanese Author
  • Agatha Christie: Queen of Mystery
  • Ernest Hemingway: Nobel Prize-Winning Author
  • George Orwell: Author of “1984”
  • Khalil Gibran: Lebanese-American Poet
  • Mary Shelley: Author of “Frankenstein”
  • Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize-Winning Geneticist
  • Catherine the Great: Empress of Russia

Political Leaders

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt: 32nd U.S. President
  • Margaret Thatcher: Iron Lady of British Politics
  • Che Guevara: Marxist Revolutionary
  • Indira Gandhi: India’s First Female Prime Minister
  • John F. Kennedy: 35th U.S. President
  • Angela Merkel: Chancellor of Germany
  • Ronald Reagan: 40th U.S. President
  • Benazir Bhutto: First Female Prime Minister of Pakistan
  • Abraham Lincoln: 16th U.S. President
  • Golda Meir: Israel’s Iron Lady
  • Mao Zedong: Chinese Communist Leader
  • John Adams: Founding Father and 2nd U.S. President
  • Nelson Mandela: Anti-Apartheid Leader
  • Queen Victoria: Longest-Reigning British Monarch
  • Theodore Roosevelt: 26th U.S. President
  • Winston Churchill: British Prime Minister during WWII
  • Deng Xiaoping: Architect of Modern China
  • Benito Mussolini: Italian Fascist Leader
  • Grover Cleveland: 22nd and 24th U.S. President
  • Aung San Suu Kyi: Burmese Democracy Activist

Artists and Musicians

  • Vincent van Gogh: Post-Impressionist Painter
  • Frida Kahlo: Surrealist Painter
  • Pablo Picasso: Cubist Artist
  • Michael Jackson: King of Pop
  • Georgia O’Keeffe: Modernist Painter
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Composer and Pianist
  • Salvador Dalí: Surrealist Artist
  • Bob Dylan: Singer-Songwriter and Nobel Laureate
  • Leonardo da Vinci: Renaissance Artist
  • Billie Holiday: Jazz and Blues Singer
  • Claude Monet: Impressionist Painter
  • Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat: Neo-Expressionist Artist
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Classical Composer
  • Andy Warhol: Pop Art Pioneer
  • Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul
  • Diego Rivera: Mexican Muralist
  • Jimi Hendrix: Guitar Virtuoso
  • Edvard Munch: Expressionist Painter
  • John Lennon: Peace Activist and Musician

Activists and Humanitarians

  • Mother Teresa: Humanitarian and Missionary
  • Cesar Chavez: Farm Workers’ Rights Activist
  • Eleanor Roosevelt: Human Rights Advocate
  • Harvey Milk: LGBTQ+ Rights Activist
  • Wangari Maathai: Environmental and Political Activist
  • Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist and Orator
  • Bono: U2 Frontman and Philanthropist
  • Rigoberta Menchú: Indigenous Rights Advocate
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe: Author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
  • Paul Farmer: Co-Founder of Partners In Health
  • Thurgood Marshall: Supreme Court Justice and Civil Rights Lawyer
  • Oskar Schindler: Righteous Among the Nations
  • Dolores Huerta: Labor Leader and Civil Rights Activist
  • Elie Wiesel: Holocaust Survivor and Nobel Laureate
  • Ida B. Wells: Journalist and Anti-Lynching Activist
  • Kailash Satyarthi: Children’s Rights Activist
  • Susan B. Anthony: Suffragist and Women’s Rights Advocate
  • Malala Yousafzai: Education Activist and Nobel Laureate
  • Desmond Tutu: South African Anglican Bishop and Social Rights Activist
  • Gloria Steinem: Feminist and Journalist

Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

  • Bill Gates: Microsoft Co-Founder
  • Oprah Winfrey: Media Mogul and Philanthropist
  • Elon Musk: CEO of SpaceX and Tesla
  • Warren Buffett: Investor and Business Tycoon
  • Coco Chanel: Fashion Icon and Entrepreneur
  • Richard Branson: Founder of the Virgin Group
  • Jack Ma: Alibaba Group Founder
  • Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Co-Founder
  • Jeff Bezos: Amazon Founder and Former CEO
  • Estée Lauder: Beauty Industry Pioneer
  • Walt Disney: Founder of The Walt Disney Company
  • Ray Kroc: McDonald’s Corporation Founder
  • Martha Stewart: Lifestyle Entrepreneur
  • Larry Page: Google Co-Founder
  • Henry Ford: Founder of Ford Motor Company
  • Arianna Huffington: Co-Founder of The Huffington Post
  • Ingvar Kamprad: Founder of IKEA
  • Anita Roddick: Founder of The Body Shop
  • Elon Musk: Visionary Innovator

Sports Figures

  • Muhammad Ali: The Greatest Boxer
  • Serena Williams: Tennis Champion
  • Michael Jordan: Basketball Legend
  • Pelé: Soccer Icon
  • Babe Ruth: Baseball Hall of Famer
  • Usain Bolt: World’s Fastest Man
  • Simone Biles: Olympic Gymnastics Star
  • Jackie Robinson: Baseball Pioneer
  • Cristiano Ronaldo: Football Superstar
  • Lionel Messi: Soccer Sensation
  • Billie Jean King: Tennis Legend and Advocate
  • Michael Phelps: Olympic Swimming Phenom
  • Jesse Owens: Track and Field Legend
  • Nadia Comăneci: Gymnastics Perfect 10
  • Yuna Kim: Figure Skating Champion
  • Tom Brady: NFL Quarterback
  • Diego Maradona: Soccer Magician
  • LeBron James: NBA Superstar
  • Arthur Ashe: Tennis Champion and Activist
  • Simone Biles: Gymnastics Trailblazer

Explorers and Adventurers

  • Sir Edmund Hillary: Mount Everest Conqueror
  • Jacques Cousteau: Ocean Explorer and Filmmaker
  • Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Polar Explorer
  • Ibn Battuta: Medieval Explorer
  • Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon
  • Nellie Bly: Pioneering Journalist and World Traveler
  • Sacagawea: Lewis and Clark Expedition Guide
  • Thor Heyerdahl: Kon-Tiki Expedition
  • James Cook: Captain and Explorer
  • Yuri Gagarin: First Human in Space
  • Gertrude Bell: Archaeologist and Explorer
  • Sir Ernest Shackleton: Antarctic Explorer
  • Matthew Henson: Arctic Explorer
  • Valentina Tereshkova: First Woman in Space
  • Lewis and Clark: American Expedition Leaders
  • Richard Byrd: Polar Explorer and Aviator
  • Zheng He: Chinese Admiral and Explorer
  • Sir Richard Francis Burton: Victorian Explorer
  • Nellie Bly: Trailblazing Journalist

Film and Entertainment

  • Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon
  • Charlie Chaplin: Silent Film Star
  • Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense
  • Audrey Hepburn: Actress and Humanitarian
  • James Dean: Rebel Without a Cause
  • Katharine Hepburn: Independent Film Star
  • Steven Spielberg: Filmmaker and Producer
  • Judy Garland: The Wizard of Oz Star
  • Quentin Tarantino: Film Director and Screenwriter
  • Grace Kelly: Princess of Monaco
  • George Lucas: Creator of Star Wars
  • Orson Welles: Citizen Kane Director
  • Meryl Streep: Oscar-Winning Actress
  • Johnny Depp: Actor and Producer
  • Robert De Niro: Iconic Actor
  • George Lucas: Architect of Cinematic Universes

Social Media Influencers

  • PewDiePie: YouTube’s Most Subscribed
  • Kylie Jenner: Beauty Mogul and Socialite
  • David Dobrik: YouTube Star and Philanthropist
  • Lele Pons: Vine Star turned Social Media Influencer
  • Casey Neistat: Filmmaker and YouTuber
  • Charli D’Amelio: TikTok Dance Sensation
  • Jeffree Star: Makeup Artist and Entrepreneur
  • Emma Chamberlain: Vlogger and Coffee Aficionado
  • James Charles: Makeup Artist and YouTuber
  • NikkieTutorials: Beauty YouTuber
  • Shane Dawson: YouTuber and Documentarian
  • Addison Rae: TikTok Star and Dancer
  • MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson): YouTube Philanthropist
  • Tana Mongeau: YouTube and Reality TV Personality
  • Lilly Singh: Superwoman of YouTube
  • JoJo Siwa: Teen Icon and Performer
  • Jake Paul: YouTuber and Boxer
  • Liza Koshy: Comedian and Actress
  • Logan Paul: Controversial YouTuber
  • Gabbie Hanna: Vlogger and Musician
  • Emma Chamberlain: Authentic Content Creator

Tips for Successful Biography Project Ideas

  • Select a Compelling Subject: Choose an individual with a captivating story to keep both you and your audience engaged.
  • Thorough Research: Utilize various sources to gather comprehensive information about your chosen subject, ensuring accuracy and depth.
  • Organize Information Effectively: Arrange details chronologically or thematically to create a coherent narrative for your biography project.
  • Incorporate Multimedia Elements: Enhance engagement by adding visuals, videos, or interactive elements to make your presentation dynamic.
  • Tell a Story: Craft your biography as a narrative, incorporating anecdotes and personal experiences to make it relatable and interesting.
  • Seek Feedback: Share your project with peers or educators to receive constructive feedback, improving the overall quality of your presentation.

In conclusion, biography project ideas for school students are more than assignments; they are transformative journeys. By immersing themselves in the lives of remarkable individuals, students enhance their research, writing, and presentation skills. These projects foster creativity, empathy, and a deeper understanding of historical and contemporary figures. The benefits extend beyond the classroom, influencing personal growth, confidence, and inspiring lifelong learning. 

As students showcase their projects through exhibitions, online platforms, and public speaking opportunities, they not only share knowledge but also cultivate a passion for exploration. Biography project ideas serve as beacons guiding students towards a richer, more interconnected world of learning and self-discovery.

1. How do I choose a unique subject for a biography project?

Consider individuals outside the mainstream, focusing on lesser-known but impactful figures. Think about personal interests and potential connections with the subject.

2. Can biography projects be done in groups?

Absolutely! Group projects foster collaboration and diverse perspectives. They can provide a richer understanding of the subject and encourage teamwork.

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  • 3 Ideas for Student Biography Research Projects

3 Ideas for Student Biography Research Projects

When the second half of the school year comes around, it is officially biography season in my classroom!

That is because when the second half of the year comes we shift our focus during reading and writing to nonfiction and informative text . The engagement is instant as kids just love to read nonfiction. After we get our feet with reading a wide range of informative texts, we begin to closely study biographies.

Students LOVE to read about real people and the impact that they have had on the world . Every year students are always so motivated during our biography research project time. Our biography project is the first research project of the year, so it is important to me that I support them every step of the way.

Over the years I have found that by breaking down the process step by step for our biography reports students are not only successful when writing their first research essay of the year, but they are able to take the skills that they learned throughout the unit and apply it to future research projects that we do, like studying endangered animals and National Parks . 

Continue to read to find out how I approach teaching BEFORE I expect students to research and write an expository research essay .

1. Break Down Biographies

Biography Anchor Chart for Upper Elementary

  • are one person's telling about another person's life
  • can be about people who have died or are still living
  • include basic facts about the person of focus
  • include information about the person's education and childhood
  • usually tell about problems or struggles that they faced
  • describe their major life achievements

Once we have gone over the characteristics found in biographies we get reading so that students can find these characteristics in action.

I start by reading a few short biographies like the ones found in anthologies like this one, Herstory written by Katherine Halligan:

Biography Reading Mentor Text Upper Elementary

We stop and discuss the elements that we listed on our anchor chart.  I have students find examples of struggles, accomplishments, and facts.

Once students have listened to a few biographies, I send them off to annotate a   biography article . 

Annotating a Biography for Upper Elementary Students

Students take highlighters and sticky notes and mark up the text , citing where they found elements of biographies. This activity works well in partnerships so that the students can discuss each element with a peer.

At the close of this first lesson on biographies, I send students off with the task to think about a person that they would like to research . While I do like to encourage students to pick someone they are interested in, I do also guide them on who they select.

I tell my students to pick someone who has had an impact on the world and someone who is not a movie/TV/YouTube star. You can make any rules you want to help guide students or set no rules. I have found that spending a few minutes brainstorming appropriate people to research sets the tone for the whole project. That is why before we wrap up the lesson we brainstorm ten people who would be great to research. This brainstorming is just to get students excited and thinking. They do not have to pick from the brainstormed list.

The next day, after students have had time to think, and discuss it with their families, which I like to have them do, they submit their research request . They simply write their name on a piece of paper and the name of who they want to research and why. This is a great way to get students to pick someone intentionally and reduces repeat research projects. I never allow more than two people to pick the same person.

Grab the FREE form I have students use to request a focus person and guide right here.

2. Bring it Through the Writing Process

Writing Process Activities for Biography Research Elementary Kids

Once students have a good grasp on how to collect information, they are ready to work independently. I assign one topic for research each day. This helps the students stay focused on the daily task and make a research project manageable for upper elementary students. The breakdown I use for each day's research looks like thi s:

  • Day 1: Family Life and Early Childhood
  • Day 2: Young Adult Life
  • Day 3: Adult Life
  • Day 4: Accomplishments
  • Day 5: Other Important and Interesting Information

Sometimes days are combined based on what resources students are using to collect information. Once students have collected information for their report, we pause our research and return to the writing process.

Students know that we use the writing process for all of our writing. However, mini-lessons in certain areas specific to informative writing are necessary to help students write their first research project. Mini-lessons I teach before students write that are specific to informative writing include :

  • hooking your reader
  • paragraph organization
  • citing sources
  • strong closure to wrap up your writing

Teaching students how to take notes and what to do with their notes helps them successfully write their first research project.

3. Get Student Creative Juices Flowing

Creative Biography Project Ideas for Kids

  • design a PPT presentation
  • create a tri-fold handout to teach others
  • create a puppet of the person
  • design a poster
  • prepare a speech as if they were the focus person
  • allow students to come up with an idea for their presentation. I have to approve their idea based on the resources and materials we have available in the classroom.

When biography season comes around in your classroom, be sure to follow these tips for success! By breaking down biographies, using what students already know about the writing process , and allowing creative choice when it comes to project displays your students will be engaged, motivated, and write the best biography research projects you have ever seen.

You might be interested in reading:

Looking for more high impact writing resources click the  here ..

Writing Posters and Anchor Chart Bulletin Board Display Elementary

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Biography Project Ideas, Tips, Templates, Lessons Upper Elementary

* affiliate links:  “Think Grow Giggle is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.” (source:  Section 5 )

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What Is a Biography Project Idea for My Class?

What is a biography.

An autobiography is the author’s retelling of his or her own life. However, what is a biography? A biography is the story of someone’s life told by someone else. Biographies are so important to read because learning about the accomplishments of others can inspire our students. Furthermore, students will be able to see how others have overcome obstacles or struggles in order to accomplish a goal. Biographies allow students to see the amazing accomplishments of others, which will hopefully open their minds to making a positive change in the world. Additionally, students will see how greatness begins one step at a time. The easiest way to help students fall in love with biographies is to have them complete a biography project. 

Why use biography projects?

Reading allows us to be transported to another world. Between the pages of a book, we can become immersed in someone else’s life. Additionally, we can learn about a culture very different from our own. Furthermore, we can learn new words, phrases, and experience different emotions. Reading stories to children can not only teach them empathy but can also improve a child’s development.  As students learn about the challenges that others have overcome, they can make connections to their own lives. Learning about historical figures through biographies in the classroom has a powerful way of influencing and inspiring children! By exploring creative ways to teach biographies in the classroom, students will be ready to become future leaders! 

What is a biography project?

When using biographies in the classroom, there are so many fun, hands-on projects for students to complete! By using creative activities, students are not just reading a book and putting it away. They are engaged with the material and truly understanding the accomplishments of other people. Therefore, as students are working, they are gaining confidence in themselves to achieve anything they set their mind to. Furthermore, so many standards can be tied into biographies projects ! For example, students may develop questions they want to learn about a person and complete research for answers. Additionally, students can improve comprehension, complete writing assignments, or develop presentations. There are so many ways for students to show what they have learned!

what-is-a-biography-project

Great Biographies Project Ideas for your Classroom

There are so many fun biography projects in order to meet the needs of every student! What is the biography project you are most likely to choose?

Idea 1: Make Biographies Boxes

In your class, you can make biographies boxes. You are probably thinking what is a biography box project? Well, a fter reading about a historical figure, students can use a cereal box to create a museum display.  Specifically, they can include facts, illustrations, and a motto that makes clear why they have chosen the figure. They can then display their boxes like a museum. Next, students can walk around the room to see all the different historical figures. The biography box project brings together research and creativity in one amazing activity! 

Idea 2: Write Poems 

Students can write people poems.  It all starts with what is a biography poem and how can this biography poem be incorporated into classroom learning? Poetry writing may seem dull to some students but not when it is combined with a biography! Students can select one individual and write a poem about that person. Specifically,  the poem should feature qualities that make the person unique. Additionally, it can include facts relating to the person’s life and other details. You may choose to have each student include the name of the individual. However, the student can also share his or her writing and have others guess the identity.

Idea 3: Birth Date Biography 

They can create a birth date biography. How many days have you been alive? What was in the news and what songs were people listening to at the time? Students can use online resources to answer specific questions. Additionally, other teachers can collaborate with their classes by sharing their research.

Idea 4: Celebrity Guest 

Students can invite an imaginary celebrity guest. They can research a historical figure and write an introduction for this figure. Also, they can tell about his or her accomplishments throughout life. Furthermore, the person can tell what he or she will be discussing during the visit.

Idea 5: Magazine Cover 

They can create a magazine cover for people of the Century . Just like Time Magazine , they can create a list of the 100 influential people. The list can be organized into groups and ranked in order of importance. Who do your students view as the top ten leaders and revolutionaries?  Artists and entertainers? Builders and titans, heroes and icons? After they have compiled a list of their picks, students can vote. Next, students can read Time’s lists and compare the results. Do they agree with the findings of the readers of Time?

Idea 6: Choose the Greatest American 

You can have students choose the greatest American. What one person best represents the qualities of citizenship? Specifically, who has qualities that might qualify that person to be selected as “the greatest American”? Your students may decide! Furthermore, have them read about historical figures. Then, instruct each student to choose a person he or she feels deserves this title. Afterward, have students create an award for him or her. The student should define the characteristics that set this person apart from other Americans. Additionally, hold a class discussion to determine whether any students have chosen the same individual and why.

Idea 7: Biographies Study Guides

Another fun project is to create a biographies study guides , which can be done digitally or in person. Students can benefit from study guides when they are used in the classroom. Now it is even easier to make them a part of your curriculum. They can write questions for students to investigate. Be sure to tell them to include an answer sheet!

Idea 8: Newspaper Template 

Lastly, this newspaper template is so versatile and can be used for multiple classes. For example, if using it for a biography project template, students can use the same form for different people. There are even 13 templates for students to select from! Each student can create a newspaper about a person they research. Therefore, students will feel like authors and illustrators writing a biography! The templates will ensure students write all about their person, including their achievements and fun facts!

What is a biographical text I can use in my classroom? 

There are so many incredible biographical texts that can be used in the classroom. However, the ones by Brad Meltzer are a personal favorite of mine! These books are all written in student-friendly language and focus on a variety of people. Also, they focus on the positive impact each person made on society. Additionally, each book includes a timeline with captivating photographs. Also, feel free to go check out my reviews of   Brad Meltzer’s biography series on Ordinary People Change the World .

what-is-a-biography-text

Since Brad Meltzer has an incredible line of biographies, there are several projects that can be developed by students. Kirsten’s Kaboodle Biography Units have 31 ready to go biography projects. Additionally, the list of people is also diverse, which is so important to include! Therefore, students will be learning about a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds! Furthermore, this is a great way in order to show students there is no obstacle too big to overcome. 

what-is-a-biography-project

Kirsten’s Kaboodle Biographies Units

The units all involve several standards through hands-on, engaging activities. First, students will be given a biography of a person. Then, there are a variety of ways in order to ensure students understand their personality and accomplishments. For example, students will fill out a chart of basic information, such as date and location of birth. After, students will have important quotes to analyze and writing prompts. Additionally, there are different types of crafts in order for students to show off their artistic side. The units are sure to inspire students, improve their growth mindset, and make them excited for their futures! 

I hope you enjoyed some of these fun ways to make history come alive in your classroom. With some slight modification to assignments, kids will start to love history and historical biographies. Additionally, a biography book project and biography research project may be one’s students never forget! Students’ hearts may even be so touched that they always keep in mind the importance of inspiring others. 

If you do not want to miss any of the upcoming lessons, join my email list to be notified of all the interactive lessons coming up! By joining Kirsten’s Kaboodle , you will also receive freebies for blog exclusive subscribers! This link will even provide a biography and research templates on Katherine Johnson. Therefore, it is perfect for Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March!

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biography assignment high school

Biography PowerPoint

3 class periods of 70 minutes each

Life Skills

  • Communication
  • Social & Civic Responsibility
  • Employability

This lesson will teach students how to create a powerpoint presention. They will then prepare a presention about themselves to be graded by the teacher.

Computers with at least Windows 98 Operating System and Office XP.

Background for Teachers

Basics in PowerPoint are necessary and basics in Word are helpful.

Student Prior Knowledge

Basics in Word are helpful, but not necessary.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to create a PowerPoint Presentation that contains predefined slide layouts. Different slides should include titles, text, and graphics. Slides should able have automatic slide transitions and custom annimations.

Instructional Procedures

Attachments.

  • Lesson_Plan.doc Outline of the guidelines used for teaching the features of PowerPoint.
  • PP_-_Project.doc Assignment sheet with all of the guidelines for the Biography PowerPoint Assignment.
  • PP_-_Storyboard.doc Work sheet the students will use to create their Biography Storyboard.
  • School.ppt Copy of the teaching document created during the lesson. Information used is from Pleasant Grove High School.

Day 1 - Talk students through the basics of PowerPoint (toolbars, screens, features, etc). Help the students create a very simple presentation, about their school, showing the features that are required for their assignment (See the attached Lesson Plan and School PowerPoint). Start the Biography Assignment (See the attached PP-Project and PP-Storyboard). Day 2 - Students will turn in their Biography Storyboard. They will then work on creating their Biography Presentation. Day 3 - Students will continue working on their Biography Presention. The finished version should be done by the end of the class period.

Strategies for Diverse Learners

This assignment tends to meet all students interests because they are preparing information about themself. Students with language problems can create their Biography PowerPoint Assignment in their native language. Students with poor typing skills can keep their typed information to a minimum and use more of the other features (graphics, animations, etc.) for enhancement.

Assessment Plan

Students will be given the Biography PowerPoint Assignment sheet at the end of Day 1. Guidelines for grading are shown on the assignment sheet so students know what is required as they begin working.

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High School Biographies Samples For Students

12 samples of this type

Do you feel the need to check out some previously written Biographies on High School before you get down to writing an own piece? In this open-access database of High School Biography examples, you are granted an exciting opportunity to discover meaningful topics, content structuring techniques, text flow, formatting styles, and other academically acclaimed writing practices. Implementing them while crafting your own High School Biography will definitely allow you to finish the piece faster.

Presenting the finest samples isn't the only way our free essays service can help students in their writing ventures – our authors can also compose from scratch a fully customized Biography on High School that would make a solid foundation for your own academic work.

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Sample Biography On Autobiography

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Menacekeys was born in Fort Worth, Texas. The oldest of two sons, he was raised by his father while his mom served a 12-year prison term for child-abuse for almost killing both his younger brother and him. Consequently, music was always an escape from the reality of his troubled childhood. He discovered a passion for the piano at age five, and learned various other instruments throughout his youth, including drums and saxophone.

Draw Topic & Writing Ideas From This Biography On An Autobiography Of My Life

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All About Me, Back To School Body Biography Project , First Day of School

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Edgar Allan Poe, Author Study Body Biography Project , Poster

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The Crucible, Body Biography Project Bundle, Great for Characterization

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Women's History Month Body Biography Project Bundle

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A Christmas Carol, Body Biography Project Bundle, Characterization

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Egyptian Gods, Egyptian Mythology Body Biography Project Bundle

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Anne Frank, Activist, The Diary of Anne Frank, Body Biography Project

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William Shakespeare, Author Study, Body Biography Project

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Of Mice and Men, Body Biography Project Bundle, For Print and Digital

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Black History Month Biography Projects with Readings

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biography assignment high school

How to Teach Character Analysis Using Body Biographies

Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, biography study , mythology, current events, or for creative writing and character development.

How to Teach Character Analysis Using Body Biographies. Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Here is a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, biography study, mythology, current events, or for creative writing and character development. For grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Middle School ELA | High School English #middleschoolteachers #highschoolenglish

About the Body Biography project

This project is an excellent representation of how students can conduct analysis for a notable person or biography your students are studying in class. At the upper elementary, middle school, and high school level, we usually rely on just discussing character traits. We want our students to infer tangible traits and values from accurate details found in the text.

Body Biography Project Bundle, For Any Novel, Short Story, Play, or Film #middleschoolteachers #iteach678 #bodybiographies

This task really engages your students to infer those traits but also allows them to show their knowledge by applying those traits as they create a body biography which includes details from the person’s perspective. The project provides an opportunity for your student to explore together the supporting reasons for the character traits they have chosen for their character’s poster.

How to Teach Character Analysis Using Body Biographies. Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Here is a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, biography study, mythology, current events, or for creative writing and character development. For grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Middle School ELA | High School English #middleschoolteachers #highschoolenglish

What’s the objective?

  • The student objectives for the Macbeth Body Biography Project are as follows: Review what is supportive evidence
  • Define the literary term “character trait” and explore how to provide details that support their inferences (apply this skill similar to exploring a fictional text).
  • Use the novel, class notes, and web resources to research the character (subject), then cite evidence to find accurate and descriptive word choice.
  • Fill out the Body Biography graphic organizer/poster.

How to Teach Character Analysis Using Body Biographies. Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Here is a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, biography study, mythology, current events, or for creative writing and character development. For grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Middle School ELA | High School English #middleschoolteachers #highschoolenglish

Group work should promote:

  • Intellectual understanding, abilities, and skills.
  • Communication, cooperative and teamwork skills such as planning. management, leadership and peer support.
  • Personal growth (increased self-esteem and self-confidence).

Remember the 4 C’s for 21st Century Learning

Communication:  They are working together to problem-solve. Students need to be able to communicate their ideas and thoughts to one another in order to complete their body biography. Collaboration:  Students form roles within the group. They learn how to work together towards a common goal, not against each other. They learn how to bounce ideas off one another, and not shut down other students thought. Critical Thinking:  Encourage students to analyze, to organize, to evaluate and to implement strategies they have previously learned in order to complete their project. Creativity:  This allows students to think outside the box to come up with possible assets to embellish their projects. The ideas won’t just jump out at them- they will need to use a little creativity to depict their notable person’s body biography.

How to Teach Character Analysis Using Body Biographies. Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Here is a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, biography study, mythology, current events, or for creative writing and character development. For grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Middle School ELA | High School English #middleschoolteachers #highschoolenglish

Teaching Tips

  • Moving desks together or allowing students to work at a table works best for this activity.
  • Due to the length of the poster (32 inches), your students will want to have a wider and longer space to work.
  • Scissors for each group.
  • Have markers, crayons, pencils, and tape accessible and ready
  • Displaying the body biography posters are really exciting for the students to see around the classroom – so plan on where you will display them!

How to Teach Character Analysis Using Body Biographies. Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Here is a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, biography study, mythology, current events, or for creative writing and character development. For grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Middle School ELA | High School English #middleschoolteachers #highschoolenglish

Body Biography Project Categories

Direct Quotes: Three direct quotations from the story that sums up the character and add to an understanding of the character. These quotes do not necessarily need to be spoken by the character. Possibly, another character says them in regard to your character.

Virtues: What are your character’s best qualities?

Vices: What are your character’s worst qualities? This can be weaknesses and flaws.

Loves / Cares About: This should represent what this character loves most.

Thoughts about inner-self / Appears to others: Consider both how your character appears to others on the surface and what you know about the character’s inner-self (what the character really thinks about their own self).

Tries to Control: What is an example of how your character tries to seek control.

Symbols: What objects can you associate/relate with your character? Colors can also have a symbolic meaning.

Goals: What does this character want? What actions do they take? These actions often create conflict. How do this character’s goals create the conflict?

Best Accomplishment: What is this character’s best achievement? What is their proudest moment?

Challenge: What is standing in your character’s way? What is holding them back from achieving their goal? Is this someone? Or a character flaw? An event?

Physical Appearance/ Description: What You Notice First. These are defining traits or features of the character. These are aspects that are visually apparent, knowing nothing else about the person. The first thing you see when you look at someone could be their hair, clothes, nose, or figure.

Stayed the Same / Changed: Is this character static or dynamic? Are there any changes that this character has “undergone?” Changes are notable in the text are usually within the character. Could be outlook, insight or understanding. Commonly, changes in commitment, in values, allegiance, stature. Not all the characters are dynamic. Find evidence of both.

Ho w To Grade

Using the rubric, it is simple to grade this group project. Each item on the grading rubric is given a specific amount of points. You can alter the points if you choose.

biography assignment high school

Learning Outcomes for a body biography project

Reading: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Writing: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Speaking & Listening: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Language: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for the meaning of style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Here is an example of the common core standards that can be covered using a body biography project:

Reading: Literature 11-12.1-6 Reading: Informational Text 11-12.1-3 Writing 11-12.1a-8 Speaking & Listening 11-12.1a-1d Language 11-12.2b-5b

Macbeth Body Biography Project Bundle, Great for Characterization

I am adding more body biographies to my collection. So, if you don’t see one you can use in your classroom, comment here on my post to let me know what your needs are! I am also working on a “blank” version for any novel. As soon as that one is ready I will update this post to include it.

I hope your students find this project to be as engaging and educational as my students have. It truly is a fun project to watch and the end results are awesome. Good luck!

46 Comments

Omg this looks so amazing!!! I would love one for Night, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the Crucible. Please let me know if any of these are in the near future?!?

Romeo and Juliet is done. Coming any day. I will have The Crucible for sure! Very soon. I need to gather my inspiration for the artwork. Thank you so much for commenting!

That sounds awesome! Thank you for the suggestion!

I am excited for Romeo and Juliet! Where can we find it?

I really love these. When do you think you will come out with a blank one? I teach a reading course at the high school level and we read various novels throughout the year. This would be a great project to help improve critical thinking.

I do have one that is a “blank” – you can find it in my collection. THANK YOU!

Eager for R &J…..

I would love to see some for The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, or Freak the Mighty. These really are awesome!

I would also love one for The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time!

This is awesome. How about Equality 7-2521 from Anthem by Ayn Rand?

Wow! These are incredible. I love doing creative, visual projects, but there are never enough hours in the day. Thank you for sharing such an amazing activity. I teach 7th and 8th, and think this would make a wonderful personal intro to present to the class at the beginning of the year. Once students have done this as a group, individuals could use this as an independent reading response. Novels I teach: Freak the Mighty, The Giver, Roll of Thunder, My Dog Skip, Because of Winn Dixie, A Christmas Carol (play), The Diary of Anne Frank (play).

you are amazing! I’d love to speak with you more – and perhaps do a guest blog post for us! Thank you for sharing your reading list!

These are amazing! Have you created a blank one yet? Can you please let me know when you have a blank one available?

yes 🙂 You will see it listed – and I added it to this post. Thank you!

Have you considered doing one for Odysseus?

absolutely! II just need to get the artwork lined up.

Do you have the blank ones created? I’d love to try this with our book “Firegirl” and “Walk Two Moons” for our 6th graders!

I added blank ones to my collection! THANK YOU!

Julius Caesar please!

Wow! You are very talented! These are amazing. I would love to see Greek mythology: gods, goddesses, hero’s, etc. Malala Yousafzai and Amal from Amal Unbound!!

I’d love one for Fahrenheit 451!

Love this idea!! Would love to see one for the characters in Cynthia Lord’s RULES novel and MANIAC MAGEE as character analysis is a huge part of our those two novel studies.

I would love to see Freak the Mighty!

My 7th grade Special Education ELA class is working on Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. One of the characters, Aven, is armless. It would be so incredibly cool to do this project with my kiddos!

How about Wonder? I would love to see one for it. These are incredible!

These are amazing! Would love one for “Of Mice and Men” or a blank one 🙂 Thanks!

I love these! I cannot wait to use the Outsiders version! I would love to see one for The Giver and The Watsons Go To Birmingham, those are the two other novel we read during our school year! 🙂

I see in the previous comments you have added a blank set. Where would I find these? I am a forensic science teacher. I would love to use this during our serial killer section! Or the history of forensic science to learn about the main historical people in the field. Your stuff is amazing!

These are amazing! I would love to see one of these for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone or The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

How about The Old Man and the Sea!

Would you make custom ones for people if they are studying a particular novel? I’m a primary school teacher who teaches the older grades, these are my novels can you make any up for me? 1. Wonder 2. The Greatest Showman 3. Goldfish Boy 4. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory 5. Harry Potter & the Philosophers (Sorcerors) Stone 6. Wizard of Oz 7. Alice in Wonderland I have many resources for these novels but nothing like what you have created. Please let me know it would be a god send.

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This is absolutely awesome! I can’t wait to use the ones for To Kill A Mockingbird! I would love to see some for The Hate U Give!

I have To Kill A Mockingbird. I don’t have The Hate U Give yet. It’s on my list. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm!

Hi, ‘just purchased “Outsiders”, can you create one for “Wonder”?

hi! I do have it in my collection : ) Thank you for your enthusiasm!

These are incredible! I would love to see A Wrinkle in Time, The Giver, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Egypt Game! I’m looking forward to using the blank version until then!

I would love to see some for The Handmaid’s Tale.

I teach middle school gifted students and think this would be great as a culminating project for various topics I teach— currently teaching the Yellow Wallpaper and connecting it to feminism and mental illness….

I love using these! I already have so many but am missing Of Mice and Men… any chance that is in the works *crosses fingers*?

I just purchased the set for Beowulf, and it is great. Would you consider creating a set for Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds or at least one for Will. These would be perfect as a character study set for that novel.

Do you perhaps have the layout for Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief or Hatchet?

The Canterbury Tales would be AMAZING!

I found your work while searching for Hamlet character analysis ideas. You mention a blank template, but I do not see it. Would love to see Hamlet and the Odyssey.

I bought the one for any novel and for A Christmas Carol. I would love if you would consider doing one for The Joy Luck Club!!

These are fantastic! I would love to have a set for Fences by August Wilson.

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biography assignment high school

I’m so glad you are here! My name is Danielle. I am passionate about helping teachers and homeschool parents promote critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication with their students. 

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How to Write a Good Academic Biography (Part 1)

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When your journal article gets accepted or you are preparing for a public presentation, you will often be asked for a short academic biography. For many people, these academic bios are more difficult to write than a dissertation. How do you sum up yourself and your work in 3-5 sentences? What do you need to include? What should you leave out?

What You Should Do

  • Start with your full name followed by your current position, your general interests, and your current project, keeping them all very brief.
  • If you are within a year of receiving a prestigious award, mention that as well.
  • Finally, finish with a sentence that’s personal: add a hobby, a pet’s name, the city you live in—whatever you are comfortable with that is personal but not too private.

What You Should Avoid

  • Avoid speaking in the first person, i.e., don’t use “I.”
  • Don’t divulge details beyond your current position.
  • In a longer bio of multiple paragraphs, you may add more awards and information about your master’s and bachelor’s degrees, but not in a short bio. Moreover, don’t add anything that happened before grad school—including your place of birth. For example:

Hi! My name is Scott. I was originally born in Vermont and now I’m a professor at North Yankee University in Fargone, New York (in upstate New York). I study antelopes’ migration patterns and their impact of native grain growth. My interest in antelopes began as a teenager when I first saw one in the wild. I did my undergrad degree in biology at SUNY and my masters and UCLA and my PhD in Forestry at Hunter College.

Related: Finished drafting your academic biography and heading for an international conference? Check out this post now!

The above example is far too casual and Scott’s work and current position are overshadowed by all the other random details. This can be written in a much better way:

Scott Sampson is a professor of Wildlife Biology at North Yankee University. His work focuses specifically on the migration patterns of antelope and their impact on the growth of native grain. His favorite place to do research in his backyard, which opens to the Akron National Forest.

This improvised version is concise, relevant, and makes Scott’s bio appear professional while giving a short description of his personal details.

Longer Bios

For longer bios, follow the same basic rules, but go into a bit more depth about your work, your education, and your future projects or interests. You may also consider adding a line about your immediate family. But as always, leave the personal details for a short and friendly mention at the end of the bio.

Mostly, your bio will be used by someone to introduce you at a conference or public event so if you write your bio using these tips, you will help them give a smooth and accurate introduction. Remember that the bio is the first thing that people know about you so pack it full of the most important things about yourself!

If you would like to know more about different formats of academic biography, read the next article in this series!

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Academic Biography

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How to Write a Good Academic Biography (Part 2)

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Biography Templates for Students

A biography is a short summary of a person's life, written by someone else. This Buzzle article provides you with some biography templates for students.

Biography Templates for Students

A biography is a short summary of a person’s life, written by someone else. This Buzzle article provides you with some biography templates for students.

Quick Tip: A biography should answer the 3Ws:

A biography needs no explanation. It is a summary of a person’s life. You would have come across outline templates or standard writing templates for biographies that state the information about the person in exceptional detail. In general, any regular or speaker biography includes the basic details about the person, his education, work, hobbies, etc. More often than not, students are confused about what to include and where it should be included. It is always beneficial to use a standardized template with proper guidelines so that you can come up with a good biography. And as a student, you will be expected to write a biography on anyone, ranging from a political figure to an actress to a business magnate to a civilian. Here are some standard templates that you can use for your reference.

Printable Templates to Download

* Click the Save icon on the preview to download the template.

▶ Simple Biography Template for School

▶ Template for a Book Report

▶ Professional Biography Template

▶ Personal Biography Template

▶ Character Template

▶ Biography Template for a Military Person

Types of Biography Templates

  • For school students, a biography template involves rather simple elements.
  • Irrespective of whether you are in third grade or in middle school, you will be required to include basic details, like early life, education, achievements, etc.
  • Language would make a difference; in high school, you will be expected to use refined vocabulary and a better article tone.

Book Review

  • A review of a biography book may seem like a strange idea for a biography, but remember that you are focusing on the person about whom the book is.
  • Even though it is ideally a book review, you will be summarizing the person’s life in your template.
  • You will also be required to give your personal opinion on the subject as well as the author.

Personal and Professional Biographies

  • Remember that these templates are not your resumes. They are more like short write-ups about yourself.
  • You could use these biographies as a short introduction to your blog or website.
  • In case of personal write-ups, you need to elaborate on your work or professional expertise. Concentrate on the hobbies.
  • In professional templates, focus on the technical details.

Miscellaneous

  • You may have to modify your template as per the personality.
  • While writing about a person in the armed forces, be sure to include his rewards and appointments.
  • When writing about a company, include the market share value and other business details.

How to Create a Biography Template?

  • You can create biographical templates using Microsoft Word.
  • All you have to do is follow a standard format, type out the details, and fill them accordingly.
  • You have a choice to either type out your details or print the template and fill it manually. As students, the second choice is more apt; you can create templates, print them, write the necessary information, and then submit them.
  • You have the option of exporting the documents to a ‘PDF’ format for clarity. Just select the File → Export as PDF option.

Sample Template

The templates provided above are merely a reference. They may require certain changes as per your topic. For example, if you have to write the biography of an actress, you may decide to include a subhead titled ‘Philanthropy’ or ‘Other Works’. Similarly, biographies of war correspondents or air-force pilots will change accordingly.

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Connect learning with real life using projects and activities in upper elementary!

Use choice to create amazing biography projects for grades 3, 4 and 5

Biography Projects That Students Enjoy!

Students love having choices, but they may not love writing reports.  I’m going to share how using CHOICE you can watch your elementary students eagerly work on and create some amazing biography projects.  Use student enthusiasm to integrate and teach deep concepts at the same time with the focus on learning more about a famous person during a biography report project. 

Biography projects are great opportunities to teach skills like reading writing and public speaking.

There are so many educational standards to cover during the course of your year but by integrating them into a fun and engaging project, you can do it!  Keep reading!

Biography anchor charts are included with the biography project for grades 3, 4 and 5.

A well-designed project-based biography project can integrate and cover lots of content standards, including:

·Reading – a novel at his/her own reading level and comprehending the non-fiction text

·Writing – note taking, rough draft writing, final copy writing, poetry writing, listing sources used for research

·Speaking – public speaking during a wax museum event or other presentation can let students demonstrate the speaking standards to show content, organization, use of proper language, and having a good delivery

·Citing Sources – writing a bibliography of sources using proper format

·Math and Art – Students will draw their famous person, using math to measure their own face dimensions and then draw their person’s face to the proper proportional scale

Biography projects are more engaging when you give them a choice of who to write and learn about.

Use learning about famous people as the motivator.  If you ask students to tell you who they would want to learn more about, you’ve almost got them hooked.  YES!  They willingly dig in and get to work because they chose the person.  It’s so easy but it works. 

Biography projects allow students to read novels at their own reading level.

Allow students to read a novel to learn all about their favorite person.  Make sure the book is the proper reading level.  There are lots of biography series books and they make a great item to begin collecting for your classroom library.  Here are a few places to find good biography books for elementary students to get you started. (Note, I’m not making any money from providing these links).

“Who Was . . . ?” Series – a great series for elementary readers

“ The Story of . . . “ Series – has various age ranges for each book

ABDO Books – search their catalog by reading level, interest, Lexile rating and more!

Introduce the Research Project Have students take notes while reading about their famous person.  Teach student the importance of writing down books and online sources they used and have them create a bibliography.

of writing down books and online sources they used and have them create a bibliography.

My biography website collection is designed for grades 3, 4 and 5 and is geared to help students stay safer while conducing Internet research.

I created a website for my students to use for biography research that includes 125 famous people with web links pre-selected.  Students can use any of the websites on the web page built for the this project to research famous person. This helped ease my mind that students would be researching and are safe using the Internet.

Biography timeline templates are included in the the complete biography project for grades 3, 4 and 5.

Ask students to find important dates in the person’s life.   I give students the choice of recording a minimum 8 events, and by doing this, you may find that many students will go above and beyond the minimum and find 10 or more events.

Biography final copy paper is also included in the complete biography unit and biography project.

When the report components have been completed, students may be losing enthusiasm to keep going BUT, give them another choice and watch them perk back up!  Give students a choice of final copy paper to use.  Yes, something that simple works!  You can offer students choice of paper with a fun scroll border, paper with a barbed wire look, paper that allows them to color the border, paper with different sized line spacing, or maybe it’s choosing a background color for their final digital biography project.  Choice helps motivate students!

Students enjoy having control over their learning.  Give it to them while YOU present a curriculum-rich project that reaches the standards you need to.  

Biography file folder project in print and digital format perfect for students in grades 3, 4, and 5.

If you’re looking for a complete BIOGRAPHY REPORT PROJECT in print and digital format especially for grades 3-5 with everything you and your students need for a print and digital use, you can see it in my TpT store. 

biography assignment high school

About Mrs. Renz

Hi there, my name is Heather, and I'm a veteran teacher from Oregon with 30+ years of experience primarily in 4th and 5th grades and middle school math. I LOVE designing curriculum! Teaching has been my life and is also my hobby! I love to create teaching materials that inspire and excite students to learn.

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Biography Research Project -- Loeppert & Stanek: Home

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3. Student Resources in Context

Extra -- 4. Science in Context

5. World/U.S. History in Context

1 Humanities 

Ms. Loeppert and Mr. Stanek 1st Quarter Project: Biography Research Paper

(200 Summative Points Possible in English and History)

This year will focus on the role that the individual plays in the community.  As you will see in the literary texts we will discuss, a single person can sometimes change the world through her or his actions.  In history class you will see how an individual who identifies an injustice in the world can sometimes put an end to that injustice.  

The topic of your research paper must focus on a specific cause that you find interesting and an individual who defended that cause.  Since our first semester survey of history in 1 Humanities History ends in the year 1800, your paper’s topic must come from any point in history before the year 1800.  Attached is a list of possible causes and the individuals who championed them.   Your job is to research the social or political situation that the individual encountered in her or his society and then to explain how the individual changed or attempted to change society.  

GENERAL DUE DATES:  

9/24-25 Freshman Research Paper introduced and assigned.

9/29-10/7 Class meets for double periods. 

Source Evaluation/Annotation/Works Cited Page Rough Draft

 The Library Planning packet asks you to assess your sources as you locate them, formulate a claim/thesis statement, a sub claim, and then produce the works cited page.  This will count as a part of the grade for Works Cited/Annotation of Sources. This will be due at the end of class on the second day we are in the library.

10/8-14 Work days asynchronously (on your own) and in class (in both English and history classes)

10/14 Final Essay and Works Cited Page Due (200 Points)

RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICS

Works Cited Page and Evaluation of Sources 

VALUE:  100 Points

RUBRIC:  We will use the rubric entitled Freshman Research Rubric A/AEHC 1 to grade your works cited page, and your choice/evaluation of sources. Your Library Planning Packet will also count as annotation of your sources.   

SOURCES:  You must find at least 3 sources to include in your works cited page:

Your sources should be books, scholarly articles or periodicals, most of which you will access through the online databases. 

You must use all of your sources in your parenthetical citations.

You may not use any general encyclopedia articles.  

Internet sources with no date or author are not valid research sources.  

All sources must be approved by Mr. Stanek.  

WORKS CITED PAGE:  You must have a works cited page that includes all 3 of your sources:

The sources should be formatted in MLA format (wording, spacing, punctuation, indentation).  Most of the sources that come from the databases will have a citation in MLA format that you can just copy and paste into your works cited page.  

The page must also be typed and formatted in manuscript form (1” margins, 12 point Times New Roman font, spacing, etc.).  

If you have more than 3 sources, these must be listed as well.

List the sources in alphabetical order. 

Title the page Works Cited 

Remember to CHOOSE MLA FORMAT in the sources that offer a citation

The Research Paper Essay

RUBRIC:  We will use the rubric entitled Freshman Research Rubric Claim/Sub-Claim/Evidence/AEHC 2 to grade your research paper. 

LENGTH:  3-4 pages typed in 12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced.  These 3-4 pages do NOT include the works cited page

CLAIM/ SUBCLAIM: Your claim/ thesis statement should clearly state that the individual changed their society in a specific way.  The sub claim in the second body paragraph should then clearly explain how the individual was able to change their society in a specific way.  See the attached writing checklist for specific information regarding the organization and content of the essay.  

REASONING/EVIDENCE: Your analysis should support the sub claim through facts, ideas, and direct quotations that come from your 3 sources.  

PARENTHETICAL/IN-TEXT  CITATIONS:  Since there are at least 3 sources in your works cited page, there should be a minimum of 3 parenthetical citations in your paper.  You must cite all direct quotations, paraphrased information, statistics, or any other ideas that are not your own.  

ESSAY WRITING INSTRUCTIONS

CONTENT/STRUCTURE:   (Please note that the sentence counts below serve just as guidelines—you can compose more or fewer at your discretion)

Introduction:  This paragraph should include:

"Grabber/Lead” Sentence:  A sentence that gets our attention and makes us want to read your essay.

Background Information (2-3 sentences briefly introducing the cause and individual)

The Thesis Statement (Underlined):  1 sentence that tells the reader what the essay will prove.  (Hint:  The thesis should state that the individual changed her or his society in a specific way)

The Organizational Statement:  1-2 sentences that tell the reader how the essay will be organized.  (Hint:  This is where you provide the layout for your essay, a “roadmap”) 

 Transition Sentence--1 sentence that provides a clear transition to the content in the next paragraph (Hint:  refer to the next topic to be discussed—the society that the individual lived in)

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1st or 2nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write:  “In the next paragraph I will talk about…” or “the thesis of the paper is…” 

Body Paragraph One:  This paragraph should present the individual’s society and include:

Topic Sentence:  1 sentence that clearly introduces the focus of the paragraph (Hint:  refer to the society that the individual lived in)

Description of the individual’s society:  In order to appreciate how the individual changed her or his society, first establish what the society was like.   In 5-6 sentences, describe the society, providing any pertinent details that relate to the thesis.  What was wrong with the society? What did the individual want to change?  This is where you will establish what the individual would have encountered socially, politically, and/or artistically in society.

Parenthetical Citations:  Remember that you need to cite any ideas that are not yours.  All quotes or paraphrase/ideas should be cited in manuscript form and correctly punctuated.

Transition Sentence--1 sentence that provides a clear transition to the content in the next paragraph (Hint:  refer to the next topic to be discussed—how the individual attempted to change her or his society)

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1st or 2nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write:  “This paragraph will be about…” or “in the next paragraph you will learn  about…”  

Body Paragraph Two:  This paragraph should explain ONE of the ways the individual changed society:

Topic Sentence:  State Sub claim here.  This sub claim (1 sentence) presents one of the ways the individual changed society.  

Reasoning/Evidence of Research: In 5-6 sentences explain how the individual changed their society, presenting 3 or more facts/ideas that come from your research 

Choice of Quotations:  Provide quotations that clearly support the reasoning

Analysis of Quotations: 1-2 sentences that clearly connect the quotations to the reasoning.  

Parenthetical Citations:  All quotes or paraphrase/ideas should be cited in manuscript form and correctly punctuated.

Transition Sentence--1 sentence that provides a clear transition to the content in the next paragraph 

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1st or 2nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write:  “The sub claim is…” or “in the next paragraph I will talk about…”  

Conclusion:  

Topic Sentence:  1 sentence that states the importance/relevance of your individual to their society and to the modern world.

Concluding Analysis: 3-4 sentences that explain the results of your individual’s work in their society. How is their society different as a result of their work? 

Concluding Analysis: 3-4 sentences that briefly discuss the overall relevance/importance of your topic to the modern world.

Concluding Sentences: 1-2 sentences that present the implications of your cause and figure for the future

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1st or 2nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write “In conclusion” or “I hope you enjoyed reading my essay…”

MECHANICS:  

1st Quarter Project Topics: Individuals and their Causes

Parenthetical Citations Overview

What is a Parenthetical Citation?

A Parenthetical Citation is set of parentheses (     )  that indicates exactly where a statistic, direct quote, or fact comes from originally.  The citation directly follows the sentence containing the statistic, quotation, or fact.  

What to Cite:  

Any direct quotations, statistics, or specific facts should be cited in parenthetical citations.  

What goes inside the Parentheses:

For this project, you located and read articles and books that contained both an author’s or editor’s name and, depending on the source, page number(s).  The parentheses should contain the last name of the author/editor followed by the page number on which the information was found.  If using a source that does not include a page number, record just the author’s last name. If the source does not have an author, record the editor’s last name. If you found a source with no author, no editor, and it was still approved by Mr, Stanek, then just record the name of the article, in quotations marks, inside the parentheses.

A Source with both an author’s/editor’s last name and page number: 

The law states that employers can monitor their employees with “a hidden video camera” and can even position a video camera so that “a number of employees can be monitored at the same time” (Lane 147).  

A source with just an author’s/editor’s name, but no page number:

85% of American companies monitor their employees via video camera, but often this practice results in low morale.  95% of employees surveyed reported that they do not feel comfortable working in an environment where cameras are used (Morris).

An online source with no author, editor or page number: 

“Monitoring individuals via video without their knowledge is illegal in some countries” (“Who is Watching Us”).  

How to Integrate a Parenthetical Citation into a Sentence or Paragraph:

The parenthetical citation should appear at the end of the sentence(s) that include the direct quotation, statistic or facts.  The period that normally would appear at the very end of the sentence should now appear after the parenthetical citation. See the 3 examples above.  

However if you use a quote that ends in a question mark or exclamation point, these marks remain inside of the quotation marks, but then you will add a period after the parentheses.

A direct quotation that ends in a question mark/exclamation point:

“I just don’t understand why this issue is such a big deal. Why do people care so much?” (Morris 2).

Introduction:   This paragraph should include:

"Grabber/Lead” Sentence:   A sentence that gets our attention and makes us want to read your essay.

The Thesis Statement ( Underlined ):   1 sentence that tells the reader what the essay will prove.  (Hint:  The thesis should state that the individual changed her or his society in a specific way)

The Organizational Statement:   1-2 sentences that tell the reader how the essay will be organized.  (Hint:  This is where you provide the layout for your essay, a “roadmap”)  

  Transition Sentence --1 sentence that provides a clear transition to the content in the next paragraph (Hint:  refer to the next topic to be discussed—the society that the individual lived in)

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1 st or 2 nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write:  “In the next paragraph I will talk about…” or “the thesis of the paper is…”  

Body Paragraph One:   This paragraph should present the individual’s society and include:

Topic Sentence:   1 sentence that clearly introduces the focus of the paragraph ( Hint:  refer to the society that the individual lived in)

Description of the individual’s society:  In order to appreciate how the individual changed her or his society, first establish what the society was like.   In 5-6 sentences, describe the society, providing any pertinent details that relate to the thesis. What was wrong with the society? What did the individual want to change?  This is where you will establish what the individual would have encountered socially, politically, and/or artistically in society.

Parenthetical Citations:   Remember that you need to cite any ideas that are not yours.  All quotes or paraphrase/ideas should be cited in manuscript form and correctly punctuated.

Transition Sentence --1 sentence that provides a clear transition to the content in the next paragraph (Hint:  refer to the next topic to be discussed—how the individual attempted to change her or his society)

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1 st or 2 nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write:  “This paragraph will be about…” or “in the next paragraph you will learn  about…”  

Body Paragraph Two:   This paragraph should explain ONE of the ways the individual changed society:

Topic Sentence:   State Sub claim here.  This sub claim (1 sentence) presents one of the ways the individual changed society.  

Reasoning/Evidence of Research : In 5-6 sentences explain how the individual changed their society, presenting 3 or more facts/ideas that come from your research 

Parenthetical Citations:   All quotes or paraphrase/ideas should be cited in manuscript form and correctly punctuated.

Transition Sentence --1 sentence that provides a clear transition to the content in the next paragraph 

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1 st or 2 nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write:  “The sub claim is…” or “in the next paragraph I will talk about…”  

Conclusion:   

Topic Sentence:   1 sentence that states the importance/relevance of your individual to their society and to the modern world.

Style Reminder: Do not refer directly to your essay and do not use 1 st or 2 nd person point-of-view. i.e. Do not write “In conclusion” or “I hope you enjoyed reading my essay…”

MECHANICS:   

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Chardon High School principal resigns, under investigation for allegedly altering student grades

GEAUGA COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) - The former principal of Chardon High School is under investigation for allegedly altering student academic records on at last two occasions.

School officials said Douglas Murray resigned on Feb. 10.

According to an educator misconduct reporting form, Superintendent Dr. Michael P. Hanlon Jr. received a complaint in January and an internal investigation was started.

The report states Murray “violated Board of Education policy, District procedure and likely the Educator Licensure Code.”

The report added the students benefited from the record modifications.

No criminal charges have been filed at this time.

Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved.

Columbus police have issued a statewide AMBER Alert Wednesday morning for a five-year-old boy.

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A 23-year-old in Michigan purchased a car from a Cleveland business, had it sent to an...

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Heavy police presence in North Olmsted, multiple agencies responding

North Olmsted police arrest 1 after shots fired at gas station

Latest news.

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US Marshals arrest 39-year-old wanted in connection to deadly Cleveland explosion

US Marshals arrest 39-year-old wanted in connection to deadly Cleveland explosion

Investigators say 24-year-old Mohamed Reeda cruised the streets of Akron looking for victims....

Investigates: Newly released Akron body camera video shows how convicted “ride-share” rapist preyed on his victims

Investigates: Newly released Akron body camera video shows how convicted "ride-share" rapist...

Investigates: Newly released Akron body camera video shows how convicted "ride-share" rapist preyed on his victims

Athens Ohio fire

Ohio State Fire Marshal closes Athens Thanksgiving Day fire case that killed 5

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K-12 students learned a lot last year, but they're still missing too much school

Cory Turner - Square

Cory Turner

Headshot of Sequoia Carrillo

Sequoia Carrillo

biography assignment high school

From 2022-2023, chronic absenteeism declined in 33 of the 39 states AEI looked at. But it was still a persistent problem: In a handful of places, including Nevada, Washington, D.C., Michigan, New Mexico and Oregon, roughly 1 in 3 students – or more – were chronically absent. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

From 2022-2023, chronic absenteeism declined in 33 of the 39 states AEI looked at. But it was still a persistent problem: In a handful of places, including Nevada, Washington, D.C., Michigan, New Mexico and Oregon, roughly 1 in 3 students – or more – were chronically absent.

It's going to take aggressive interventions to repair the pandemic's destructive impact on kids' schooling.

That's the takeaway of two big new studies that look at how America's K-12 students are doing. There's some good news in this new research, to be sure – but there's still a lot of work to do on both student achievement and absenteeism. Here's what to know:

1. Students are starting to make up for missed learning

From spring 2022 to spring 2023, students made important learning gains, making up for about one-third of the learning they had missed in math and a quarter of the learning they had missed in reading during the pandemic.

That's according to the newly updated Education Recovery Scorecard , a co-production of Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University.

6 things we've learned about how the pandemic disrupted learning

6 things we've learned about how the pandemic disrupted learning

The report says, "Students learned 117 percent in math and 108 percent in reading of what they would typically have learned in a pre-pandemic school year."

In an interview with NPR's All Things Considered , Stanford professor Sean Reardon said that's surprisingly good news: "A third or a quarter might not sound like a lot, but you have to realize the losses from 2019 to 2022 were historically large."

When the same team of researchers did a similar review last year, they found that, by spring of 2022, the average third- through eighth-grader had missed half a grade level in math and a third of a grade level in reading. So, the fact that students are now making up ground is a good sign.

These results do come with a few caveats, including that the researchers were only able to review data and draw their conclusions from 30 states this year.

2. Despite that progress, very few states are back to pre-pandemic learning levels

The Harvard and Stanford study of student learning includes one sobering sentence: "Alabama is the only state where average student achievement exceeds pre-pandemic levels in math." And average achievement in reading has surpassed pre-pandemic levels in just three of the states they studied: Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi. Every other state for which they had data has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels in math and reading.

"Many schools made strong gains last year, but most districts are still working hard just to reach pre-pandemic achievement levels," said Harvard's Thomas Kane, one of the learning study's co-authors.

3. Chronic absenteeism also improved in many places ... slightly

The rate of chronic absenteeism – the percentage of students who miss 10% or more of a school year – declined from 2022 to 2023. That's according to research by Nat Malkus at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He found chronic absenteeism declined in 33 of the 39 states he studied.

Yes, "the differences were relatively small," Malkus writes, but it's improvement nonetheless: "the average chronic absenteeism rate across these states in 2023 was 26 percent, down from 28 percent for the same 39 states in 2022."

Glass half-full: Things aren't getting worse.

4. But, again, chronic absenteeism is still high

Malkus found chronic absenteeism was at 26% in 2023. Before the pandemic, in 2019, those same states reported a rate of 15%. That adds some painful context to the "good news" two-point decline in absenteeism from 2022 to 2023. Sure, it's down, but it's still so much higher than it was and should be.

Think of it this way: In 2023, roughly 1 student out of 4 was still chronically absent across the school year.

In a handful of places, including Nevada, Washington, D.C., Michigan, New Mexico and Oregon, roughly 1 in 3 students – or more – were chronically absent. That's a crisis.

Research shows a strong connection between absenteeism and all kinds of negative consequences for students, including an increased likelihood of dropping out of school.

Chronic absenteeism also hurts the students who don't miss school. That's because, as the learning study's authors point out, when absent students return, they require extra attention and "make it hard for teachers to keep the whole class moving."

5. Poverty matters (as always)

Both the learning and the chronic absenteeism studies capture the headwinds that constantly buffet children in poverty.

"No one wants poor children to foot the bill for the pandemic," said Harvard's Kane, "but that is the path that most states are on."

On learning: Reardon told NPR "the pandemic really exacerbated inequality between students in high-poverty and low-poverty districts and students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds."

In 2023, students' academic recovery was relatively strong across groups, which is good – but it means "the inequality that was widened during the pandemic hasn't gotten smaller, and in some places it's actually gotten larger," Reardon told NPR.

In fact, the report says, "in most states, achievement gaps between rich and poor districts are even wider now than they were before the pandemic." The learning study singles out Massachusetts and Michigan as the states where those gaps in math and reading achievement widened the most between poor and non-poor students.

Similarly, Malkus, at AEI, found that, between 2019 and 2022, rates of chronic absenteeism rose much more in high-poverty districts (up from 20% to 37%) than in low-poverty districts (up from 12% to 23%).

"Chronic absenteeism has increased the most for disadvantaged students," Malkus writes, "those who also experienced the greatest learning losses during the pandemic and can least afford the harms that come with chronic absenteeism."

6. Families must play an important role in learning recovery

Both studies acknowledge that families must play an important role in helping students – and schools – find a healthy, post-pandemic normal. The problem is, surveys show parents and guardians often underestimate the pandemic's toll on their children's learning . "Parents cannot advocate effectively for their children's future if they are misinformed," says the learning study.

To combat this, the learning researchers propose that districts be required to inform parents if their child is below grade-level in math or English. Those parents could then enroll their students in summer learning, tutoring and after-school programs, all of which have benefitted from federal COVID relief dollars. That funding is set to expire this fall, and some of these learning recovery opportunities may dry up, so the clock is ticking.

7. There's a "culture problem" around chronic absenteeism

Reducing chronic absenteeism, Malkus says, will also depend on families.

"This is a culture problem," Malkus tells NPR. "And in schools and in communities, culture eats policy for breakfast every day."

By "culture problem," Malkus is talking about how families perceive the importance of daily attendance relative to other challenges in their lives. He says some parents seem more inclined now to let their students miss school for various reasons, perhaps not realizing the links between absenteeism and negative, downstream consequences.

"Look, the patterns and routines of going to school were disrupted and to some degree eroded during the pandemic," Malkus says. "And I don't think we've had a decisive turn back that we need to have, to turn this kind of behavior around, and it's going to stay with students until that culture changes."

How do you do that? Malkus points to some low-cost options — like texting or email campaigns to increase parental involvement and encourage kids to get back in school – but says these, alone, aren't "up to the scale of what we're facing now."

Higher-cost options for schools to consider could include door-knocking campaigns, sending staff on student home-visits and requiring that families of chronically absent students meet in-person with school staff.

The learning study goes one step further: "Elected officials, employers, and community leaders should launch public awareness campaigns and other initiatives to lower student absenteeism." Because, after all, students can't make up for the learning they missed during the pandemic if they don't consistently attend school now.

What both of these studies make clear is there is no one solution that will solve these problems, and success will require further investment, aggressive intervention and patience.

Malkus says, even the high-cost, high-return options will likely only drive down chronic absenteeism by about four percentage points. A big win, he says, "but four percentage points against 26% isn't going to get us where we need to go."

Edited by: Nicole Cohen Visual design and development by: LA Johnson and Aly Hurt

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National Politics | State school board member who appeared to…

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National politics | judge orders trump to pay $355 million for lying about his wealth in staggering civil fraud ruling, national politics, national politics | state school board member who appeared to question high school girl’s gender on social media is censured.

biography assignment high school

Utah’s State Legislature has voted to censure  a state board of education member whose social media post last week appeared to raise questions about a high school girl’s gender.

Natalie Cline, a member of the Utah State Board of Education since 2020, posted a photo of the high school basketball player and falsely implied the student is transgender, writing: “Girls’ basketball…”

RELATED:  Teen under police protection after school board member falsely implies this girl is transgender, prompting threats

The teenage girl in Utah faced threats after Cline’s posts, which drew condemnation from Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson – who both urged state education officials to hold her accountable.

On Wednesday, the Utah State Board of Education approved a resolution to censure Cline, stripping her of committee assignments and asking her to resign, according to a  news release .

“The Board voted to request Member Cline’s resignation from the Board by February 19, 2024,” the board said in the release. “Additionally, she will be removed from all committee assignments, not be allowed to place items on upcoming Board agendas, and prohibited from attending any Board advisory committee meetings.”

Both houses of Utah’s Legislature on Thursday passed a censure resolution against Cline, saying that her “bullying and failure to treat a student with dignity and respect undermine the mission of the USBE and displays a selfish indifference to her sworn oath to discharge her board member duties with fidelity.”

“Cline’s abhorrent actions caused the student emotional harm and exposed the student to relentless harassment and bullying, including threats of violence that created a need for additional security at the student’s school,” the resolution says.

The governor later signed  the resolution  censuring Cline.

“The vast majority of Utahns agree that Natalie Cline’s behavior was unacceptable. I’ve spoken with the student’s parents and I’m heartbroken for this family. We agree with the actions of both the State Board of Education and Legislature, and we hope the voters will hold her equally accountable this fall,” the governor’s office wrote.

CNN has reached out to Cline for comment.

After Cline’s social media posts, the parents of the high school girl urged Cline to resign from the school board,  telling CNN affiliate KSL  that their daughter is a tomboy who has short hair, wears baggy clothing and has muscles from going to the gym.

“To look at someone’s outer appearance and make an assumption that they’re either playing in the right arena or not, based on how someone looks I don’t think is appropriate,” the girl’s mother told KSL. “It just broke our hearts that we needed to have this conversation with our daughter.”

In the post, which has the header “Constitutionally Protected Speech,” Cline says she removed her original post to protect the player after parents raised concerns, and she asserted she “never claimed the student was a boy.”

“She does have a larger build, like her parents,” Cline said of the high school girl. “We live in strange times when it is normal to pause and wonder if people are what they say they are because of the push to normalize transgenderism in our society.”

Cline’s statements came after  a record-breaking year  for anti-LGBTQ legislation and the enactments of new laws targeting transgender people around the country.

In 2022, the Utah legislature banned transgender girls from competing in high school sports. The bill was vetoed by Cox, who said it targeted a marginalized group with a high suicide rate, but in March of that year GOP lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto.

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