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Total Duration:
Greater than 120 Minutes
Materials and Resources:
Textbook: Alabama -Its History and Geography, pages 274-292 & pages 412-441 (textbook on tape if available) Chart with tips about biographies Biography Wheel graphic organizer 3-5 items to scan relating to biographical subject cloth fabric for scan project
Technology Resources Needed:
Computer Lab if available for students to type essay Computer with Internet acess Encyclopedia CD-ROM's scanner floppy disks-one for each student
Background/Preparation:
Ask library media specialist to introduce students to the location and structure of biographies. Prepare biography chart. Make copies of graphic organizer. Put names to be researched in a hat for students to draw. Bookmark websites. * prerequisite--children should have experience in notetaking and essay writing. If not, you may wnat to model one Alabamian from the reading, note-taking, all the way to the writing of the summary.
1.)Engagement/Motivational Activity:(15 min.)
Students preview and predict chapter 12 & 18 in the Alabama History textbook looking for famous Alabamians who have made notable contributions.
Students will list the name of each Alabamian on the board within an attribute grid containing the following information:
government, science, education, business, writing & the arts, entertainment, sports
(As students locate people, the names of notable Alabamians will go under the category of the contribution)
2.)(30 min.)
Students will draw or pick one person to research from the grid.
The teacher will share the biography chart (A biography is a written account of a person's life. Biographer's usually include a chronology of the events of the subject's life. An example of chronological order would be the following: birth, early education, family life, career/job, major contribution to history.)
The teacher will model how to pick out important or interesting ideas.
The teacher will pass out biography wheels for notetaking.
3.)DAY 2 (30-45 min.)
The student will read only the selected textbook pages about the person he/she is researching, then use the biography wheel graphic organizer(containing items from the listing in step 2) to take notes and gain information about his/her biographical subject, finding and writing one interesting or important idea in each piece of the wheel.
Students may get additional information from other resources such as the Internet, Encyclopedia CD-ROMS,or library books.
4.)DAY 3 (30-45 min.)
Students will take notes from the wheel to organize content into a written summary.
The class will use the following format:
OPENING SENTENCE-One notable contribution during the 20th century came from _________________.
Paragraph 1: include birth, early education, family life
Paragraph 2: include career/job, a least one major contribution
Paragraph 3: include death, one reason to be thankful for this person's contribution
CLOSING SENTENCE-So you can see, ______impacted the lives of others and history.
5.)DAY 4 (30-45 min.)
Students will bring 3-5 objects that represent the life, contributions, personality, etc. of the notable personalities to be scanned, placing objects on the scanner and then placing a cloth over the top.
The teacher will guide students through the scan project, saving to a disk, and printing.
The student will take the picture and his/her written (or typed) essay and place the two together on a two-page spread.
6.)Day 5 (30 min)
The students will present their biographical findings using the 2-page spread during a 1-3 minute oral class report.
Assessment Strategies
Completion of written biographical essay and 3-D scan picture on a 2- page spread.
Acceleration:
Teacher may compile student 2-page spreads and bind them into a book titled: Notable Alabamians in the 20th Century. Have student present essay as a monologue with a costume or prop. Use biography format to apply to another content area such as scientists or authors. Make and play a Jeopardy-type game using the categories from the attribute grid in the beginning and have each student write Jeopardy-type answers about his/her person.
Intervention:
Teacher may model one research/ inquiry lesson and biographical writing activity with a small group or whole class.
View the Special Education resources for
instructional guidance in providing modifications and adaptations
for students with significant cognitive disabilities who qualify for the Alabama Alternate Assessment.