Chapter 11 was insightful. I enjoyed learning about all the different forms of biographies. I am interested in reading several of the ones listed in the text. First, I found it very interesting nearly all of the biographies written on Cleopatra were written by her enemies. I also am interested in reading Russell Freedman's Biography Lincoln: A Photo biography. Or the book about Margaret Bouke-White or on Helen Kellar. If just reading this text book motivated me to locate these biographies I agree with the text on the easy motivation and interest of younger readers. I would have never thought children would have being enticed to read biographies, but after reading this chapter I now am reminded of why children do. It is easy to relate to situations and people when the reader knows what they are reading is true. Children are able to learn about culture and history in an entertaining way. Biographies allow them to learn on their own accord not from lecturing. I also found the teaching section of the chapter helpful as usual. I liked how the applications were creative in regards to allowing the children to explore their imaginations. For example the interview questions for the author or the timelines.
Chapter 11 over Biographies was really interesting. I learned several things. I enjoyed reading about The Wright Sister. I had no idea there was a biography about her. It's hard to believe children would get interested in biographies, but after reading this chapter it was a good reminder of why they might. I think you could create several fun assignments with biographies. I remember in 6th grade, we all had to do a biography on a famous dead person. I picked Lucille Ball, and I discovered there was so much more to her life than just her acting career. It blew my mind. I really enjoyed reading the report on Benjamin Franklin from the "Through The Eyes Of A Child" section. Biographies are so informative and sometimes I forget I can learn about a lot of other things than just the person itself.
Jade- I agree that biographies are a great way to teach a student about someone than lecturing it to them. They usually will find something that sticks out to them and will be able to provide feedback. Biographies are a great way for them to keep pursuing other things also if they want to.
I have never really been that in to biographies. I found most of the biographies that I had to read in school as I child to be boring. As an adult, I do enjoy reading biographies more than I did as a child. Biographies are still not my first choice though. I do see where reading biographies is very beneficial. The only problem is that one would have to read several to make sure they are getting accurate information along with checking the sources of the writer. The way the book made it sound is that many writers tend to shape a biography toward their way of thinking instead of just "reporting the facts" so to speak. I think a great way of teaching children using biographies would be to find books about the same person, place or thing and have children read more than one and compare them to see if they can come up with discrepencies and see if they can find a solution to the discrepencies.
SMartens, I agree that there are many ways a child can learn from using biographies. I do think that as teachers, we need to make sure that we find books that would be interesting for children. I think that might be why as I child a did not like biographies. I do not think the teachers took enough time to find interesting biographies to teach with.
I agree Kristi, I have never been that into biographies either. During school when we would check out books, a biography was the last book I would get. I guess I was just never really that into reading about someones life, or I just didn't come across someone I wanted to know that much about. Till a few years ago when Jose Canseco wrote a book, calling out all the steroid users. That is the first real biography I have read in a very long time. I do think they are a good teaching tool for reports and knowledge, I just never got into them.
Children enjoy reading about the childhood of the heroes in biographies. I believe these books share ideas, instigate dreams, and begin the making of a new generation of leaders. The characters in books come alive and seem real. I have always enjoyed reading biographies to students and by myself for these reasons. The text brought up an excellent point that I had not considered, though. Biographies can be written from the biased view of an author. The subjects and persons included in biographies have often been very notorious in our society or world. With notoriety and fame come emotional feelings that can influence writing. I will need to be sure to do my research when choosing a good book to share with my students. I think that is important to teach children how to make assessments about books. The examples on pages 493 and 494 are helpful.
I hope to teach primary students in the future and the comments about picture books were important. The artist must carefully represent the setting and the character. Children love to compare and contrast the present and the past. They also look up to heroes. Teachers have a responsibility to choose books that represent many groups and cultures.
Kristi, I see the same problem with biographies after reading the chapter. As a child, I always took the view of the author as truth. Now I know to question and verify information. My own son reads biographies often. He is a sports enthusiast and these appeal to him more than fiction. I am glad that we have been introduced so thoroughly to all genres so that we are able to find good literature for all students. The lists of books at the end of each chapter will be helpful one day.
I found the chapter over biographies to be interesting and full of useful information. Personally, I have never been a fan of nonfiction books or biographies, however I know many people who are. The text provided some great titles to use in the future. I especially liked the section regarding picture book biographies. For younger children, I think that the illustrations definitely help them put the information into perspective. I really found the section regarding how biographies will be skewed based upon the author’s personal viewpoint to be quite interesting. I felt that the most useful portion of this chapter was the many different teaching ideas that were offered. I recall in school that we used biographies for book reports and many times when we were studying history or government. I thought the idea of dramatization with biographies was a fun and creative way to get the students excited about what some may find to be books that may be a bit boring. The creation of time limes will also be very beneficial to help children understand the order of important events. I hope to be able to use these techniques in my classroom to create an exciting unit when studying biographical reading.
ChrisC - I agree that many biographies give children the chance to dream about their futures and what they can accomplish, especially those of ordinary people. Since biographies are based on factual events, it helps children to understand that these events can really happen to someone. I enjoyed reading your post!
When I first started to read this chapter I was not very interested in Biographies. But as I read some of these books sounded really interesting like the one about Sacajawea, and Charles Eastman the native american leader. I then realized how much education there is in biographies. The can teach history. The talk about real people which could be more interesting to children. These are definitely going to be on my list to teach. They can open up a whole new world for children. I am encouraged to try to have my children read some.
I too now believe there is so much more to learn in biographies not just about the person. They can show us behind the scenes that we don't know about. I was amazed about the biographies I didn't know about-like the Wright Sister. I have never heard about her but that sounds so interesting. You are right in stating that some fun assignments could come from biographies, they have a lot to teach us.
This chapter on biographies was very insightful as I have never been a big fan of biographies. My favorite part of the chapter is the teaching techniques. Many of the techniques mentioned would be useful when applying biographies with the children. I think that kids can learn a lot by reading biographies because they can relate something they might be going through or something they might have thought about with a real person. I did not know that the authors of some of these biographies were biased when writing them, that was very interesting. I think that after reading the chapter I would like to maybe go and read some biographies and look for some of the things mentioned in this chapter.
I think that you make a good point when referring to the teaching techniques mentioned. I too like to the pictures books so that the children can relate better to what is the book is about. I have never been a big fan of biographies but I think that I can now see them in a different light since I have a better understaning of them after reading this chapter.
Whoah! Chapter 11 was another one that was packed with too much information. I can appreciate some examples of the author’s different classifications of biographies, but do we really need such long descriptions of so many books? I did, however, have some wheels turning in my head while reading the teaching strategies for biographies. I liked the suggestion to make a timeline as well as the suggestion to have students read biographies about their favorite authors. I was thinking that it would be fun to pick a topic for a classroom unit (my thought was about outer space) and read biographies pertaining to the topic so kids could create a timeline about a particular event. For example, if I was doing an outer space unit, I would have my students read about Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. Then they could create a timeline concerning the events leading up to the first lunar landing. I also thought about a poetry unit since it had been an earlier chapter. It would be fun to have students read and study poetry and incorporate the study of biographies of their favorite poet into the unit.
I also thought that it was interesting to read that the biographies might be biased because of the people writing them. I don't think the bias is always a bad thing, though. At least then, especially if the writer is very fond of the person they're writing about, the reader gets to read the highlights and most important information about the person. Biographies can definitely help to inspire ordinary people to do great things.
I always assumed that biographies were geared more for older students. I now realize the many levels biographies are written on and why. I learned a lot from the section on subject worthiness. Younger students need to read about real role models to encourage them to shape their own goals. In High school English, we had an assignment regarding biographies. We actually had to develop a hypothetical interview, just like the text suggests. We read about an assigned author, and then recorded our interview to present to the class. It was quite an experience! I don’t have any questions about this chapter. Most of it is very easy to comprehend. Biographies are extremely important in learning about our past. There are some parts of our past that need to be learned so that they will not be repeated. Biographies are very important to children of all ages. We have many interesting people in our past who have made our history what is today. I like how the text said early biographers though biographies should be tools. I feel they are tools still today. Children need to see that real people can do amazing things. They also need to know these “heroes” were no always perfect.
Kristi, I have to say that I have never been a fan of biographies either. I enjoy a book that will make me laugh, not one that puts me to sleep. I did learn a lot about them from this chapter. I think the reason I did learn so much was because I have never made myself familiar enough with them. I like your idea about comparing books by the same author to come up with solutions to the discrepancies. This would help encourage students to read more biographies than I did growing up.
Kristi- I agree with you regarding making sure the information received is factual. This would be an important lesson to teach to future students. It would also allow us as future educators to apply what we know but having the student research the individual they read about in other ways such as via internet to compare facts with fiction. Good point Kristi!
Biographies are a lot like history. Reading about people and understanding their lives with history and dates of their lives in content.
I have never been one who enjoys reading biographies but thinking about a few I have read recently I'm not sure why I still think f them as being blan. Reading biographies gives you an inside look at the person, alomost to the point that you get to know them really well. The book talks to you through them allowing you to know what they are thinking.
A lot of work and research goes into the writing of a biography, sorting out the facts from legends to myths. These are some of the things this chapter talks about that an author has to go through trying to get their story to you, keeping it factual and interesting at the same time.
An interesting way to help history be fun is to teach biographies versus text books. Using a biograpy and related activities, would serve as a way to hel students be more eager to learn history. A timeline of a biography seems to me a really neat idea the chapter gives you with some other activities that could go along with the book.
Shadra, I agree with you that I also thought that biographies were geared more towards older students. I too learned that is not so as well.
Kristi, I also agree with you that in school, I was always told who I was going to read about as well. More times than not it was about someone I didn't really associate with so it seemed pointless. I also believe that students should be allowed to pick who they want to read about unless the teacher knows for certain that as a whole class the students will be able to connect to the biography.
I read a lot of biographies on people in sports. I have also read a few on civil rights leaders and a couple of politicians. I have always enjoyed learning about people, and what makes them do what they do.
In the chapter I found it interesting how biographies have evolved for children. In the beginning they were used as tools for religious, political, and social education. The people who created them or regulated them felt they should save children's souls. I had to laugh at that a little, how they basically tried to portray people as being perfect. In the end people thought is was necessary for children to understand that people were flawed. I was a little surprised that it took unit the 1960's and 70's to start to see that change.
I also found interest in the talk about "filling in the gaps" when writing a biography. There is only so much you can know about someone, as the book points out, you can't be inside their head. So, is it OK to fill in the gaps a little, or should you only write what you can prove and let someone else fill in the gaps when they read it? I would go with the later. I think you could have too much error by filling in the gaps.
One thing I really liked and would like to try someday was the hypothetical interviews. I think with this process you could do a project with partners. You assign a biography to a pair of students. They read it and do a hypothetical interview about the person that they can present in front of the class. When they present, they could design costumes for the interview. This would not only test their knowledge of the person's era, but it would also be fun for them. I think that this would have to be extra credit though because of resources some kids may not have access to.
I like how you mention the history aspect. Not only do you get to learn about a person in history, but you can learn a lot about the things that were going on in history when they were alive. I also like how you suggest using biographies to make history more fun. I think that would be a great idea.
You can also use them in Social Studies to teach about different areas and cultures of the world.
I love history, so I think I have a natural connection to biographies.
Reading Chapter 11 reminded me of how much I used to love to read biographies as well as autobiographies. I agree with the book that when reading these types of books, the reader does feel like they know the person and that you do feel like you are personal friends. I thought it was interesting in the chapter when it discussed the first biographies for children and how the subjects of the biographies were good young children who had died and went to heaven and bad children who dies at a young age and went to hell. How horrible that must have been to read as a child. This chapter also has some good ideas on how to teach with biographies. I like the activity that the students imagine conversations between people of two different time periods. I think that would be fun to do as a student. There were also many books mentioned in this chapter that would be interesting to read. I hope to find at least one of them this week to do for my reading log.
rrballuch I think that is a good idea to use biographies to help teach history instead of using a text book. That is something a class could do as a group project,with students reading different biographies over the same subject area or time period, and doing a project that brings it all together.
I have never been slightly interested in even picking up a biography. After reading this chapter I think I may have to go check one out. Never really thought about the benefits of reading a biography. It would be great for kids because they may be inspired to go out in the world and make something of themselves. If some one is emotional upset after a tragedy or any other life altering event, someone could use one of these to give them a proper mind sight on the world and motivate them to do something with the life they were given and make everyone around them proud to know you.
I agree with biographies being a good source to get a better idea of history. Its one thing to be told what happen but to experience the world as someone else had to do through their biography and get a better idea of people’s mind sets and how they thought of things.
I think that this chapter difinitely proves the point that biographies are important for children to read because they are based on real people. They are able to experience real-life situations and understand important events in history on a more personal level. I will admit that biographies have never been my favorite thing to read. However, if the person I was reading about interested me or was relative to my life then it seemed like I wanted to read more. This is probably because I felt a connection with this person and wanted to see how they reacted to the same situation or event.
This chapter was hard for me to get into becauseI don't find bopgraphies overly interesting. I have read a few biographies and some are interesting but over all most are not. However this chapter was ok and I did enjoy it. Even though I am not into bioraphies I do think they are wonderful and agree that they are very important for children to read. They help children want to strive to be successful and gives them someone to look up to.
Chapter 11 I really liked, biographies are one of my favorite types of books. I never thought children would be interested in biographies, but after reading this chapter I understand why children are drawn to biographies. These authors use a balance between fact and story line, along with pictures can help children understand and as they get older if they are still interested in that person they can go into a more complex biography book. Biographies are so important in many ways; I believe all grades should have a unit on biographies just so that children can explore many different kinds of people and what they did in the world.
ChrisC - I agree with you when you say that biographies help children imagine their future, insight, along with ideas, and a new generation of leaders.
Biographies are not my first choice in books but they are great books. I think Biography books have a big impact on readers and adults because these are real life stories. Real life experinces are told about a persons life journey. A lot of these people come from similar and different back ground and the reader can either relate to certain situations or at least put themselves in thier shoes. I noticed the bio about Albert Einstein that is used as an example on page 465 is part of the National Geographic Society collection. National Gergraphics has some of the best books about history, science and Geography. The biographies are easy to read and understand as well as their other books. Maps, pictures or paintings are always included and these are also well organized books about What I also like about this chapter is that there are also examples of picture books for younger children.
These last few chapters, I've had to open my mind to new ideas and concepts. Both historical and now biographies have never been of particular interest to me. Although biographical literature offers children the high adventure and special satisfaction of knowing that the people and events they are reading are "really real." It's interesing to read how much this genre of literature has evolved over the centuries. Authors of these stories have had to change their aspirations and ways of writing to increase the attitudes of children and make them likeable for their tastes. There were so many great examples of books listed within this chapter, some of which I had heard of and a lot that I hadn't. For me, this will be a great resource to look back on, especially since this is one particular genre I'm not so keen on.
Hillary, We sound alike in regards to biographies not being our favorite! I really had to be open with this chapter. You make a great point when you say that it helps children strive and want to be more successful and that it gives kids someone or many to look up to; children need those aspirations in their lives:-)
I was checking back through here, and noticed my postings were not here. So here goes again...
Biographies can can sound extremely boring if presented in the wrong way to children. If you make it exciting about learning about real people and they can in some way identify with them it can be so interesting. I read the book Ruby Bridges to my children. It was called Through my Eyes. It was so very good, my kids loved it. Then the next week at the book fair, we discovered their was a children version out by scholastic that was an easy reader. These bigraphies can teach them so so much. Just keep it interesting.
Chapter 11 was insightful. I enjoyed learning about all the different forms of biographies. I am interested in reading several of the ones listed in the text. First, I found it very interesting nearly all of the biographies written on Cleopatra were written by her enemies. I also am interested in reading Russell Freedman's Biography Lincoln: A Photo biography. Or the book about Margaret Bouke-White or on Helen Kellar. If just reading this text book motivated me to locate these biographies I agree with the text on the easy motivation and interest of younger readers. I would have never thought children would have being enticed to read biographies, but after reading this chapter I now am reminded of why children do. It is easy to relate to situations and people when the reader knows what they are reading is true. Children are able to learn about culture and history in an entertaining way. Biographies allow them to learn on their own accord not from lecturing. I also found the teaching section of the chapter helpful as usual. I liked how the applications were creative in regards to allowing the children to explore their imaginations. For example the interview questions for the author or the timelines.
ReplyDeleteChapter 11 over Biographies was really interesting. I learned several things. I enjoyed reading about The Wright Sister. I had no idea there was a biography about her. It's hard to believe children would get interested in biographies, but after reading this chapter it was a good reminder of why they might. I think you could create several fun assignments with biographies. I remember in 6th grade, we all had to do a biography on a famous dead person. I picked Lucille Ball, and I discovered there was so much more to her life than just her acting career. It blew my mind. I really enjoyed reading the report on Benjamin Franklin from the "Through The Eyes Of A Child" section. Biographies are so informative and sometimes I forget I can learn about a lot of other things than just the person itself.
ReplyDeleteJade-
ReplyDeleteI agree that biographies are a great way to teach a student about someone than lecturing it to them. They usually will find something that sticks out to them and will be able to provide feedback. Biographies are a great way for them to keep pursuing other things also if they want to.
I have never really been that in to biographies. I found most of the biographies that I had to read in school as I child to be boring. As an adult, I do enjoy reading biographies more than I did as a child. Biographies are still not my first choice though. I do see where reading biographies is very beneficial. The only problem is that one would have to read several to make sure they are getting accurate information along with checking the sources of the writer. The way the book made it sound is that many writers tend to shape a biography toward their way of thinking instead of just "reporting the facts" so to speak. I think a great way of teaching children using biographies would be to find books about the same person, place or thing and have children read more than one and compare them to see if they can come up with discrepencies and see if they can find a solution to the discrepencies.
ReplyDeleteSMartens,
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are many ways a child can learn from using biographies. I do think that as teachers, we need to make sure that we find books that would be interesting for children. I think that might be why as I child a did not like biographies. I do not think the teachers took enough time to find interesting biographies to teach with.
I agree Kristi, I have never been that into biographies either. During school when we would check out books, a biography was the last book I would get. I guess I was just never really that into reading about someones life, or I just didn't come across someone I wanted to know that much about. Till a few years ago when Jose Canseco wrote a book, calling out all the steroid users. That is the first real biography I have read in a very long time. I do think they are a good teaching tool for reports and knowledge, I just never got into them.
ReplyDeleteChildren enjoy reading about the childhood of the heroes in biographies. I believe these books share ideas, instigate dreams, and begin the making of a new generation of leaders. The characters in books come alive and seem real. I have always enjoyed reading biographies to students and by myself for these reasons. The text brought up an excellent point that I had not considered, though. Biographies can be written from the biased view of an author. The subjects and persons included in biographies have often been very notorious in our society or world. With notoriety and fame come emotional feelings that can influence writing. I will need to be sure to do my research when choosing a good book to share with my students. I think that is important to teach children how to make assessments about books. The examples on pages 493 and 494 are helpful.
ReplyDeleteI hope to teach primary students in the future and the comments about picture books were important. The artist must carefully represent the setting and the character. Children love to compare and contrast the present and the past. They also look up to heroes. Teachers have a responsibility to choose books that represent many groups and cultures.
Kristi,
ReplyDeleteI see the same problem with biographies after reading the chapter. As a child, I always took the view of the author as truth. Now I know to question and verify information. My own son reads biographies often. He is a sports enthusiast and these appeal to him more than fiction. I am glad that we have been introduced so thoroughly to all genres so that we are able to find good literature for all students. The lists of books at the end of each chapter will be helpful one day.
I found the chapter over biographies to be interesting and full of useful information. Personally, I have never been a fan of nonfiction books or biographies, however I know many people who are. The text provided some great titles to use in the future. I especially liked the section regarding picture book biographies. For younger children, I think that the illustrations definitely help them put the information into perspective. I really found the section regarding how biographies will be skewed based upon the author’s personal viewpoint to be quite interesting. I felt that the most useful portion of this chapter was the many different teaching ideas that were offered. I recall in school that we used biographies for book reports and many times when we were studying history or government. I thought the idea of dramatization with biographies was a fun and creative way to get the students excited about what some may find to be books that may be a bit boring. The creation of time limes will also be very beneficial to help children understand the order of important events. I hope to be able to use these techniques in my classroom to create an exciting unit when studying biographical reading.
ReplyDeleteChrisC - I agree that many biographies give children the chance to dream about their futures and what they can accomplish, especially those of ordinary people. Since biographies are based on factual events, it helps children to understand that these events can really happen to someone. I enjoyed reading your post!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started to read this chapter I was not very interested in Biographies. But as I read some of these books sounded really interesting like the one about Sacajawea, and Charles Eastman the native american leader. I then realized how much education there is in biographies. The can teach history. The talk about real people which could be more interesting to children. These are definitely going to be on my list to teach. They can open up a whole new world for children. I am encouraged to try to have my children read some.
ReplyDeleteSMarten
ReplyDeleteI too now believe there is so much more to learn in biographies not just about the person. They can show us behind the scenes that we don't know about. I was amazed about the biographies I didn't know about-like the Wright Sister. I have never heard about her but that sounds so interesting. You are right in stating that some fun assignments could come from biographies, they have a lot to teach us.
This chapter on biographies was very insightful as I have never been a big fan of biographies. My favorite part of the chapter is the teaching techniques. Many of the techniques mentioned would be useful when applying biographies with the children. I think that kids can learn a lot by reading biographies because they can relate something they might be going through or something they might have thought about with a real person. I did not know that the authors of some of these biographies were biased when writing them, that was very interesting. I think that after reading the chapter I would like to maybe go and read some biographies and look for some of the things mentioned in this chapter.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRebekahS
ReplyDeleteI think that you make a good point when referring to the teaching techniques mentioned. I too like to the pictures books so that the children can relate better to what is the book is about. I have never been a big fan of biographies but I think that I can now see them in a different light since I have a better understaning of them after reading this chapter.
November 6, 2009 7:28 PM
Whoah! Chapter 11 was another one that was packed with too much information. I can appreciate some examples of the author’s different classifications of biographies, but do we really need such long descriptions of so many books? I did, however, have some wheels turning in my head while reading the teaching strategies for biographies. I liked the suggestion to make a timeline as well as the suggestion to have students read biographies about their favorite authors. I was thinking that it would be fun to pick a topic for a classroom unit (my thought was about outer space) and read biographies pertaining to the topic so kids could create a timeline about a particular event. For example, if I was doing an outer space unit, I would have my students read about Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. Then they could create a timeline concerning the events leading up to the first lunar landing. I also thought about a poetry unit since it had been an earlier chapter. It would be fun to have students read and study poetry and incorporate the study of biographies of their favorite poet into the unit.
ReplyDeleteMaria C-
ReplyDeleteI also thought that it was interesting to read that the biographies might be biased because of the people writing them. I don't think the bias is always a bad thing, though. At least then, especially if the writer is very fond of the person they're writing about, the reader gets to read the highlights and most important information about the person. Biographies can definitely help to inspire ordinary people to do great things.
I always assumed that biographies were geared more for older students. I now realize the many levels biographies are written on and why. I learned a lot from the section on subject worthiness. Younger students need to read about real role models to encourage them to shape their own goals.
ReplyDeleteIn High school English, we had an assignment regarding biographies. We actually had to develop a hypothetical interview, just like the text suggests. We read about an assigned author, and then recorded our interview to present to the class. It was quite an experience!
I don’t have any questions about this chapter. Most of it is very easy to comprehend. Biographies are extremely important in learning about our past. There are some parts of our past that need to be learned so that they will not be repeated.
Biographies are very important to children of all ages. We have many interesting people in our past who have made our history what is today. I like how the text said early biographers though biographies should be tools. I feel they are tools still today. Children need to see that real people can do amazing things. They also need to know these “heroes” were no always perfect.
Kristi,
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I have never been a fan of biographies either. I enjoy a book that will make me laugh, not one that puts me to sleep. I did learn a lot about them from this chapter. I think the reason I did learn so much was because I have never made myself familiar enough with them. I like your idea about comparing books by the same author to come up with solutions to the discrepancies. This would help encourage students to read more biographies than I did growing up.
Kristi-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding making sure the information received is factual. This would be an important lesson to teach to future students. It would also allow us as future educators to apply what we know but having the student research the individual they read about in other ways such as via internet to compare facts with fiction. Good point Kristi!
Biographies are a lot like history. Reading about people and understanding their lives with history and dates of their lives in content.
ReplyDeleteI have never been one who enjoys reading biographies but thinking about a few I have read recently I'm not sure why I still think f them as being blan. Reading biographies gives you an inside look at the person, alomost to the point that you get to know them really well. The book talks to you through them allowing you to know what they are thinking.
A lot of work and research goes into the writing of a biography, sorting out the facts from legends to myths. These are some of the things this chapter talks about that an author has to go through trying to get their story to you, keeping it factual and interesting at the same time.
An interesting way to help history be fun is to teach biographies versus text books. Using a biograpy and related activities, would serve as a way to hel students be more eager to learn history. A timeline of a biography seems to me a really neat idea the chapter gives you with some other activities that could go along with the book.
Shadra,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that I also thought that biographies were geared more towards older students. I too learned that is not so as well.
Kristi,
I also agree with you that in school, I was always told who I was going to read about as well. More times than not it was about someone I didn't really associate with so it seemed pointless. I also believe that students should be allowed to pick who they want to read about unless the teacher knows for certain that as a whole class the students will be able to connect to the biography.
I read a lot of biographies on people in sports. I have also read a few on civil rights leaders and a couple of politicians. I have always enjoyed learning about people, and what makes them do what they do.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter I found it interesting how biographies have evolved for children. In the beginning they were used as tools for religious, political, and social education. The people who created them or regulated them felt they should save children's souls. I had to laugh at that a little, how they basically tried to portray people as being perfect. In the end people thought is was necessary for children to understand that people were flawed. I was a little surprised that it took unit the 1960's and 70's to start to see that change.
I also found interest in the talk about "filling in the gaps" when writing a biography. There is only so much you can know about someone, as the book points out, you can't be inside their head. So, is it OK to fill in the gaps a little, or should you only write what you can prove and let someone else fill in the gaps when they read it? I would go with the later. I think you could have too much error by filling in the gaps.
One thing I really liked and would like to try someday was the hypothetical interviews. I think with this process you could do a project with partners. You assign a biography to a pair of students. They read it and do a hypothetical interview about the person that they can present in front of the class. When they present, they could design costumes for the interview. This would not only test their knowledge of the person's era, but it would also be fun for them. I think that this would have to be extra credit though because of resources some kids may not have access to.
Rose,
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention the history aspect. Not only do you get to learn about a person in history, but you can learn a lot about the things that were going on in history when they were alive. I also like how you suggest using biographies to make history more fun. I think that would be a great idea.
You can also use them in Social Studies to teach about different areas and cultures of the world.
I love history, so I think I have a natural connection to biographies.
Reading Chapter 11 reminded me of how much I used to love to read biographies as well as autobiographies. I agree with the book that when reading these types of books, the reader does feel like they know the person and that you do feel like you are personal friends.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting in the chapter when it discussed the first biographies for children and how the subjects of the biographies were good young children who had died and went to heaven and bad children who dies at a young age and went to hell. How horrible that must have been to read as a child.
This chapter also has some good ideas on how to teach with biographies. I like the activity that the students imagine conversations between people of two different time periods. I think that would be fun to do as a student. There were also many books mentioned in this chapter that would be interesting to read. I hope to find at least one of them this week to do for my reading log.
rrballuch
ReplyDeleteI think that is a good idea to use biographies to help teach history instead of using a text book. That is something a class could do as a group project,with students reading different biographies over the same subject area or time period, and doing a project that brings it all together.
I have never been slightly interested in even picking up a biography. After reading this chapter I think I may have to go check one out. Never really thought about the benefits of reading a biography. It would be great for kids because they may be inspired to go out in the world and make something of themselves. If some one is emotional upset after a tragedy or any other life altering event, someone could use one of these to give them a proper mind sight on the world and motivate them to do something with the life they were given and make everyone around them proud to know you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with biographies being a good source to get a better idea of history. Its one thing to be told what happen but to experience the world as someone else had to do through their biography and get a better idea of people’s mind sets and how they thought of things.
ReplyDeleteI think that this chapter difinitely proves the point that biographies are important for children to read because they are based on real people. They are able to experience real-life situations and understand important events in history on a more personal level. I will admit that biographies have never been my favorite thing to read. However, if the person I was reading about interested me or was relative to my life then it seemed like I wanted to read more. This is probably because I felt a connection with this person and wanted to see how they reacted to the same situation or event.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was hard for me to get into becauseI don't find bopgraphies overly interesting. I have read a few biographies and some are interesting but over all most are not. However this chapter was ok and I did enjoy it. Even though I am not into bioraphies I do think they are wonderful and agree that they are very important for children to read. They help children want to strive to be successful and gives them someone to look up to.
ReplyDeleteChapter 11 I really liked, biographies are one of my favorite types of books. I never thought children would be interested in biographies, but after reading this chapter I understand why children are drawn to biographies. These authors use a balance between fact and story line, along with pictures can help children understand and as they get older if they are still interested in that person they can go into a more complex biography book. Biographies are so important in many ways; I believe all grades should have a unit on biographies just so that children can explore many different kinds of people and what they did in the world.
ReplyDeleteChrisC - I agree with you when you say that biographies help children imagine their future, insight, along with ideas, and a new generation of leaders.
ReplyDeleteBiographies are not my first choice in books but they are great books. I think Biography books have a big impact on readers and adults because these are real life stories. Real life experinces are told about a persons life journey. A lot of these people come from similar and different back ground and the reader can either relate to certain situations or at least put themselves in thier shoes. I noticed the bio about Albert Einstein that is used as an example on page 465 is part of the National Geographic Society collection. National Gergraphics has some of the best books about history, science and Geography. The biographies are easy to read and understand as well as their other books. Maps, pictures or paintings are always included and these are also well organized books about What I also like about this chapter is that there are also examples of picture books for younger children.
ReplyDeleteJade I agree that this chapter did have a great selection on biography books. I just read about George Washington Carver. Great book.
ReplyDeleteThese last few chapters, I've had to open my mind to new ideas and concepts. Both historical and now biographies have never been of particular interest to me. Although biographical literature offers children the high adventure and special satisfaction of knowing that the people and events they are reading are "really real." It's interesing to read how much this genre of literature has evolved over the centuries. Authors of these stories have had to change their aspirations and ways of writing to increase the attitudes of children and make them likeable for their tastes.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many great examples of books listed within this chapter, some of which I had heard of and a lot that I hadn't. For me, this will be a great resource to look back on, especially since this is one particular genre I'm not so keen on.
Hillary,
ReplyDeleteWe sound alike in regards to biographies not being our favorite! I really had to be open with this chapter. You make a great point when you say that it helps children strive and want to be more successful and that it gives kids someone or many to look up to; children need those aspirations in their lives:-)
I was checking back through here, and noticed my postings were not here. So here goes again...
ReplyDeleteBiographies can can sound extremely boring if presented in the wrong way to children. If you make it exciting about learning about real people and they can in some way identify with them it can be so interesting. I read the book Ruby Bridges to my children. It was called Through my Eyes. It was so very good, my kids loved it. Then the next week at the book fair, we discovered their was a children version out by scholastic that was an easy reader. These bigraphies can teach them so so much. Just keep it interesting.