Today’s post was written
by part of the educational team from The Biography Clearinghouse: Amina Chaudri, Xenia Hadjiannou, Jenn
Graff, Courtney Shimek, and Julie Waugh. You can read more about the team here. Find out why they’re so passionate about using biographies
in the classroom throughout the school year.
About four years ago, an
education professor and a children’s author met for coffee and wound up talking
about how biographies for children were underused in classrooms. Fast forward
from that conversation, add in rich knowledge from a diverse group of authors and education professionals and you get The Biography Clearinghouse, a site for educators that features inspirational interviews with
award-winning biography creators along with interdisciplinary teaching
ideas.
In honor of the site’s
first anniversary, we’d like to share some of what we’ve learned while
exploring the educational wonderland of using biographies with students. Here
are The Biography Clearinghouse’s Top 5 Reasons to Share Biographies in your
classroom.
5.
Biographies
are interdisciplinary.
People are complex; so
as true stories about people, biographies
easily support complex subject matter across the curriculum. Many teachers
encourage students to use picture book biographies as mentor texts as they
research and write biographies; but today’s biographies are so full of
opportunities for student engagement that it is a
disservice to bring them out only for a single unit or a holiday.
In a third-grade
classroom at Zaharis Elementary in Mesa, AZ, students had lots of questions after
reading Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-setting Dive of the Bathysphere. They
wanted to know more about the physics of water pressure, the design of
submersibles, and life in the deep ocean. They also wanted to understand what it
feels like to explore unfamiliar places. After making mathematical
calculations, students sat inside a circle about the size of the deep-sea
vehicle Otis and Will built. Are you looking to
engage students in authentic inquiry? Try using biographies.
4.
Biographies
show us how to change the world.
Life stories of people
who have fought against injustice help students understand that the world can be
changed. In Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of
the Civil Rights Movement, Carole Boston Weatherford wanted to show both
the oppression and resourcefulness in Hamer’s life.
For example, when Hamer
finally registers to vote, after multiple experiences of brutality and
suppression, the first vote she cast is for herself. “Who does that?” Boston
Weatherford exclaims in this video interview.
Another biography that invites
children to consider how the world can be changed is Sharuko: Peruvian Archeologist. This introduction to
Julio C. Tello, the father of Peruvian archeology, highlights the
accomplishments of Indigenous Peruvians; accomplishments previously hidden by
colonization. This biography invites children
to consider the complexities of cultural appropriation and who owns what.
When one person sees a
need for change, others will join them. Biographies show kids that they too can
be changemakers.
3.
Biographies
model persistence.
In our fast-paced
culture, it can seem that people become ‘famous’ without hard work. Social
media tends to focus on the after-image of ease and success. So, who can blame
students for thinking that struggling means they are doing something
wrong?
Biographies show in
detail the work behind the image. In Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed
Basketball, readers see that Elgin
persisted even when he was denied access to practice
sites, equipment, and educational opportunities
because he was Black. Without persistence, Elgin would not have played in the
NBA, changed his sport, nor changed how the NBA addresses discrimination.
In Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, readers get a front-row seat to the continuous prejudice and roadblocks the Mercury
13 women faced as they strove to become potential astronauts. Readers see that,
though the Mercury 13 failed to achieve their
goal, they paved the way for other women for other women in the space program.
Biographies like these
and others like Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda
Ross, show that all individuals struggle and
that persisting through the struggle is a big part of success.
2.
Biographies
inspire.
Life stories show
students “regular people” who’ve turned interests or life experiences
into world-changing art, ideas, or inventions. We often tell students that they
can do and be anything. Biographies prove it.
Contemporary biographies
portray revered figures as flawed human beings. They help students understand
how strengths and weaknesses, fears and bravery, likes and dislikes make up a
whole human being. This can be meaningful inspiration for future artists,
activists, or scientists who may find comfort and encouragement when reading
about others who experienced self-doubt, fought against fears, and faced
setbacks on the road to great accomplishment.
1.
Biographies
promote authentic representation.
“…it’s great to read
articles about people’s lives, but when we have the opportunity to hear their
own words—it’s incredibly powerful” Lesa Cline-Ransome on writing about Claudette Colvin
Biographies are among
the most powerful ways to demonstrate that accomplished, creative people come
from all cultures, genders, races, and religions–past and present. Although
there is still much work to be done, today’s
biographies for children bring young readers
authentic representations of culturally and linguistically diverse people.
Are you looking to bring
new perspectives and missing voices into your classroom? Biographies can be a
surefire way to do just that.
Why use biography? Because many kids love to read about people like themselves. And because
life stories can introduce kids to people living different lives in different
places. Biographies offer chances to develop the habits of heart and mind that
teachers want for all students in this uncertain world. So please join us at The Biography Clearinghouse, sign up to get free classroom content, and let us know all the
creative ways you use these important life stories in your diverse classrooms!
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2 Responses
Thanks for sharing this, Melissa. Great to know about their work and mission.
great post – thanks for sharing.