The Art of Biography

Rationale/Objectives

Why is history so boring? It's not; the way it's traditionally been taught is boring. Didn't you hate history class when you were in school, memorizing all those meaningless dates and names and places?Social studies instruction should challenge students to think about the events that have made our world the way it is: the lessons should be so engaging and interactive that no child could ever find it boring. ³

The school where I teach is in 3 ^rd year 'program improvement' ⁴ and we are mandated to use a structured reading curriculum provided by Houghton Mifflin. The Houghton Mifflin Language Arts Reading Program is designed to be used as a full-year core curriculum with instruction on developing oral language and comprehension, phonemic awareness, decoding skills, fluency, reading comprehension, writing, spelling, and grammar. This instructional program is also organized by a set of themes that integrates social studies and science. Unfortunately, our fiscally strapped district cannot afford all the components of this curriculum to actually make an effective integrated reading/social studies program, so teachers, like me, need to expand upon themes presented within the reading in order to create a comprehensive and engaging learning experience for all students.

As a National Fellow at YNI, I am creating a unit that will elaborate on 5 ^th grade themes in social studies such as the American Revolution by using biography as a means. In the seminar, Art of Biography, I have learned that there are several types of biography; popular, historical, children's, literary, reference, fictional, and graphic, all of which I plan to try at some point. Others, such as historical and fictional, I plan to use this year. My research explores the American Revolution from the perspective of the African American patriot and illuminates significant contributions by African Americans to the war effort. The challenges I foresee will be time management, planning, and full integration with the Houghton Mifflin curriculum. My barometer of success will be gauged by my students' motivation and engagement, participation, and the ability to utilize graphic organizers to support the writing of and production of a comprehensive multi-paragraph book report and, eventually, a Power Point presentation about their biographical subject.

Why use biography? Using biography in the classroom is both academically compelling and a challenging way to encounter new worlds. Biography and autobiography provide initial entry to the study of periods of time and of places with which there may be little familiarity. In other words, it's a great starting point for building background knowledge on a particular topic, i.e., the American Revolution. Students also like them because they are more readable, less like work, and more pleasurable to learn history from than by textbooks alone. Biographies bring life to history. They make these people, patriots, colonials, loyalists, slaves, or their masters, more accessible and knowable.

I have worked with a diverse body of students in an urban elementary school throughout my twelve year career, and I have observed through behavior and attitude an unquestionable disconnect on the part of my students from the homogenized textbook version of history, typically written from the perspective of the conquerors over the conquered. However, I have also observed my students' fading interest in reading come back to life with the use of historical novels, ability level biographical picture books, and especially books that positively portrayed individuals of color, similar to the students in my classroom.

Last year a visiting professor from San Francisco State University offered to teach a history lesson to my students about the American Revolution. It was a generous offer indeed, a welcomed respite from the loneliness of a self-contained classroom. On the day she returned to my classroom to teach her lesson, she brought armfuls and bags full of varied leveled, 3 ^rd through 6 ^th grade, picture books and biographies about the American Revolution, many of which included African Americans patriots. I witnessed a palpable shift in enthusiasm. My students were awakened from their textbook comas; they couldn't wait to get their hands on one of her books. They were so happy, even my reluctant readers! I asked one student, "Why did you choose that book?" He answered, "I like the pictures", then interjected, "hey, this soldier looks like my uncle!" Clearly the books were 'cool' because they were newer, bigger, and more vivid, but moreover, they connected to them because these books included a wider and more diverse cast of characters.

Students are more interested in reading books in which, at least in part, reflect more of who they are. It's obvious when you think about it, but can be less so when you, as the teacher, are the "majority" minority in your own classroom. Good pedagogical practices emphasize the use of multi-cultural materials and lessons that are mindful of the populations in our classrooms. I'm choosing to do just that and by writing this unit I am including the seldom taught contributions of freed and non-freed African Americans during the time of the American Revolution. ⁵

The books I have chosen will allow students to read about and discover new faces connected to the American Revolution. In addition, I want to introduce reading and research opportunities that will examine the biographies of African Americans involved in the American Revolution that go beyond the shackles of slavery. I hope to embed recognition and cultural pride into an era of U.S. history through the use of biography. In addition, I want to examine these stories and pick out ideas and misconceptions that students may have. The purpose for this unit is to enhance and engage students with the theory that when they can see themselves reflected in their learning, students are more interested and simply put, learn better. In Ussery's research she points out the benefits of positive portrayal of African Americans in literature.

Children learn about their world through books used in the classroom. The positive portrayal of African Americans in children's books is essential because picture books introduce some children to African American culture, and all children need to see characters like themselves in books. ⁶

Lastly, to accomplish my goal of inspiring, reaching, and teaching, this unit will also include ideas shared from my seminar, Art of Biography, as well as books and research discovered through the YNI Institute. The lessons/activities will be within the guidelines of California's Common Core Standards of reading, writing, research, speaking and listening, presentation, and history and will serve to embellish the required Houghton Mifflin curriculum we use in our district.