One of the many things that students like about studying the past is that the past is filled with people just like them. These biology projects are an easy way to bring the past to life by focusing on the lives of people in greater depth.
A Celebrity Guest
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Kids relate to celebrities. Celebrities are not just in the present. They’re also very much part of the past. In the past certain people were the superstars of their day, widely admired and very beloved. Have kids learn as much as possible about a single celebrity in the past and then give a class presentation about their lives.
Birthday Research
Everyone has a birthday. Kids can spend time learning about people in the past who share birthdays with them and with the people close to them. For example, if a child was born on May 24th, they’ll discover they have the same birthday as Queen Victoria. These kinds of biography project ideas help students realize how much they have in common with a specific historical figure.
The Greatest American
Ask students to come up with a list of past Americans they believe deserve the title of greatest American. Students can come up with varied names in varied areas of life such as art, literature, and presidential leadership. Kids can make a case for their choice in front of their peers. That gives them a chance to learn how to debate in favor of a given point of view while engaging in useful and thoughtful historical research.
Poems
Poems are one of the purest forms of self-expression ever put on the page. Poems are simple and yet profound at the same time. Teaching history means using other skills at the same time. Kids can explore the world of poetry and the world of history by making poems about a given person.
There are many types of poetic forms they can use in this work. They might choose a haiku, a sonnet, or a limerick. Ask them to incorporate details such as the person’s hometown, birthday, and the events that took place during their lifetime. Students relish the chance to get creative and think in new ways.
A Newspaper Tribute
Newspapers are timeless. People love reading newspapers. Have children write up a newspaper about the life and times of a given person. Articles can address issues such as what was happening when they were born and events that happened as they grew up. An article can also address other issues such as what clothing styles were popular during that time and what people liked to eat. That can help get a real feel for the entire world that people had in the past.
This can be a single person’s project or it can be a group project that many students do over the course of a semester.
Biographies tell students much about the past and what it means to be human today. For more biography project ideas, you can check out places like Adobe Education Exchange. Read more informative articles on Best Digital Mate.
