Introduction
This project allows children to understand that many very successful people have had to face different obstacles and challenges everyday. Children will receive a card with the name of a person to research (web or library) and will prepare a presentation - a book or mobile - appropriate to their grade level.
Ideally a few children should share their projects each day after they are completed. If you choose for the children to write a book, it will make a terrific bulletin board in the room, and mobiles can be hung in the classroom.
As an alternative, the class could also work in teams on a name if the teacher wants to choose only a few specific persons to be researched. Ideally, this project should progress over two weeks.
K - 1: make a painting or mobile with pictures/drawings and/or important words about their person.
2 - 4: make a mobile, and write a paragraph about their person.
Materials and Preparation
six or seven 3"x5" note cards per student
On the next page is a list of famous people, along with something special about each person. Write each name you choose to use from the list on a 3x5 index card. Shortly, you will distribute one card to each student. Try to match each child with a person you feel they will be interested in, or from whom they may learn something special.
If you are working with the younger grades you
may want to split the introduction around recess or lunch. At the end
of the introduction hand one card out to each child. I have found that
the K and 1st grade children and their parents really enjoy finding this
information together at home, while grade 2 and up can usually do their
own research on the web or in the library. It is a good idea to print
out the research project instructions and glue them to the back of the
card.