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Fifth-graders from Frederick School in Grayslake take part in biography program

Posted April 13, 2015 11:00 pm

Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46

As a culmination of their study of biographies in literature class, fifth-grade students at Frederick School in Grayslake each researched a subject and either created a "Biography Bottle" based on their subject or dressed up like them. Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 46

Fifth-grade students at Frederick School in Grayslake recently completed extensive biography projects in Caren Geske and Joan Leon's literature classes.

The students spent time researching a person they selected and reading biographies on their subject. Once they completed their reading, students created note cards with information about their subject.

The students answered questions like, "What important event/discovery happened to make this person famous?" and "How did this person inspire you?"

Students then chose between creating a "Biography Bottle" of their person or dressing up as their person. Students selected a variety of people to research, including retired football quarterback Brett Favre, Cleopatra, Helen Keller, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and astronaut Neil Armstrong.

Several students chose to dress up as their subject and donned creative costumes for Theodore Roosevelt, Anne Frank, Dan Marino, Orlando Bloom and even Ferdinand Magellan.

This biography project exposed the students to the genre of biographies: reading text written about a person by another person. Students were able to read and comprehend informational text independently. They were also able to share facts they learned about their person while doing a verbal presentation for their classmates.

Frederick School fifth-grader Mia Lennartz as Anne Frank for her presentation during the school's biography project. Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 46

Frederick School fifth-grader Andrew Larson as Dan Marino. Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 46

Frederick School fifth-grader Maddie Ullrich as Teddy Roosevelt. Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 46

Frederick School fifth-grader Luca Maravola as Orlando Bloom. Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 46

Some of the Biography Bottles created by Frederick School fifth-graders. Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 46

Frederick School fifth-grader Jacob Marshall as Ferdinand Magellan. Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 46

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