This article serves as an invitation to see the way the teaching of biography-driven writing has been increasingly pushed out of the secondary English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum in favor of highly structured, formulaic, and impersonal writing, and how this is a setback for students in their preparation for college and career writing. The…

In contemporary contexts, young people are accustomed to life story; indeed, their lives are saturated with constructions of their stories and those of others, whether created by themselves or their "friends" on social networks. Multimedia outlets convey often detailed stories of more-famous others, whether celebrities or those experiencing…

In the modern world, women have acquired formal education, become professionals in the workforce, and are equal to men according to law. Yet cultural and social mores continue to characterize a woman as one who acts according to stereotypes. For these reasons and others, teaching has long been considered a woman's profession. Realization of the…

In this article, the author discusses how narratives, which are part of the common currency of the day, have dramatically changed over the years. Grand narratives, which grew exponentially in the mid-nineteenth century, have now been replaced by two different narratives: life narratives and small-scale narratives. He also discusses how small…

An excellent way to teach history is by focusing on the lives of individual historical figures. History is the story of living persons, who for good or ill have made history as it is. To understand history, students must learn about the men and women who shaped events. (RM)

Nine women whose lives have contributed to West Virginia history are profiled in these collected essays. These women have made significant contributions to history as: midwife, physician, journalist, photographer, educator, musician, civic activist, and social reformer. The stereotypical image of a powerless, barefooted, uneducated girl is proven…

This collection of essays chronicles the contributions of 14 West Virginia women active in individual and group endeavors from 1824 to the present. Because the achievements of these women are absent from previous histories of West Virginia, their stories constitute missing chapters in the state's history. Some of these women made contributions in…

Understanding multiple perspectives--how different people see one another and events now and in the past--is often cited as a goal of social studies educators. This article describes one way to encourage children to consider a variety of perspectives on a person's life story, using a literary model as a guide to thinking about the past. The book…

In the past, autobiographical writing was often used in teacher education courses simply as a way to identify the concerns of pre-service teachers, to bring those concerns forward so that they might better be addressed. Increasingly, teacher educators have recognized the importance of the individual's lived experience as relevant to the…

Presents two separate interviews on one topic. William Styron and James West discuss West's biography of Styron from the vantage points of subject and biographer. Styron reveals some of the painful incidents in his life and West delineates how these have influenced Styron's work. Includes several photographs. (MJP)

A research project examined the issues of how teachers' cultural identities and school experiences affect their definitions of themselves as teachers, and how their identities affect their teaching. The project was a qualitative inquiry, based on reciprocal and interactive relationships. Researchers began by identifying education students who…

A biography for elementary school students of Patrick Des Jarlait (Ojibwe), an American Indian painter, includes photographs of the artist and some of his work. A teacher's guide following the bibliography contains excerpts from the artist's published reminiscences about his childhood, learning objectives and directions for teachers, suggested…

A biography for elementary school students introduces Rosemary Shingobe Barstow, a Native American Ojibwe language instructor and bilingual education consultant. A teacher's guide following the bibliography contains suggested activities and worksheets, objectives, directions for teachers, vocabulary list, resource list, and an evaluation…

Produced to help Maryland schools and community organizations commemorate National Women's History Month, this resource unit may also be used throughout the year to teach about women's history. Part 1 contains general information about women's contributions to social reform and an overview of the women's rights movement. Part 2 includes…

Presents brief excerpts from the presidential papers of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The excerpts address such matters as voting rights, limited government, political appointments, national security, and the balance of power. (MJP)