Biographical writing is highly imaginative writing and always has been. The task of the biographer is to weave a riveting story from the fabric of the subject's life. For example, a single pivotal incident in the lives of Percy Bysshe Shelley, the English poet, and Mary Godwin, author of "Frankenstein", at the grave of Mary's mother,…

Reviews several children's biographies of Columbus and challenges the image of Columbus portrayed in these books. Calls upon educators to be more critical when having elementary school students read about Columbus. (MG)

Examines the use of biographies in teaching elementary students about contemporary women. Discusses sources of appropriate works and provides teaching suggestions for use with elementary school children. (GEA)

A teacher discusses how she used criticism of "The Scarlet Letter," when studying the book, in her honors class. The students were also intrigued by the biographical information they learned about Hawthorne, and eager to use it in interpreting his novel. (SRT)

A conceptual framework and teaching guidelines for biographical history, i.e., centering the study of history in individual lives, are presented. Both the framework and guidelines were derived from a group of philosopher-historians representing a full monistic-pluralistic spectrum of theories: Marx, Weber, Toynbee, Ortega y Gasset, and Dilthey.…

Presents background information on the artist Ginny Ruffner who was a "flameworker." Includes information on the exhibition entitled "Creativity: The Flowering Tornado, Art by Ginny Ruffner" and the accompanying art pop-up book. Provides photographs of some of her artwork. (CMK)

Prepared by teachers in a summer course, this handbook presents brief descriptions of various aspects of reading instruction and related lesson plans and class activities. Sections of the handbook discuss readiness, word recognition, word meaning/vocabulary, comprehension, and reading in the content areas. The handbook also offers brief…

Examines the theoretical and practical implications of utilizing the biographical approach in the history curriculum by pointing out the advantages, examining the art of writing biographies, and discussing two basic methods used in teaching biography. (Author/CK)

Presents an annotated selection of historical fiction and biography picture books for primary grade children. Suggests ideas for a jackdaw--a collection of artifacts related to the contents and historical setting of a story. (BB)

Prepared by experienced classroom teachers from all levels, the articles in this book explain how to use biography and autobiography as a basis for the thorough study of a topic in literature, history, the social sciences, or other subject areas. The nine articles in the first section of the book use Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird…

Noting that students read and write nonfiction without noticing how the language of nonfiction shapes the subject they are studying, the articles in this journal demonstrate ways in which teachers can link their concern for language with their students' interest in content subjects. Titles of the 24 essays are as follows: (1) "Spreading the…

Contends that elementary teachers should use literature in their classrooms to teach essential social studies concepts. Describes types of literature useful in the social studies classroom. Includes recommended children's books for each of eight categories of literature. (CFR)

Noting the general lack of attention to the teaching of nonfiction, this focused journal issue presents 11 articles containing suggestions for ways to incorporate various nonfiction materials into the English class. Article titles and authors in the journal are (1) "A Marriage that Works: Early American Literature in Context" (S. Bouley); (2)…

Presents two activities as a literature supplement to a history lesson to provide students with materials well suited to their reading levels. Describes a biography book wheel project to be used as an alternate to the standard book report. Proposes choral reading of historical poetry to enrich the social studies experience. (DK)

The nature, uniqueness, and value of testimonials in English-as-a-Second-Language courses are described. Oral narratives, collected from people from developing countries who cannot write, are edited and translated by a recorder/collector. Examples are cited and their use in the classroom is reported. (Contains 12 references.) (LB)