After examining the drawbacks of some of the currently popular teaching methods, the author proposes an approach to the teaching of high school history focusing on the matter of history -- the lives of men and ideas of the past. (SM)

Biographies can be used for the enrichment of secondary education social studies classes. Two strategies are presented for helping students to understand the nature, appeal, limitations, and applications of biographies in the social studies. (CJ)

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)

Prosopography is the investigation of the common background characteristics of a group of people in history by means of a collective study of lives. How the discipline of prosopography can be used to help secondary and college level students understand the nuances of power is examined. (RM)

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)

The life of the sculptor Henry Moore is briefly discussed and characteristics of his sculpture are described. Also included are lists of recommended films and books dealing with Moore, a student's guide to looking at sculpture, and sculpture activities for secondary students. (RM)

Describes the use of biographical stories to promote student interest in plant biology. Discusses plant hunters of various time periods, including ancient, middle ages, renaissance, colonial Americas, and 18th and 19th centuries; women plant hunters of the 1800s and early 1900s; and modern plant hunters. Discusses classroom strategies for the…

A junior high level social studies unit designed to determine the characteristics of a real and fictionalized "great" person is described. (DE)

The persona Robert Frost communicated to most of his wide, diverse, and often non-academic audience was that of a rather isolated New England farmer, who--because of his limited experience with city folk and urban living--was untouched and thereby uncorrupted by the ways of the world. In teaching Frost, as in teaching any poet, some sort of…

This biography explores poet Robert Frost's techniques as a teacher from the early days of teaching at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, to his acceptance of a chair at Harvard University and his subsequent associations with numerous other schools. Also examined are his educational practices and philosophy--particularly his life-long…

Suggests that character and personality profiles can heighten student interest in history. Provides an outline for writing a report on an historical personality and recommends activities which involve students in simulation and creative writing. (Author/DB)

Describes the life and work of Samuel Read Hall, an innovative educator who influenced the future of education. Includes information on his early life, his innovative use of the blackboard, and his development of the first school for educating teachers. Describes some of his methods of teaching history and geography, some of which are still used.…

Offers a method for teaching English using biographies in conjunction with creative writing assignments, for example, writing a short biography of another student in the class. (SRT)

Describe the experiences of a writing teacher as she completed a biography-writing assignment along with her students. Notes that teachers can gain insights into (and an understanding of writing they assign) by doing the assignments along with their students. Notes that many students, even reluctant writers, produced memorable biographies of…