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EDU 280 Fall Semester

Professor Flowers
December 11, 2017

Title: Interview with a Famous Person from History

Grade Level: 5th

Required Time: Approximately 105 minutes (Divided into two days)

Concept: History lesson using biographies of famous people in history who made a significant

contribution to society.

General Goals: Identify interesting facts from an assigned biography. Learn to appreciate

people with diverse ethnicities and cultures by formulating questions and researching answers.

Specific Objectives: Students are to work in groups of two or three while researching a person

in history. They will identify important traits, where they came from, and contributions they

have made as well as any interesting aspects of the individual.

Required Materials:

• Biographies of 12 famous people in history: Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Mahatma

Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Dalai Lama, Oscar Wilde, Anne Frank, Martin Luther

King Jr., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sir Isaac Newton.

• Lined paper and pencil.

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• Yellow and blue highlighter.

• Poster-board and colored pencils for each group.

Anticipatory Set: Ask the questions, “If you could bring back someone form history to ask them

questions, who would you choose and what would you ask them? What characteristics or traits

make a person famous?”

Step by Step Procedures:

1. Take 5 minutes to discuss traits that make a person famous. E.g. intelligence, bravery,

passion, influence, etc. Write words discussed on the board so they can remember what to

look for while reading the biography.

2. Assign students into pairs or groups of three. Pass out paper and pencils.

3. Each person in the group will come up with 3 interview questions for their famous person.

4. Pass out a different printed biography for each group along with a blue and yellow

highlighter.

5. Have students study biography and highlight interesting facts in blue and technical facts in

yellow.

6. After studying the biography, students will write the answers to their interview questions.

7. Allow 20 minutes for students to create posters of their famous person using colored

pencils. Encourage them to be a s creative as they like while highlighting stories and facts of

their assigned person.

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8. Each group will present their poster to the class and answer two additional questions from

the class about their person.

Independent Practice: Students will spend 10 minutes using the backside of their lined paper

to write a brief description of challenges their famous person had to overcome.

Reflective Anticipatory Set: Discuss some characteristics students would like to have that

relates to the famous people mentioned in class. Further discuss what made these people

famous.

Assessment Based on Objectives: Check posters while they are working to see if there is

enough valuable information based on the biography as well as some creative aspects. Make

sure they were able to answer their questions with correct information.

Possible Connections to Other Subjects: English, Literature

CCSD 5th Grade Curriculum:

(5) 3.2 Identify historical events and cultural context as portrayed in literature.

(5) 10.1 Participate in conversations and group discussions as a contributor and leader.

(5) 11.1 Formulate research questions and establish a focus and a purpose for inquiry.