Donna Drasch and Rebecca Pilver
Mini-Presentation: Biography Foldable®
Dinah Zike Academy
November 18, 2008
Audience: Teachers, grades 4-8
Context: Part of a full day training- Using Foldables® Across the Curriculum
Title of Foldable®: Biography Top Pocket Project
Content Areas: Science and Language Arts
Background: This Foldable® is one activity of many that make up a collaborative Internet project entitled, American Scientists: An Endangered Species, for teachers and their students in grades 3-8. This project raises students' awareness about the importance of science and scientists to our world. The goal of the project is for students to broaden and improve their perceptions of scientists and what they do. With the ultimate goal of recognizing the value of scientists and identifying with them just like they do sports figures and celebrities, students will explore who scientists are and what they do. Students will read and discuss biographies of scientists and participate in activities that help them understand the world of scientists and recognize that they are scientists themselves. http://www.sblceastconn.org/scientists/scientistshome.htm
As a culminating project, students will collaborate on the development of a Stars of Science wiki, inspiring and educating students all over the world about the value of scientists in our lives. Students will contribute biographical information, podcasts, digital stories, and other multimedia to the Stars of Science wiki. The Top Pocket Foldable® Project, although a product in itself, will serve as a pre “writing” activity for the content that the students create for the wiki. The Foldables® within the Top Tab Foldable® project will provide students opportunities to organize, synthesize, and transform information to achieve a deeper understanding, appreciation, perspective and insight of the scientists’ lives and their achievements.
Materials:
1 sheet of Poster Board
2 sheets of 81/2 X 11 paper
2 half sheets of 81/2 X 11
3 ¼ sheets
Graphics: Character Traits and External Influences
Other Applications: Autobiographies, biographies across the content areas
Biography Top Pocket Project Foldable®
Layered Look Book Timeline Foldable®
· Layer 1: Key events in the person’s life, such as birth, death, initiating events, turning points, celebrations
· Layer 2: Popular culture such fashion, music, entertainment, recreation, and famous people
Under the flap: what these things were, like for music, it be classic, jazz, blues. For recreation, it could be attending theater, gathering around the hearth for a story, needlework, movies, dancing.
· Layer 3: Key events (things that would make major headlines) in the region and the world during the person’s lifetime including medical, technological could and historic events, inventions and discoveries.
Under the flap: A brief description of the event, the where, and the why it’s important to know
Three Tab Response to Challenges/Situations Foldable®
On the Tabs:
Problems/Issues/Conflicts
Actions Taken
Internal and External Motives (Attitudes)
Match Book Hall of Fame Foldable®
(Accomplishments, Achievements and Recognitions)
Title on short flap, medal/image on large flap, and inside write up of the what, when and why of it deserves its place in the Hall of Fame.
Two Tab It’s All in the Details: Using Clues to Make Inferences Foldable®
Understanding the Character
Tab 1: Character Traits
Inside: Envelope Foldable®
Four tab topics:
What person does (actions)
What they say or think (words and thoughts)
How they look (appearance)
How others respond to them (how others react them, how others feel about them, what others do for them)
Tab 2: External Influences
Inside: Envelope Foldable®
Four tab topics:
People
Places
Events
Experiences
In the pocket:
Researched and collected information that provides additional background about locations, the accomplishments, photos, maps, primary source documents, terminology, etc.
On the back:
Resources cited