Independent Reading Project

Biography Assignment

The Value of an Individual’s Power

Completed assignment and presentation is due: ______

  1. Select a book.
  • Select a biography ofa person who has made a positive contribution to his/her field.
  • The book should be at or above your reading level.
  • Turn in a permission slip indicating that your parents approve of your choice.
  • Each student must select a different person to read. First come, first served!
  • Find a copy of the book.
  • The book should be approximately 200 pages.
  • Show the book to your teacher for approval.
  • Bring the book to school each day beginning ______.
  • There will be silent reading in class and points given for having your book in class.
  1. Read the book.
  • Begin reading the book on your own time (and at times in class).
  • As you read, analyze the book looking for situations in the person’s life that demonstrate or explain the six (6) conceptslisted on the back from the Depth & Complexity Chart.
  • As you find evidence of the six concepts (listed on the back), take the following steps:
  • Use a Post-it note with the concept written on it and place it on the page with the exact “quotation” from the book that supports that particularconcept.
  • On another Post-it note explain how the evidence shows the concept. Be sure to include the significance or importance of this event in the person’s life.
  1. Write the assignment.
  • Begin by writing a brief overview (one paragraph) that explains who this person is/was and what he/she has accomplished that is so significant.
  • Next, write a response for each of the following concepts by…
  • Answering the question. (Make a claim.)
  • Cite with evidence. (Give examples with page numbers from the book as evidence to support your answer.)
  • Explain how the evidence supports the claim.

Depth and Complexity Icon Concepts

(1) Context/ Origins

  • What were the early years like in this person’s life?
  • What were the things in this person’s life that led him/her to want to pursue the fieldin which he/she succeeded?

(2) Contributions

  • Identify the actions or stepsthis person took that contributed to his or her success.

(3)Motivation

  • Identify and describe what motivated this person to keep pushing himself/herself.
  • What motivated this person to be so successful?

(4) Impact

  • Explain who or what had the biggest impact on this person’s life.
  • Explain how achieving success impacted this person.

(5) Ethics and Judgement

  • At what point in this person’s life did he/she face an ethical dilemma or challenge?
  • What choice did this person make to solve the dilemma?
  • How or why did this person make the particular choice he/she made?

(6) The Big Idea

  • Based on this person’s life, write a generalization about power then explain how this person proved or demonstrated your generalization.

Examples: People have the power to control their own destiny.

People have the power to create their own success.

  • How did this person find the power to achieve his or her success?
  • What key choices or decisions led this person to take power of his/her futureor destiny?
  • Explain how this person found the power to become the significant person he/she is today.
  1. Create a photo album.
  • Create a “photo album” that is a minimum of eight (8) pages which includesthe information listed above.
  • The information must be typed in MLA format with proper citations.
  • Be sure to include images of the person throughout various stages of his/her life to support your writing.
  • Be neat and creative and use proper spelling and punctuation.
  • Be prepared to share your “photo album”with your classmates.
  1. Present to the class.

A.Robinson 10/2016