Depending upon whether you're studying modern or ancient world cultures, help your students select a biography that connects to your classroom studies and connects to their personal interests. Cleopatra, Marco Polo, Attila the Hun and Helen of Troy might all suit those looking for biographies from the ancient world. Modern individuals your students might enjoy studying include Mother Teresa, Anne Frank, Chairman Mao and President Barack Obama. Of course, narrowing the time and place will help you come up with the most appropriate list of choices.
American history studies in elementary school almost always include particular attention to the famous women and men who have contributed to our country's growth and development. To specify your classroom's biography study, why not have each student select an individual from the "Childhood of Famous Americans" series of books? From more recent entries, such as Ted Kennedy, to early Americans, such as Ben Franklin and Martha Washington, kids can learn about how famous figures grew up and discover inspiring parallels between their lives and the lives of some of our country's most famous citizens.
Some of the most interesting lives students can study are the innovative and sometimes eccentric ones lived by the world's inventors, writers and artists. To demonstrate how important it is to follow the beat of your own drum, encourage your students to choose one of the world's personalities of vision -- artists like Toulouse-Lautrec or Georgia O'Keefe, inventors, such as Thomas Edison or Leonardo da Vinci, or writers, such as William Shakespeare or Louisa May Alcott. Creative genius can be demystified by learning about the details of the individual's life.
An inspirational biography lesson can be gleaned from studying the stories of those persons who have overcome tremendous odds to gain success and recognition in their chosen field. Kids often feel they are stuck within the circumstances of their youth and can gain the ability to dream of a better future when they read stories of those who have risen above life's challenges. Helen Keller, scientist Stephen Hawking, Frederick Douglass and writer J.K. Rowling all refused to be daunted by their circumstances, rising to the greatest heights of achievement through hard word and perseverance.