Biographies

(I composed this about a week ago, but am just now getting it published. )

While reading the chapter on biographies this week, I found myself thinking about how little I had appreciated this genre as a student. I typically saw them as just resources to be used for research projects, instead of books that could be enjoyed for pleasure. So, I decided to try to introduce a few biographies to my students when they returned from Spring Break.

I chose one presidential biography, The Mysterious Mr. Lincoln, as I have many boys who are interested in reading about the civil war and would be able to connect with this piece. I also chose to share excerpts from A Dog's Life: An Autobiography of a Stray, although not a traditional biography, a book that would perhaps pique the interest of some of those students who are less apt to pick up a book that sounds like nonfiction. This piece of realistic fiction has become one of my favorites to share with students because it helps them to connect with the main character in a new and different way, similar to the way a traditional autobiography does, by making the main character the narrator.

It will be interesting to see how many of the kids are receptive to this presentation of traditional "reference" literature. I wonder if any of them will learn to love biographies as much as I have in recent years.