Grammar for Writing: Level Orange — Chapter 4

First Ladies: Making an Impact Eleanor Roosevelt Each first lady of the United States has been more than just the President's wife. All of these women have made their own marks on history. For example, Dolley Madison saved George Washington's portrait as the British burned Washington, DC, and Barbara Bush crusaded for literacy. Each first lady has been honored by the nation and has held a position of responsibility to the United States. Investigate the life and achievements of one of America's first ladies. Create a Biography Board about this woman. A Biography Board is a poster-board presentation of material about your subject's life and accomplishments. Include a one-page biography; quotations by and about your first lady; a list of events from her life; and pictures, portraits, cartoons, and illustrations that add visual information to the Biography Board. Be sure your biography and those of your classmates give an accurate picture of the roles these women played in our nation's history. STEP 1: Initial Search Begin your research with visits to the following Web sites: University of North Carolina's Sunsite Choose at least three first ladies to investigate before narrowing your choice. National First Ladies' Library Home Page Visit biographies of first ladies and the first ladies bibliography. Biography Search: first lady First Ladies Search: Names of first ladies Search for information about three first ladies. Take notes on each one before narrowing your choice. Copy time lines, quotations, and family histories from the sites to add interest to your Biography Board. Use cluster diagrams to organize the facts you have discovered. Then choose the first lady who most interests you. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Orange, pages 11-12.) STEP 2: Focus Your Search Focus the Biography Board on the first lady you chose. Search the Internet for more information and explore other resources, such as biographies, videos, an encyclopedia, newspaper and magazine articles, and historical journals. Collect information about the life and times of your first lady, quotes about or from her, accomplishments during her time as first lady, and a historical perspective of her era. STEP 3: Define Your Audience Make your information interesting to high school students. Your audience may know something about the first lady you chose; your Biography Board will provide in-depth insights. STEP 4: Brainstorm Ideas Brainstorm ideas about what to include in the biography of this woman. Consider: (1) her family; (2) her likes, dislikes, hobbies, and interests; and (3) her role in American history. Decide which quotations you will use and what will go in her one-page biography. Think about how to present the rest of the information you find. There are two invaluable prewriting steps that will help you organize your information. These are the 5-Ws and How? questions (see Grammar for Writing, Fifth Course, page 11) and the outline on page 13. Use these strategies as you plan your Biography Board. Writing a biography can be difficult. Professional writers try to uncover details that show both the ordinary and extraordinary sides of "larger-than-life" people. Make your first lady more down-to-earth by including personal touches such as: "She liked to bake cookies in the White House kitchen"; "On weekends, she organized picnics for her children in the Rose Garden." STEP 5: Organize Your Ideas and Write Your First Draft Begin by writing an informative, interesting one-page biography that includes information that doesn't appear elsewhere on the Board. Freewrite a first draft, and once the ideas are in place, look for specific details, quotations, and news items that support them. When it comes to using descriptions, facts, quotes, and news bits, a little goes a long way. Select only a few items to enhance your writing. STEP 6: Create Your Biography Board Display quotations, a time line of your first lady's life, photos or illustrations, and short paragraphs about her achievements. Organize your material chronologically. Make your Biography Board attractive and engaging in order to capture and hold the attention of your audience. To see a portrait of your first lady, go to the Library of Congress website below: By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies Photo by Howard O. Allen Jacqueline Kennedy with John F. Kennedy Jr., 1962. STEP 7: Revise, Edit, and Proofread Your Biography Reread your biography. Be sure each paragraph has a topic sentence and that all sentences in the paragraph support that topic. Add details, anecdotes, or quotations to your paragraphs to give readers a vivid portrait of the first lady. Edit your writing for grammatical errors; then proofread your work carefully for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors. STEP 8: Publish Your Biography Board Present your Biography Board to the class and give an oral presentation of the material displayed. Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.