Directions+&+Example+for+Early+Years

Directions and Example for Cultural Literacy Activity # 8 – Biographies

We are moving to different documents for each student this week. You will be asked to…
 * 1) Search for your wax museum figure to gather information for his or her early life.
 * 2) Corroborate the information by finding at least one additional webpage to support your data.
 * 3) Document your sources. At least write down the URL for now.
 * 4) Fill in your information page on your figure.
 * 5) Create a topic sentence about your person’s early life. Include your opinion drawn from your research.
 * 6) Write your data or facts as supporting details about the paragraph on your famous person’s life.
 * 7) Add a concluding sentence tying back into your introduction opinion about your character.

Data Collection -

Example research on Thomas Edison - *Do not forget to seek .org, .edu, and .gov endings on webpages for sources. Birth date: 2/11/1847 Birthplace: Milan, Ohio Mother’s Name and fact: Nancy Elliott originally from New York City Father’s Name and fact: Sam Edison, Jr., worked in the lumber business for a whileSiblings: six older siblingsEducation: home schooled by mother who was sure he was brilliant Early interests and experiences: interested and excelled in mechanical things and chemical experiments Age 12 sold newspapers and candy at rail yard in Detroit – Lost most of hearing either from scarlet fever when he was younger or from burning a baggage train car he used for his experiments. Many inventions emanated from his hearing loss. By age 16 worked on telegraph as an apprentice. Other facts: known as “Al” when he was a youth, only three of his siblings survived to adulthood Who influenced them? Why? Mother – she was sure of his promise! Sources - [] []

"Edison:The Life of Thomas A. Edison." //301 Moved Permanently//. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. [].

Example Paragraph Thomas Edison lived an active life, especially in his early years. He grew up with six older siblings, only three of which would survive to adulthood. His birth occurred in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. His mother was Nancy Elliott from New York City, and his father, Sam Edison, Jr., worked many years in a lumber business and later as a lighthouse keeper. Both jobs and many others sustained the family but kept them poor. Edison did not take well to schooling, so Nancy reared him educationally and really encouraged her son to excel. Thomas Edison did not want to let his mom down. He particularly liked mechanical gadgets and chemical experiments. These interests nearly lost his hearing, as some records say, because he burned a rail car at the age of twelve while working at a job performing a chemical experiment. The fire did not hurt his hearing, but the train master nearly boxed his ears off from the experience. Edison was 12 at the time of the event. By then his friends and family called him “Al.” It has been said that his loss of hearing contributed to his many inventions later in life. At 16 years old, Edison acquired an apprenticeship as a telegrapher which certainly fit one of his earlier interests. As one can see, Thomas Edison kept busy with his family, education, and jobs from an early age.