Directions+&+Example+for+Later+Years

Directions and Example for Cultural Literacy Activity # 9 – 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 adult life and career.
 * 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. We will use MLA documentation.
 * 4) Fill in your information page on your figure.
 * 5) Create a topic sentence about your person’s adult 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) Include and reference at least one quote from your sources.
 * 8) Add a concluding sentence tying back into your introduction opinion about your character.

Example research on Nicolai Copernicus- *Do not forget to seek .org, .edu, and .gov endings on webpages for sources. Marriage: did not marryChildren: no known childrenInterests: ministry, medicine, astronomy, educationCareers: became a priest, mathematician, “closet astronomer,” doctor of medicine, secretary, Hobbies: translating, learning, caring for uncle, Other: Heliocentric model of universe, did not attend astronomical conventions of time Died: May 24, 1543 Sources : Rabin, Sheila, "Nicolaus Copernicus", //The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition)//, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2010/entries/copernicus/ []

Nicolaus Copernicus was active during his adult life with his family, continued education, careers, and hobbies. Shortly after landing his first job as a canon, a priest, in 1497 as a result of his uncle who became a famous bishop in England, he went back to school to study canon law. This secured his financial situation for life since the pay and position in society were both high. He was not to have his own wife and children, but he remained close to his siblings and his uncle throughout the years; he even became the doctor for his uncle during his later decline. During the next thirteen years of his life, he continued to study at various schools learning about medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and religion. He never actually studied astronomy as a separate major or focus but instead analyzed and used the stars to better understand medicine and religion. To do so he also had to master the language and history of the Greeks. He spent considerable time later in his life translating poems, doctrines, and other famous texts. He also became a practitioner of medicine for six year, from 1506-1512, in Germany where he served bishops and poor alike often doing his work for free. After that he “…took up residence in his [his uncle’s] chapter of Frombork…and stayed there the rest of his life” (Rabin, 2010). During Copernicus’ remaining years, he continued to be active in the church politics and completed more “closet astronomy.” He never attended conventions or published his works while he was alive. He did however circulate his work with friends and associates, many of whom lectured on his findings. Nicolaus Copernicus died on May 24, 1543. He was even active on the last day of his life which is when his apprentice Georg Rheticus handed him a copy of his finest published work, //On the Revolutions//.