Portteus LA: 2nd Trimester Biography Book Project
Historical Pen Pals
For your second trimester independent reading project, you have each selected a
Biography or Autobiography book to read. This book should be on a person or topic of
interest to you. The book does not need to be about just one person (i.e. a book on a
World War II battle); however, you must select one person from the time period or
subject matter covered in the book that will be your subject persona for the next two
months of this project.
All students just select a book at your reading level or slightly higher. The book should
be approximately 300 pages long, so if your book is shorter, you may select two books on
the same person or subject for the project. I am hoping you all started your books
during break, as was instructed, so you are ready to begin this fun project.
Rather than keeping reading response journals with Mrs. P for this project, you will
instead, write a series of three letters from your subject person to another person
from history in the class. This person will be assigned to you and the class will be split
into two writing groups, Group A and Group B, in order to make this process work.
Each of your three letters will cover one part of your subject person’s life. If your
person is deceased or a senior, the three parts will be Early Life, Middle Life & Later
Life. If your person is still living and is younger, you will need to adjust these parts into
what makes sense based on what is covered in your book.
Each letter will be typed in a readable, 12 point font. If you want to pick a scroll type
font to make it looks more authentic, please make sure it is readable and not in a bolded
font. Each letter should be 1 full single spaced page in length or 2 double spaced
pages. You will divide your letter into separate paragraphs for readability. The first
paragraph will be a greeting and thank your partner for their last letter. The first few
paragraphs will cover events and information from that part of your life that you will
share with your pen pal, and the last paragraph will ask your pen pal questions that they
will be expected to answer in their reply letter.
This project will only work if you adhere to the calendar of due dates below.
Therefore, this project is exempt from the use of Portteus Pounds and any late letters
will receive a 33% deduction (5 points) for the first day late, and a zero if it is more
than 1 class day late. The reason for this is that your response is needed for your
partner to write their reply and vice versa; so if you are late, you are negatively
affecting the time line of a classmate which could put a damper on your pen pal
friendship. If you receive more than one zero in this project, you will be removed from
the project and assigned a research paper on your subject person instead. I am hoping
that no one will do this to keep this a fun and successful experience for everyone.
Due Dates for Project:
Group A 1st letter about early life (Please begin with “Dear Friend” as you will not yet
know the name of your pen pal): Due Friday, January 8th
Group B 1st response letter (where you answer the questions posed in your partner’s
letter and discuss your own early life): Due Friday, January 15th
Group A 2nd letter (responding to your partner’s letter and discussing your middle life):
Due Friday, January 22nd
Group B 2nd letter (responding to partner’s letter and discussing your middle life):
Due Friday, January 29th
Group A 3rd letter (responding to your partner’s letter and discussing your later life):
Due Friday, February 5th
Group B 3rd letter (responding to your partner’s final letter and concluding the pen pal
relationship): Due Friday, February 12th
Biography Tea party presentations in class (you will be assigned to the same tea as
your partner so you will already know one person at the party!) – February 23-25th.
You will be expected to have notecards with info about your life, (I will give you a list of
information you need to know about your subject person), and a costume that is
appropriate for your subject person to wear at the party (This does not need to be
expensive; be creative!).
Each letter will be worth 15 points. 5 points for length and letter format; 5 points for
interesting and accurate information about your subject person’s life during that period,
and 5 points for asking your partner interesting questions and responding to the
questions they have asked. The Biography Tea party presentation is worth 20 points.
Total points for Project: 65
If you are able to print two copies of each letter at home, that would be really helpful.
One copy will go to your partner and the other will be graded by Mrs. P and placed in
your writing portfolio for the end of the year. If you cannot, Mrs. P will photocopy your
letter before it is delivered to your pen pal in class. Your letters may not be
handwritten. You will use MLA friendly letter format to include a class heading. See
below for an example of format.
Name
Date
LA/class period
(enter 2 times if single spaced, 1 if double-spaced)
Your fictional address
Your fictional city and state
January 6, 2016
(enter 2 times if single spaced, 1 if double-spaced)
Dear Mr. Washington:
(enter 2 times if single spaced, 1 if double-spaced)
Thank you for your recent correspondence. I am so pleased to hear that Martha is well
and enjoying the summer at Mount Vernon. Your farm sounds lovely and I look forward to
visiting you next fall.
(enter 2 times between each paragraph if single spaced, 1 if double-spaced)
My childhood in Europe was quite different from yours in Virginia. (Include 2-3
paragraphs of information on this part of your life. Conclude with 1 paragraph of
questions for your pen pal or you can ask them questions throughout your letter as
your speak of your own life).
(enter 2 times if single spaced, 1 if double-spaced)
Sincerely,
(enter 4 times if single spaced, 2 if double-spaced)
Sign your name above typed name
Type your name here
You do not need to put your letter in an envelope. Be creative! Make a new fictional
friend! Find out about another interesting person in history! Make history come
alive! 
Partners will be announced this Friday, January 8th.
2nd Period Historical Pen Pals
Group A
Group B
Yao Ming (Garrett) & Bethany Hamilton (Angelique)
Robin Williams (Brandon) & Richard Branson (Casey)
Ellen DeGeneres (Georgia) & Tyler Oakley (Natalia)
Temple Grandid (Oliver) & Paul Walker (Jack)
Thomas Gallaudet (Jordan) & Ji Li Jiang (Kimberlee)
Anne Frank (Natalie H) & Gandhi (Cameron)
Alex Morgan (Ashley) & Steven Hawking (Caden)
Jerry Rice (Jackson) & Benjamin Franklin (Bradley)
Corrie Ten Boom (Sofie) & Donald Trump (Jaelon)
Micheala De Prince (Elle) & Anne Frank (Jess)
Aman Sethi (Jessica) & Elon Musk (Brian)
Connor Franta (Skyler) & Gabrielle Douglas (Savannah)
Marilyn Monroe (Rosaria) & Anne Frank (Sadie)
Abraham Lincoln (Quinn) & Amy Poehler (Natalie S)
Ishmael Beah (Emily) & Adele (Natalie P)
Teddy Roosevelt (Emma B – 5th) & Mark Twain (Hope)
4th Period Historical Pen Pals
Group A
Group B
Misty Copeland (Kaelin) & Lynne Cox (Reegan)
JRR Tolkein (Alex) & Charles Darwin (Ally)
Derrek Coleman (Annie) & Max Von Der Grun (Sam)
Frank Abagnale (Everett) & Nikola Tesla (Carsten)
Van Gogh (Graysen) & Tim Tebow (Evan)
George Patton (Justin) & J. Lo (Caroline)
Regina Calcaterra (Ellison) & Muhammad Ali (Kellan)
Genghis Kahn (Flynn) & Audrey Hepburn (Reina)
Winston Churchill (Aidan) & Andy Warhol (Axel)
Malala (Grace) & Steve Jobs (Joey)
Thomas Jefferson (Jonny) & Donald Trump (Eddie)
Cleopatra (Joanna) & Malala (Shayda)
Felicia Day (Catherine) & ____________ (Madi)
Jon Cryer (Nathan) & Charlemagne (John)
Jackie Robinson (Owen) & Nikola Tesla (Brandon K)
Richard Byrd (Emma) & Jacqueline Onassis (Logan)
5th Period Historical Pen Pals
Group A
Group B
Malala (Anabella) & Louis Zamperini (Jaret)
Paul Allen (Jasper) & George Lucas (Aaron)
Van Gogh (Daniel) & Wilbur Wright (Sage)
Felicia Day (Maggie) & Gloria Steinem (Helen)
Bethany Hamilton (Carli) & Christopher McCandless (Aidan)
Tim Howard (Henry) & Kate Middleton (Abby)
Clark (Quin) & Queen Elizabeth II (Isa)
Stephanie Nielson (Anslee) & Louis Zamperini (Andre)
Anne Frank (Katelyn) & Derrick Coleman Jr. (Zach)
Malala (Jessie) & Shane Burcow (Kylee)
Drew Brees (Mac) & Charlie Chaplin (Jonathan)
Bethany Hamilton (Erin) & Julius Cesar (Jack B)
Audrey Hepburn (Lorin) & Drew Barrymore (Gabby)
Malala (Sarah) & Condoleezza Rice (Chloe)
Michaelangelo (Jesse) & Chris Hatfield (Andrew)
Dan Russell (Will) & Jackie Robinson (Lexi)
Teddy Roosevelt (Emma) & Mark Twain (Hope M -2nd)