LiD/IERG Secondary Focus (8-12) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE
PIVOTAL PERSON—BIOGRAPHY
The purpose of this handout is to provide students with a structure to locate
information about the human being(s) behind their topics.
Understanding the personal stories of the person/people who are/were pivotal to the
development of the knowledge the world shares about their topics will help students
to situate their topics in a socio-cultural-historical context. This will encourage a
deeper dimension of understanding.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
LiD/IERG Secondary Focus (8-12) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE
PIVOTAL PERSON
Name: ______________________
For many of us, Apple Inc. is a company not only known for its products and
technological prowess, but also for its co-founder, Steve Jobs. The story of a college
drop-out, who helps to create a personal computer revolution in his parents’ garage,
forever changing the trajectory of humanity, is just as fascinating as the technology
invented itself.
Understanding the personal stories of the people who are pivotal to the development
of the knowledge the world shares helps us to better understand the knowledge
created itself.
Your task is to create a biography of the person who is paramount to your topic.
First, you will need to identify the “main players” of your topic, and then determine
the person, or partnership if absolutely necessary, who is fundamental to the creation
of knowledge about your topic.
For example, one could not profess to know deeply about quantum physics without
knowing about Erwin Schrödinger, the Austrian physicist who formulated the wave
equation (though you may have heard of the paradox of Schrödinger’s cat, thanks to
the television show, “The Big Bang Theory”).
Next, you need to remember that biographies are more than just facts and details
about the events in a person’s life—biographies attempt to offer an understanding of
how the person experienced those moments in her/his life (even intimate details!), or
attempt to offer an analysis of those events (explaining why/how those events
influenced the person).
As a biographer, you are trying to capture the person behind her/his actions,
successes or failures. You act as a conduit of “insider information” about the person
to your readers, but at all times your tone should remain respectful and professional.
The final formatting of your biography should be considered. The biography could
emulate a Wikipedia page, a dossier provided to a top-secret agent, an obituary—you
are only limited by your imagination!
Suggested biographical content to locate follows...
LiD/IERG Secondary Focus (8-12) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE
PIVOTAL PERSON
Consider including the following content. Discuss with your teacher if any information
is to be left out.
1. Name
2. Pseudonyms or other monikers (explain why)
3. Birth and/or death dates (consider, is there anything interesting or telling
about the beginnings/end of the person’s life?)
4. Place of birth/childhood/adolescence/adulthood/death (consider how each
place may have impacted the person)
5. Education—share both formal (e.g. university) and informal (e.g. volunteering);
identify awards, scholarships, etc.
6. Family connections—provide a brief account of the family history, especially
those who may have either contributed to or hindered the person’s
development
7. Work history—provide the course of employment experience, especially any key
or prestigious postings or awards
8. Social connections—offer a brief account of personal relationships (romantic,
like marriages, divorces, etc. or platonic, like friendships) which you feel may
have contributed to the person’s development
9. Significance to your topic—explain how/why the person is a central figure to
your topic
10. The “juicy bits”—share any interesting, quirky, salacious or exciting aspects of
the person (remember, must be school appropriate)
11. Any focus you would like to add—please share with your teacher