Famous Person in History Book Project
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
Project: Timeline, Trading Card, & Wax Museum
This theme’s book project genre is biography or autobiography. You will need to
select a book that is at an appropriate reading level and is about an important person,
preferably from America, that you would like to learn about!
Unlike our other projects this year, for this project you may be using additional
books and internet resources to learn about the person you select. While reading and
researching your famous American, try to collect as much information as possible about
this person’s life and why they are an important part of history. Use the graphic
organizer (attached) to help you complete the various parts of your project.
This book project will have 4 main parts:
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3.
4.
Trading Card (Due: Wednesday, April 16th)
Timeline (Due: Friday, May 2th)
Wax Museum Costume & Props (Due: Wednesday, May 7th)
Oral Presentation (Will take place at a Live Wax Museum on Wednesday,
May 7th)
1. TIMELINE
Choose 6-8 major events (or more) in your famous person’s life,
which you will write and illustrate in a timeline.
You will need to include a picture/graphic (either drawn or from
the internet) for each event along with a brief description of what took
place on that date or in that year.
The description needs to be typed or neatly handwritten and be
at least one paragraph in length. (4 or more sentences)
The famous person’s name should be somewhere on the timeline –
LARGE and neat enough to read – with your name underneath.
The timeline will also include the years in which your famous
person was alive or when they were born if they are still living.
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The way in which you create your timeline is up to you, but must show creativity. You
can connect pieces of paper to make a longer vertical timeline, use poster
board, construction paper, or come up with your own visual representation.
Try making a timeline that creatively represents the person you are
portraying. (Ex: A guitar-shaped timeline for a musician) The timeline will
be displayed behind you during the Wax Museum, so make sure it is
something you are proud to show others!
2. TRADING CARD
Just like a sports-figure trading card, you will create a
super-sized trading card for the biography subject using 8 ½x11
size paper. You will use half of the paper for the front and the other half for
the back (like the sample I provided).
On the front side, you will draw a picture of your famous person or print a
picture from the internet. Use markers, crayons, or colored pencils to enhance
your drawing. You will also decorate the border with pictures or designs that relate to your
famous person.
On the back side, you will neatly write or type facts and information about
your famous person. Use the template provided to help plan the back of your
card, but for your final draft, you can use another piece of paper if you would
like, as long as it follows the basic format. You will write important facts or
details in paragraph or bullet form, but be sure to write in complete sentences
and an easy-to-read format. Think about trading cards that you have seen. How is
the format unique and different from books? Try to make yours look like a real trading card!
Cut out and glue the front and back onto construction paper to make the card two sided.
3. WAX MUSEUM COSTUME
On Wednesday, May 7th, we will have a Living Wax Museum, where you will get a chance
to dress up as your famous person. We will invite guests to attend so try and represent your
person as accurately as you can. If you need something for your costume, let me know as
soon as possible so I can attempt to find it. You will need at least one prop, but try to gather
as many props as you can, so you’ll look and feel as authentic (real) as possible. Bring
everything – your clothes, props and speech to school on Tuesday, May 6th so that your
materials are here and ready for your museum the following day.
4. ORAL PRESENTATION
You will prepare a 1-2 minute speech about your person’s life written in the first
person. In other words, you should talk as if you are really the famous person (“Hello, I am
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Martin Luther King, Jr.”). Your speech should cover important information about your famous
person and what makes him/her an important part of history.
Your speech needs to be written on index cards. Practice saying your speech several
times so that you won’t have to rely on the index cards when you are performing for your
audience. Practice saying the speech with personality and expression. You want your
audience to “believe” you are that famous person 
Remember, good speakers speak loudly and clearly, and they look up at their audience.
Eye contact is important!
Guiding Questions for Oral Presentation
Here are some questions to help guide your presentations. You do not have to answer
all of these questions, but they may help you plan out your speech.
1. When and where was he/she born? Describe his/her childhood and family.
2. Did he/she get married? If so, to whom did he/she marry and did he/she have any children?
What was his/her family like?
3. What kind of education did he/she receive? Where or did he/she attend college?
4. Did they have to overcome any challenges or obstacles in his or her life?
5. Why is he/she famous? How did he/she become famous?
6. Who are his or her friends?
7. What are other interesting facts about the person and his/her life?
8. How did they affect or influence other people in America/World?
9. Who influenced them in their lives?
Selecting Your Famous Person:
I have included a list of people to choose from on the next page. Understand
that your choice is not limited to this list. Some of the people listed will be easier
than others to research, so make sure you consider this when selecting your famous
person!
Finding Information:
There are multiple ways to research the famous person you selected. You will
have your book project book that you have chosen to read to find a majority of your
information. If you have trouble finding a book, please let me know so I can help you
look for one. Mr. Spatara will also be able to assist you with this as well. Below is a
list of suggested places where you can find information. All of these websites are
linked from the book projects page on our website: www.ldoddo.weebly.com
Libraries:
~Reynolds Elementary School Library
~Greenville Public Library – Use the online catalogue to look for books.
~Other Local Libraries
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Websites:
□ http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/states/famous-main.cfm
□ http://www.infoplease.com/people.html
□ http://www.biographyonline.net/people/america/famous-americans.html
□ http://mrnussbaum.com/bio2/
□ http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm
Citing your Sources:
Since you will be using more than one source of information (books, internet,
etc.) for this project, it is important that you site your sources. Remember that when
you collect research, you need to turn this information into your own words when you
begin working on the project. I have included a format below for how to cite or share
your resources with me. This is something you will have to do whenever you complete
a project when information comes from lots of places. Please turn in a one page list of
all citations on the day of the Wax Museum.
Check out Citation Maker online to help you cite your sources:
http://elementary.oslis.org/cite-sources/mla-elementary-citation
Book (one author)
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Book Title. Publishing city, and Publishing
State: Publishing company, publication date.
Example:
Doddo, Laura. How to Complete a Famous Person Book Project. Greenville, PA.: Reynolds Elementary
Publishers, 2014.
Web Page
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title of Page. Name of institution or
organization. (Date you accessed the web page) <URL>
Example:
Doddo, Laura. Mrs. Doddo’s 6th Grade. Reynolds Elementary School. (January 22, 2014)
<www.mrsdoddo.com>
Plagiarism is stealing someone else’s ideas or thoughts.
When using someone else’s ideas or thoughts, it is
important that we cite where our information came from.
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The following site has excellent information regarding plagiarism:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/school/plagiarism.html
The following site is a fun game dealing with plagiarism:
http://www.lycoming.edu/library/instruction/tutorials/plagiarismGame.aspx
Famous Americans/Others
A list of famous people, chosen mainly from the Nineteenth, Twentieth or Twenty First Century. This list includes
famous actors, politicians, entrepreneurs, writers, artists and humanitarians. This list can be found at
http://www.biographyonline.net/people/famous-100.html.
Please keep in mind that this is a very limited list of famous Americans/Others. Please expand
your search to other areas so that you can find a person that you will enjoy learning about!
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Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) US President during American civil war
2. Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997) Catholic missionary nun / charity worker
3. John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963) US President
4. Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968) - American civil rights campaigner
5. Nelson Mandela (1918 - ) - South African President anti-apartheid campaigner.
6. Winston Churchill (1874- 1965) - British Prime Minister during WWII
7. Bill Gates (1955 - ) American businessman, founder of Microsoft
8. Muhammad Ali (1942 - ) American Boxer and civil rights campaigner.
9. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948) Leader of Indian independence.
10. Margaret Thatcher (1925 - ) British Prime Minister.
11. Charles de Gaulle (1890 - 1970) French resistance leader and President.
12. Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) - Italian explorer
13. George Orwell (1903 - 1950) British author of 1984, Animal farm
14. Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) British scientist proposed theory of evolution.
15. Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977) American pop singer.
16. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) German scientist - theory of relativity.
17. Paul McCartney (1942 - ) British musician, member of Beatles.
18. Plato (423 BC – 348 BC) Greek philosopher
19. Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - ) British monarch since 1954.
20. Queen Victoria ( 1819 –1901) British Queen during Nineteenth Century
21. John M Keynes (1883 – 1946) British economist.
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22. Mikhail Gorbachev (1931 - ) Russian President during end of Cold War.
23. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) Indian Prime Minister
24. Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) Italian, painter, scientist, polymath
25. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) - French chemist and microbiologist.
26. Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) - Russian author and philosopher.
27. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - Spanish modern artists
28. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Dutch artist
29. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945) - US President 1932 - 1945.
30. Pope John Paul II (1920 - 2005) Polish Pope.
31. Thomas Edison ( 1847 – 1931) - American inventor
32. Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005) - American civil rights activist
33. Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 - ) Burmese opposition leader.
34. Lyndon Johnson (1908 – 1973) - US President 1963-69
35. Ludwig Beethoven (1770 - 1827) - German composer
36. Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ) US media celebrity.
37. Indira Gandhi (1917 – 1984) - Third Prime Minister of India.
38. Eva Peron (1919 – 1952) - First Lady of Argentina
39. Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007) - Prime Minister of Pakistan
40. Desmond Tutu (1931 - ) South African Bishop and opponent of apartheid
41. Dalai Lama (1938 - ) Spritual and political leader of Tibetans
42. Walt Disney (1901 – 1966) American film producer
43. Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) US Pilot , first person to land on moon.
44. Peter Sellers (1925 – 1980) British film actor and comedian
45. Barack Obama (1961- ) US President
46. Malcolm X (1925 – 1965) American Black nationalist leader
47. J.K.Rowling (1965 - ) British author of Harry Potter series.
48. Richard Branson (1950 - ) British entrepreneur founder of Virgin.
49. Pele (1940 - ) Brazilian footballer, considered greatest of 20th Century.
50. Jesse Owens (1913-1980) US track athlete won 4 golds at 1936 Olympics.
51. Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) American author
52. John Lennon (1940 – 1980) British popstar and member of the Beatles.
53. Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) US Industrialist
54. Haile Selassie (1892 - 1975) head of state of Ethiopia
55. Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953) Soviet leader from 1924-1953.
56. Lord Baden Powell (1857 – 1941) British Founder of scout movement
57. Michael Jordon (1963 - ) US Basketball star
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58. George Bush jr (1946 - ) US President 2000-2008.
59. V. Lenin (1870-1924) - Leader of Russian Revolution 1917.
60. Osama Bin Laden (1957-2011) Leader of Al Qaeda
61. Fidel Castro (1926-) Cuban revolutionary leader.
62. Oscar Wilde (1854- 1900) Irish author, poet, playwright.
63. Coco Chanel (1883-1971) - French Fashion designer
64. Pope Francis (1936 - ) - First pope from the Americas.
65. Amelia Earhart (1897– 1937) - Female aviator
66. Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945) - leader of Nazi Germany 1933-45.
67. Sting (1951 - ) British musician.
68. Mary Magdalene (4 BC - 40AD) - devotee of Jesus Christ
69. Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) - English / American film producer
70. Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) - American Pop singer
71. Madonna (1958 - ) American Pop singer
72. Cleopatra (69 -30 BC) Queen of Egypt.
73. Emmeline Pankhurst 1858-1928 - English suffragette.
74. Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004) - US President.
75. Lionel Messi (1987- ) Argentinian footballer
76. Babe Ruth (1895 – 1948) American baseball player
77. Bob Geldof - Irish musician, charity worker
78. Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) Russian Marxist revolutionary
79. Roger Federer (1981 - ) Swiss Tennis player
80. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Austrian psychoanalyst
81. Woodrow Wilson ( 1856 – 1924) US president.
82. Mao Zedong (1893-1976) Leader of Chinese Communist revolution
83. Katherine Hepburn (1907-2003) - American actress.
84. Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) British actress and humanitarian.
85. David Beckham - English footballer
86. Tiger Woods - American golfer
87. Usain Bolt - Jamaican athlete. Record holder at 100m and 200m
88. Bill Cosby (1937 - ) - US entertainer
89. Carl Lewis (1961 - ) - US athlete and Olympian
90. Prince Charles - Heir to British throne
91. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - American wife of JF. Kennedy
92. C.S. Lewis - British author
93. Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959) American jazz singer.
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94. J.R.R. Tolkien - British author of Lord of the Rings
95. Tom Cruise (1962 ) - American actor
96. Billie Jean King - American tennis players and campaigner for equality.
97. Simon Bolivar - Leader of Latin American independence movement against the Spanish
98. Anne Frank - Dutch author who died in Holocaust
99. Scarlett Johansson (1984 - ) - American actress
100. Malala Yousafzai - (1997- ) Pakistani human rights activist.
More famous people
101.
Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793) French Queen, executed during the French revolution
102.
Yoko Ono (1933- ) Japanese / US artist, musician
103.
Emile Zatopek - Czech athlete
104.
Lech Walesa - Polish leader of Solidarity movement
105.
Christiano Ronaldo - Portuguese footballer.
106.
Julie Andrews - British singer
107.
Florence Nightingale - British nurse
108.
Marie Curie - Polish / French scientist
109.
Stephen Hawking - British scientist
110.
Tim Berners Lee (1955- ) English creator of World Wide Web
111.
Beyonce (1981- ) American singer, dancer and actress
112.
Lady Gaga (1986-) American singer
113.
Lance Armstrong (1971- ) American cyclist.
114.
Shakira - Colombian singer
115.
Jon Stewart (1962 - ) - American comic and tv presenter New York.
116.
Scarlett Johansson (1984 - ) - American actress
117.
Larry Page (1973 - ) American co-founder of Google
118.
Sergey Brin (1973 - ) Russian co-founder of Google
119.
Wright Brothers - Orville and Wilbur Wright who made first flight in 1903.
120.
Roman Abramovich - Russian oligarch.
121.
Rupert Murdoch - Media owner of News Corporation.
122.
Al Gore - US presidential candidate and environmental campaigner
123.
Sacha Baron Cohen (1971 - ) - English comedian
124.
George Clooney (1961 - ) - American actor and political activist.
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125.
Paul Krugman - American Nobel Prize winning economist
126.
Jimmy Wales - American creator of Wikipedia
127.
Brad Pitt (1963 - ) Actor
128.
Kylie Minogue - Australian singer and actress
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Name:__________________________________
Born:___________________________________
Location:________________________________
Died:___________________________________
Location:________________________________
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Life:
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
Achievements:
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
Awards/Honors:
______________________________________
______________________________________
__________________________
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Oral Presentation Template
My name is ___________________ and I would like to tell you
a little bit about myself.
I’m famous because___________________ (write 1-2
sentences answering this question)
I was born in _______________and I died in
________________at the age of ______.
I think that my most successful accomplishment was ________.
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(Tell what he or she is most proud of doing)
Some of my other accomplishments include _______________.
(Try and include at least two more things or experiences that made
this person important)
Living during my lifetime was special because _____________.
(Complete this sentence)
Before I become famous, I had some problems in my life. One
problem __________________ (write 3-5 sentences about any
failures or struggles this person had to overcome before he or she
was successful)
If I could come back right now, I’d like to tell the people of 2014
that ____________________________. (Give advice to the
present day world or share some secret about their life)
WAX MUSEUM RUBRIC
Timeline
1. The timeline includes 6-8 major events in the famous person’s life. Each event is at least one
paragraph in length. (4 or more sentences) Each description includes relevant, accurate
information that clearly explains the life of the famous person.
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2. A pictures or photograph accurately illustrates each of the major events.
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3. The timeline includes the famous person’s name, the year they were born/died, and your name.
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4. The overall appearance and layout of the timeline is creative, appealing, neatly organized, and
carefully planned.
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Trading Card
5. The trading card is on an 8½ x 11 sheet of construction paper cut in half and glued together. The
Trading card should be double sided.
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6. The front of the trading card includes an accurate picture of the famous person with a creative
border. The front should also include the famous person’s name.
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7. The back of the trading card includes information in bullet or paragraph form. It includes the
most important facts and accomplishments in an easy-to-read format.
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Costume/Props
8. The costume accurately represents the famous person and time period and shows considerable
work and creativity. At least one prop is used to enhance the overall presentation.
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Oral Presentation
9. Script is at least one minute in length and written on note cards. Student does not rely on note
cards for entire presentation.
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10. Spoke loudly, clearly, and slowly.
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11. Spoke in first person, using language and body movements as your famous person would.
(used accent if necessary)
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12. Oral presentation was informative and showed a strong knowledge of the person’s life.
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Citations
13. A one page list of all sources used was correctly formatted and neatly written or typed.
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Total:___________/100
Comments:
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