Fourth Quarter Project: Biographical Collage (Due 5/23)

4^th Quarter US History Project

Mr. Novick – D Block

Requirements

Each student will select one 20^th Century American historical figure we’ve either discussed or alluded to in class. A few of the many possibilities include Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, General Pershing, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Woodrow Wilson, Edith Wilson, the WWI Doughboy, Mitchell Palmer, Amelia Earhart, Langston Hughes, Charles Lindbergh, Herbert Hoover, FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosie the Riveter, Dorie Miller, Audie Murphy, Dwight Eisenhower, the WW II G.I., Harry Truman, George Marshall, Joseph McCarthy, John F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Thorgood Marshall, Betty Friedan and any of the numerous social, political or military figures of the first half of the 20^th Century.

Once you have selected a figure for your project, you should create a list on a single sheet of paper of the important events, decisions, actions, or moments in that figure’s life, focusing on those things which make him/her significant to American and/or world history (their defining moments).

Next, gather together from magazines, the Internet, and any other resources available to you (including your own artistic abilities!) pictures, images, or even small items that clearly represent your figure’s life and character, relating all to his/her historical significance. THE GOAL IS TO SELECT SYMBOLS OR IMAGES THAT REVEAL YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FIGURE’S IMPORTANCE TO AMERICAN HISTORY, RATHER THAN DOZENS OF PHOTOS DEPICTING THE PERSON’S FACE . A symbol is a tangible, real object that stands for or represents an idea…in this instance, an idea of why your figure matters, is important.

Finally, these pictures, images and/or small items should be pasted, neatly, collage-style, onto a poster board no larger than a standard poster board and no smaller than ½ of a standard-size poster board.

You will be graded on the following (100 points possible, and counting as 35 percent of your quarter grade):

Ø Was the project turned in on time?

Ø Were both the listing of key events AND the collage turned in?

Ø Was the project completed in a neat, attractive manner?

Ø Does the project show evidence of thought and creativity?

Ø Was the brief presentation to the class serious and meaningful?

Ø Does the project demonstrate an understanding on the part of the student of the figure’s importance in American history?

On the date that this project is due—Monday, May 23^rd, in history class—you must turn in your finished collage AND the single sheet of paper with the listing of important events in that person’s life.