The Living Wax

MuseumBiography Research Project

As you begin this project you might want to consider a theme such as:People Who Changed the World, Influential Women, Very Clever Inventors,

Black History Month Figures, Famous Writers, Those That Made America Great,World Leaders, Groundbreaking Scientists, Nobel Peace Prize Winners, etc.

I like using a “Game Changers” theme for my high school students. Students select someone who they feel positively influenced the world by doing something different that defied the status quo.

Here’s a video that I use to introduce my theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFEarBzelBs

I have students answer these questions before I approve the person they want to research:

1) What is his/her most significant accomplishment?

2) How has his/her life positively affected others?

3) What do you personally admire most about him/her?

4) Did he/she write an autobiography? If yes, what is the title?

5) Are there autobiography or biography books written about your person in our school library? If the answer is yes, write down the number of books we have available in our school library. If the answer is no, please find three websites created by reliable sources like Time Magazine or A&E Biography that provide lengthy biography information.

185 Peopleto Potentially

Research

185 People to Potentially Research 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) Abigail Adams Abraham Lincoln Alan Turning Albert Einstein Alexander Fleming Alexander Graham Bell Alexander the Great Alice Paul Amelia Earhart Angela Merkel Angelina Jolie Anne Frank Anne Sullivan Aristotle Audrey Hepburn Augustus Caesar (Octavian) Aung San Suu Kyi Bella Abzug Benjamin Franklin Bill Gates Billie Jean King Bruce Lee Cesar Chavez Charlemagne Charles Darwin Charles Dickson Charles Lindbergh Charles Richard Drew Charlie Chaplin Christiaan Barnard Christian Dior Christopher Columbus Clara Barton Cleopatra CoCo Chanel

Constantine Cory Aquino Crazy Horse Cyrus the Great Dalia Ziada Desmond Tutu Dorothy Day Douglas MacArthur Edward Jenner Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor Roosevelt• Elizabeth Blackwell• Ellen DeGeneres• Elvis Presley• Emmeline Pankhurst• Ferdinand Magellan• Florence Nightingale• Francisco I. Madero• Frank Lloyd Wright• Franklin Roosevelt • Fred Rogers• Frederick Douglass• Frida Kahlo• Galileo Galilei• George Lucas• George Orwell• George Washington• Gloria Steinem• Golda Meir• Grace Hopper• Hannah Szenes• Harper Lee• Harriet Beecher Stowe• Harriet Tubman• Harry Houdini• Harvey Milk• Henry Ford

• Herodotus • Hippocrates • Irena Sendler• Isaac Newton• J. K. Rowling• Jackie Robinson• Jacques Cousteau• Jane Addams• Jane Goodall• Jean-Jacques Rousseau• Jesse Owens• Jim Henson• Joan of Arc• Johann Sebastian Bach• Johannes Gutenberg• John Dewey• John F. Kennedy• John Lennon• John Wooden• Jomo Kenyatta• Jonas Salk• José Martí• Julius Caesar• Justinian I• Kate Sheppard • Leo Tolstoy • Leonardo da Vinci• Lou Gehrig• Louis Armstrong• Louis Braille• Louis Pasteur• Lucille Ball• Ludwig van Beethoven• Mae Carol Jemison• Magic Johnson• Malala Yousafzai• Margaret Mead

• Margaret Thatcher • Maria Montessori• Maria Tallchief• Marian Anderson• Marie Curie• Mark Twain• Mark Zuckerberg• Martha Graham• Martin Luther King, Jr.• Mary Harris (Mother Jones)• Maya Angelou• Michael J. Fox• Michelangelo• Miep Gies• Mikhail Gorbachev• Milton Hershey• Mohandas K. Gandi• Mother Teresa• Muhammad Ali• Mustafa Kemal Ataturk• Neil Armstrong• Nelson Mandela• Nellie Bly• Nicholas Copernicus• Nikola Tesla• Norman Borlaug• Oprah Winfrey• Pablo Picasso• Paul Newman• Pete Maravich• Plato• Pope John Paul II• Queen Elizabeth I• Rachel Carson• Richard Branson• Rigoberta Menchú• Robert Frost

• Robert Mugabe• Roberto Clemente• Ronald Reagan• Rosa Parks• Sacagawea• Sally Ride• Sandra Cisneros• Sandra Day O’Connor• Sheryl Sandberg• Shirley Temple• Shoji Hamada• Siddhartha Gautama• Sitting Bull • Socrates• Sojourner Truth• Sonia Sotomayor• Stan Lee• Stephen Hawking• Steve Jobs• Susan B. Anthony• Temple Grandin• Theodore Roosevelt• Thomas Edison• Thomas Jefferson• Toyotomi Hideyoshi• Tu Youyou• Ulysses S. Grant• Viktor Frankl• Walt Disney• Walter Cronkite• Wangari Maathai• Wernher von Braun• William Kamkwamba• William Moulton Marston• William Shakespeare• Winston Churchill• Wright Brothers• Yuri Gagarin

Name:____________________ Person I’m Researching:_________________

Find three quotes from your person that you feel best capture his/her legacy in terms of his/her passion, beliefs, character, etc. You can use quotesfrom letters he/she wrote, speeches he/she gave, or perhaps even a book he/she wrote. (If you can't find any quotes by them, select quotes that otherpeople have said about them.)

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“ “ “

Name:____________________ Person I’m Researching:_________________

Create a timeline for your person that highlights his/her 7 most significant moments in life.

Name:____________________ Person I’m Researching:_________________

The Statistics Page - What are some important numbers that tell a part of your person's story? (i.e. - number of Olympic medalshe/she won, number of slaves he/she freed, number of books he/she wrote, etc.) Fill this page up with statistics that tell the storyof your person's life.

Research Questions These are the research questions students are required

to answer

• Before you begin researching, what are four questions you would want to ask your person?

• How did his/her childhood experiences impact him/her?

• What morals and beliefs did he/she develop during his/her upbringing?

• What kind of education did he/she receive?

• In what people, places, or events did he/she draw inspiration or encouragement?

• What historical events or societal/cultural norms affected his/her way of living?

• What are his/her greatest skills and talents?

• What are his/her greatest accomplishments?

• What failure did he/she experience and what obstacles did he/she overcome?

• What’s something that most people don’t know about your person?

• What are some of his/her more dominant personality traits?

• What is his/her true passion and what brings him/her joy?

• What can other people learn from his/her life story?

• What will (or) What has your person’s legacy become?

Although the previous pages are formatted into worksheets I prefer to have my students record all of their research on Google Docs or Google Slides. They alsocreate a bibliography page in MLA format for all of the sources they consulted. After students answer all of their research questions they begin writing theirmonologue. My high school students perform their monologues at our elementary school so your requirements might be slightly differently depending on youraudience, event, or grade-level. The next page includes my guidelines.

Living Wax Museum Monologue Writing TipsConsider Your Audience: Students in Grades 5 – 6

Your task is to entertain & inform others of your person’s legacy.

IMAGINE YOU ARE THIS PERSON –Write in 1st person

Tell a story. Give the audience personal insight only you can provide!

Do more than regurgitate facts. Be mindful of your voice and style.

Does it reveal personality? Is it authentic and genuine?

Will you sound similar to the way your person spoke and wrote?

After the delivery of your monologue the audience should understand what your person accomplished andhow he/she did it along with why he/she did it. This is also a great opportunity for you to teach otherssomething new about your person.

1 minute and 30 secondsYour monologue performance should be around

Consider how your costume or props might play a role in how you tell your story.

Be CreativeHere’s a video from 2014 of my students performing at our public library:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/high-school-biography-project

Grade: ____/45 Speech Length: _____________________Student’s Name: _____________ Person Being Portrayed: ________________

“Living Wax Museum Rubric

Informative

The student presented new information that was informative

and thought-provoking. There was a clear understanding of the

person’s uniqueness,accomplishments, impact on

society, etc.

(15 Points)

The student presented informative information that made the person’s accomplishments known, but were

lacking what made him/her unique.

(13 Points)

The student presented marginal information beyond what most people already know about the person whom

was researched.

(11 Points)

The student presented minimal information making it apparent that limited or no research was

conducted.

(9 Points)

Story/Point of View/Voice

The student delivered a compelling story with an authentic voice that

captures the essence of the person’s personal experiences.

(15 Points)

The student told a story with an authentic voice, but didn’t take advantage of using the person’s

personal insight into his/her life.

(13 Points)

The student told a story, but did not establish an authentic voice.

(11 Points)

The student does not tell a story and does not speak using first

person.

(9 Points)

Entertainment Value

The student utilities a creative approach to telling his/her story using both props and a costume. The performance is enhanced by exceptional acting that includes

platform movement, facial expressions, character intonation,

etc.

(15 Points)

The student utilities both props and a costume. The performance is

engaging and includes some acting.

(13 Points)

The student put minimal effort into utilizing a prop or costume and delivered their monologue with

minimal acting.

(11 Points)

The student’s performance lacks entertainment value because there is no use of a costume or prop and

the monologue is delivered in a monotone voice with no acting.

(9 Points)

I assign this research project after a memoir writing unit that includes studying voice and point of view. Autobiographies are an idealresource for this project, but I also encourage students to find primary sources documents such as letters or speeches written by theirperson. The majority of living wax museum videos I have seen online are of students in elaborate costumes reciting facts from theirresearch while speaking in first person. I prefer having my students tell stories because I find them more engaging and more challengingto write. I encourage students to find a creative way to include their name in their story so they don’t all start off with the clique phrase,“Hello, my name is…” When two individuals go together such as the Wright Brothers or President and Eleanor Roosevelt I do allowstudents to present together in a skit-like format, but I double their presentation time requirement. In past years my students have madetheir own posters for their station by combing half of their face with half of the face of the person they are portraying. (See image onright.) I use their posters to promote our event.

In this project my research questions are designed for students to read in between the lines by times so they can gain a deeperunderstanding of their person’s character, grit, and passion. The people we research become mentors by teaching my students how theycan change the world for the better by honoring their calling. Thank you for purchasing this lesson from Devlin Academy on TeachersPay Teachers! Good luck to you and your students as you embark on creating your own Living Wax Museum! - Ryan Devlin

@RyDev22 (Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest)

Notes from the

Teacher