Biographies of Black American Heroes Across the Curriculum Motivate Reading, Develop Character, and Support the Learning of Content

By Joyce Melton Pagés, Ed.D.
Mother of two children, President of KidBibs

Parents and teachers are always looking for strategies to help children resist peer pressure, motivate independent reading, and make history interesting and meaningful.  Believe it or not, biographies can help with all of these challenges. 

• History comes alive when children see the human side of history that's reflected in biographies.  The setting and characters provide a context for understanding historical events.

• Many children enjoy reading about real people.  Ten- through twelve-year-olds, in particular, are interested in seeing how real people wrestle with dilemmas at a time when they are starting to solve more of their own problems. Many children are motivated to read about heroes that they find interesting.

• Biographies show how people/subjects faced and overcame the challenges that they encountered in their lives. Virtues such as persistence, perseverance, honesty, respect for others, standing up for what you believe in, etc. are often shown in biographies.

• Biographies can show children how subjects handled the pressure of peers and society.  Seeing story characters "do the right thing" in the face of adversity can help children summon the courage and strategies to handle pressures that they encounter. 

• Biographies show how people adhere to their beliefs and become change agents in their attempt to make the world a better place.  They make scientific discoveries, create new art, effect social change, serve humanitarian causes, and make a difference in the lives of others in numerous ways.

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Complete biographies cover the entire life of the subject from birth to death.  Partial biographies, on the other hand, cover only part of the life of the subject; most biographies for young children are this type.  While biographies for adults must be fully documented, biographies for children vary in the degree of documentation provided.

• In authentic biographies, all factual information is documented through eyewitness accounts, written documents, letters, diaries, and more recently, audio and videotape recordings. 

• In fictionalized biographies, the author conducts careful research but creates dramatic episodes from known facts by using imagined conversation.

• In biographical fiction, the author is afforded much artistic license, including invented dialogue, fictional secondary characters, and some reconstructed action.  The known achievements of the biographical subjects are reported accurately, but in other respects these works are as much fiction as fact.  (Tomlinson and Lynch-Brown, 1996).

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Black American history is replete with heroes who have demonstrated courage, conviction, hard work, and persistence in their fight for equality and justice.  Those who have faced the greatest challenges engender the strongest respect.  Biographies of Black American heroes have the potential to provide direction and inspire courage for children facing many challenges in their lives.

Strategies for Reading and Teaching Biographies

Historical Black American Heroes Related to Elementary School Subjects

Biographies of Black American Heroes

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Strategies for Reading and Teaching Biographies

1.  Incorporate biographies into instruction related to every subject.  The following list of elementary school subjects includes occupations of people whose biographies could support content learning.  Incorporating biographies in meaningful ways with content area instruction makes the learning more meaningful and relevant.  Examples of Black American heroes in these subject area categories are listed below.

Language Arts--educators, writers, poets, playwrights, journalists, orators, novelists, editors,  publishers, judges/justices, authors of children's books, actors

Mathematics--mathematicians, architects, astronomers, businesspeople, engineers, computer scientists

Science--scientists/researchers, physicians, astronauts, astronomers, inventors, chemists, physicists, microbiologists

Social Studies--leaders, civil rights activists, explorers, pioneers, legislators, soldiers, historians, judges/justices

Health--physicians, nurses, dieticians

Physical Education--athletes, physicians, cowboys, dancers

Art--painters, cartoonists, sculptors, architects, illustrators

Music--composers, singers, dancers

Values/Morals/Beliefs--preachers, humanitarians, patriots, civil rights leaders/activists, educators, advocates

2.  Hero Portrayal. Have the child dress up as the character and act out or present the subject/person to the class.

3.  Life Timeline. Have the child plot on a timeline the the key events of the subject's life.  Have him/her use arrows to show where decisions/events caused other events. 

4.  Life Map. Have the child plot the subject's travels on a map.  S/he can indicate the first place the subject traveled with a "1;" the second place with a "2," etc.  Events that occurred in each location can be summarized on small cards, stick-on notes, etc.

5.  Hero Profile.  Profile the subject in relation to a virtue such as courage, honesty, persistence, etc.  Have the children write the events which align with the numbers at the bottom of the profile chart.   Then have the children rate the person's virtue (i.e., persistence with "1" representing a low level of persistence and "5" representing the highest level of persistence).  The dots reflecting the ratings can be connected by lines showing how the subject responded to challenges in his/her life.

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6.  Biography Comparisons.   Have the child(ren) read two biographies about the same subject and compare the two representations.  S/he can notice how key events in the subject's life were handled by each author and identify words that the author has chosen to influence the reader's opinion of the person.

7.  Hero Adjectives. After the children have read a biography have them brainstorm a list of words that describe the character.  Use this list to broaden their vocabulary while they're writing.   Continue to add to this list to help children develop characterization strategies in their writing.

8.  Biography Sociogram. After reading a biography, have the children draw a circle in center of their papers.  Have them write the subject's name in the circle.   Then have them generate other important people in the life of this person.   Have them arrange the names of these people around the circle and encircle their names.  Then guide them in drawing an arrow from the main character to the other people's circles.  On the arrow line have the child write a word or two which describes the subject's relationship to/with the other person (to whom the arrow is drawn).

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9.  Challenge Chart.   Have children in the class read different biographies.  Provide the children with a Challenge Chart like the one below (before they start reading their biography).   While they're reading, they are to read to find challenges that the character faces.  These are recorded in the left column.  They are also expected to see how the character responds to each challenge.  This information is recorded in the right column.  Following the completion of the biographies and the challenge charts, students can share one challenge and response with the class.  The teacher can have the children generate words that describe these characters/heroes.  The teacher can guide the children toward virtues with this discussion.  A discussion related to whether heroes are born or made can be cultivated.

10.  Puppet Play.   Have the children select events from a person's life and prepare a puppet play related to those events.  They can write the script, make the puppets, design the scenery, plan the sound effects, and organize the presentation.  The children can present this puppet play to other classes, parents, etc. 

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Historical Black American Heroes Related to Elementary School Subjects

The following list is extremely limited; there are numerous other outstanding Black Americans who could be included in this list.  It is intended to illustrate how biographies can support learning across the curriculum.  Further, it will hopefully provide a starting point for teachers, parents, and librarians trying to build Black American heroes and role models into their curriculum in meaningful ways.

Language Arts--educators, writers, poets, playwrights, journalists, orators, novelists, editors,  publishers, judges/justices, actors, scholars

Lucy Terry Prince, Poet
Phillis Wheatley, Poet
Frederick Douglass, Orator
Charlotte Forten Grimke, Educator, Writer, Abolitionist
Booker T. Washington, Educator, Statesman
Ida B. Wells-Barnet, Journalist, Civil Rights Leader
W.E.B. DuBois, Author, Editor, Civil Rights Leader
Robert Sengstacke Abbott, Newspaper Editor, Civil Rights Activist
Langston Hughes, Poet
Richard Wright, Novelist
Lorraine Hansberry, Playwright
James Baldwin, Novelist, Essayist
Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Toni Morrison, Novelist, Editor
Zora Neale Hurston, Writer
Alaine Locke, Scholar
Constance Baker Motley, Lawyer/Justice
Maya Angelou, Writer, Poet

Mathematics--mathematicians, architects, astromers, businesspeople, engineers, aviators

Benjamin Banneker, Inventor, Surveyor, Astronomer, Mathematician
James Forten, Businessman, Abolitionist
Madame C.J. Walker, Cosmetics Manufacturer, Humanitarian
Bessie Coleman, Aviator
Philip Emeagwali, Computer Scientist, Engineer, Inventor, Scientist (click here to go to his Web site)

Science--scientists/researchers, physicians, astronauts, astronomers, inventors, chemists, physicists

Norbert Rillieux, Inventor
Lewis Temple, Inventor
Jan Ernst Matzeliger, Inventor
Lewis Howard Latimer, Inventor
George Washington Carver, Agricultural Scientist
Granville T. Woods, Inventor
Elijah McCoy, Inventor
Garrett A. Morgan, Inventor
Frederick McKinley Jones, Inventor
Percy Lavon Julian, Chemist
Guion Stewart Bluford, Jr., Pilot, Astronaut
Dale Emeagwali, Microbiologist
Ben Carson, Pediatric Neurosurgeon

Social Studies--leaders, civil rights activists, explorers, pioneers, legislators, soldiers, historians, judges/justices

Estevanico, Explorer
Peter Salem, American Revolutionary War Soldier
James Armistead, American Revolutionary War Spy
York, Explorer, Scout, Interpreter
James Beckwourth, Scout, Explorer, Frontiersman
Lewis Hayden, State Legislator, Abolitionist
George Washington, Pioneer and Founder of Centralia, Washington
Robert Smalls, Congressman, Civil War Hero
P.B.S. Pinchback, Congressman
George Jordan, Soldier
George Washington Williams, Soldier, Lawyer, Historian
Charles Young, Soldier
Matthew Henson, Explorer
Henry Johnson, Soldier
Ralph Bunche, Diplomat, Statesman
Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr., Pilot, Four-Star General
Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Benjamin Quarles, Historian

Health--physicians, nurses, dieticians

Daniel Hale Williams, Physician, Educator
Charles Richard Drew, Surgeon, Scientist, Educator

Physical Education--athletes, physicians, cowboys,

Jesse Owens, Track-and-Field Athlete
Nat Love, Cowboy Range Rider
Joe Louis, Athlete-Boxer
Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball Player
Wilma Rudolph, Athlete, Teacher, Coach
Katherine Dunham, Dancer
Alvin Ailey, Dancer

Art--painters, cartoonists, sculptors, illustrators

Edmonia Lewis, Sculptor
Brian Pinkney, Illustrator
Jerry Pinkney, Illustrator
Ashley Bryan, Illustrator

Music--composers, singers

Scott Joplin, Pianist, Composer
William Christopher Handy, Musician, Composer
Bessie Smith, Blues Singer
Louis Armstrong, Musician, Singer, Composer
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, Musician, Composer, Bandleader
Paul Robeson, Singer, Actor, Political Activist
Marian Anderson, Opera Singer

Values/Morals/Beliefs--preachers, humanitarians, patriots, civil rights leaders/activists,  educators, advocates

Crispus Attucks, Mariner, patriot
Elizabeth Freeman, Abolitionist
Richard Allen, Bishop, Abolitionist
Paul Cuffe, Humanitarian, Merchant, Mariner
Gabriel Prosser, Slave Insurrectionist
Denmark Vesey, Slave Insurrectionist
Nat Turner, Slave Insurrectionist
Madison Washington, Slave Insurrectionist
Harriet Tubman, Abolitionist
Jermain Wesley Loguen, Abolitionist
John Anthony Copeland, Jr., Abolitionist
Sojourner Truth, Abolitionist, Women's Rights Activist, Preacher
Mary Church Terrell, Women's Rights Advocate, Educator
Mary McLeod Bethune, Educator, Civil Rights Activist
Asa Philip Randolph, Union Organizer, Civil Rights Leader
Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Activist
Medgar Evers, Civil Rights Activist
Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights Activist
Malcolm X, Civil Rights Leader
Roy Wilkins, Civil Rights Leader
Martin Luther, King, Jr., Preacher, Civil Rights Activist, Author
Jesse Jackson, Preacher, Civil Rights Leader
Adam Clayton Powell, Preacher, Legislator

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Biographies of Black American Heroes

The following children's biographies are linked to Amazon.com.  In order to read book summaries and reviews, simply click on the link.  A simple click of the "back" button will return you to KidBibs.com from Amazon.com.  These materials are available for secure on-line purchase through Amazon.com, if desired.

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Books for 5- to 8-year-olds

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Books for 9- to 12-year-olds

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Conclusion

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a hero is "a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life."  Further, a hero is a person noted for special achievement in a particular field (i.e., the heroes of medicine).  Biographies inform children of heroes who can profoundly influence their lives in a number of ways.  They can inform decisions, inspire action, and empower children to adhere to their convictions.  In addition, incorporating biographies into the curriculum in meaningful ways provides relevance and strengthens content learning.  Black American biographies provide an excellent starting point for enriching the lives of children!

Reference

Tomlinson, C.M. & C. Lynch-Brown (1996). Essentials of Children's Literature, 2nd Edition. Boston:  Allyn & Bacon. 

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