1. Powerful Figures in American History & Culture 1. Inquiry Question
SLIDE NAVIGATION
Next
Powerful Figures in American History & Culture 1. Inquiry Question 1 2 3 4 5 6
A biography is the story of someone’s life written by another person. Over the next few days, you will be learning about an important person’s life through research.
Watch the BrainPop video to the right to develop some background knowledge about biographies.
Image Source: BrainPop
In this Slam Dunk, you will conduct brief, focused research to respond to the inquiry question:
How can an individual have a lasting impact on American culture?

2. 2. Information Sources Next 1 2 3 4 5 6
SLIDE NAVIGATION
Next 1 2 3 4 5 6
First, choose an influential person to research from this list of possible biography subjects. Ask your teacher if you would like to research a person whose name is not on this list. You might explore the resources below to choose a person you find interesting.
Then, use the information sources linked here to complete the Student Activity on Slide 3.
Biographical Resources on the Web:
Historical Figures and Important People in American History
Biography.com
Ducksters Biographies
Databases for searching:
World Book Kids: Important People
World Book Student: Biography Center
America the Beautiful: Profiles
Discovery Education (mostly videos)
Image Source: Clipart.com by subscription

3. 3. Student Activity Use the information sources on Slide 2 to gather
SLIDE NAVIGATION
Next 1 2 3 4 5 6
Use the information sources on Slide 2 to gather
information about your biography subject.
How has this person affected American culture?
What contributions has he/she made to society?
What major accomplishments has he/she made?
Refer to your note taking outline for other facts you will need to learn while conducting your research.
Click on the notebook to access your note-taking outline.

4. 4. Assessment Activity
SLIDE NAVIGATION
Next 1 2 3 4 5 6
How can an individual have a lasting impact on American culture?
Now that you have researched an influential person, you will choose to create one of the following:
Timeline - ReadWriteThink (Tutorial)
Online Poster - Discovery Ed Board Builder (Tutorial)
Mock Interview (live or audio/video recording)
BioCube – ReadWriteThink (Tutorial)
Remember, you should share interesting information from your notes and draw conclusions in response the inquiry question:
Refer to the scoring tool your teacher will use to assess your learning as you work on your presentation.

5. 5. Enrichment Activities
SLIDE NAVIGATION
Next 1 2 3 4 5 6
An autobiography is an account of a person's life written by that person.
Now that you have completed your research about an influential figure in America, create an autobiography about yourself.
Click on the picture to the left to complete your biography using BioCube.
Image Source: readwritethink.org

6. 6. Teacher Resources 1 2 3 4 5 6 Learning Standards Alignment
SLIDE NAVIGATION 1 2 3 4 5 6
Learning Standards Alignment
CCSSO Standards
9.12.2: An ELL participate in grade appropriate oral and written exchanges of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and questions.
9.12.5: An ELL can conduct research and evaluate and communicate findings to answer questions or solve problems.
: An ELL can make accurate use of standard English to communicate in grade appropriate speech and writing.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy
Reading: 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Writing: 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
AASL Standards Framework for Learners Inquire: Build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems.
Think: Learners display curiosity and initiative by:
I.A.2 Recalling prior and background knowledge as context for new meaning.
Create: Learners engage with new knowledge by following a process that includes:
I.B.1 Using evidence to investigate questions. I.B.3 Generating products that illustrate learning.
Share: Learners adapt, communicate, and exchange learning products with others in a cycle that includes:
I.C.1 Interacting with content presented by others.
Grow: Learners participate in an ongoing inquiry-based process by:
I.D.2 Engaging in sustained inquiry.
P21 Framework: 21st Century Student Outcomes
3. Information, Media & Technology Skills: Information Literacy: Access information efficiently and effectively; Use information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem at hand.
ICT Literacy: Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate and communicate information.
Grade 9 and 10 Content Area: American Cultures Unit 3
Objective: Students will conduct brief, focused research in order to determine how can an individual have a lasting impact on American culture.
Time Frame: Two to three 90-minute class periods.
Differentiation strategies for this lesson:
Have students use learning supports provided in any BCPS-licensed Digital Content included in this lesson. Refer to Digital Content Snapshots & Support resources for as needed.
Notes to the teacher:
Collaborate with your school library media specialist to plan and implement this lesson.
Last updated: July Report broken links to BCPS Library Media Programs & Digital Resources BCPS Slam Dunk Research Model, Copyright 2018, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD, all rights reserved. This lesson may be used for educational, non-profit school use only. All other uses, transmissions, and duplications are prohibited unless permission is granted expressly. This lesson is based on Dr. Jamie McKenzie’s Slam Dunk Digital Lesson model.