The Education Department at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum created these teaching resources for History Makers, a professional development program for third and fifth grade teachers in Boston Public Schools. Inspired by the book History Makers: A Questioning Approach to Reading and Writing Biographies by Myra Zarnowski, this semester-long seminar immerses teachers in the study of biography. Participants learn to effectively guide their students to think as historians as they read, write and ask questions about historical figures. History Makers is presented in partnership with Boston Public Schools and is supported by a Teaching American History Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Biographies in American History: An Annotated Bibliography for Elementary and Middle Grades
The Colonial Era (pdf)
The Revolutionary Era (pdf)
The 19th Century (pdf)
The 20th Century (pdf)
Resources for Evaluating Biographies and Non-Fiction Books
Evaluating Biographies and Nonfiction Books for Elementary and Middle Grades (pdf)
Student Handout: What to Look for When You Read a Biography (pdf)
Criteria adapted from the Orbis Pictus Nonfiction Award (pdf)