Nonfiction+(Biography-Autobiography-Memoir)+Assignment

When you choose your biography, find someone that interests you. After all, you'll be reading about his or her life! Here's a resource that might help: List of Biographies (for this link to work, add 's' to http and take off extra letters at end...) - InfoSoup Booklist - List of biographies and memoirs from Amazon

Our media center has several of these books, and what we don't have, you can easily find at the public library. When you choose your biography, I expect it to have at least 100 pages. You must approve your selection with me as soon as possible. Here's our card catalog.

Sign in so we can see who you're reading about! Fill in your info here


 * Cornell Notes required as you read.** Use template (or create own in Word). As you read your book, pause and write at least **20** Cornell notes. Put a summary in the left column and a substantive response in the right.

//It will look something like this:// dependency, and Morrie even tells Ted that "one day soon, somebody's gonna have to wipe my ass."
 * Name: Joe Dirt || Title of Book: Tuesdays with Morrie ||
 * __What I've read__ || __My response__ ||
 * pp. 18-29: Morrie does the interview with Ted Koppel, and tells Ted that he thinks that he's a narcissist. They discuss

pp. 30-?? || I can' believe that even though Morrie is dying, he still keeps such as positive, caring, giving attitude. He cares enough to ask Ted about what he cares about and makes fun of his own situation. I admire his ability to make light of a grim situation. ||

Use these questions to help you with your Cornell Notes:
 * I wonder why...**
 * I don't see how...**
 * I think...**
 * I can't believe...**
 * Why did...?**
 * This makes me feel...**
 * This reminds me of...**
 * I agreed/disagreed with the author about...**
 * I am like or different from the person...**
 * One thing that confused me was when...**
 * The most important word/phrase/idea in this passage is ___ because...**
 * It bothered me when...**
 * I was surprised...**
 * I can't really understand...**
 * I expected it when...**
 * I began to think of...**
 * When I finished reading, I thought...**


 * Since you'll need to be able to write as you read, you can use Dropbox to write entries on your iphone and sync it to your computer. It's a free download and free app for Blackberry, iPhone, and Android. It enables you to access any document (as long as it's on the Dropbox site) from your laptop or your phone. How cool is that?

One of the items that you'll need to discuss in class (and possibly turn in) is a timeline. You should be able to identify and describe three main points of your person's life. 1. Where and/or how he or she began. What was his early life like? Who was he before his 'aha' moment? 2. His or her 'aha' moment that shaped a large part of their life. This may be what turned him or her around or what made him or her into who they are today (or at the end of his or her life) 3. His or her legacy. What is he or she known for? This may be a positive or negative thing, depending on who the person is.

During reading, you'll share interesting quotes that are meaningful to you. Be prepared to share!