The second grade spent the month of December learning about the lives of people who made a difference in the lives of others. A variety of individuals were discussed in small groups including: Benjamin Banneker, Elizabeth Blackwell, Helen Keller, Mary Anning and Jackie Robinson. With the guidance of Lower School Language Arts Coordinator, Ann Botel-Barnard, the students read various biographies and developed a deep understanding of who these people were and how they lived by exploring their character traits and the ways they overcame challenges to “create, support, lead and innovate.”

Ann expressed these students discovered that often the way the person handled challenges in their childhood affected how they went about overcoming challenges as an adult, and ultimately led them to become leaders in their field. Students also chose a biography to take home to read, talk and write about with their families. This lesson enabled second graders to walk in the shoes of another person and imagine what it would be like to live their experiences — they bore witness to how these individuals came to change the lives of others.