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Tombstone Project

With a partner you will be creating a tombstone and a obituary for one of the historic figures listed below.  You will have two days in class to work and we will present the information on the third day.

Early American Historic Figures

These will be assigned on a first come first served basis, see Mrs. Earnst after all instructions have been made.  There is plenty of information on every person, so don't worry

John Adams   William Clark 
John Quincy Adams   Alexander Hamilton
Andrew Jackson  Thomas Jefferson    
Meriwether Lewis James Madison 
John Marshall  James Monroe 
Lucretia Mott  Sacagawea 
Elizabeth Cady Stanton     Tecumseh     
Harriet Tubman George Washington 

                              

Procedure

Day 1

Use the resources of the internet to research your historic figure.  You will be creating a 1-2 page typed obituary and a tombstone with this information.

 

Obituary should include

    Background (family, education, home state)

    Offices Held

    Major Accomplishments and contributions

    How he/she will be remembered

    Picture

 

Day 2

Use this time to outline your obituary and create your tombstone.

 

Tombstone should include:

    Name

    Date of Birth

    Date of Death

    Epitaph (tribute phrase or poem that expresses something about the individual's life)

    Two important accomplishments.

   

 

 

"What is an epitaph? One wit defines it as "a memorial that usually lies above, about the one that lies below." Whatever the truth of this definition, epitaphs can be much more. The words on a grave marker can be tools to help us live a better life." - Roger Fritts

 

Day 3

We will present our obituaries to the class.

This project will be worth 30 points (10 for the tombstone, 20 for  your obituary and presentation)

 

Links

Information

http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/login.aspx  You will find your biography information on this page - Mrs. Earnst will give you the login information

 

Obituaries

http://obits.com/uspresidents.html This site has LONG obituaries of other presidents, while I don't expect yours to be this long, it does give you an idea of what types of things to include.

 

http://rfa.rutgers.edu/rfa-obitsample.htm This is from is from Rutger's University showing journalism students how to write an obituary.

 

https://secure.standard.net/pygmy/Forms/obitform051506.pdf  This is a newspapers form of things to include in an obituary with another sample.

 

Epitaph

http://www.cedarlane.org/99serms/s990530.html  - examples of some more epitaphs. (Note this comes from a church sermon so there are religious examples included as well. You are not required to include religious information)