I originally started this project hoping to incorporate more nonfiction reading into my students fifth grade learning experience. It seems many students are reluctant to choose a good nonfiction book and find it to be more challenging reading than fiction. So I hoped that by turning nonfiction reading and research into a project with an authentic audience and purpose that my students could make real-world connections to their learning.
The first year for a biography reading, research, and writing project was when I taught fifth grade at Stuart Public Elementary in 2000. After moving to O'Neill Elementary, my fifth grade homeroom held their first Wax Museum in 2003, followed by the entire fifth grade class in 2004 and 2005. Each year the guests view the final projects by dropping change into coin cans located by the "frozen" figures and their historical displays. The money raised is always donated to a cause which is voted on by the fifth grade class. In this way they can feel like they, too, are "making a difference" in the world today.