Arkansas Celebrities

Introduction: The teacher will select appropriate student learning expectations for his or her students, review the key terms, prepare transparencies of Arkansas “celebrities” if this media format is selected, and make copies of the worksheets. If the suggested art project is selected, the teacher will have to obtain the art supplies needed. If the teacher decides to showcase the Arkansas “celebrities” utilizing the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, then arrangements need to be made to use computer lab. The teacher will have to preview the online resource to pre- select Arkansas “celebrities” to use in the lesson. Collaboration with the school library media specialist for assistance in the utilization of this resource is suggested. The online encyclopedia can be found at http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. The school library media specialist should also be able to help the students to determine or evaluate which media is suited to the task.

Key Terms: Celebrity Culture Entrepreneur Ethnic

Key Terms Defined: Celebrity: the state of being celebrated Culture: learned behavior of people (e.g., belief systems and languages, social relations, institutions, organizations) and their material goods (e.g., food, clothing, buildings, and technology) Entrepreneur: a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business hoping to make a profit Ethnic: Characteristics of a specific group or culture

Materials Needed: Access to Computer Lab if available and if desired by teacher Celebrity Transparencies (patterns provided) Celebrity Topic Sheet & Report Checklist (provided) Writing Utensils such markers, colored pencils, pens, etc.

Suggested Timeframe: Two to Three Class Periods (Unit could be extended to a week.) Introduction of people can be brief in order to allow for more in-class crafting & research time.

Procedure: Introduction to the Learning: ~ Ask students to define a celebrity. ~ Discuss the difference between being a “star” and being celebrated for an achievement. ~ Ask students to name celebrities from Arkansas. ~Lead a classroom discussion defining culture, ethnic, and entrepreneur if those are necessary to the chosen student learning expectations.

Suggested Teaching Strategies: The teacher may use transparencies made from the included graphics of the Arkansas “celebrities” listed below. The teacher may use graphics from the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture to showcase these or other Arkansas “Celebrities” ~ Introduce students to “star” celebrities from Arkansas and discuss briefly. Glen Campbell – Country Music Star Johnny Cash – Country Music Star Scottie Pippen – basketball player - actress Billy Bob Thornton - actor ~Introduce students to celebrities from Arkansas and discuss briefly. – author, poet Bill Clinton – former President of the – U.S. Surgeon General John Grisham - author Sam Walton – founder of Wal-Mart

Closure to Learning: Assign celebrity project to students. ~ Each group will select a celebrity from Arkansas. ~ Each group will compile a project focusing on that individual. ~ Projects will contain a written biographical report (checklist form provided)

Assessment: Written report can be graded per school writing rubric. Since the performing arts and creative arts are subjective, a percentage of points can be given for a participation grade if the student met the basic qualifications for the project.

Suggested Extended Activities: ~ Have the students journal, imagining the careers they could have and the contributions they can give back to Arkansas. The prompt could read: Learning about celebrities from my state is inspiring because it makes me feel as if I could…..

~ Have students make a paper mache mask of the subject. Detailed instructions can be found at the following website: http://www.deepcreektimes.com/kids/june2002.html

Glen Campbell, Country Music Star

Johnny Cash, Country Music Star

Scottie Pippen, Basketball Player

Mary Steenburgen, Actress

Billy Bob Thornton, Actor

Maya Angelou, poet, author

William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton, Former President of the United States

Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General of the United States

John Grisham, Author

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart

Glen Campbell Johnny Cash Scottie Pippen Mary Steenburgen

Billy Bob Thornton Maya Angelou Bill Clinton Joycelyn Elders

John Grisham Sam Walton Dizzy Dean Scott Joplin

Elizabeth Eckford Paul “Bear” Bryant Helen Gurley Brown Charlie May Simon

Douglas MacArthur Kemmons Wilson Any current political figure Name: Date:

Famous Arkansas Checklist

Your written reports should include the answers to the following questions:

Date & Place of Birth Family History School Attendance Early Career Decisions Important Career Moments Date & Place of Death (if applicable) Most Well Known For… Interesting Trivia About

Would I like to meet this person…and why?

Sources of Information I used:

Sources

Bailer, D. (2002). Arkansas: The natural state. Milwaukee, WI: World Almanac Library. This book gives a lot of trivial information in a great format for kids. It has several brief biographies of Arkansas natives.

Baker, T. & Browning, J. (1991). An Arkansas history for young people. Fayetteville, AR: The University of Arkansas Press. This book is somewhat of an Arkansas history textbook. It has detailed information on a variety of subjects and would be extremely useful for an in-depth study or research projects.

Di Piazza, D, (2002). Arkansas. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Company. Book gives information on Arkansas history, as well as brief narratives about famous people from Arkansas.

Shoulders, M. (2003). N is for natural state: An Arkansas alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. Book gives information about several of the landmarks and unique locations in Arkansas. It should be read daily in conjunction with the unit. http://www.glencampbellshow.com/gc_bio.html Information & photos of Glen Campbell http://www.legacyrecordings.com/johnnycash/ Information & photos of Johnny Cash http://www.luminet.net/~jurbick/pic8.html Individual’s website, but contains good photos of Scottie Pippen www.imdb.com/name/nm0005460 Biography & film information on Mary Steenburgen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bob_Thornton Good source of biographical information. http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/angelou.htm Teacher resource file for Maya Angelou. http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html Official information on former President Bill Clinton. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/bioelders.htm Biography of Joycelyn Elders published by the Surgeon General’s office. http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/grisham_john/ Site gives biographical information as well as a book listing for John Grisham. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Walton Site gives biographical information on Sam Walton.