SALLY LA LUZERNE-OI AND JEAN KIRSCHENMANN

United States

Engaging Language Learners

with Biography-Based
Lessons, Units, and Courses

A
s office mates for many years, we had numerous conversations
about teaching strategies, materials design, and students’
interests. Over time, we noticed a phenomenon that often
occurred after our classes ended: our students huddled in small groups,
chatting (and possibly gossiping) about family and friends, pop culture
and entertainment, or local and global news, and at the center of it all
were … people. We resolved to find a way to bring our students’ inherent
interest in people into our English-language classrooms more often than
we could with the occasional textbook reading passages that happened
to center on the lives of people. These passages—and our discussions—
led us to find ways to exploit biographical texts for more than just
reading practice.

It did not take long for us to discover why energy to understand the organization of
biographies are naturally suited for language a biographical text, so they can devote
learning. First and foremost, biographies more attention to its content and language
are a form of story, and storytelling is a (Rasinski 2002). In addition, each new
universal human activity. Stories may be experience with a biographical text provides
fact or fiction, historical or futuristic, a vehicle for recycling high-frequency
serious or whimsical. No matter the story, expressions associated with life stories as well
people (or characters) and their lives are as introducing content-specific vocabulary
at the center, and they teach, inspire, and discourse patterns. The result is both
provoke, and entertain readers and listeners language-focused learning and fluency
of all ages and in all places. Besides their development.
ability to engage students, biographies are
typically organized in transparent sections This article shows how stand-alone
that deal with birth and childhood, biographies, like those found in English-
education, young adulthood, overcoming language textbooks, can be enhanced
obstacles, career path, personal life, and with integrated-skills practice. The article
legacy. Readers exert little cognitive details how to build content-based units

Biographies are naturally suited for language learning.

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 of instruction around biographies, and it prepared to read the biography in its entirety
describes courses developed around a because they have already encountered key
series of biography-focused units. Sample vocabulary and become familiar with the
activities and resource materials are shared story. At the same time, the teacher will have
as well. an idea of whether follow-up explanation may
be needed.
ENHANCING BIOGRAPHICAL READINGS
IN TEXTBOOKS Students find this approach to a reading lesson
interesting. It is also pedagogically sound
English language teaching (ELT) textbooks, in that it addresses Nation’s four strands
especially reading textbooks, often include (1996). By hearing and talking about the
biographical reading passages (Tomas, content, students receive aural as well as
Kostka, and Mott-Smith 2013) with visual meaning-focused input and produce
accompanying pre-reading questions, meaningful output. In addition, they engage
post-reading comprehension questions, in language-focused study, previewing new
vocabulary exercises, and prompts for vocabulary and concepts as they work to
writing or discussion. Teachers often begin accomplish the task, and they build fluency
reading lessons by providing background by recycling language from the biography-
information, vocabulary instruction, and based lesson. These multiple encounters
pre-reading activities. Students then read the with the biographical text provide spaced
textbook passage and answer comprehension repetition (Kang 2016), improving the
questions. Unfortunately, lessons built chances that students will also retain
solely on these routines frequently resemble information for the long term.
reading-comprehension test-preparation
activities. With relatively little effort on the SAMPLE TEXT-BASED SPEAKING AND
part of the teacher, however, biography-based LISTENING ACTIVITIES
reading lessons can become more engaging,
foster deeper understanding of the text, Activity 1: Mini-Lecture
and provide valuable language practice with Level: High Beginner to Advanced
speaking, listening, and writing—in addition
to reading. Time: Varies depending on the length of the
biography and the number of repetitions
USING SPEAKING AND LISTENING
ACTIVITIES TO INTERACT WITH Procedure:
BIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS
1. Preview the passage so you can present
Using one of the following speaking/listening the main ideas as a mini-lecture.
activities prior to reading a biography-based
text allows students to approach the subject 2 . Have students label three columns in
in an interactive way. These activities also their notebook as Date, Event, and
provide a low-risk environment in which Importance.
students can negotiate meaning, wrestle
with ideas, and work together. Teachers can 3 . Give the lecture. For beginners, give
explain to students that the selected activity the lecture three times, so students
will help them develop an understanding of can listen for different information
the reading and give them the opportunity each time. With intermediate or
to ask questions. While students are doing advanced levels, simulate an academic
the activity, the teacher should circulate, lecture, telling students they will
encouraging them to ask about unknown hear the lecture only once but can
vocabulary or challenging content. By the ask for repetition or clarification
time students finish the activity, they will be as needed.

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4 . Have students compare their notes to Procedure:
check comprehension and focus on key
ideas. 1. Photocopy the text.

5 . Ask students to read the biography and 2 . Divide it into sections based on periods
compare their notes with it. in the subject’s life, such as childhood,
education, career, and legacy.
6 . Discuss any questions students have.
3 . Divide the class into the same number of
Activity 2: Building the Biography (adapted groups as there are text sections.
from Davis and Rinvolucri [1988, 68–69],
Piecing It Together) 4 . Give each group one section to read,
Level: Intermediate to Advanced discuss, and practice explaining.

Time: 15–25 minutes, depending on the 5 . In chronological order, have each group
length of the biography and the number of act as a panel and retell its information.
repetitions
6 . Listeners take notes and ask questions.
Procedure:
7. Continue until the entire biography is
1. Read or orally summarize the biography summarized.
two or three times, adapting as needed
for the students’ listening level. 8 . Have students read the full text of the
Successive summaries need not be biography, which they are now prepared
exactly the same. to do.

2 . Give students a list of key words and Activity 4: Experts and Researchers
phrases from the biography. Level: Low Intermediate to Advanced; this
activity is especially appropriate for multilevel
3 . Ask students to work in pairs or classes.
groups to reconstruct as much of the
biography as possible, using the word Time: 35–45 minutes
list. Encourage them to focus on content
more than exact words. Procedure:

4 . Read the passage once again. 1. Divide the class into two groups. Have
the groups sit on opposite sides of the
5 . Give students a few minutes to do a final room. Depending on the size of the
oral reconstruction. class, you may have to divide each group
into smaller ones.
6 . Ask students to read the biography.
2 . Designate one group as Experts. Their
7. Discuss where their oral rendition of role is to learn as much as possible from
the biography did and did not match the the biographical text you give them.
original. Have them read the biographical text
and discuss it together (quietly) to verify
Activity 3: Piecing the Biography Together understanding.
Level: High Beginner to Advanced
3 . Designate the other group as Researchers.
Time: 25–35 minutes, depending on the Each researcher must interview an
length of the biography expert for research on the subject’s

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 A biography is an excellent springboard for a
content-based thematic unit.

life. Give students a list of key words, Sample Text-Based Writing Prompts
phrases, or events from the biographical
passage in the order they appear—for Prompt 1: Write a letter to the subject
example Birthdate, Birthplace, Early of the biography. Be sure your comments
Education, and First Job. To prepare for and questions respond to the content of the
the interview, the researchers need to biography.
create clear questions based on the list.
Have them work together to draft their Prompt 2: Find a picture of the subject
questions. of the biography. Write a physical
description of that person. In a second
4 . Form pairs consisting of one expert paragraph, write a character description
and one researcher to conduct the based on what you learned in the biographical
interviews. reading passage.

5 . When the interviews are finished, Prompt 3: Write an essay about what
debrief the students. Have a researcher you consider to be the subject’s most
state a question asked and how it admirable qualities or your interpretation
was answered. Did other researchers of the subject’s legacy. Give examples
obtain the same information? Did any from the text to illustrate these qualities and/
researchers ask follow-up questions? or support your interpretation of the legacy.
What important information do the
experts feel was not shared during the Prompt 4: Imagine that the subject of
interview? Continue asking probing the biography is going to give a speech
questions to gain more insights into the or receive an award, and you are asked
subject’s life. to introduce this person. Write an
introduction including this person’s
6 . Have students read the full text of the important background information and
biography, which they are now prepared achievements.
to do.
BUILDING CONTENT-BASED UNITS OF
USING WRITING ACTIVITIES TO INSTRUCTION AROUND BIOGRAPHIES
RESPOND TO BIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS
English teachers frequently find themselves in
If writing activities are not provided in the situations where they have to develop their own
textbook, teachers may want to include a units of instruction. A biography is an excellent
writing assignment to review the biography springboard for a content-based thematic unit.
and recycle target-language expressions. Activities can be structured around themes
Writing prompts require students to think of particular interest to adult and adolescent
critically and, sometimes, creatively. Students English as a foreign language (EFL) learners,
may also need to reread the biography, take including reluctant learners in required
notes on relevant passages, and (if desired) English classes.
conduct additional research. If students share
their writing with one another, they will have How to Begin
yet another interaction with key content and 1. Use a biographical text from a course
language related to the biography. book, if available, or refer to one of the

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 sources given near the end of this article practice. Find, adapt, write, or create
to find an appropriate starter text. Be these materials.
sure to choose a person whose life story
connects with your students’ interests, 6 . Decide on the best sequence for the
academic majors, or needs, or with the materials and work to make smooth
course-learning outcomes. transitions from one activity to
another.
2 . Determine the reading level of the
text by using an online site for A Sample Unit Based on Frank Lloyd Wright
measuring readability. You can find Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect
sites that measure readability by whose work and influence are known
searching for “readability score.” Once around the world. We chose him as one
you choose a site, you can paste in your of our biographical subjects because
text, and the site will generate the although he is famous among architects,
readability score. You might need to generally he was not known to our
simplify the biography or write your students. After reading several online
own version. biographies of Wright, we wrote our
own versions at our students’ reading
3 . Think about the themes and topics levels. (Two versions, at different
that appear in the biography and readability levels, appear in the Appendix.)
decide which ones you will focus on. Wright’s philosophy was that architecture
According to Stoller and Grabe (1997), should exist in harmony with its
content-based units are organized environment, and that philosophy
around themes, and topics are the became the theme of the unit. We drew
detailed points that comprise the theme. additional topics from this theme,
Some themes are obvious, but you choosing the most suitable, relevant,
can determine others by asking these or interesting for our various groups of
questions: students. For example, shapes and colors,
rooms in a house, and types of buildings
• Did the person overcome a childhood were appropriate for beginning-level
obstacle—illness, poverty, or family classes, whereas building materials,
discord? architectural elements, architectural
styles, and locally significant buildings
• Did the person experience or architects were more appropriate for
discrimination? intermediate and advanced levels.

• Does he or she support a charitable These topics helped us plan a sequence of

or philanthropic endeavor—and if so, lessons with related tasks and activities.
which one and why? Typically, we introduced our unit by using
one of the speaking/listening activities
• Did he or she receive a special described earlier in this article. After students
award—and if so, what qualities or were introduced to Wright’s life story and
achievements led to the award? to key content-focused vocabulary, they
completed activities and tasks related to the
4 . Guided by the theme and topics, theme and topics. We chose the most relevant
formulate your linguistic and content activities from our collection, building
objectives for the unit. transitions between activities; as much as
possible, we recycled and reviewed language
5 . Besides the biography, decide which and content from previous lessons and
visuals, texts, and tasks you will use to activities. Several of the activities designed
develop the theme and provide skills especially for this unit are described here.

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 SAMPLE ACTIVITIES FOR THE FRANK students to select). Ask each pair to
LLOYD WRIGHT UNIT develop a definition or explanation
and give a familiar local example of each
Activity 1: Recognizing Types of Buildings building type.
(Any level)
Content Goal: To identify types of buildings 7. Have students use their notes, circulate
according to function around the room, exchange information,
and try to guess which building(s) their
Linguistic Goals: classmates have. For example, they
might have a conversation like this:
• To recognize vocabulary for types of
buildings and their functions—for A: Can you give me a hint about your
example, agricultural, commercial, building?
residential, educational, governmental,
industrial, military, parking, storage, and B: It’s for housing.
religious
A: So it’s residential?
• To define, explain, and give examples
of various building types B: Right.

• To exchange information by using A: An apartment?

these structures:
B: No, it’s for students.
A(n) ______ is used for _______.
A: Oh! A dormitory?
______ is an example of ______.
B: Yes, dormitory or dorm.
Procedure:
Activity 2: Describing Buildings (High
1. Ask students to scan Frank Lloyd Beginner and above)
Wright’s biography to find the types of Content Goal: To recognize architectural
buildings he designed—such as homes, elements
hotels, museums, and convention
centers. Linguistic Goals:

2 . Have students work with a partner and • To describe specific architectural

brainstorm other types of buildings. features

3 . Write categories of buildings on the • To recognize and use vocabulary for

board (e.g., residential buildings). architectural elements, such as arch,
ceiling, column, courtyard, door, doorway,
4 . Have students add examples from façade, fireplace, floor, foundation,
their lists (e.g., apartment, dormitory, fountain, furniture, gate, light fixture,
house, condominium, cottage) for each roof, rooms, stairway, story, walls, and
category. windows

5 . Clarify meaning where necessary. Procedure:

6 . In the next class, give pairs several 1. Ask students to recall features of
types of buildings (the building types Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings (e.g.,
can be written on slips of paper for open central area, low horizontal line).

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2 . Explain that these are architectural o negotiate meaning: I understand
elements. what you mean, but _______.
What if we _______ instead?
3 . List several other architectural
elements on the board, leaving space Procedure:
for drawings.
1. Find pictures of different environments
4 . Ask students to explain or illustrate the and landscapes such as a desert scene,
elements and add others to the list. a tropical island, and a dense urban
setting.
5 . Give pairs or groups of students a
picture of a building that has several 2 . Review vocabulary and expressions for
architectural elements. They should giving opinions and negotiating meaning
not let other students see their as needed.
picture.
3 . Tell the class that Frank Lloyd Wright
6 . Ask students to practice describing the founded an architectural school that
building orally within their groups in as provides scholarships for talented
much detail as possible, using their new students. Explain that in order for
vocabulary. students to receive a scholarship,
they must show they can work as a
7. Collect all pictures, hang them on the team to design the exterior of a
board, and number them. house that is in harmony with its
environment.
8 . Ask each group to describe its picture to
the class without identifying it. 4 . Give each group a picture of a
landscape and blank paper. Tell
9 . Listeners should write the number of the students to think about what type
picture being described. of house and what architectural
elements would fit the environment
1 0 . Check answers. in their picture. They should discuss
their ideas, support their opinions,
Activity 3: Designing a Harmonious House
and reach a consensus before beginning
(Intermediate to Advanced)
to draw.
Content Goal: To draw a house
incorporating architectural elements that take 5 . Have teams explain their designs to the
the environment into consideration class and answer questions.

Linguistic Goals: 6 . Have students vote for the design

(other than their own) that best fits its
• To describe a house by using environment.
vocabulary related to its design,
Activity 4: Architectural Marvels (Advanced)
architectural elements, and
environment Content Goal: To learn more about well-
known buildings around the world
• To practice using specific expressions
to Linguistic Goals:

o express opinions: I think/believe/ • To use specialized architectural vocabulary

feel that _____________.
In my opinion, ____________. • To describe a well-known building

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 Entire courses have been successfully designed
around biographies.

Procedure: architectural heritage of a city, designers

of other famous buildings, or urban planning.
1. Give students a list of well-known Developing a unit based on a biography
buildings and ask each student to choose generates a variety of activities or tasks
one. Alternatively, ask students to limited only by the time available, the
identify buildings they would like to teacher’s imagination, and the students’
research. levels, needs, and interests. Seasoned
teachers may prefer to use their own ideas
2 . Provide or suggest suitable sources of for capitalizing on the content or the
information. language in the starter biography, whereas
novice teachers or teachers with limited
3 . Ask students to read about their building time may prefer to use ready-made resources.
and take notes on its name, date of Most teachers will be surprised by how
completion, architect, function, style, many of those resources are freely available
and architectural elements. They can online.
also read about other famous buildings
designed by the same architect. DESIGNING A COURSE AROUND
BIOGRAPHY-BASED UNITS
4 . Ask students to find a picture of the
building and write one paragraph Entire courses have been successfully
describing the building and another designed around biographies. In 1999,
paragraph expressing their opinion our university began offering intensive,
about it. one-month, noncredit courses for English
language study. After initial experimentation
5 . In a subsequent class, have students read with various themes, we decided to develop
as many of their classmates’ reports as each course around a series of four week-long
possible. biography-based units. Biographies
gave students rich language to talk or write
6 . Conclude with a discussion of these about life, specific vocabulary related to
well-known buildings and/or any locally certain professions, and themes and topics
significant buildings. related to their experiences and cultures.
They also provided authentic contexts for
The activities presented here illustrate just a review and recycling of important
few examples of how teachers can work with vocabulary in each successive week. We
a content-based biographical theme chose biography subjects who were famous
and identify related topics to build an entire in their field—so that it was easy to find
unit of study. This unit could continue information—but whose life stories were
with group or individual projects on the not very familiar to our students—so the

We chose biography subjects who were famous in their

field—so that it was easy to find information—but whose
life stories were not very familiar to our students.

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 People are at the center of every field … .
Thus, content learning in nearly any subject
can be introduced through biographies.

students were learning new information People are at the center of every field—from
no matter what their background, level, astronomy to zoology—and from every
or prior education had been. Some of the place—from Andorra to Zanzibar. Thus,
most successful units were created around content learning in nearly any subject can be
the lives of Frank Lloyd Wright (architect), introduced through biographies. Similarly,
Wilma Rudolph (athlete), Estée Lauder biographies provide an effective means to
(businessperson), and Milton Hershey introduce both local and global themes in an
(confectioner and philanthropist). English course.

We wrote two biographies for each FINDING BIOGRAPHIES AND

person, aiming one at the high-beginner/ BIOGRAPHY-BASED MATERIALS
low-intermediate level and the other at
intermediate and above. We also found, Teachers who want to use biographical
adapted, and wrote materials that would work texts will find a wide range of resources,
with a range of proficiency levels. Where from free online materials to photocopiable
possible, we tried to draw comparisons or teacher handbooks and collections of
make connections with previously studied biographies available from reputable
themes and topics. The students were publishers including Cambridge, MacMillan,
engaged, and their language skills progressed. Oxford, Penguin, and Pro Lingua
They also gave positive feedback about the Associates. Teachers might also consider
course materials. We became convinced of using quality books originally written
the beauty of biographies. for young or adolescent English speakers
(Malu 2013). The moderate-length texts,
Other teachers have also found biographical simple narratives, concrete language, and
content to be an effective and engaging compelling stories (Cho and Krashen 1994)
focus for a course. Wyle (2009) describes a found in such literature can serve as a
course entitled Exploring the English-Speaking bridge to more complex academic language
World through the Biography, developed for a for high school and adult EFL readers
university English class in Japan. The (Temple, Martinez, and Yokota 2011).
rationale for the course is to use methods Online biography collections provide useful
and materials different from the typical background reading for teachers, inspiration
grammar-and-four-skills instruction used for materials developers, and pleasure or
in most English classes while acquainting self-study reading for individual learners.
students with a variety of international Examples are listed here, along with brief
figures. Wolf (1994) describes revamping annotations based on our experience.
a world civilization course for a freshman
university class in the United States by • Biography.com at http://www.
using biographies that he wrote. For each biography.com/ is affiliated with
unit, he compares two figures whose stories a television network, so it is
depict the ideas and sociopolitical issues of commercialized. Nevertheless, there
a certain historical period. His goals were are dozens of biographies in print and
to make the course more engaging and mini-video formats about famous (and
relevant to the students while leading them infamous) people throughout the ages and
to use higher-order thinking skills. around the world. Print biographies are

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 The beauty of biographical texts is that they can
serve as stand-alone lessons or provide the
starting block for a thematically focused unit.

illustrated and include both a synopsis Stories are about two pages or 15 minutes
and a full text. They are not written with in length.
language learners in mind, but they could
be used as a teacher resource or for self- CONCLUSION
study by advanced students. The mini-
videos are action-packed and engaging, The beauty of biographical texts is that they
about two minutes in length, and perfect can serve as stand-alone lessons or provide
for introducing a subject of study or for the starting block for a thematically focused
closing class. unit. They can also become the core of an
entire course. At the outset of this article,
• Biography Online at http://www. we gave three reasons for using biographical
biographyonline.net was created texts in English classes: their universal,
by Tejvan Pettinger, a developer of story-like appeal; their transparent
educational websites in the United organization; and their capacity for review.
Kingdom. His biography collection Teachers who use biographies in any or
includes athletes, entrepreneurs, all of these three ways will discover that
and scientists who are (or have been) biographies are also ideal for differentiating
influential, inspirational, or successful instruction in multilevel language classes
despite personal hardship. While not because biographical passages for the same
designed specifically for language subject are readily available on various
learners, these biographies can be used levels. They foster both language-focused
to challenge intermediate-level learners, learning and fluency development.
extend learning in students who have They lend themselves to integrated-skills
some background knowledge about practice with authentic or authentic-
a certain career or personality, and like texts. Finally, they provide repeated
give teachers ideas about interesting opportunities for noticing and reviewing
biographical subjects. target-language features in subsequent
biography-based lessons. Biographies have
• Infoplease at http://www.infoplease. all these benefits—and they provide
com/people.html is an online pleasurable reading about people who are
encyclopedia. Its biography page contains interesting and often inspiring to students
links to over 30,000 entries categorized and teachers alike.
by occupation. This resource is useful
for teachers or students who want to REFERENCES
browse for names in a particular category.
However, the entries themselves are Cho, K. S., and S. D. Krashen. 1994. Acquisition of
probably too difficult for most EFL vocabulary from the Sweet Valley Kids series: Adult
classroom use. ESL acquisition. Journal of Reading 37 (8): 662–667.
Davis, P., and M. Rinvolucri. 1988. Dictation: New
• Stories About People at http:// methods, new possibilities. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
www.manythings.org/voa/people/ is a
Kang, S. H. K. 2016. Spaced repetition promotes
collection of over 250 biographies and efficient and effective learning: Policy implications
accompanying MP3 files from the Voice for instruction. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and
of America series by the same name. Brain Sciences 3 (1): 12–19. https://www.dartmouth.

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 edu/~cogedlab/pubs/Kang(2016,PIBBS).pdf
Malu, K. F. 2013. Exploring children’s picture
storybooks with adult and adolescent EFL learners.
English Teaching Forum 51 (3): 10–18.
Nation, P. 1996. The four strands of a language
course. TESOL in Context 6 (1): 7–12. https://www.
victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/publications/paul-
nation/1996-Four-strands.pdf
Rasinski, T. V. 2002. Speed does matter in reading.
The Reading Teacher 54 (2): 146–151.
Stoller, F. L., and W. Grabe. 1997. A six T’s approach
to content-based instruction. In The content-based
classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and
content, ed. M. A. Snow and D. M. Brinton, 78–94.
White Plains, NY: Longman. http://www.carla.
umn.edu/cobaltt/modules/curriculum/stoller_
grabe1997/6Ts.pdf
Temple, C., M. Martinez, and J. Yokota. 2011.
Children’s books in children’s hands: An introduction to
their literature. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Tomas, Z., I. Kostka, and J. A. Mott-Smith. 2013.
Teaching writing. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Wolf, K. 1994. Teaching history the old-fashioned
way—through biography. Perspectives on History 32
(5). https://www.historians.org/publications-and-
directories/perspectives-on-history/may-1994/
teaching-history-the-old-fashioned-way-through-
biography
Wyle, C. 2009. Exploring the English-speaking world
through the biography course methodology. The
Journal of Kanda University of International Studies 21:
157–167. https://mafiadoc.com/exploring-the-
english-speaking-world-through-the-biography-
course-_59f788a31723dda433ed2b60.html

Sally La Luzerne-Oi is a freelance ELT instructor

and teacher trainer. She has taught in Mexico,
Venezuela, Portugal, Japan, Ukraine, and the United
States. She co-authored the listening and speaking
textbook Tell Me About It!

Jean Kirschenmann is the TESOL Practicum

Coordinator in the Department of English and Applied
Linguistics at Hawai‘i Pacific University in Honolulu.
In addition to teaching in Hawaii, she has taught in
China, Japan, Micronesia, and Romania.

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 APPENDIX
Biographies of Frank Lloyd Wright for Upper-Level and Lower-Level Learners

1. Frank Lloyd Wright Biography (Upper Level)

Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the most famous American architects. His architectural designs
can be seen in the United States and abroad.
Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, on June 8, 1867. His father was a preacher
and musician, and his mother was a teacher. He had two younger sisters. Two experiences from
his youth had a profound influence on Wright’s philosophy of design. First, when he was a child,
Wright’s mother bought him geometrically shaped blocks to play with. Wright later said those
blocks influenced his designs. Second, during his youth, Wright’s family moved several times to
different states, but he spent his summers in Spring Green, Wisconsin, his mother’s hometown.
He loved the Wisconsin landscape. Later in his life, he would say that the Wisconsin landscape
influenced his theory of design, which he called “organic architecture.” Organic buildings are
designed for human use but should fit harmoniously into their environment.
Wright attended public high school in Madison, Wisconsin. Then he enrolled at the University
of Wisconsin at Madison. By that time, his parents were divorced. In order to help support
his mother and sisters and pay for his university tuition, Wright worked for the dean of the
engineering department. In that job, he helped the famous architect Joseph Silsbee build the
Unity Chapel. This experience convinced him to become an architect. He dropped out of
school and went to Chicago to work for Silsbee.
A year later, Wright started an internship with another architect, Louis Sullivan. Sullivan’s belief
that “form follows function” greatly influenced Wright. In 1889, Wright married Catherine
Tobin, with whom he had six children. Wright began designing private homes and left Sullivan’s
firm. He and his wife built a home in Oak Park, Illinois. This home is considered Wright’s first
masterpiece.
Wright continued to design private homes and public buildings. The homes were one-story,
low, and horizontal, like the flat Midwest landscapes he loved. They were made of local
materials. Wright did not use the traditional symmetrical design with rooms on each side of a
hallway and a central staircase. Instead, the interiors of his homes had a lot of open space that
flowed from a central area. They were examples of a movement in architecture called “Prairie
School.” Two of his most famous Prairie School buildings are the Robie House in Chicago and
Unity Temple in Oak Park.
Wright eventually divorced his first wife. He moved to Germany for a time. When he returned
to the United States in 1913, he built one of his most famous houses, Taliesin, in Spring Green,
Wisconsin. But in 1914 an employee burned it down. The fire also killed Wright’s partner at
the time, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Then, in 1915, the Emperor of Japan asked Wright to
design the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. When the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 struck, Wright’s
Imperial Hotel was the only large structure in the city not destroyed.
During the 1920s, Wright married two more times. The Great Depression in the early 1930s
caused new construction projects to end, so Wright began to write and teach. He wrote two
books that became important architectural literature. He also founded an architectural school
based at Taliesin.

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By 1935, Wright was back designing some of his greatest buildings. The residence called
Fallingwater, which he designed for a family near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was original and
beautiful. It is built on top of a waterfall and has balconies and terraces overlooking the water.
He began to work on Taliesin West, a residence and school in Scottsdale, Arizona. Wright also
constructed some less expensive homes called “Usonian Houses.” Their purpose was to provide
comfort, convenience, and space.
During the last 16 years of Wright’s life, he continued to design buildings. He worked on plans
for the Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art in New York City, a building
he designed in the shape of a seashell. He also designed a beautiful civic center for Madison,
Wisconsin, but, because of a lack of funds, that project was not completed until 33 years after
his death.
Frank Lloyd Wright died on April 9, 1959. During his lifetime, he designed 1,100 buildings.
His buildings remind us of his guiding principle that buildings should look as if they are part of
the nature around them and make the surrounding landscape even more beautiful.

2. Frank Lloyd Wright Biography (Lower Level)

Frank Lloyd Wright was a famous American architect. Most of his buildings are in the United
States. However, his ideas about building design spread around the world.

Wright was born in 1867 in Wisconsin. His father was a church leader and musician. His
mother was a teacher. He had two younger sisters. Childhood experiences were important to
Wright. His mother gave him some building blocks to play with when he was young. His family
moved often, but he spent his summers in Wisconsin. He loved the Wisconsin countryside.
Those building blocks and the Wisconsin countryside helped Wright think about beautiful
building design.

Wright attended high school and university in Madison, Wisconsin, but he did not graduate.
During high school, his parents divorced, and his father left the family. Wright dropped out of
school to work, help his family, and save money for college. In one job, he helped an architect
build a small, beautiful church and decided to become an architect. In 1887, he moved to
Chicago to look for work.

In 1893, Wright started his own architecture business. He designed private homes and public
buildings. His home designs were low, like the flat Wisconsin countryside. They also had open
space and a lot of light inside. One of Wright’s most famous buildings was the Imperial Hotel in
Tokyo, Japan. It survived a terrible earthquake in 1923. Today, Wright’s most famous building
may be an art museum in New York City. Wright was still designing buildings when he was 80
years old.

Frank Lloyd Wright died in 1959. He designed over 1,000 buildings. They fit into the nature
around them. Today, young architects continue to study Wright’s ideas and his buildings.

americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum 2018 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 25