What A Life!      High Beginning

Teacher support: Web links

Looking for more information about some of the amazing people in What A Life! High Beginning? These links will bring you to sites with lots of interesting material on each person. You can use these extra facts and stories to give your students a deeper understanding about the personalities in the book. You can also use these sites to create additional class activities.


Unit 1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Composer
  • The Mozart Project (by Steve Boerner) has extensive information about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, including a biography, essays, and a list of all his compositions.

  • Listen to Mozart: The English-language website of the Associazone Mozart Italia has a number of audio and video files for download (click on "Listen" in the home page).

Unit 2
Doctor James Barry
Doctor
  • Read "A Strange Story," a newspaper article about Dr. James Barry from the Manchester Guardian in 1865.

  • Historic-UK has a list of more British "imposters."

Unit 3
Charles Dickens
Writer
  • Follow the comprehensive links on Ritva Raesmaa's Charles Dickens site to learn about the works of Dickens, his life and family, and the London of his time.

  • David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page has several pages devoted to Dickens's works. It also has a lovely map of London at the time of Dickens.

Unit 4
Alfred Nobel
Inventor and philanthropist
  • The Nobel e-Museum has a section devoted to Alfred Nobel, including excerpts from his will, family photos, and quotes.

  • The Nobel Channel has a biography and a timeline to give perspective to Nobel's achievements. (Click on "Alfred Nobel" on the left side of the Nobel Channel page.)

Unit 5
Sofia Kovalevski
Mathematician
  • The site called Sofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya has a detailed biography, several photos that are good for printing out, and some quotations from Kovalevski. Site from the School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

  • The World of Science site has a short biography of Kovalevski, plus information about her work and research.

Unit 6
Vincent Van Gogh
Artist
  • The Van Gogh Gallery includes of all of Van Gogh's paintings. It also has biographical information and a list of resources for further study.

  • The Webmuseum has a short biography and displays a wide range of Van Gogh's paintings.

Unit 7
Maggie Walker
Bank executive

Unit 8
Helena Rubinstein
Entrepreneur

Unit 9
Julia Morgan
Architect
  • The site for the Julia Morgan Collection at California Polytechnic State University features a biography and guide to Morgan's collected papers, including correspondence, photos, and sketches.

  • Read a short biography of Julia Morgan and some of her more well-known designs. From GreatBuildings.com.

Unit 10
Princess Ka'iulani
Royalty
  • Did you know that Princess Ka'iulani was of Scottish decent? Read about this and her tragic demise on the ElectricScotland website.

  • Urban Mozaik's article "The Icon of Two Selves" tells more about Princess Ka'iulani, "the bi-racial product of an increasingly hybrid society."

Unit 11
Isadora Duncan
Dancer

Unit 12
Diego Rivera
Artist
  • The Virtual Diego Rivera Web Museum has images of Rivera's murals, clips from the video Diego Rivera—I paint what I see, and a list of sources for further research.

  • This Diego Rivera page in the American Masters website (PBS) has a general discussion about Rivera's life and work, plus provides links to related sites.

Click here for Jean Vanier (international Edition).


Unit 13
Jim Thorpe
Athlete

Unit 14
Agatha Christie
Writer
  • The official Agatha Christie site has a wealth of information about Christie and her books. The site also features an interactive Agatha Christie mystery called the Tuesday Club Murders.

  • Read a short biography of Agatha Christie and discuss her books with other fans on the MysteryNet discussion board.

Unit 15
Louis Armstrong
Musician
  • Satchmo.net, the official Louis Armstrong site, features a biography, discography, and a timeline with photos.

  • Satchography.com includes a biography and comprehensive discography of Armstrong's recordings. By Scott Johnson.

Unit 16
Umm Kulthum
Singer

Unit 17
Howard Hughes
Entrepreneur

Unit 18
Soichiro Honda
Entrepreneur
  • AutoHistory Online discusses how Honda helped make Japan one of the leading car manufacturers of the post World War II world.

  • GrandPrix describes how Honda was inspired to create racing cars.

Unit 19
Mother Teresa
Humanitarian
  • This Mother Teresa page has a wealth of information, including a biography and a description of her work and charitable organizations. From the Vrij Handels- en Technisch Instituut.

  • The Tribute to Mother Teresa discusses how the world reacted to her death (1997).

Unit 20
Sonja Henie
Ice Skater
  • Olympic Memorable Moments from Factmonster has a brief biography of Henie that describes her as a revolutionary in the sport of figure skating.

  • The Internet Movie Database has a short description of Henie's acting career, as well as a list of Sonja Henie trivia.

Click here for Naim Süleymanoğlu (international Edition).


Unit 21
I.M. Pei
Architect
  • Go to the Great Buildings site to see some of Pei's most famous designs, including the Pyramid at the Louvre in Paris and Boston's Hancock Center.

  • Visit I.M. Pei's architectural firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, read his curriculum vitae, and follow the links to projects.

Unit 22
Evita Perón
Political Leader
  • The official Eva Perón website contains an comprehensive biography of Perón, photos, and a description of how she affected her country.

  • "Maria Eva Duarte Perón" has a detailed biography of Perón, as well as a photo album and a list of books written about her.

Unit 23
Stephen Hawking
Physicist

Unit 24
Arthur Ashe
Tennis Player