Young Leaders Biographies for Leader in Me
These young leader biographies are written to teach about young people who have made a difference in the world.
This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.
About these biographies
These passages feature the following people:
Yusra Mardini: A Syrian refugee who worked with her sister to help save their sinking boat and all of the passengers.
Bethany Hamilton: A surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack as a teenager.
Haile Thomas: A nutritionist who began working to educate others about making healthy choices after her dad was diagnosed with diabetes.
Marley Dias: A girl who started a campaign advocated for representation of all in literature.
Aditya Mukarji: A boy from India who has worked to educate others on the impact of plastic waste on the environment.
Jaylen Arnold: The founder of Jaylen’s Challenge, an organization designed to teach others about the impact of bullying.
Sir Darius Brown: A boy who designs and sells bow ties for shelter pets in order to help them be adopted.
Rebeca Andrade: A Brazilian gymnast who has earned 22 medals throughout her career.
Easton LaChapelle: A young inventor driven to find ways to make prosthetics more affordable and more realistic.
Brigitta Maria Andrea Gunawan: A girl working to protect the oceans through 30X30 Indonesia and Diverseas.
Using these biographies
These biographies were written to be used during Leader in Me time. My goal was to find stories of young people who have used their voice to create change. Some are now young adults but their stories began when they were younger.
I have researched and written each of these passages. At times, I found conflicting information. I worked to verify the facts and believe that the information is correct. If you find any mistakes, please let me know! Like I tell my students to do, I read articles and watched videos about each subject. I did not rely on the summaries given to me at the top of each search.
I plan on letting students choose their focus. They will read the biography and identify ways the subject modeled the habits.
As my students read, I have them add notes in the margins. I often encourage them to use words and pictures.
We also practice how to highlight in a meaningful way. Many students have never learned and highlight most of the text. This is a good opportunity for them to practice finding what is most important in a text.
Along with the biographies, I have included a page where students will write about a connection they find with one of the habits. I like using this as a way for students to practice sharing text evidence.
You can download this collection by clicking on the green apples below:
As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use.