A biography does not have to be in paper format

While reading my Language Arts textbook, Language Arts: Patterns of Practice by Gail E. Tompkins, I came across a really neat activity. Instead of having students write a long paper discussing a influential person's life they can create a biography box. A biography box contains items that represent the person and has been decorated by the student. The student then does a write-up for each item in the box, explaining how and why the item represents the individual. I thought this was a great project because it allows students to think outside the box (no pun intended) and be creative. Students have to still do the research because they have to explain how the items relate to the individual they are doing the biography box on, but they can present the information in a more engaging way. Learning can be done while having "fun".