Athletes and Sports Sensory Figure Body Biographies

Description

Sensory figures, also known as body biographies, are great for characterization or biography projects and helping students analyze people or characters from multiple angles. This set of 28 athletes and sports figures is great for lessons about growth mindset, and physical education classes. Several of the featured athletes are also former Olympians, so the set would fit nicely with an Olympics unit or lesson as well. Read more about how sensory figures can enhance your lessons below! If you’re looking for a digital version of this resource, find it here.

The set includes the following people:
1. Andre the Giant
2. Danica Patrick
3. David Beckham
4. Fabulous Moolah
5. Garry Kasparov
6. Greg Louganis
7. Ichiro Suzuki
8. Jackie Robinson
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Jesse Owens
11. Joe Louis
12. Kacy Catanzaro
13. Katie Ledecky
14. Lindsey Vonn
15. Lisa Leslie
16. Mia Hamm
17. Michael Jordan18. Michael Phelps
19. Michelle Kwan
20. Muhammad Ali
21. Peyton Manning
22. Roberto Clemente
23. Roger Federer
24. Serena Williams
25. Simone Biles
26. Usain Bolt
27. Wayne Gretzky
28. Wilma Rudolph

*New* Download a free example sensory figure here!
⭐ Theodore Roosevelt Sensory Figure Example

A sensory figure is a drawing of a historical, living, or fictional figure with first-person descriptions of what they might have thought, seen, heard, touched, said, felt, or otherwise experienced during their lifetime. Students “show what they know” about the figure by writing 1-2 sentence descriptions for their figure’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. After writing the descriptions, students connect them to the part of the body to which it most closely relates. For example, a feeling might be connected to the heart. The descriptions should be specific to the historical figure’s life, not generic statements that could apply to anyone. Students should be encouraged to address several topics in their descriptions instead of repeating information.

Sensory figures are an engaging way for students to both organize information as they’re learning and demonstrate their knowledge. They can be used to research the figure or even as an assessment after other learning opportunities have taken place. Sensory figures allow students to imagine themselves in their figure’s shoes, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of their figure’s experiences. In addition to focusing on specific people, sensory figures can also be used with groups of people (for example, Confederate soldiers or Loyalists) to define the characteristics that separate them from other groups. Because of their interactive nature, sensory figures are great for interactive notebooks! Finally, they are readily adapted in order to meet a variety of student needs. You can give all students the same figure to fill out, or you can have them complete different ones. I’ve found that students enjoy sharing their figures with partners or doing a gallery walk to see their classmates’ work. You can reinforce vocabulary associated with the figures by providing a word bank of terms students should use in their descriptions.

The figures can be printed in either black and white or colored versions.

You may also be interested in other sensory figures:
⭐ Ancient China Sensory Figures
⭐ Ancient Egypt Sensory Figures
⭐ Ancient Greece Sensory Figures
⭐ Ancient India Sensory Figures
⭐ Ancient Rome Sensory Figures
⭐ Presidents of the United States Sensory Figures
⭐ Mesopotamia Sensory Figures FREE
⭐ Kingdom of Kush Sensory Figures
⭐ Early Hebrews Sensory Figures
⭐ Early Hunters, Gatherers, and Farmers Sensory Figures
⭐ Black Historical Sensory Figures

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