On Thursday, January 8, Grade 3 ventured to Queens for an inspiring visit to the Louis Armstrong House Museum. As part of “Discovering Lives,” their in-depth biography reading unit, students explored how biographies are shaped, from careful research and vivid storytelling to the small artifacts and moments that help a famous person’s story sing. Standing in the rooms where Louis Armstrong lived and worked, the children saw firsthand how objects, words, and context bring a life into focus.

About the Louis Armstrong House Museum

During his life, jazz legend Louis Armstrong made his home in Corona, Queens, and it’s precisely that ordinary, lived-in place that helps make his story so powerful. After Armstrong’s death in 1971, his wife Lucille Wilson Armstrong championed the idea that their house on 107th Street and its contents should become a public memorial to his life. She and the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation have worked for decades to preserve the home and share his archives. The home slowly opened to researchers in the 1990s, public tours began in 2003, and the Louis Armstrong House Museum–now a three-building campus: the Historic Home, the Armstrong Center, and Selma’s Place–formally expanded into a nonprofit in 2008.

Exploring Armstrong’s Life Through Biography

Last week, Grade 3 moved through those very rooms and spaces, listening to Armstrong’s recordings, examining original photographs and personal objects, and taking in the museum’s programs. It was an experiences that turned history from pages in a book into something tangible and immediate for our young biographers.

Henry G. ’35 shared that moving through the museum’s different rooms was his favorite part of the experience, particularly getting to stand in Armstrong’s office. “In every room, you could press a button and hear an audio recording of him talking, so it was almost like he was still there,” he said. “My favorite part was his office; it was filled with tapes, not just of his own music, but of other musicians too like The Beatles. Seeing a place that hasn’t been touched in about 50 years made it feel really special.”

Head Grade 3 Teacher Garrett Kennedy described the visit as both awe-inspiring and hands-on, highlighting how standing in Armstrong’s actual living room and office made the music and the man feel immediate. “When I visited the Louis Armstrong House for the first time last year, I was in awe; standing where he once stood, listening to the records he played in his own living room and office. I hope this trip inspires our students in different ways: maybe a few students will want to pick up a trumpet (or any instrument) like Louis, or perhaps they’ll discover ideas they can bring into their passion projects about the people they researched.”

Learning From Lives: Grade 3 Biography Unit

Grade 3 students regularly explore nonfiction texts across subject areas; however, reading a biography requires a distinct set of skills, says Assistant Head of School and Dean of Students in Grades 1 to 4 Kenneth Hamilton. “Throughout this unit, students focus on synthesizing information and distinguishing between “important” and “extraneous” details. To launch the biography unit, teachers model effective research strategies and support students in using key nonfiction text features such as tables of contents, indexes, timelines, and varied font types. These skills are explicitly taught using the mentor text, Who Was Louis Armstrong by Yona Zeldis McDonough. As students build their understanding through this shared text, they simultaneously explore a biography of an influential or historical figure of their choosing. Students then create a choice-based project and conduct research that highlights the individual’s early life, accomplishments, challenges, and historical context.

At the museum, students encounter familiar information from the Who Was text while also discovering new insights through primary sources and artifacts. From personal letters exchanged with his wife and world leaders such as King George V, to exploring Armstrong’s custom kitchen and personal office, students gain a deeper understanding of how he lived and worked, right here in New York City.” 

Layla S. ’35 described the museum visit as especially meaningful because of the personal glimpse it offered into Louis Armstrong’s life and creative process. “The coolest part for me was listening to the voice recordings,” she said. “You could hear him talking at different times with his wife or friend; it made him feel real. One recording explained how What a Wonderful World came together, when there was a big war and so many things to be afraid of. He talked about how sometimes we all need a song we can rely on, and hearing that in his own voice was really powerful.”

Lower School Pop-Up Biography Museum

The museum visit was only the beginning. Moving from listener to storyteller, from reading biographies to building them, third graders have been researching a famous person of interest and translating that learning into an exhibition of their own: original artifacts, displays, and classroom installations that reflect the people they studied. On Friday, January 23, Grade 3 will transform their classrooms into a pop-up biography museum and invite other Poly Lower classes to wander through, a culminating celebration where research, craft, and creativity meet. Through mentor texts and meticulous work, these young biographers are learning that every life has a shape, and every story has something to teach us.