Writing biography lesson
Teaching Students to Write Biography Reports
Biographies are many students’ first glimpse at history. It is one of my favorite units to teach every year. It is a great opportunity for students to read, research, use technology, and write!
If you’re teaching students to write biography reports this year, then check out how I like to break it down!
Breaking Down Writing a Biography Report (Grades 2-5)
Writing these types of reports is part of the Common Core writing standards for Grades 2-5 as well as many other states’ standards. There are several steps to take as you teach your students to write a biography report.
The first step ALWAYS: Introduce Biographies
Before I even begin to teach my students how to write a biography, I like to read several from our school library.
For second and third grade students:
- Have several biographies in the classroom and give students time to explore the books. Then discuss: What did you notice about all these books? How are they the same? How are they different?
- Discuss genre and introduce biographies.
- Then, I would read them biographies about many different people.
For fourth and fifth grade students:
- Make a class anchor chart discussing what you already know about biographies. Look for gaps in understanding, and make sure students know the main characteristics of a biography.
- Then, read several different biographies about the same person with a focus on the different information each biography shared, as well as what information was the same. Did all of the biographies have the characteristics we listed on our anchor chart?
It is important to make note of the characteristics that biographies have so that when students write their own, they already have an understanding of how they are written!
Once students have been exposed to biographies, you can begin to teach about writing them.
Discuss Text Structure of Biographies
Depending on the grade you teach, you may not ne Students can also use the list of suggested websites to add to their webs. Biography Project: Research and Class Presentation
1. Using your classroom or school library, have each student check out a biography of a famous person. The biography should be about one of the three people on the student's list from Session 1. 2. Pass out the Web Rubric and go over expectations and criteria with students. 3. Use the sample web for Martin Luther King, Jr. to model for students how each item of the rubric applies to the creation of the web. 4. Ask students to skim (or preread) their biographies, focusing on the questions they generated during Session 1 about the selected person. Then have students work with their partners to group the information they find into appropriate categories and start a rough draft of their webs. 5. For homework (and, if time, in class), have students read independently as they complete their webs. 6. 7. When the webs are complete, have each student use the Web Rubric to evaluate his or her own web. 8. Have each student share his or her web with a partner and give each other feedback and suggestions for improvement. The partner can fill out the same rubric using a different color. 9. Collect the students' webs, review them, and use the same rubric with another color to make suggestions for improvement.
Grade: 01
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.9
Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
Grade: 02
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.9
Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
Grade: 03
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.9
Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Grade: 04
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.9
Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Grade: 05
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.9
Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Grade: K
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.9
With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
Grade: 01
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
Grade: 01
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.8
With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Grade: 02
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
Grade: 02
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Grade: 03
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Grade: 03
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources
Exploring biographies
Watch: What is a biography?
A biography is a non-fiction text about someone's life.
Biographies are true pieces of text, based on fact, so biographers (the people who write biographies) have to do a lot of research. They use websites, letters, photographs, diaries and newspapers to help them.
Because biographies are written by someone else, they are written in the third person(//).
They are usually written in chronological order (the order in which events actually happened).
For example, watch this clip. It gives a biography of the scientist Marie Curie.
Watch: Biography of Stephen Hawking
Even though biographers do lots of research, they can only guess at what it was like to be that person, or the thoughts and feelings the person had.
If the person they want to write about, or anyone who knew them, is still alive, biographers sometimes carry out an interview to ask lots of questions about the person's life.
Here's another biography of a scientist, this time Professor Stephen Hawking.
Who are biographies about?
Often biographies are about people who are famous because of something they have done. Scientists, artists, sports stars or world leaders often have biographies written about them.
But you don't have to be famous to have a biography written about you. You just need to have a life story that someone else could find interesting or want to find out about.
People in the future will be interested in lives being led right now!
Biographies should be based on fact. How many facts do you remember about the biographies of Marie Curie and Stephen Hawking? Try this true or false quiz to find out!
Time to become a biographer! Write a short biography of someone you are interested in.
It could be a famous person from history, a sports star, a scientist or an artist. It could even be your favourite TV star!
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