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Title - Picture Book Biography
By - Devin Dusseau
Primary Subject - Language Arts
Secondary Subject - Social Studies
Grade Level - 6-8
This is a thorough 7 day unit creating children's picture book biographies.
Michigan standards and benchmarks are addressed in this unit.
I. Title of Lesson: Picture Book Biographies (6 class periods)
II. Grade/ Subject Area: Seventh Grade/Language Arts
II. Michigan Curriculum Framework:
- ELA.2.MS.1, 3, and 4: All students will demonstrate the ability to write clear and grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs, and compositions.
- ELA.3.MS.1: All students will focus on meaning and communication as they listen, speak, view, read, and write, in personal, social, occupational, and civic contexts.
- ELA.8.MS.3: All students will explore and use the characteristics of different types of texts, aesthetic elements, and mechanics- including text structure figurative and descriptive language, spelling, punctuation, and grammar- to construct and convey meaning.
- ELA.11.MS.2: All students will define and investigate important issues and problems using a variety of resources, including technology, to explore and create texts.
- SS.1.MS.1: All students will sequence chronologically the following eras of American history and key events within these eras in order to examine relationships and to explain cause and effect.
- SS.2.MS.4: All students will understand narratives about major eras of American and world history by identifying the people involved, describing the setting, and sequencing the events.
III. Lesson Objective:
- Students will learn about the impact their individual has made on American History.
- Students will conduct research using the Internet or library sources to gather information on key figures in history.
- Students will learn that a biography is compiled information about an individual's life and achievements, which is written by an outside source.
- Students will write a picture book biography about a historical figure that they will share with second grade students.
IV. Materials Needed:
- Picture Book Biographies Directions Sheet
- Biography Graphic Organizer
- Plagiarism Pamphlet
- Plagiarism Class List
- Do's and Don'ts of Dialogue Worksheet
- Character Combo Worksheet
- Timeline Worksheet
- Grade Paper Worksheet
- Internet Resource Sheet
- Books (Resources/Examples)
- A Series of Encyclopedias
- Laptop Computers
- Paper
- Construction Paper
- Spiral Binders
- Pencils
- Markers
- Colored Pencils
V. Anticipatory Set:
A. Mind Capture:
- I will begin by explaining that as a class we are going to take a trip back into history.
- While on our trip we are going to gather information and artifacts to bring back and to share with our classmates.
B. Statement of Purpose:
- Students will enhance their knowledge of historical figures.
- Students enhance their researching and writing skills.
- Students will enhance their knowledge of biographies and will create a picture book biography of a historical figure.
VI. Instructional Input:
Day One:
- Hand out "dance partner" sheets
- Review Narrative writing using dialogue.
- Do's and Don'ts of Dialogue
- Use character combo practice for writing dialogue
- Review Expository writing
- Introduce picture book biography lesson
- After introducing the lesson, I will explain to the students the importance of them not only understanding recent history, but also understanding the influence people have made in our past. People have made many contributions to our society, which have affected our culture and history.
- I will then ask the students if they know what a biography is.
- I will explain that a biography consists of compiled information about an individual's life and achievements. Unlike an autobiography, which is written by an individual about his or her life; a biography is written by an outside source.
- I will then explain that as we go on our trip each student will choose one historical figure, which has impacted or changed history in a mighty way. They are going to gather information about their individual, and then they are to write a picture book biography of their individual based on the information they found including colored illustrations.
- Students choose historical figure
- Students will have six class periods to complete the assignment. If they can not get their assignment completed during class time, they must complete it on their own at home.
Day Two:
- Library/Research time
- 60-75 minutes
- I will then pass out the biography book report graphic organizer for students to use during their research.
- Students will use this graphic organizer to organize the information they gather from books and the internet.
- I will walk to the students through the organizer and explain that they just need to complete the form by filling in the blanks with information and notes about their individual.
- I will ask one student to come up and model the process of filling in the graphic organizer. As the student models the process I will tell the class to make sure to include important dates in their biographies. (Dates of events are crucial later on in the unit.)
- Students will then be given a list of possible resources to use to find information on their individual. This list of resources will include books and internet sources.
- If students would like to use sources outside of this list they may; however, it is their responsibility to make sure their sources are credible.
- I will ask students to tell me what makes a credible source (has an author, source, credentials, etc.)
- Each student should address every point on the biography book report graphic organizer.
- Timeline activity assignment
- After explaining to the students that we will be constructing a timeline, I will ask them what a timeline is. (A timeline is a representation of key events arranged in a chronological pattern.)
- I will then tell them that our timeline will include key events and accomplishments made by their historical figure, and we will use the knowledge they have gained from their research to create our timeline.
- With this in mind I will ask the students what kind of things they think we will have on our timeline and how we will know where to start and stop our timeline. (They should include dates of events, individual's name, and what they accomplished. We will start the timeline with the date of the earliest accomplishment and we will end with the latest accomplishment.)
- I will also ask the students how we know where to put the dates on the timeline (they should be spaced appropriately throughout the timeline). I will then tell the students in addition to the information they have mentioned, we will also need a title for a timeline.
- After we have established the key elements of our timeline I will explain to the students that they will be responsible for writing the information about their historical figure on our timeline. They will include the date, figures name, and the accomplishment. After explaining the project it is time to get to work.
- The assignment will be due the following class period.
Day Three:
- Pass out and go over plagiarism pamphlet
- Students sign plagiarism class list
- Students will begin working on their rough drafts during class.
- Story planning/Layout
- Rough Sketches of illustrations
- Peer-Revising
Day Four:
- Continued peer-revising and self revising
- One-foot readings
- Start typing final stories
- Laptops in room
- Working on final illustrations
Day Five:
- Typing final product on laptops
- Final illustrations
- If not completed the assignment will be due the final class period.
Day Six:
- Share picture book biographies with second grade class
VII. An Opportunity to Practice:
- Guided Practice:
Day One:
- During this point in the lesson I will check for understanding. I will ask students a series of questions such as:
"What kind of information is included in a biography?"
"What must be included in your picture book biography?"
"Does your text need to be typed?"
"What are you going to do with the biography graphic organizer?"
- I will also reiterate the assignment due date.
- I will give the students enough time to complete the assignment, as long as they do not goof around during class time they should not have to complete the assignment as homework.
Day Two:
- The class will head down to the library to conduct research on their historical figure.
- Students will fill out their biography graphic organizer while they collect information on their individual.
- The timeline activity will be explained and will be due the following class period.
Day Three:
- After discussing plagiarism students will be given class time to work on rough drafts, story planning, and layout.
- Students will be given class time to do peer revising and work on story layouts.
Day Four:
Day Five:
Day Six:
- Independent Practice:
Day One:
- No independent practice for this lesson
Day Two:
- The class will be spending one block period in the library doing research on their historical figure. They will be allowed to use the computers in the library to conduct research.
- Students will complete a timeline of their historical figure as a homework assignment.
Day Three:
- Students will begin writing rough draft and planning story
- Students will be given class time to do peer revising and work on story layouts.
- Students will work on rough sketches for their project
Day Four & Five:
- Students will be given class time to work on their assignment.
- I will also sign out the laptop cart so students can type their text. However, if problems arise this privilege will be taken away.
- Students will work on final illustrations for their picture book biographies.
Day Six:
- Class will share their picture book biographies with second-graders.
VIII. Closure:
After students completed the assignment they will tell their "dance partner" one thing they learned about their individual. I will also have each student tell their "dance partner" one thing that surprised them about their individual. The picture book biographies will be shared with second-graders as a culminating activity.
IX. Assessment Strategies:
The teacher will assess the seventh-grade students understanding of the lesson through observations made during the six-class period writing activity. The teacher will walk around reading over students work and observing the students understanding of the researching, prewriting, drafting, revising, and final copy stages of the writing process. The teacher will also assess the students understanding of the lesson using the FCAs taught during this lesson.
Internet Resources
Writing a Biography for Young Readers
Transforming Facts about an Important Person into an Interesting Tale
Project Summary: One of the most popular forms of literature for young readers is the biography. Young readers in elementary schools truly enjoy reading and learning about important people and their accomplishments. They particularly enjoy reading about people when a biography is written as an engaging story and not just a list of facts. In this project, you are going to become an expert on a person who has made an important contribution to our lives- a writer, politician, scientist, mathematician, inventor, artist, or athlete. Then you are going to write a picture book biography about that person in a story form that would appeal to a young reader in second or third grade.
Purpose: In writing this biography, you have two purposes: You want to tell an entertaining and engaging story about an important person's life, and you will want to give essential information about that person.
Writer's Role: You will write as yourself, an aspiring children's author
Audience: Your audience will be elementary-aged children, grades two or three. Your story theme, the length of story, vocabulary, and even the way you decide to present the story must be appropriate for your audience.
Form: You will write a children's picture book biography. Your biography should not read like a report. Instead, it should read like a tale or story about an important person. One effective way of telling your story is to find a characteristic that seems prominent in the life of the person you are writing about. For example, Jackie Robinson showed courage throughout his life. Thomas Edison showed inventiveness. Helen Keller showed determination. As you become knowledgeable about your biography subject, you will be able to determine a theme that runs throughout this person's life. You can use that theme to tell your story. Rather than trying to tell everything, write about important events, adventures, or accomplishments that exhibit the characteristic you have chosen. In writing your story, you may take a "writer's license" to create realistic dialogue that may have taken place between your subject and other people. Note: Since biographies for young readers are usually illustrated, your biography should have finished illustrations. Do not be concerned with the sophistication of the artwork. Although your finished illustrations may be simple, they will help young readers envision the scenes described in your story.
FCAs:
- Attention-getting lead (10)
-establish what characteristic makes this person special
- Significant events (10)
-events in the life of this person that demonstrate the characteristic or theme you have chosen
- Dialogue punctuated correctly (10)
- Picture Book: (20)
-organization, creativity, colorful illustrations, neatness
TOTAL POINTS= 50
Picture Book Biography
Name:
Date:
FCAs:
1. Attention-getting lead (10)
2. Significant events (10)
-events in the life of this person that demonstrate the characteristic or theme you have chosen
3. Dialogue punctuated correctly (10)
4. Picture Book: (20)
-organization, creativity, colorful illustrations, neatness
TOTAL POINTS = 50
FCAs:
1.
2.
3.
4. Picture Book:
TOTAL POINTS =
Comments:
Work Cited
Name:
Date:
Assignment: You must document where you get your research from whenever using facts from an outside source. Write down the websites, books, and reference materials you use while conducting your research. For your picture book biography project you must record your sources below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Character Combos
Dialogue Practice Worksheet
1. Imagine you have traveled back in time 83 years to a moment of discovery in Egypt. You and your partner have just discovered the tomb of King Tut. Write out the conversation you might have during this situation.
2. Imagine you are Sponge Bob's boss at the Krusty Krab. You have just learned that you must fire Sponge Bob from flipping Krabby Patties. Write out the conversation you would have with Sponge Bob during this situation.
3. Imagine you are a huge fan of American Idol, and you have the opportunity to meet the host Ryan Seacrest. Write out the conversation you and Ryan Seacrest might have during this situation.
Note from LessonPlansPage.com: Some of the handouts mentioned in the materials section have not been included by the author. Most are easily recreated like the Plagiarism Pamphlet or the Timeline. The Biography Book Report Graphic Organizer is essential and it can be found at http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/pdf/feb05_unit/BiographyChart.pdf
If you are unable to access this site, you can create your own organizer. Just make sure it contains spaces for:
Biography Book Report Graphic Organizer 5 important characteristics
5 reasons person is famous
5 Important contributions
5 Experiences that make this person important
5 Things you admire about this person
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