Title – Introduction to Writing A Biography

By – Roisin Ferry

Primary Subject – Language Arts

Secondary Subjects – Social Studies

Grade Level – 4-6

Objective:

To teach students how to be a biographer. This will include what types of questions biographers ask and the kinds of problems which biographers run into when on assignment.

Introduction:

Discuss with the students what kinds of information are needed to write a complete biography.

A. Name or names.

B. Place and date of birth.

C. Family history.

D. Places lived.

E. Hobbies.

F. Occupations.

G. Significant incidents in his/her life.

H. What made him/her famous.

Group activity:

Step 1: Ask the students the above listed questions about their classroom teacher. At this point, include any and all answers, whether you know they are right or wrong. If two students can’t agree on a correct piece of information, include both. (Example: Mr. Smith was born in 1954, 1963 or 1977.) This part of the biography should be from the students’ perspective.

Compile all of the information given by the students into a logical form. The biographies which I did in this manner ended up being about one page in length.

Step 2: Choose a small committee of students to interview the teacher. This committee should ask the same questions which were asked above. Make sure the teacher knows that he/she may feel free to answer only the questions he/she is comfortable answering.

The committee will compile this information into a similar form as the first biography, making changes accordingly. Discuss with students the importance of editing to make sure all information provided is now fact.

Step 3: Divide class into groups of two. Have the students complete a short biography about
each other following the guideline of questions asked above. It may be easier to construct a question / answer sheet for students.

Step 4: With the permission of all involved, the biographies should be included in a book which can be constructed by the class. The books should be available for checkout from your class library.

Results:

The students and teacher’s have enjoyed the unit on biographies. I have found that students are a lot more motivated when it comes to researching biographies after this project was completed.

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Roisin Ferry

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