
WRITING A BIOGRAPHY: LESSON AND RESOURCES
A unit lesson plan with 6 sessions on teaching and learning resources of writing a biography based on New Bloom’s Taxonomy.
This download includes:
Video: Writing Biographies
Scaffolding Notes 1: Vocabulary Overview
EXERCISE 1: Compare and contrast a biography and an autobiography.
Use the Interactive Venn Diagram to record the difference between autobiography and biography.
Scaffolding Notes 2: Biography vs Autobiography Chart
EXERCISE 2: Identify the sentences that answer the given questions to show the structure and features of a sample biography.
Scaffolding Notes 3: Question Prompts for Biography
EXERCISE 3: Determine the author’s use of narrative language and techniques for the given sample biography – Part 1.
EXERCISE 4: Determine the author’s use of narrative language and techniques for the given sample biography – Part 2.
EXERCISE 5: DIFFERENTIATION - Demonstrate your knowledge of writing a biography by attempting any one of the following tasks. Focus on content, ideas, organization, voice, word choice, vocabulary, sentence structure and conventions as suggested by rubrics.
Scaffolding Notes 4: Writing a Biography Rubrics
EXERCISE 6: Follow either the graphic organizer or Bio Cube to plan a biography on a chosen person.
Scaffolding Notes 5: Biography Graphic Organiser
Use Bio Cube from Cube Creator to develop an outline of a person whose biography you want to write. Use specific prompts to describe a person’s significance, background and personality.
EXERCISE 7: Follow the biography structure to organise the first draft of a planned biography on the chosen person.
Scaffolding Notes 6: Biography Structure
EXERCISE 8: Use the checklist to evaluate each other’s work with constructive feedback.
Scaffolding Notes 7: Biography Checklist
EXERCISE 9: Use the rubrics to evaluate each other’s work with constructive feedback.
Scaffolding Notes 8: Biography Rubrics
EXERCISE 10: Follow the teacher instructions and student feedback to write the final draft of the drafted biography. Write your own biography and publish it on Writing with Writers.
Scaffolding Notes 9: Sample Biography – Helen Keller
Scaffolding Notes 10: Transitions – Connective Words
Scaffolding Notes 11: Adjective Types and Adverb Types
Scaffolding Notes 12: Active Verbs
Scaffolding Notes 13: Sentence Types
Select Biographies and Memoirs and list them under the headings based on people whose work was in sports, science, engineering, the arts and anything else that may grab a student passing by the table.
EXERCISE 11: Read an extract from the biography of Albert Einstein and answer the comprehension questions.
EXERCISE 12: Online Exercise: English ESL Biography Worksheets