Examples of level 5 biography writing guidelines
Writing a biography can be a daunting task. When students hear the assignment of writing a biography, they may have thoughts of long, boring essays or a tedious page book report. There are various ways to tackle writing a biography, and they can even be fun in the process! Let’s look at some less intimidating ways to get your kiddos to write a biography, whether in elementary or middle school.
Step 1: Read a Biography
The first step for students before writing a biography is to read one. They need to see a real-life example before tackling their own biography assignment. Elementary students can read biography picture books or Who Was? biography novels. Biography picture books are especially interesting to students as the splendid pictures bring the person to life.
Here are some picture books we recommend for younger students:
I Am Rosa Parks by Brad Meltzer
The Girl Who Thought in Pictures by Julia Finley Mosca
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne
Upper elementary students love the Who Was? novel series. These books are more challenging, contain some pictures, and are age-appropriate. We recommend:
Who Was? Anne Frank by Anne Abramson
Who Were? The Tuskegee Airmen by Sherri L. Smith
Who Was? Selena by Max Bisantz
Middle school-aged students can read a variety of biographies from sixth graders reading Who Was? to advanced readers conquering even adult biographies. Some biographies or autobiographies my middle school students have read and loved are:
I Am Malalaby Malala Youfsazai
Gifted Hands The Ben Carson Story by Gregg Lewis
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland
Step 2: Research a Person
Once students have read a biography to gain an understanding of what one looks like and how it is organized, as well as more about the person they are learning about, they can complete research from the biography or autobiography. A s
How to Write
a Biography Essay
Biography Essay Writing Guide
A biography essay is an essay where you tell the story of a person&#;s life. It&#;s a chance for you to do research and learn interesting facts and opinions about someone. That person could be a historical figure, a famous actor, politician, artist, writer or inventor. The point of the biographical essay is to reveal who that person was and what contribution they have made to the world.
In order to write a great biography essay, you&#;ll need to develop a thesis statement about them and write supporting paragraphs with information about their life and work. Finally, a conclusion will help show the lasting impact they&#;ve had.
Let&#;s take it step by step:
- Step 1 &#; Choose Your Subject The person you choose to write about should be someone famous. Since you&#;ll need to do research about them, they need to be someone who you can find articles and books about. It would be best if the person is someone you&#;re interested in. That way it will make it easier for you to get excited about doing the research.
- Step 2 &#; Do Research The more you read about your subject, the clearer a picture you&#;ll have of who they are, what they accomplished and why they&#;re famous. Different writers will have varying opinions and information about your chosen person, so it&#;s best to read a wide range of sources. As you do your research, take notes of interesting facts, dates, events, names. Take note as well of particularly strong opinions, especially if they are opposing or contradictory of your subject.
- Step 3 &#; Write an Outline Make an outline of your essay. Your essay should follow the standard five paragraph format (Introduction, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion) unless otherwise instructed by your teacher. Your outline will help you organize the information you gathered during your research while you consider which ideas to include in each paragraph.
- Step 4 &#; Write Your Introduction Parag
What Is a Biography?
A biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else. While there is a genre known as a fictional biography, for the most part, biographies are, by definition, nonfiction.
Generally speaking, biographies provide an account of the subject’s life from the earliest days of childhood to the present day or, if the subject is deceased, their death.
The job of a biography is more than just to outline the bare facts of a person’s life.
Rather than just listing the basic details of their upbringing, hobbies, education, work, relationships, and death, a well-written biography should also paint a picture of the subject’s personality and experience of life.
Features of a Biography
Before students begin writing a biography, they’ll need to have a firm grasp of the main features of a Biography. An excellent way to determine how well they understand these essential elements is to ask them to compile a checklist like the one-blow
Their checklists should contain the items below at a minimum. Be sure to help them fill in any gaps before moving on to the writing process.
The purpose of a biography is to provide an account of someone’s life.
THE PROCESS OF WRITING A BIOGRAPHY
Like any form of writing, you will find it simple if you have a plan and follow it through. These steps will ensure you cover the essential bases of writing a biography essay.
Firstly, select a subject that inspires you. Someone whose life story resonates with you and whose contribution to society intrigues you. The next step is to conduct thorough research. Engage in extensive reading, explore various sources, watch documentaries, and glean all available information to provide a comprehensive account of the person’s life.
Creating an outline is essential to organize your thoughts and information. The outline should include the person’s early life, education, career, achievements, and any other sign
- Simple short bio example yourself
This Grade 5 Biography Writing Unit has EVERYTHING you need - worksheets, slides, and an engaging culminating task - to get your students excited about report writing. The unit includes a day unit plan to help you fit all the useful teaching content included altogether.
This resource is completely aligned with the NEW Grade 5 Ontario Language Curriculum. Each page is linked to a specific expectation in the Ontario curriculum, which is indicated at the bottom of each page for easy teacher reference.
Worksheets: Students will enjoy completing a scaffolded workbook that teaches important biography writing skills, like topic, purpose, and audience, structuring a biography, and gathering information. Students will complete a structured culminating task titled “Biography" that guides them through writing a biography. Students will complete worksheets that help them organize their ideas, gather information, produce drafts, and revise their biography before completing a final product.
Slides: Slides are included to help you introduce each concept to students. Slides also include interactive components where students type their answers directly on the slide.
This UNIT includes:
- 4-page Lesson Plan for the teacher (With 22 days of lessons, expectations, learning goal/success criteria, possible accommodations, and assessment strategies)
- page All About Writing Biographies Workbook
- page "Biography" Culminating Task
- 60 Slides for Google Slides™
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Title Page: All About Writing Biographies
- Biographies
- Biography Writing Purpose
- Biography Topic and Purpose
- Who is the Audience
- Biography Audience
- What is Point of View
- Point of View Practice
- Comparing Writing
- Biography Example
- Biography Example (Questions)
- Biography Example (Questions)
- Biography Example
- Biography Example (Questions)
- Biography Example (Questions)
- Why Tell Biographies?
- Biography Topics
- Biography Writing Terms
- Biography Writing Terms