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What is a Biography?

It is a written account of a person's life, capturing their experiences, achievements, and significant events. It provides an in-depth exploration of an individual's journey, offering insight into their personal and professional aspects. Biographies are typically organized in chronological order, following the sequence of events as they occurred throughout the person's life. This arrangement allows readers to understand the person's growth and development over time, as well as the impact they made in their respective fields. Biographies often include interesting facts about the person, shedding light on their unique qualities, accomplishments, or challenges they faced. These facts provide a deeper understanding of the individual's life and contribute to the overall narrative. Whether it's an extraordinary achievement, a personal struggle, or a notable contribution to society, these interesting facts add depth and intrigue to the writing.

Types of Biography

There are several different types of biographies that provide unique perspectives on individuals' lives. These types include:

• Autobiography: An autobiography is written about the author by the author. It offers a firsthand account of their own life, sharing personal experiences, reflections, and insights. Autobiographies provide an intimate look into the person's thoughts, emotions, and motivations.
• Memoir: Similar to an autobiography, a memoir focuses on specific periods or events in a person's life rather than their entire life story. Memoirs often center around a theme or specific aspect of the person's life, such as their career, relationships, or personal struggles.
• Collective: This a compilation of biographies of multiple individuals, often with a common theme or shared experience. It allows readers to gain insights into the lives of several people and compare their experiences and contributions.
• Biographical Fiction: Biographical fiction combines real-life events and characters with fictional elements. It blends factual information with storytelling techniques to write a compelling narrative based on a real person's life.
• Critical: Critical biographies delve into a person's life from a critical perspective, analyzing their achievements, impact, and cultural significance. They often provide a scholarly examination of the person's contributions and their place in history.
• Popular: Popular biographies are written for a wider audience and focus on individuals who have achieved fame or notoriety. They often emphasize the person's public persona, achievements, and impact on society.

Each type offers a distinct perspective and serves different purposes. Whether it's gaining a personal account through an autobiography or exploring the cultural significance of a person through a critical biography, biographies provide valuable insights into the lives of individuals and their contributions to society.

Enhance Biography Writing with a Biography Graphic Organizer

A graphic organizer is a valuable tool that can greatly enhance the process of writing biographies. It provides a structured format for organizing information and helps students gather and present key details about a person's life in a clear and logical manner. These graphic organizers, such as this creative graphic organizer example , serve as a roadmap for writers, guiding them through the writing process and ensuring that they include all the essential elements.

Using a graphic organizer helps students understand the format and enables them to write more effectively. It provides a visual representation of the various sections and components of a biography, such as the introduction, background information, major events, achievements, and conclusion. This organization helps maintain a coherent and chronological order while presenting the subject's life story.

Our website offers free printable biography worksheets, including biography activity worksheet, that can be easily accessed and downloaded for any project. They provide students with a ready-to-use template to record and organize information about their chosen subject. They can be used for short biographies or more extensive projects.

By using an organizer, kids read and analyze biographies, improving their comprehension skills and gaining a deeper understanding of the subject's life. A biography sheet acts as a framework that prompts students to identify important details, make connections between events, and form a comprehensive understanding of the individual's impact on the world.

Writing biographies can be a challenging task, but with the help of a graphic organizer, students can break down the process into manageable sections. They can focus on gathering relevant information, organizing their thoughts, and presenting their findings in a clear and concise manner.

Empower your class to excel in writing with our biography graphic organizer. Access our free printable biography worksheets and provide your writers with the tools they need to make engaging and informative biographies.

To learn more about the biographies, check out our Introduction to Biographies lesson plans and find activities on family life, biography accomplishments , and so much more . It provides valuable guidance on how to craft an engaging and captivating introduction that hooks readers and sets the stage for the piece.

Example of Biography Materials to Integrate into Your Teaching

When it comes to teaching about real-life stories, biographies are a powerful tool to engage and deepen understanding of different subjects. By exploring the lives of notable individuals, students can discover inspiring examples of resilience, perseverance, and achievement. Here are some examples of biographies that you can incorporate into your teaching:

• The Diary of a Young Girl , by Anne Frank: This iconic diary chronicles the life of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl hiding with her family during the Holocaust. Her poignant and introspective writing offers a firsthand account of the challenges and hopes of those affected by World War II.
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin , by Benjamin Franklin: This autobiography shares the life story of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of America. Franklin's passages provide valuable insights into his scientific discoveries, inventions, and contributions to society.
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave , by Frederick Douglass: In this powerful narrative, Frederick Douglass recounts his journey from slavery to freedom. His memoir sheds light on the harsh realities of slavery and the fight for abolition.
• The Diary of a Young Girl , by Malala Yousafzai: This autobiography details the life of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. Her story inspires readers with her courage, determination, and dedication to advocating for education rights.
• The Story of My Life , by Helen Keller: Helen Keller's autobiography is a remarkable account of her life as a deaf and blind person. She shares her triumphs and struggles, demonstrating the power of perseverance and resilience.

These classic biographies offer valuable insights into the lives of remarkable individuals and can be excellent resources for teaching history, promoting empathy, and inspiring.

Looking for more? Check out our collection of planner worksheets , blank worksheet template , and thesis statement worksheets to enrich your teaching and incorporate biographies into your classroom activities.

Create Engaging Worksheets with Our Biography Maker

Are you looking for an easy and effective way to make engaging handouts? Look no further! Our online biography maker is the perfect tool to help you craft captivating sheets for your class. Whether you need an organizer or a biography generator, our user-friendly platform has got you covered.

With our biography maker, you have the flexibility to customize your worksheet according to your preferences. You can choose from a variety of designs and layouts to make an engaging and visually appealing handout. Our tool allows you to easily add spaces for an answer, ensuring that students have ample room to provide their own responses. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to create professional-looking biographies with our online biography creator.

Don't settle for dull and typical worksheets. Let our biography maker transform your teaching materials into dynamic and interactive resources that captivate your students' interest. Start using our online creator today and experience the power of engaging resources at your fingertips!

How to Make a Biography Worksheet

Choose one of the premade templates.

We have lots of templates to choose from. Take a look at our example for inspiration!

Click on “Copy Template”

Once you do this, you will be directed to the storyboard creator.

Give Your Worksheet a Name!

Be sure to call it something related to the topic so that you can easily find it in the future.

Edit Your Worksheet

This is where you will include directions, specific images, and make any aesthetic changes that you would like. The options are endless!

Click "Save and Exit"

When you are finished, click this button in the lower right hand corner to exit your storyboard.

From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!

Happy Creating!

Frequently Asked Questions About Biography Worksheets

Can i find free printable biography worksheets.

Absolutely! We offer a wide range of free printable worksheets that you can easily access and download. They provide engaging activities and prompts to help students explore and analyze biographies. They are a valuable resource for enhancing reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. Additionally, you can also take advantage of our 2-week free trial to access even more resources and unlock the full potential of our resources.

Can I customize the biography worksheets created by the online biography creator?

Yes! Our online generator allows you to customize the worksheets to suit your instructional needs. You can add or modify questions, adjust the layout, and include additional prompts or spaces for kids to write their answers. This customization feature ensures that the worksheets align with your specific teaching objectives and provide a personalized learning experience for your class.

Is the biography activity worksheet suitable for different grade levels?

Yes, our worksheets cater to a range of grade levels. Whether you are teaching elementary, middle school, or high school students, you can find worksheets that are appropriate for their level of understanding. They are designed to be adaptable and can be modified to meet the specific needs of your class.

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How to Write a Biography Analysis

Shannon lausch, 29 sep 2017.

A biography analysis differs from an ordinary biography in one key way: instead of focusing on telling a person’s life story, your purpose is to critically examine that person’s life. The analysis can focus on a single aspect such as personality or career or can encompass a person’s entire life. According to Professor Sara Warner, the successful biography analysis has “short segments of narration” and “long sections of analysis.” The analysis itself, Warner advises, should consist of recognizing relationships among different parts of a person’s life, and showing how those parts relate to your overall thesis.

Explore this article

• Research your subject
• Pick your focus
• Craft a thesis
• Write your introduction
• Write the body of your paper
• Proofread the final paper

1 Research your subject

Research your subject. Encyclopedias can help you with an overview, but they lack the details you need for a good paper. When choosing articles and books, be sure to check the author’s credentials. You should also gather primary sources: any diary entries, letters, articles, or even books written by your subject. Newspaper articles written about that person can also provide insight on how the public viewed your figure.

2 Pick your focus

Pick your focus. Choose a certain aspect of this person’s life to focus on (unless of course you’re covering their entire life). Examples of focuses could include analyzing what influence a president’s personality had on his foreign policy or what effect an author’s childhood had on her writing style.

3 Craft a thesis

Craft a thesis. You should make a claim based on this focus. A compelling thesis informs readers why they should care about this topic.

4 Write your introduction

Write your introduction. Some effective ways to open your paper include a relevant anecdote or quote that illustrates your thesis. Just remember to include the thesis itself, which is the most important part of an introduction.

5 Write the body of your paper

Write the body of your paper. Separate each of your reasons supporting your thesis into paragraphs. Support each reason with evidence, which can include expert opinion and writings from the subject himself, and discuss how it supports your thesis.

Conclude by summarizing your main points supporting your thesis. Remind your readers of the importance of your topic. You should also point out whether your biography analysis sheds any new light on this person and what makes it different from other research.

7 Proofread the final paper

Proofread the final paper. Since a biography analysis should have many sources, you should pay special attention to whether you cited everything correctly.

About the Author

Shannon Lausch is a freelance writer and editor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science (with minors in French and journalism) from North Central College. Besides writing for Demand Studios, she enjoys contributing to Associated Content and Helium. Her favorite topics to write on include education, politics and fiction.

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A great way to teach about history and content-area topics, biographies highlight famous figures, inventors, scientists, civil rights leaders, sports legends, and heros. Many of these mini-books, plays, and passages feature question/response activities, biography worksheets, teaching guides, lesson ideas, and graphic organizers.

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Biography Worksheet Example

This Biography Worksheet Example is a great resource to help students understand the fundamentals of writing a biography. It provides invaluable guidance on organizing information, extracting key details, and avoiding common mistakes. Students can use this worksheet to explore a person's life, plan out a biography, or practice writing biographies. It encourages critical thinking and research skills, as students learn to analyze sources, explore cause and effect, and make connections. It's a fantastic tool for supporting educational growth in the classroom!

You can easily edit this template using Creately. You can export it in multiple formats like JPEG, PNG and SVG and easily add it to Word documents, Powerpoint (PPT) presentations, Excel or any other documents. You can export it as a PDF for high-quality printouts.

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Biographies

This page contains the Super Teacher Worksheets collection of biographies. These nonfiction articles include reading comprehension activities for elementary-aged students.

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Quickly access your most used files AND your custom generated worksheets!

Please login to your account or become a member and join our community today to utilize this helpful feature.

Here is the link to our complete collection of reading comprehension stories, articles, and poems for kids.

Color in black-and-white illustrations of some of history's notable people. View our coloring pages here.

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How to Teach Character Analysis Using Body Biographies

Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, biography study , mythology, current events, or for creative writing and character development.

About the Body Biography project

This project is an excellent representation of how students can conduct analysis for a notable person or biography your students are studying in class. At the upper elementary, middle school, and high school level, we usually rely on just discussing character traits. We want our students to infer tangible traits and values from accurate details found in the text.

This task really engages your students to infer those traits but also allows them to show their knowledge by applying those traits as they create a body biography which includes details from the person’s perspective. The project provides an opportunity for your student to explore together the supporting reasons for the character traits they have chosen for their character’s poster.

What’s the objective?

• The student objectives for the Macbeth Body Biography Project are as follows: Review what is supportive evidence
• Define the literary term “character trait” and explore how to provide details that support their inferences (apply this skill similar to exploring a fictional text).
• Use the novel, class notes, and web resources to research the character (subject), then cite evidence to find accurate and descriptive word choice.
• Fill out the Body Biography graphic organizer/poster.

Group work should promote:

• Intellectual understanding, abilities, and skills.
• Communication, cooperative and teamwork skills such as planning. management, leadership and peer support.
• Personal growth (increased self-esteem and self-confidence).

Remember the 4 C’s for 21st Century Learning

Communication:  They are working together to problem-solve. Students need to be able to communicate their ideas and thoughts to one another in order to complete their body biography. Collaboration:  Students form roles within the group. They learn how to work together towards a common goal, not against each other. They learn how to bounce ideas off one another, and not shut down other students thought. Critical Thinking:  Encourage students to analyze, to organize, to evaluate and to implement strategies they have previously learned in order to complete their project. Creativity:  This allows students to think outside the box to come up with possible assets to embellish their projects. The ideas won’t just jump out at them- they will need to use a little creativity to depict their notable person’s body biography.

Teaching Tips

• Moving desks together or allowing students to work at a table works best for this activity.
• Due to the length of the poster (32 inches), your students will want to have a wider and longer space to work.
• Scissors for each group.
• Have markers, crayons, pencils, and tape accessible and ready
• Displaying the body biography posters are really exciting for the students to see around the classroom – so plan on where you will display them!

Body Biography Project Categories

Direct Quotes: Three direct quotations from the story that sums up the character and add to an understanding of the character. These quotes do not necessarily need to be spoken by the character. Possibly, another character says them in regard to your character.

Virtues: What are your character’s best qualities?

Vices: What are your character’s worst qualities? This can be weaknesses and flaws.

Loves / Cares About: This should represent what this character loves most.

Thoughts about inner-self / Appears to others: Consider both how your character appears to others on the surface and what you know about the character’s inner-self (what the character really thinks about their own self).

Tries to Control: What is an example of how your character tries to seek control.

Symbols: What objects can you associate/relate with your character? Colors can also have a symbolic meaning.

Goals: What does this character want? What actions do they take? These actions often create conflict. How do this character’s goals create the conflict?

Best Accomplishment: What is this character’s best achievement? What is their proudest moment?

Challenge: What is standing in your character’s way? What is holding them back from achieving their goal? Is this someone? Or a character flaw? An event?

Physical Appearance/ Description: What You Notice First. These are defining traits or features of the character. These are aspects that are visually apparent, knowing nothing else about the person. The first thing you see when you look at someone could be their hair, clothes, nose, or figure.

Stayed the Same / Changed: Is this character static or dynamic? Are there any changes that this character has “undergone?” Changes are notable in the text are usually within the character. Could be outlook, insight or understanding. Commonly, changes in commitment, in values, allegiance, stature. Not all the characters are dynamic. Find evidence of both.

Ho w To Grade

Using the rubric, it is simple to grade this group project. Each item on the grading rubric is given a specific amount of points. You can alter the points if you choose.

Learning Outcomes for a body biography project

Reading: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Writing: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Speaking & Listening: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Language: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for the meaning of style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Here is an example of the common core standards that can be covered using a body biography project:

Reading: Literature 11-12.1-6 Reading: Informational Text 11-12.1-3 Writing 11-12.1a-8 Speaking & Listening 11-12.1a-1d Language 11-12.2b-5b

I am adding more body biographies to my collection. So, if you don’t see one you can use in your classroom, comment here on my post to let me know what your needs are! I am also working on a “blank” version for any novel. As soon as that one is ready I will update this post to include it.

I hope your students find this project to be as engaging and educational as my students have. It truly is a fun project to watch and the end results are awesome. Good luck!

46 Comments

Omg this looks so amazing!!! I would love one for Night, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the Crucible. Please let me know if any of these are in the near future?!?

Romeo and Juliet is done. Coming any day. I will have The Crucible for sure! Very soon. I need to gather my inspiration for the artwork. Thank you so much for commenting!

That sounds awesome! Thank you for the suggestion!

I am excited for Romeo and Juliet! Where can we find it?

I really love these. When do you think you will come out with a blank one? I teach a reading course at the high school level and we read various novels throughout the year. This would be a great project to help improve critical thinking.

I do have one that is a “blank” – you can find it in my collection. THANK YOU!

Eager for R &J…..

I would love to see some for The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, or Freak the Mighty. These really are awesome!

I would also love one for The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time!

This is awesome. How about Equality 7-2521 from Anthem by Ayn Rand?

Wow! These are incredible. I love doing creative, visual projects, but there are never enough hours in the day. Thank you for sharing such an amazing activity. I teach 7th and 8th, and think this would make a wonderful personal intro to present to the class at the beginning of the year. Once students have done this as a group, individuals could use this as an independent reading response. Novels I teach: Freak the Mighty, The Giver, Roll of Thunder, My Dog Skip, Because of Winn Dixie, A Christmas Carol (play), The Diary of Anne Frank (play).

you are amazing! I’d love to speak with you more – and perhaps do a guest blog post for us! Thank you for sharing your reading list!

These are amazing! Have you created a blank one yet? Can you please let me know when you have a blank one available?

yes 🙂 You will see it listed – and I added it to this post. Thank you!

Have you considered doing one for Odysseus?

absolutely! II just need to get the artwork lined up.

Do you have the blank ones created? I’d love to try this with our book “Firegirl” and “Walk Two Moons” for our 6th graders!

I added blank ones to my collection! THANK YOU!

Julius Caesar please!

Wow! You are very talented! These are amazing. I would love to see Greek mythology: gods, goddesses, hero’s, etc. Malala Yousafzai and Amal from Amal Unbound!!

I’d love one for Fahrenheit 451!

Love this idea!! Would love to see one for the characters in Cynthia Lord’s RULES novel and MANIAC MAGEE as character analysis is a huge part of our those two novel studies.

I would love to see Freak the Mighty!

My 7th grade Special Education ELA class is working on Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. One of the characters, Aven, is armless. It would be so incredibly cool to do this project with my kiddos!

How about Wonder? I would love to see one for it. These are incredible!

These are amazing! Would love one for “Of Mice and Men” or a blank one 🙂 Thanks!

I love these! I cannot wait to use the Outsiders version! I would love to see one for The Giver and The Watsons Go To Birmingham, those are the two other novel we read during our school year! 🙂

I see in the previous comments you have added a blank set. Where would I find these? I am a forensic science teacher. I would love to use this during our serial killer section! Or the history of forensic science to learn about the main historical people in the field. Your stuff is amazing!

These are amazing! I would love to see one of these for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone or The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

How about The Old Man and the Sea!

Would you make custom ones for people if they are studying a particular novel? I’m a primary school teacher who teaches the older grades, these are my novels can you make any up for me? 1. Wonder 2. The Greatest Showman 3. Goldfish Boy 4. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory 5. Harry Potter & the Philosophers (Sorcerors) Stone 6. Wizard of Oz 7. Alice in Wonderland I have many resources for these novels but nothing like what you have created. Please let me know it would be a god send.

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This is absolutely awesome! I can’t wait to use the ones for To Kill A Mockingbird! I would love to see some for The Hate U Give!

I have To Kill A Mockingbird. I don’t have The Hate U Give yet. It’s on my list. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm!

Hi, ‘just purchased “Outsiders”, can you create one for “Wonder”?

hi! I do have it in my collection : ) Thank you for your enthusiasm!

These are incredible! I would love to see A Wrinkle in Time, The Giver, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Egypt Game! I’m looking forward to using the blank version until then!

I would love to see some for The Handmaid’s Tale.

I teach middle school gifted students and think this would be great as a culminating project for various topics I teach— currently teaching the Yellow Wallpaper and connecting it to feminism and mental illness….

I love using these! I already have so many but am missing Of Mice and Men… any chance that is in the works *crosses fingers*?

I just purchased the set for Beowulf, and it is great. Would you consider creating a set for Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds or at least one for Will. These would be perfect as a character study set for that novel.

Do you perhaps have the layout for Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief or Hatchet?

The Canterbury Tales would be AMAZING!

I found your work while searching for Hamlet character analysis ideas. You mention a blank template, but I do not see it. Would love to see Hamlet and the Odyssey.

I bought the one for any novel and for A Christmas Carol. I would love if you would consider doing one for The Joy Luck Club!!

These are fantastic! I would love to have a set for Fences by August Wilson.

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I’m so glad you are here! My name is Danielle. I am passionate about helping teachers and homeschool parents promote critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication with their students. 

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Biography Worksheets

Related ela standard: w.6.10.

Biographies are detailed written accounts of people's lives. It often will follow in chronological order with the primary goal of showing how the person's upbringing and choices lead to their own personal outcome. Biographies can also be written by the person that is the subject of the writing this is called an autobiography. You don't need to be revolutionary to have a biography written about you, you just need to have a good story. These worksheets will help students explore many different things that a biography touches on.

Biography Worksheets:

Due the Research – A nice fact sheet to help you prepare to write.

Write a Bio Poem – A short poem that describes a person or thing is called a biography (bio) poem. The form of bio poems can vary, but below is a typical example.

Writing a Biography – Select a person that has accomplished something notable that interests you and whom you would like to learn more about. Do research and reflect to answer the following questions about your subject. Then write a short review of the life of a person.

Bio Part 2 – This sheet is continued from the previous worksheet.

Elements Checklist – A biography has the following components, and is typically written in chronological order. What you will be writing should contain all of the following kinds of information and meet all the criteria outlined below.

Character Traits – Thinking about the biography you just read, choose two character traits that best describe the person you have been reading about.

The Bio Poem – In the space below, try writing a bio poem about a historical figure you have studied recently. Follow the format.

Writing a Eulogy – A Eulogy is a speech that is typically given at a funeral or a memorial service that commemorates the life of a person who has died.

Eulogy Paragraph 3 and 4 – Finish off that eulogy you started previously.

Bookmarks – Students should use bookmark to take notes of key information as they read the biography.

Biography Organizer – A graphic organizer specific for this type of work.

Chart What You Learned – Summarize what you learned from the biography you just read to complete the chart below.

Cereal Box Project – Imagine that you have been hired to create a cereal box design commemorating a famous historical figure. Your job has the following milestones. Check off each milestone as you complete it.

Famous People – Think of a famous person that interests you. Answer the questions below about the person. Then begin to compose a story based on that life.

Famous Continued – How did the person feel about the world and their life as a child? As an adult? In their later years?

Even More Famous – What was the first or the defining event or achievement that made this person famous?

Your Thoughts – How do you feel about the person? Why?

Bio Brainstorm – Complete the organizer below in preparation for writing a short biography.

Timelines – In preparation for writing a biography, complete the timeline of important events in the life of your subject.

Summing Up a Life – The titles of biographies are very carefully selected to convey a sense of the subject’s life. Sometimes the title is taken from something the subject said.

What Are Biographies?

A biography is an important component of English literature. It is simply the life of a person that is written by another person or writer. There is a special name for the author of a biography. He or she is called a biographer. On the other hand, the person whose life is being narrated in the work is known as the biographee or subject. A biography is usually written in a narrative form. It proceeds in chronological order. All the events and aspects of the person's life are represented to the reader. Cynthia Ozick is an amazing author of America. She believes that a good biography is like a novel for the readers. It should represent the stages of a person's life in a triumphal or tragic way. It should be with the birth of the subject and then move towards his or her mid-life. If the subject is no more, then the story should end at the death of the protagonist.

Writing A Biography

Many writers try their hand at writing one. If you want to write a piece such as this, it is essential that you conduct proper research on the subject's life. You can find the newspaper clippings, academic publications, and other such resources to get accurate facts. Misrepresenting the subject is one of the major issues that writers make when composing such works. It is important to stay completely unbiased while writing, other wise the work suffers. The key is to be objective in presenting the details of a person's life. This is the reason why many people prefer reading biographies rather than autobiographies. Autobiography is written by the subject himself. Therefore, there are huge chances of bias and misrepresentation in autobiographies. It is also easier to write a biography than an autobiography. Because you can view things much more objectively since you are not at the center of it.

Knowing what to cover is always the toughest thing. People (your audience) are expecting much more of narrative than they could read then by just Googling the person’s name. The best way to discover this is to do background interviews, not only with the subject but also the people that knew him best. It is often helpful to look for people that adored the subject and those that may have not taken a liking to them. This way you can project a much more balanced story. Most of these works start off with basic facts such as where they were born and where they grew up. I find that understanding the family dynamic that they had when growing up is often key to understanding how someone turned out. Some subjects will be very forthcoming with that and others will shy away. If you have the opportunity to interview their parents or old family friends, that can often be key to telling a good story and finding reasons for motivation throughout their life.

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A Duke TIP Blog

Body Biographies: Deepen Character Analysis in English and History Class

September 25, 2018 By Mandy Perret 5 Comments

What is a Body Biography?

How can we get gifted and talented students to deepen their understanding of literary and historical characters? How can we bring together isolated facts and help students visualize and analyze the impact of a person on a story or a time period? A Body Biography is a way students can use images and writing to express that analytical and conceptual understanding of characters. Gifted youth are ready for the rigor of digging deep into concepts, metaphors, and high-level interpretations. This differentiated lesson activity provides a way for gifted students to get to the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

This assessment can be used in multiple classes such as social studies, history, government/civics, English Language Arts, science, and religious studies, to name a few. This task allows groups of students to select key samples of text and use symbolic visuals to show their understanding of the person’s words, feelings, beliefs, and impact.  The goal of a body biography is not only to illustrate the literal looks of a person, but to also make a thorough visual representation, using symbols, colors, quotations, and a body outline. As students choose the best words and images to explain the person, they must analyze how to represent the historical or thematic impact of this individual with a symbolic representation of the body.

How do you get gifted students to analyze historical figures or literary characters in depth?

Share with us below!

How do students make a Body Biography?

To create the image outline, students can

• use butcher paper and outline a fellow student
• use a premade outline provided by you, the teacher
• or use digital tools to develop the image.

Each part of the body represents something.

• The spine represents the person’s values and beliefs
• The heart represents what they love or what means a lot to them
• The hands represent what they literally hold or what they hold dear
• Their feet represent where they came from and where they are going
• Their brain represents what they are thinking
• The mouth will speak quotes that represent the person’s typical speech as well as any other spoken aspects that students find important
• A mirror can be included to represent how the person sees themselves or how others see them (a mask can also be used)
• Ears show what others say about them
• Eyes show what they see or want to see
• Text–quotes from historical documents or literary documents–can be integrated in multiple places on the image, and not just presented near the mouth in speech bubbles. They can be integrated throughout the body outline and parts.
• a stomach to represent worries they have or worries others have about their choices
• the front to back to represent what is behind them and what lies in front of them
• literal or figurative objects from the person’s life
• clothing items that are typical of or symbolically representative of the person’s qualities
• any other body parts that help show a detailed understanding of the person and the role they play in history or in the text.
• Students should think about colors and what they represent

What is the person’s role?

This activity has two phases: a Planning Research Sheet , and Image Development, designed to help students understand why this person matters to history or the story. Through research and note-taking, followed by group conversations, gifted youth can get to the “big ideas” of a person’s impact by being selective about the details they share within the image. Gifted youth can develop a thesis, or Essential Understanding, about this individual.

Therefore students do not have to address every item listed above. What is key is ensuring that the details that students do choose are meaningful, cohesive, and connected to a larger understanding of the person’s role in history or in the story. View the first category of the rubric , Quotes: Role in Story or History, to think about the Essential Question students are answering: What is the person’s role in history or the story?

As they answer that driving question, students can gather facts about the person from various textual sources, whether primary or secondary historical sources, or from a literary text or secondary sources/literary criticism about that text. Students should share the research task within a group and each come to the task with a few pieces of evidence to discuss, and then have a discussion using each element of the body outline to see which evidence best fits each element.The combination of analysis of the person from multiple viewpoints as well as evaluating the sources to create words and visuals takes isolated facts and allows students to visualize and analyze the person throughout the story or time period.

How do you set up the assignment?

This project can be used for all students in a regular classroom or a gifted self-contained classroom. Group work or independent work is possible with this assignment. Students who need deeper challenge can research certain themes, impacts, or patterns/trends with their character and use additional body parts or visual and textual elements to render a deeper understanding.

You might assign students their person at the beginning of the unit so they can begin gathering ideas and information. This project works best in groups to develop deeper understanding and to compare/contrast what information each group member provides, in order to choose which words/images the group will use in the final product.

Materials for the Lesson

Here are some materials for assignment set-up.

• Planning Research Sheet . This document gets students researching and brainstorming. Students can complete this individually or in a group.
• Note that there is space for you to set requirements for number of quotes, body parts, and symbols to be included.
• Image Outline . If you don’t have time for students to create their own outline, use this one.
• My teacher resource book, Challenging Common Core Language Arts Lessons Grade 8 , Lesson 2.4 also offers additional resources you can use.

How can it be used as an assessment?

An assessment such as this one can close a unit of literary or historical study unit to evaluate student learning utilizing benchmarks and standards, depending on your location. This assignment can be connected to standards related to citing evidence from primary and secondary sources and evaluate their roles in events. This assessment also highlights the C-3 curriculum concepts of gathering and evaluating sources and communicating and critiquing conclusions. It allows students to use words and images to show their complete evaluative and analytical analysis of their person or character. Rigor is increased with the use of individual resources, extended primary/secondary sources, and the creation of additional body parts or interpretation. It allows students to use creative learning while challenging their higher-order thinking skills. You may wish to use this as a formative assessment as well.

Let’s take a gallery walk

The use of a gallery walk is a great way for students share this information and for the class to ask what the Essential Understanding is about the person and their role in history or the story. Body Biographies can be placed around the room with a number.  Students in their groups will spend a few minutes viewing the other body biographies and making notes and creating questions to ask the other groups about their body biographies. (I use note cards for each viewing).

After students have viewed all Body Biographies in a rotation, each group will have a chance to present to the class key details from the image as well as the Essential Understanding. The goal of other students listening can be to help presenters better articulate Essential Understandings, by asking questions. The rubric can be used as a guide for conversation if this task is formative, and it can also be used as the rubric for determining a final evaluation if you choose the task to be summative.

By the close of this assignment, students should see a whole cast of characters or historical individuals who made significant impacts within a narrative, whether fictional or historical. 

How do you get gifted students to analyze historical figures or literary characters in depth?  Share with us below!

About Mandy Perret

Mandy Perret has taught middle and high school students for 16 years and is a mother of three children. She is the author of Challenging Common Core Language Arts Lessons: Activities and Extensions for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grade 8. The last 10 years she has served in special education/gifted education. Her role as gifted teacher is to take learning outside the textbook and expand and enrich high school curriculum. She loves teaching the ways history connects with other subjects such as the arts and literature. She follows the philosophy that in order to help one’s students grow, the teacher must continue to learn. She holds three degrees from LSU, including an Education Specialist degree. She enjoys working with gifted students to prepare for their futures. Her motto is the words of Albert Einstein, “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy of creative expression and knowledge.”

September 26, 2018 at 12:58 am

Absolutely love this and not just for gifted students. I’m going to do it across my KS3 and try with bottom set year 10s for use with understanding the characters from An Inspector Calls. Thank you for the inspiration! Will share with colleagues and promote your book

September 26, 2018 at 9:04 am

Elaine- Thank you so much for your kind words. Having to teach multiple grade levels each year, I love lesson ideas that can be adapted for all grades and interests. I am so excited you have a plan to use the body biographies with your class text.

December 1, 2019 at 5:29 am

Just stumbled across this. I love the idea and think it would be great for both GT and regular ed kids. Looking forward to adding it into an upcoming unit. Thanks!

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Course Plans

Biographies.

Type of English

Lesson time

I want to learn

RESOURCES FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

Provide a comprehensive course with our ESL worksheets. Each of our evolving course plans and worksheet series can be followed systematically or you can select lessons to use as supplementary material.

General English

Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

Level: Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

This collection of lessons offers A2/B1 students an opportunity to practise listening and speaking skills, add to their vocabulary, briefly explore language points and increase their general knowledge. The lessons cover a range of historical figures including famous (and infamous) scientists, explorers and political leaders.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and summarising. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the key word control .

by Stephanie Hirschman

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Julius Caesar, the famous Roman leader. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and regular and irregular past simple forms. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the prefix re- .

In this audio-based worksheet, students will learn about the life of fossil collector Mary Anning and how she contributed to our understanding of prehistory. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and students are introduced to the difference in meaning between a little/a few and little/few . There is also an optional extension pronunciation activity featuring a famous tongue twister.

This audio-aided lesson covers the work of South African freedom fighter and president Nelson Mandela. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and includes a quick look at how infinitives are used to explain purpose. There is also an optional extension activity about adjectives with the - ful suffix.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Marilyn Monroe, a movie star with an iconic image. The lesson focuses on vocabulary including noun + noun combinations , listening comprehension and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on jobs in the film industry.

This video-aided lesson covers the works of the legendary engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking.

By Stephanie Hirschman

In this audio-based lesson, students will learn about the life and many achievements of Leonardo da Vinci. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, word families and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on art equipment and materials.

This audio-aided lesson covers the works of the pioneering Victorian nurse, Florence Nightingale. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension word search activity to consolidate vocabulary.

Students listen to a brief biography of scientist Marie Curie. Activities focus on listening comprehension, vocabulary and speaking.

Students listen to a brief biography of scientist, engineer and inventor, Alexander Graham Bell. Activities focus on listening comprehension, vocabulary and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson covers the work of the scientific pioneer Rosalind Franklin, who played a key role in the discovery of the structure of DNA. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and there is a quick look at how past perfect is used in biographical narratives. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on which verbs some of the vocabulary items can be used with. This lesson is suitable for strong A2 and B1 levels.

In this video and dialogue-aided lesson, students listen to a mini profile about the American civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

Students listen to a mini profile about the American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Harriet Tubman who made a major contribution to the ending of slavery in the United States in the 19th century.  The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, word reordering and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the key word fight . 

This audio-aided lesson covers the life and work of African-American scientist George Washington Carver.  The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. The lesson also includes a vocabulary puzzle which can be used for review as an optional extension or homework activity.

This audio-aided worksheet tells the life story of Pocahontas and how she lived between two worlds in 17th century Virginia. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and the use of would + verb to describe past habits. There is also an optional extension activity which gives extra speaking practice about past habits.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Sacagawea, and how she guided the Lewis and Clark expedition as they explored North America. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and pronunciation and compares the use of articles a/an and the . There is also an optional extension activity relating to a surprising aim of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

This video-aided lesson covers the life and legacy of explorer Christopher Columbus. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension or homework activity at the end, which uses a wordsearch to review vocabulary from the lesson.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Queen Victoria, the famous 19th century British ruler. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and introduces six useful phrasal verbs. There is also an optional extension activity about important inventions from Victoria’s reign.  

This dialogue and video-aided lesson looks at the life and works of William Shakespeare. The worksheet focuses on listening comprehension, discussion and vocabulary development.

This lesson is about the life and achievements of Louis Pasteur. Students practice listening, comprehension, and speaking skills.

Students listen to (or watch) a mini profile about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

Students listen to a mini profile about the American astronaut and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and noun/verb word families. There is also an optional extension activity about space vocabulary.

This audio-aided lesson covers the life of the physicist Stephen Hawking whose work on the beginning and ending of the universe was completed while living with a degenerative neuromuscular disease. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and there is a quick look at the pronunciation of tricky - th- sounds.  There is also an optional extension reading and vocabulary exercise about the Royal Society. 

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

This collection of lessons offers B1/B2 students an opportunity to practise listening and speaking skills, add to their vocabulary, briefly explore language points and increase their general knowledge. The lessons cover a range of famous (and infamous) figures including scientists, political leaders and artists and writers.

Intermediate (B1-B2)

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the legendary physicist Albert Einstein. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and includes a short look at linking words that show contrast. The optional extension task is a mini marketing activity about how the name Einstein can be used to sell products.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking, and includes a short look at " so ... that " cause-and-effect structures. There is also an optional extension activity about the genre steampunk.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the famous 19th-century writer Charles Dickens, who had a huge influence on how we think about Christmas. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, a short review of the passive and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity about vocabulary related to Scrooges, misers, penny-pinchers, etc.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the British statesman Winston Churchill. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and includes a short look at the infinitive of purpose. The optional extension task focuses on two of Churchill’s homes, now tourist destinations.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the pioneering African American mathematician and space scientist Katherine Johnson (1918-2020). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking, and includes a short look at past perfect forms. There is also an optional extension activity about a range of toys that honours women’s achievements.

Tips for Teaching Characterization Using Body Biographies

Tired of the same old approach to character analysis? Try body biographies instead! Students must dig deep into characterization and work together to create a visual representation of a specific character. This post covers everything you need to know before assigning this engaging project.

If you’re looking for a hands-on way to get your students engaged in character analysis, the body biography project is it. As much as I love teaching characterization , I wanted something more than just asking students to list character traits or the traditional essay . I wanted to find a something my students would always remember.

Enter: Body biographies.

With body biographies, you will inspire your students to think critically about characters and encourage them to synthesize their findings in a unique, creative way.

Keep reading to learn all about my favorite teaching tool for character analysis. By the end, you’ll know what a body biography is and how to incorporate this engaging hands-on activity into your classroom.

The Importance of Teaching Characterization

You can’t teach literary analysis without teaching characterization. Not only do characters play a pivotal role in moving a plot forward, but they also provide a lens into the broader ideas presented in the text, encouraging readers to engage with diverse perspectives and experiences. As a result, readers can explore and understand the themes , conflicts, and deeper messages of a narrative more thoroughly. Understanding characterization on a deeper level allows readers to engage with the entire text on a deeper level, encouraging thinking critically, making inferences , and fostering empathy.

Body biographies engage students in a fun, collaborative, and hands-on exploration of characterization, opening the door for them to learn more about themselves, others, and the world around them. (#Goals)

What is a Body Biography?

A body biography is a hands-on project that requires students to analyze and represent characters in a visual format. Rather than having students write yet another analysis essay, body biographies invite students on a creative, yet in-depth exploration of character. (That said, it can also be a wonderful activity to help students brainstorm before writing a more traditional character analysis essay.)

This collaborative project involves coloring a large outline or silhouette of a character’s body and filling it with visual and symbolic representations, textual evidence, and annotations that help unpack different aspects of the character’s identity. Students must dig into a text to determine a character’s personality traits, speech, thoughts, actions, and interactions. They will find supporting textual evidence to back their analysis, enriching their overall comprehension of the literature. Therefore, the project goes beyond your typical character analysis activity by encouraging students to engage with characters on a more complex level by integrating textual analysis with creative artistic expression.

As an added bonus, body biographies are designed as a group project, engaging students in important 21st-century skills like collaboration and communication.

How do Body Biographies Help Students Analyze Characterization?

Body biographies offer students a holistic approach to character analysis by encouraging them to explore various dimensions of a character’s identity, including physical appearance, personality traits, challenges, goals, relationships, and significant events in their lives.

So, yes, body biographies are a fun way to illustrate a character’s literal looks, but they’re so much more than that. The visual element of the body biography encourages students to explore visually symbolic representations of characters as well. Students must look at the text closely, digging into any narrative descriptions, thoughts, actions, and interactions of their chosen character. As a result, students gain a deeper understanding of how different aspects of characterization interact and shape the character’s development and role within the narrative.

Examples from literature

Looking for some examples to help you understand how body biographies can help students explore characterization? I’ve got you. Here are a few body biography analysis ideas from some of my favorite novels to teach:

• The Giver by Lois Lowry: Students can create body biographies for the protagonist, Jonas, to explore his journey from conformity to individuality. Consider how they may depict his physical appearance, personality traits, emotions, and significant memories or experiences as he learns more about the past, present, and future of the world around him (and his place in it).
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Students can create body biographies for Jay Gatsby, exploring his mysterious past, ambitious aspirations, and illusions of the American Dream. There are so many fun, creative ways they could represent his extravagant lifestyle and hopeless romanticism, as well as the symbolic nature of the green light across the bay.
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: Students can create body biographies for Ebenezer Scrooge, highlighting his transformation from a miserly and cold-hearted businessman to a compassionate and generous individual. There is plenty to pull from his interactions with various characters, including Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and the three Ghosts.

A Step-by-Step Approach to Body Biographies

Here are the basic steps for setting your students up for success with the body biography character analysis project:

• Group Students for Collaboration: Divide students into small groups of 2-4 students, allowing them to collaborate and share responsibility. 
• Be Clear with Expectations: As with any creative project, it’s important to provide clear instructions and expectations for your students. Review the directions, objectives, and assessment criteria (including any rubrics) for this project.
• Show Examples: Show your students examples of completed body biographies to help students grasp what the final project will look like. This will also allow students to visualize and understand the project expectations. You can find plenty of examples online if you’re just getting started!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samantha Ribera (@chompingatthelit)

The Outsiders Body Biography Project

• Assign Characters: Depending on the novel, you can decide if you want every group to analyze different characters or the same character. If the latter, be sure to take time at the end for the groups to discuss the similarities and differences between their analysis.
• Start with Brainstorming: The character analysis project is certainly fun—but may be overwhelming if students try to jump right in. Instead, scaffold the activity by giving students time to gather their thoughts and find strong supporting textual evidence.
• Schedule Enough In-Class Time: Plan enough in-class time for students to work on this collaborative project. I recommend at least three days, from start to finish. You may decide to add another day for a gallery walk or an engaging discussion.

More tips for making the most of a body biography project:

Here are additional tips for a fun, engaging, and successful body biography character analysis:

• Select Appropriate Texts: Technically body biographies can work for almost any novel or short story . However, students will be most successful if the text features complex characters with a lot of details to analyze.
• Scaffold the Activity: Break down the creation of body biographies into manageable steps, providing templates, graphic organizers, and guiding questions to support students’ understanding.
• Encourage Creativity: Foster creativity and individual expression by allowing students to choose how they represent different aspects of the character visually, whether through symbolic or literal drawings, collages, or mixed media.
• Incorporate Textual Evidence : Make the most of this activity by requiring students to select key quotes or passages that reveal aspects of the character’s identity and back up their creative interpretations. Students can annotate the body biography with these excerpts or supplement their visual with a page of written explanations.
• Facilitate Discussion: Body biographies are a perfect springboard for class discussions about characters. Before, during, or after the activity, facilitate classroom discussions where students can share their character interpretations and insights.
• Connect to Writing: Looking for an extension activity? Integrate body biographies with writing activities such as character analysis essays or creative writing assignments that require students to further reflect on their understanding of the character.
• Display the Final Products: Whether you opt to do a gallery walk, have students present their projects, or simply hang the posters around the room, give students a chance to showcase their hard work.

What to Include in a Body Biography:

Before your students can create a body biography visual, they have to do some investigating and character analysis first. That means diving into the text and looking for specific examples, descriptions, and instances of direct and indirect characterization.

Here are some of the traditional elements to consider as students plan for their body biography:

• Physical Appearance: Find descriptions of the character’s appearance, including features such as age, hair color, eye color, height, and clothing style.
• Personality Traits: Determine adjectives or descriptive phrases that capture the character’s personality traits. These may be mentioned directly or inferred.
• Actions: Analyze how what the character does reveals their personality, emotions, and motivations. 
• Inner Thoughts and Emotions: Find quotes or textual evidence that reveal the character’s inner thoughts, feelings, fears, and desires.
• Motivations and Goals: Explore what drives the character’s actions and decisions, including their long-term goals or aspirations.
• Relationships: Look for details in their relationships and interactions with other characters in the story.
• Challenges and Conflicts: Identifying moments of internal conflict, struggles against external forces, or moral dilemmas, and how they respond to them, can say a lot about a character.
• Significant Events: Add annotations or symbols representing key events or experiences in the character’s life that shape their development or influence their actions.

In the body biography projects I like to use, I incorporate supplementary elements that I require my students to analyze, as they are integral components for practicing characterization. These alternative/additional elements include:

• Speech: Find a direct quote that showcases a personality trait from a certain character. What a character says and the manner in which they speak can tell readers a lot about that character. For example, it can reveal how educated they are, how they treat others, or what they consider to be important.
• Dynamic or Static: Dynamic characters are those who undergo significant changes, growth, or development over the course of a story. Static characters remain relatively unchanged throughout the story. Recognizing dynamic or static characters allows students to appreciate the complexity of narrative arcs and the transformative journeys characters undergo.
• Effect on Others: It’s important to consider what other characters say or think about a character. By analyzing how characters influence and interact with one another, students gain insights into the complexities of relationships, power dynamics, and societal structures depicted in literature. Understanding these effects fosters empathy and critical thinking skills as students consider the ripple effects of characters’ decisions on the plot and other characters.
• Flat or Round: Flat characters are one-dimensional and lack complexity. Round characters demonstrate a range of traits, emotions, and experiences that make them more realistic and relatable. Students will decipher between flat and round characters and explore why authors incorporate both minor and major characters into a story. This will help them understand how each character individually adds depth to the plot.
• Passions: By examining characters’ passions, students will gather valuable insight into their motivations, desires, and values. Review what is important to each character and what drives them to make certain choices.

My complete body biography character analysis project includes a brainstorming worksheet to help students analyze various aspects of the character. The worksheet guides students through an in-depth character analysis backed by textual evidence.

How Do I Grade a Body Biography?

Grading any sort of creative assignment can be tricky–especially if it involves group work. It’s important that you don’t grade the body biography as if it were an essay. Instead, consider the needs and requirements of this particular project, including appearance, participation, cooperation, and attention to detail. Of course, you also want to assess students on their analysis of the character, including providing supportive evidence from the novel.

I’ve always preferred using an easy-to-follow rubric for my students’ body biographies. To make life easier for you, I’ve included the exact rubric I’ve used in my character analysis body biography project .

Enjoy This Creative Twist on Character Analysis

Not only will you enjoy shaking up your approach to character analysis with the body biography project, but I guarantee your students will, too. This hands-on project engages students in a dynamic (and, dare I say fun!?) approach to character analysis while promoting creativity and collaboration. As students combine classic textual analysis with creative visual representation, they must rely on critical thinking, interpretation, and innovation. In the end, they will develop a deeper understanding of the novel, its characters, and the overall complexities of human nature.

Ready to transform the way you approach characterization in your classroom? Access my character analysis poster template perfect for any novel or short story!

Psst… I encourage you to pass this project along! The activity requirements and expectations can be adjusted to make this project suitable for students of various ages and disciplines—so feel free to share this engaging hands-on activity with all your teacher friends!

Next up? Consider giving the collaborative author biography poster project a try!

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Body Biography, Characterization, Any Novel, Short Story, Film, Analysis

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Description

The Body Biography, Characterization, Bundle for any novel, short story, play, or film is filled with all you need to teach and promote the amazing characters your students experience in their reading. Your students will experience the unique approach of using a collaborative poster, a character study, textual evidence, research, and the body biography project!

This blank template bundle includes 3 characters sketches for an adult female, adult male, and a child. Give your students a relevant and modern experience while promoting the 4 C's, character traits and characterization. Leave the body biographies up all year long! I adapted the body biography concept to align with citing textual evidence, character traits, research, and inference skills.

**Shown on the cover, is an example of a completed body biography for the character Abigail Williams, from The Crucible.

Includes 3 c hoices:

★ Featuring fun but mature images / body outlines- appealing to all grades. In line art for your students to add, a choice for their character drawing, color and design.

★ Poster is 32 inches high by 10 inches wide. It requires 4 pages each.

★ Bonus - characterization pre-planning sheets for each character sketch!

★ Student handout that explains each part of the body biography project (there are 12 parts).

★ Teacher set up directions, learning objective / learning outcomes, background, tips, and CCSS

★ Group Work Rubric and Group Work Reflection Questions

★ Content Response Rubric NEW!

★ Body Biography Content Checklist NEW!

What’s the Student Objective?

•Review what is supportive evidence.

•Define the literary term “character trait” and explore how to provide details that support their inferences (apply this skill similar to exploring a fictional text).

•Use the novel, class notes, and web resources to research the character (subject), then cite evidence to find accurate and descriptive word choice.

•Fill out Body Biography graphic organizer/poster.

Group work should promote:

•Intellectual understanding, abilities and skills.

•Communication, cooperative and teamwork skills such as planning. management, leadership and peer support.

•Personal growth (increased self-esteem and self-confidence).

For the Distance Learning Option:

IN CASE YOU HAVE QUESTIONS…HERE ARE SOME ANSWERS

THAT WILL HELP YOU

_______________________

Q: Should I assign the digital body biography for independent reading or for an online collaborative project?

Social media has taken off as an integral part of our society because of how it creates a way to make connections. Our focus is usually to see other people’s reactions to what was shared. When students communicate online while working on a project, they can learn from each other.

The answer to this question is, yes, to both. It is up to you. The project versatile enough to be shared for an independent or collaborative assignment.

Q: Why is Google Slides so effective for distance learning?

Google Slides for a digital body biography can make distance learning (remote learning) possible. You’ll agree, when you see how easy and quick, it is to share with your students, too.

•By responding, creating, and publishing.

•A shared learning space where students can come together.

Q: Do I assign one character to each student? Or all the characters?

This is 100% up to you. I would assign each character if it is a long-range assignment. If it’s a shorter deadline, then I would assign one per group, or one per person .

Q: How do my students respond to the fill-ins?

There are text boxes in place. Your students click on the text boxes to publish their responses. If they need to, just expand the text box to add more space, or make the font smaller. Have fun with text color!

Q: What is the best way to print the slides?

Great question. The slides are not meant to be printed. They are 16:9 format for screen viewing only. If you need the printed version, you can pick up that version , which… comes with the digital version! Woo hoo!

Q: Is there a rubric?

Yes. You will find the rubric in the PDF file.

Q: Is there a students’ directions slide?

Yes. You will find it on slide #1. It breaks down what the textual evidence is for each part of the digital body biography.

**Check out the Preview**

★Classroom Décor

★Bulletin Board

★Showcase Display

Directions are clear and explicit.

Danielle Knight Copyright 2019

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Danielle knight.

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