biography anchor chart 6th grade

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Teaching Biographies To Elementary Students (Grades 1-5) in 2024

Teaching biographies can feel intimidating at first, but once you have a solid understanding of the genre, a roadmap of how to teach it, and teaching resources and activities, it’s easy! This post will equip you with all of that and more! You’ll feel prepared (and maybe even excited) about teaching biographies (especially if you are using this biography project and these biography activities )!

The Benefits Of Students Reading Biographies

There are so many benefits of teaching biographies and autobiographies! Readers are transported into that person’s life. They learn all about the person’s achievements, struggles, culture, life lessons, and personality. Biographies can also teach us about the world through the eyes of the subject while allowing the reader to make connections to them. Most students can find biographies they enjoy when they find people to read about that connect with their likes and dislikes to top it off. 

How To Introduce The Biography Genre To Students

The easiest way to introduce and teach biographies is by gathering as many biographies and autobiographies as possible from your classroom library, school, and public library. Make sure that all the books you collect are around your student’s reading levels. This idea works for any theme.

Then, set out the books you collected on each of your students’ tables and have them explore. Ask them to write down what they notice. What do all the books have in common? Have students write down their findings on chart paper. 

Next, have each table share with the class what they noticed. They should come up with some ideas like: 

• They are all about people.
• The person accomplished something big.
• They all include essential dates or a timeline of the person’s life.
• They included real pictures or illustrations of the person.
• The books all tell factual information, and there are no made-up stories.

Lastly, tell students that books with these characteristics are called biographies or autobiographies. Be sure to tell students the difference between biographies and autobiographies too. Create an anchor chart to hang up for students to reference throughout your biography unit! 

4 Ideas For Biography Mini Lessons

After introducing biographies, try one of these mini-lesson ideas for teaching biographies! 

• Have students pick a person they are interested in learning more about. Then have them find books about the person and complete a research project about that person to present to the class. You could even take it a few steps further and have students share what they learned in costume as the person they researched in a wax museum activity! 
• Have students create a social media page of the person they learned about in their biography
• Have students read about a person of interest, and then write journal entries as that person. 
• You could make it seasonal! Around fall, have students paint a pumpkin like a person they read about and present important events or accomplishments as they share their pumpkin. In spring, students could make biography flowers where the center was a photo of the person, and the petals are important events and accomplishments. 

Strategies For Using Mentor Texts To Model Reading Biographies

Teaching biographies is simple when you use these strategies!

First, pick any biography or autobiography mentor text and read it aloud. Ok, maybe not ANY. Be sure to choose one that will be engaging to your students. Think about the things they enjoy and go from there. I love picture books because students can generally read them in one session. (Make sure you preview the text first and mark with sticky notes to remember to stop and discuss during the read-aloud!)

Stop at important dates, accomplishments, life lessons, or significant life events to discuss. I even stop to discuss any figurative language or text features included. This will help students with both reading and writing! Students generally have TONS of connections to share during biography read alouds that lead to great conversations. 

How To Teach Students To Write Biography Reports

One way to help students learn how to write biographies is to write their first one about themselves! Students can brainstorm what should be included in their biography by creating a timeline that includes important events in their life. Then, they use the timeline to help them write their biography in chronological order. You can model this with a biography about yourself on an anchor chart for students to use if they need help. This is also an excellent way to get to know each other at the beginning of the year! 

When it comes to writing biographies about other people, students need to have read several biographies to get an idea of how authors organize this type of writing. When you read aloud, be sure to point out that authors of biographies generally write the story of the person’s life from beginning to end. So students will need to be familiar with sequential order/chronological order text organization. Have students fill in a timeline when you model during read alouds. Point out that biographies usually focus on a part of the person’s life that taught them a life lesson. This biography project and biography activities are great resources for teaching biographies.

Resources for Teaching Biographies

Here are some resources for teaching biography:

1. Biography Project for Elementary Students

Are you looking to begin using a biography project ? Perhaps you are just looking for something better than you already use. If so, this is the resource you need! It is a great resource for teaching elementary students about biographies.

This is a great project to complement a genre study of biographies, an author study, social studies concepts and more. I’ve recently updated the entire product so that it now includes an option to do the Living Biography Museum where families come into school and the students “perform” in character OR can instead be used simply as an independent research project in class or as a homework assignment.

The twist is that instead of having the students dress in costume (which can be a hassle for the parents since most kids can’t put their own costume together) they make a poster board costume with a space for their head to pop through.

A-DOR-ABLE!!!

In the past I’ve done the living museum and had students prepare a brief speech to recite in character. This year I opted to send it home as a homework project and will instead take their photos with their poster board and display them with the written report.

This download now includes BOTH the original version and my new and improved updated version as well. If you have high achieving students who need enrichment this is a perfect activity for them to do on their own or you can use it with an entire class. It’s ideal for grades 2-5.

This biography project contains everything you need to have your students complete a project of their very own to present in class or at a Living Biography Museum.

What is included in this biography project?

Make teaching biographies fun by incorporating this biography project , which includes the following:

• Grading rubrics / criteria checklist
• Graphic organizer to plan writing
• Graphic organizer to record sources
• Student writing pages
• Poster board visual directions 

5 Reasons Why Teachers Love It

Below are 5 reasons why teachers love using this resource for teaching biographies.

• This comprehensive biography project includes differentiated materials, so all you will be able to meet all of your students’ needs and your they will feel successful.
• The project makes a challenging concept accessible for elementary students.
• This resource facilitates a fun hands-on learning experience that offers opportunities for students to practice important skills without them even realizing it.
• This print and go resource will save you lots of time planning and prepping.
• It is aligned to the Common Core Standards, so it will give you peace of mind knowing your students are practicing important grade level skills.

How to Implement the Project in Your Classroom

You can either do a Living Biography Museum where families come in to school and the students perform in character or it can instead be used simply as an independent research project in class or as a homework assignment.

How I Used the Resources in My Classroom to Teach Biography

We had so much fun making these bio poster boards.

As a bonus, the kids learned a ton.

I started by having them complete oodles of activities from my biography activities packet which acquainted them with a whole bunch of famous folks.

Then I had them work in teams to research Benjamin Franklin. They had discussions about why he was famous. They talked about his accomplishments. Finally, they each wrote about him in the 1st person and performed a monologue as if they were Ben.

To make it oh-so-much-more-fun, I gave them each a poster board to use as a “costume.”

I’m now having them each select their own historical figure of choice to repeat the process as an independent project at home.

I seriously loved this project. The kids did too.

They enjoyed walking around wearing their poster boards and singing, “Who flew a kite in a storm and made history… Ben Franklin Square Pants.”

They also enjoyed having “conversations” with each other while wearing the poster board.

Kid 1: Hey Ben

Kid 2: Yo Ben

Me: **Listening carefully how this conversation is going to go.**

Kid 1: Ben, I really liked how you proved lightning was electricity.

Kid 2: Thanks Ben. You know you’re awesome, right? I mean, you signed the Declaration of Independence and all.

Kid 1: I know dude, right? I totally rock!

And then there was the boy who did a stellar job with his presentation… and then ended it by yelling, “Thank you Philadelphia. Ben Franklin has left the building.”

Third graders make me laugh.

2. Biography Activities for Elementary Students

These biography activities are great resources for teaching biographies to elementary students. It provides teachers with no prep printable biography activities that can be used over and over when studying any person.

This unit was designed to enhance the study of individuals. The activities can be used as part of a genre study or within the content areas. I have also used them with author studies and have had the children complete them as autobiographies about themselves.

What is included in this resource?

This biography activities resource includes 7 activities. Learn about them below!

1. Biography Poster

Students gather information about any individual and use their research to create an 8.5 x 11 inch poster. The poster has spaces to record the person’s name, date of birth, place of birth, interesting facts, reasons of importance and character traits. They then draw a portrait of their individual.

2. My Life in Pictures: A Scrapbook Biography Project

To complete this biography, activity the student will take on the role of the individual they are studying. The student can either draw illustrations or print and attach photos highlighting important parts of the individual’s life. The student then writes captions. This biography report is so much more fun than writing an essay and more pages can be added as enrichment.

3. Top-Down Topic Web

This graphic organizer shows the relationships to the main idea and details. They represent main ideas in a hierarchy. These research-based tools help the students to comprehend what they have read because it organizes ideas in a systematic, visual graph.

4. The Important Book Biography Activity

The Important Book is a great book for teaching students about writing patterns. This activity was modeled after the format of that book and was designed to encourage students to identify key, important facts about the person they are studying. It makes a great bulletin board display.

5. Body Biography

A Body Biography project is a combination of artwork and writing. The packet includes a poster to use as directions or to display with the students’ completed biography projects. They complete sections such as a speech bubble with a quote by the individual, a thought bubble to show what they have thought about, shoes labeled with places the person has been, a heart filled with character traits. They then draw objects in the hands that relate to the person and create a background that tells the viewer more about the historical figure.

6. Timeline Biography Report

Unlike a lengthy written report, this is a creative way to showcase important events in the person’s life. Students identify key moments and tell about them in words and pictures. They are added to a foldable accordion booklet in sequential order.

7. I AM Poem

An I AM Poem is typically completed as an autobiography. I also have my students do one about themselves to learn more about them. The format is also great for showing what they know about a person they have learned about. The students take on the role of that person to write the poem in the first person.

• These biographies activities are high-interest for students, so they’ll be motivated to learn through reading and researching.
• This comprehensive resource includes differentiated materials, so all you will be able to meet all of your students’ needs and your students will feel successful.
• Your principal, colleagues and school librarian will be impressed by the creative methods of sharing learned information and the integrated learning that takes place.
• The resources can be used with an biography study and be used over and over again.

How to Implement it in Your Classroom

It’s part of our social studies curriculum and technically it is a study of Massachusetts Biographies, but we began learning about the genre with a mini-study of Martin Luther King Jr.

I read several picture books and the students buddy read a free printable reader from A to Z.

We created a top-down web listing information that we learned about MLK.

Then I read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, and the students completed an activity I created for my biography packet that was inspired by the book. They used the same format as Brown’s book to compose their own version, “The important thing about Martin Luther King Jr. is…”

Finally, each of my friends made a portrait of MLK using the directions from TLC. They came out crazy cute. I hung each of them up even though I’ll probably take them down and send them home soon. They were just too adorable not to display.

Today, we did another activity (The I Am Poem) from the biography activities packet and a craftivity to go with it. I really feel like I am able to get to know my students on a completely different level through projects like these. They really open up and share such sweet ideas and insight into who they are.

3. Biography Picture Books

Belo are 4 high-quality biography children’s books for elementary students.

1. Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport

Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport is a nonfiction picture book that teaches children about the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Students will learn what life was like for Martin growing up and how he became a leader in the fight for equal rights.

Throughout the book, the author includes actual quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. This book explains how Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged people to use their words to make change and the impact he had on the country. This story follows Martin all the way from childhood through the end of his life.

I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these Martin’s Big Words activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

2. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

The Story of Ruby Bridges details the struggles that six-year old Ruby Bridges endured when she was chosen to attend an all-white, segregated school as a black girl.

All of the other students’ parents pulled their children out of school because of her, and so she was forced to attend class all alone. She was escorted by U.S. Marshalls every morning, as she had to listen to jeers and insults being thrown at her while she was entering the school.

Despite these hardships, Ruby’s courage through non-violent actions did so much for the civil rights movement, and later that year, two white boys started to attend school with her. This inspirational true story teaches children that, no matter what age you are, anyone can be a trailblazer for change.

I liked this book so much I will be adding it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these The Story of Ruby Bridges activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

3. The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca

The story The Girl Who Thought in Pictures follows the life of Temple Grandin. The story starts off with Temple being born, and the doctors thinking that she needed to be sent away because she was different. Temple liked to watch things spin, did not like loud noises or crowds, anything that was itchy, or big squeezy hugs. She also did not talk until she was three. Temple got diagnosed with Autism. Her mom said that Temple was “different, not less.”

When Temple goes to school, the children there would tease her relentlessly. One day, Temple’s mom thinks that it would be better for Temple to stay on her aunt’s ranch. There, Temple finally feels comfortable and explores ways to help animals. Temple goes to college and gets three degrees! Now she travels the world giving speeches and spreading hope. She spreads the message that the world needs brains of all kinds.

I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these The Girl Who Thought in Pictures activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

4. Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Denise

The sixth picture book on the list of books that are great for teaching biographies is Planting Stories . It is a biographical picture book about Pura Belpre, who was the first Puerto Rican Librarian in New York City. When she started working the library, she realized that there weren’t any of the stories and folktales that she was familiar with in Puerto Rico. She decides to share her stories during story hour and through puppet shows, and eventually publishes a book.

Pura travels across the country and from classroom to classroom planting her story seeds and educating about her homeland. When she returns to the library, she sees that her story seeds have bloomed and everyone is telling her stories. Students will love learning about Pura and how she shared her stories with children everywhere.

I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these Planting Stories activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

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How to use biographies in your reading & writing lessons.

Biography is an important genre in literature, offering readers the unique opportunity to gain insight into someone else’s life and experiences. They are a great way for students to learn about historically important and inspiring people. But it is not only an interesting and important genre to read. It is an important genre to learn about. Introducing the genre of biographies to students can help them become better readers, more critical thinkers, and more reflective writers. So, today I am going to talk about some effective tools for teaching the genre.

Introduce the Genre

First, you will want to introduce the genre to students and explain why it is important. This can be a simple anchor chart where you list the characteristics of the genre. Use the free biography header pieces to create your own!

*Activity Idea For Biography Header- Print two of each letter. Distribute them to your students to color and cut out as early finishers or morning work. The two people who received the same letter can research the person connected to the letter later as a partner project.

Additionally, you can have students read and write about the genre. You can add a printable comprehension passage, fact or research sheet, or a cut-and-paste activity to their morning work or as an independent activity following your mini-lesson!

Provide Examples

Next, you will want students to understand what a biography is by providing examples. When teaching any genre, it is important to introduce the concept in such a way that students understand its significance.

Books and digital biographies can be used for a variety of activities throughout your unit! Make biographies available for students’ independent reading time, add biography-based prompts to students’ morning work or centers, assign biographies as partner reading, etc.

My Recommendations for Biography Book Series: (These are affiliate links to Amazon’s website).

• Who Was? Biography Series
• The Story of Biography Series
• Mini Movers & Shakers
• Ready to Read: You Should Meet

Digital and Online Biographies

• BrainPop, Jr. Biographies
• BrainPop Famous Historical Figures
• PebbleGo Biographies

Taking a Closer Look

Now, it is time for students to read and analyze biographies. This is an important part of teaching the genre.

Teaching students how to read and analyze biographies helps develop their ability to look beyond the surface. During this time, you will want to work on critical thinking skills, close reading, determining importance, and evaluating source reliability.

Skills that can be incorporated with Biographies:

• Main Idea & Important Details
• Inferring & Drawing Conclusions
• Chronological Order
• Cause & Effect
• Problem & Solution
• Text Features + Images in Nonfiction
• Research Writing

Connect Other Content

Integrating biographies with other subjects has many benefits. It helps to draw connections between iconic figures of the past, and how they influenced our current society. Biographies teach us more than just the history of an individual: they bridge gaps in our knowledge and appreciation for subjects like social studies and history by introducing us to very real people who have been able to shape both the world and our understanding of it. This can be done with more subjects than social studies, though. You can study biographies of people who have impacted math, science, art, technology, music, etc.

Nonfiction Narrative & Research Writing

Finally, you can include important writing skills in your instruction. Of course, they can work on narrative nonfiction by writing their own autobiographies. Unlike a personal narrative, students will be focused on all of the impactful events in their life thus far. So, I would start by having students create a timeline of the events in their lives. Then, taking their timeline, they can craft paragraphs for each event, connecting them with transitions and details in the next draft.

Autobiographies are great for peer editing and revision. Students will learn from one another as they exchange and edit each other’s autobiographies. Allow for several drafts and revisions with this!

Not only can students develop their narrative nonfiction writing skills by writing their own autobiographies, but they can also practice and improve their research writing skills. Research writing skills are so essential to a student’s writing development.

Some Tips & Tricks for Research Writing:

• Allow some level of student choice when assigning research writing topics/people
• Link reliable and safe search engines to your online class dashboard
• Provide a graphic organizer or note-taking guide for students so that they can collect and organize their research
• Incorporate multimedia project elements, like PowerPoint, Prezi, Video, Audio, etc. to keep students engaged and offer opportunities to use technology skills
• Provide several exemplars of a variety of presentation types if you are doing an end-of-unit project

Would you like free biography anchor chart pieces?

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No-Prep Biography Resources You May Enjoy:

If you’re looking to teach biographies and don’t want the added prep, I have resources for you! Each bundle contains individual biography units. If you’re interested, you will find them in the links under the bundle. Click the links for a closer look!

Want to read more about teaching with biography?

• President’s Day Activities
• Techy Ideas for Biographies
• Women’s History Month Activities
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Biography Graphic Organizers

Use this collection of biography graphic organizers to help your fourth and fifth grade students explore biographies during reading workshop.

These biography graphic organizers will be a helpful tool for you as you are planning your biography unit of study.

This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

Planning for a study of biographies

As you plan for your unit of study, your first action should be gathering high interest biographies for your students to explore.

These mentor texts should be good, clear examples of biographies. Include your favorites and be sure to include books that will interest your students as well.  It’s also a good idea to gather a stack of informational text books that fall under that category of narrative nonfiction.  Throughout the unit, you might want to refer to these as nonexamples of biographies.

There are many informational text picture books that are written at a fourth to sixth grade level. This means that you should be able to find some shorter texts that will still challenge your readers. This can be helpful when you want students to explore multiple biographies.

As you work to gather your books, ask students who they would be most interested in learning about. Try to find books that match their requests to keep them engaged in the unit.

If you have a student interested in a subject but are unable to find a book to share, you can turn this into a follow up project. Have the student write their own biography about the subject. You can add this to your classroom librarym .

About these biography graphic organizers

This collection contains a variety of biography graphic organizers. You can choose to use the ones that fit your students best.

As always, I encourage you to model these organizers as you introduce them. This will help students to fully understand the expectations.

Lesson 1  Expository or Narrative Nonfiction?

Begin by helping students understand that there is a different between expository nonfiction and narrative nonfiction. Biographies fall under the category of narrative nonfiction and tell a story. Narrative nonfiction may also tell about an event. Expository nonfiction provides an explanation or directions.

This first lesson is designed to help students develop an understanding of the difference between a biography (which is narrative nonfiction) and expository nonfiction.  

Share the stack of mentor texts along with the nonexamples of biographies (which should be expository nonfiction.)

Allow students time to look through these books and “notice” differences.  Encourage them to make notes on post-its and mark the spots in the text.

These differences will help students begin to develop an understanding of the differences. When students have completed their noticings, pull them together as a class and give them time to share what they found.  

Create an anchor chart for students to refer to that is titled “Noticings” and contains the student observations.   Observations for biographies might include: tells a story, tells about a person’s life, includes dates, has bold words, has a table of contents, includes a glossary, has an index.  

Observations for expository nonfiction might include: gives directions, tells all about an object or animal, explains something, includes dates, has bold words, has a table of contents, includes a glossary, has an index.

Noticings Exit Ticket  To check student understanding, have students complete this exit ticket.  Students find a biography and an example of expository nonfiction. They then include their choices and reasoning on their exit ticket.

Lesson 2 Biography Story Map

A biography can be similar to a fiction book which tells a story.  

It includes a main character, setting, time and often problems.

Have students choose a biography to read and complete this story map.  

You might choose to model this lesson by reading aloud a biography one day and completing the story map together.

The next day, students will use their silent reading time to read a different biography they are interested in and then complete the story map.

Lesson 3 Character Traits

Just like when reading fiction, students reading biographies should be trying to determine the character traits of the subject of the biography.  

It is important for students to understand that character traits are different from what the person looks like. These resources can be used to help students develop an understanding of the difference: Character Traits . 

We suggest using a biography that can be shared during class in order to model the differences for students.  Once students have developed an understanding, they can complete their own graphic organizer after reading a just right book during silent reading time.

Lesson 4 Influences

Every person has others who influence his or her life.  

These people have positive and negative effects on the character in a book.  

For this lesson, focus on how other people in the biography have had an impact on the person.  

Students will identify what influence the person had and if the influence was positive, negative or both.  

It will be necessary for you to model this with the class in order for students to understand the expectations.  

Once a model has been completed with the class, you can have students complete their own graphic organizer during independent reading time.

Lesson 5 Taking Notes While Reading

When reading a biography, it is sometimes important for the reader to take notes so that they remember the important facts.  

This organizer can be used for a tool that helps students record the facts in the book.

Lesson 6 Reflections

An important part of reading is thinking about what is being read.  

Use these cards to encourage students to think about the person they are reading about.  

You can print the page on cardstock and then laminate for durability.

Or, you can print on regular paper and have students choose a question. They can record their response on the back like an exit ticket.

Lesson 7 Asking and Answering Questions

Readers ask and answer questions in their heads as they read to help them create meaning.  

This graphic organizer gives students practice with this skill while asking them to record their thoughts.  

You may choose to have students answer their own questions or to trade with a peer who is reading the same book.

Lesson 8 Cause & Effect

This is a concept which will take a great deal of modeling.  

Students must understand that events in a person’s life lead to outcomes.  

As you read a biography, work with the class to find important events in a person’s life and the impact those events had on the person.  

As part of this work, help students identify where the answers are.  

When students practice this skill independently, you might choose to have them use a post-it note to mark the evidence found in the text.

Lesson 9 Life Lessons

Sometimes reading a biography might teach us lessons we can apply to our own lives.  

Encourage students to look at the book they are reading and determine what they can learn from their character.  

These lessons might be positive or negative.

You can download this set of biography graphic organizers here:

Reading Download

CCSS Standards Addressed:

Preparing Your Reading Workshop - The Curriculum Corner 123

Thursday 20th of June 2019

[…] Biographies Collection for 4th and 5th Grades […]

Biography Unit of Study for Reading - The Curriculum Corner 123

Monday 27th of May 2019

[…] you need additional resources for enrichment or differentiation you might want to check out the Biographies –  Resources from our 456 […]

Monday 14th of April 2014

This is a fabulous post! I hope you don't mind, I'm going to link to this page on Wednesday when I share about biographies on my blog, too! :) :)

Biography Lesson Plan: An Introduction to Biographies

Submitted by: stacey lopez.

In this lesson plan which is adaptable for grades 1-5, students will use BrainPOP and/or BrainPOP Jr. resources to learn about biographies. Students will then select a person whose biography they would like to read (or watch a short video about on BrainPOP). Finally, students will write their own biography on a selected person.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:.

• Define and explain what a biography is.
• Read or watch an example of a biography.
• Compose a biography.
• Computer with internet access for BrainPOP
• Interactive whiteboard (or just an LCD projector)
• Chart Paper
• Markers--variety of colors
• Sticky notes and pencils for students
• Biography template (optional)

Preparation:

Lesson procedure:.

• Explain to students that a biography of a famous person includes many facts. Ask them to take notes while they are watching either the BrainPOP Biography movie or the BrainPOP Jr. Biography movie. Explain that they will contribute to a class anchor chart about biographies.
• After the movie has finished, ask each student for a fact to add to the anchor chart. Alternate the colors to make it exciting. Students will be able to identify their contribution to the class anchor chart.
• Ask to students to read or watch a biography for a selected person in order to gather more information. Students could watch any of the BrainPOP topics in the Famous Historical Figures Unit or BrainPOP Jr. Biographies Unit , or read about the person's life in a book or online. Instruct students to take more notes while reading.
• Talk with students about the common features their biographies shared. What makes a good biography? Add to the anchor chart as needed.
• Each student may then write their own biography of another person using some of the facts that the class gathered.

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Teaching Biographies: Activities and Ideas

Teaching with biographies and ben franklin.

Biography Unit Ideas for Primary Grades

By grade 4, students are expected to be able to conduct some research, organize ideas and use their knowledge to create various pieces of writing.  What better way to facilitate these practices then by conducting a biography unit?  Biographies offer students many benefits, some of which are gaining a new perspective on their own life, while being inspired by the works of others.  Below are some biography unit ideas for primary grades.

Before beginning this unit it is a good idea to have a discussion about fictions vs. non-fiction texts.  As well as, discussing how to write an engaging story/biography. For reference, you can look into a story writing unit and learn more about nonfiction lesson ideas .

How to start :

Start your unit off by introducing the concept of a biography.  I typically remind my students about the characteristics of non-fiction texts (ex. factual information, headings, table of contents, real pictures, etc).  Then, we define what a biography is.  If you’re planning this unit for younger students, then you can skip talking about the features and simply discuss the purpose of a biography.  Here are some anchor chart ideas to go through with your students:

Begin With Examples :

Once you’ve introduced the concept and features of a biography, it’s time to start reading biographies as a class.  Be sure to draw attention back to your anchor charts/discussions (it works nicely to also read a biography before discussing features so that students can refer back to the text).  I’ve included some child friendly biographies at the end of this post. For now, here are some tips to try during/after reading as a class:

Practice Makes Perfect:

Now it’s time to practice reading & writing biographies, so that the concepts and structure becomes engrained in students’ minds.  This can be done in a variety of ways. Here are just some ideas:

• create a ballot box for students to submit the names of famous people they would like to learn more about, and find a biography on the name that gets submitted the most often (student’s will be more interested if they have a say in what they learn).
• incorporate biographies in language center activities.
• have students interview a family member, and write their biography.
• have students choose their favorite character from a story or movie, and create a biography about them.

Here are some graphic organizers to help you and your students along the way:

Thinking of going cross-curricular?  Have your students create portraits of famous biography subjects inspired by these:

Assessments:

Conducting assessments throughout your unit is the most surefire way to gage your students’ learning, provide them with feedback and guide the remainder of your unit.  Here are some assessment ideas.

Some Great Biographies for Students:

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As you begin teaching the narrative writing process, you may find an anchor chart helpful to show students a visual representation of the work they will be doing. There are many different routes you can take with the anchor chart, and you will likely find yourself creating multiple throughout the lesson. Here are a few examples of narrative writing anchor charts you may create.

1. Elements of a Narrative

One of the first steps in introducing students to narrative writing is showing them the important parts of the piece. Here are the most important ones upper elementary students should see on a narrative writing anchor chart.

• Setting: Where and when the story takes place.
• Characters: Introduce and describe the main characters.
• Plot: The sequence of events that make up the story.
• Conflict: The central problem or challenge the characters face.
• Resolution: How the conflict is resolved or addressed.

2. Narrative Writing Structure

Once you introduce students to the pieces needed to create a compelling narrative, you have to show them the framework for the writing. No one wants a story that’s all over the place. Following this simple structure will help. Lay it out on a narrative writing anchor chart for clarity.

• Hook the reader with an engaging opening.
• Introduce the characters and setting.
• Develop the plot through a series of events.
• Build suspense and tension.
• Show character reactions and emotions.
• Resolve the conflict.
• Provide a satisfying ending.

3. Writing Techniques

Kids will begin to master the initial concepts of writing, and as they do, you can encourage them to better their writing each time they start a new piece. This is where you create a narrative writing anchor chart about making the writing better each time! Give them these tips:

• Descriptive Language: Encourage the use of vivid and sensory details.
• Dialogue: Teach students how to use dialogue to bring characters to life.
• Transitions: Show how to use transitional words and phrases to guide readers through the story.
• Show, Don’t Tell: Emphasize the importance of showing actions and emotions rather than just telling.

4. Revising and Editing

This is the step most students dislike the most, but it’s the most important. Emphasize to your students how necessary it is to check work. Here are some common ways to edit a draft and make it as perfect as possible!

• Peer Feedback: Encourage students to share their writing with peers for constructive feedback.
• Self-Editing: Teach basic editing skills, focusing on grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Revising for Clarity: Emphasize the importance of clarity in storytelling.

5. Narrative Writing Prompts

To get you and your students started, use a few of these narrative prompts . Display them on a narrative writing anchor chart and let them choose as they begin.

• Write about a time when you faced a challenge and overcame it.
• Imagine you discover a magical object. Describe the adventure that follows.
• Create a story set in a futuristic world where technology has taken over.
• Write about a memorable moment from your summer vacation.
• If you could travel back in time, what historical event would you visit, and why?

6. Writing Process

To sum it all up, here is how students should naturally start and end their writing process! Practice over and over so they get the hang of it; in no time, they will be masters.

• Brainstorming: Generate ideas and plan the story.
• Drafting: Write the initial version of the narrative.
• Revising: Make improvements to the content and structure.
• Editing: Correct errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Publishing: Share the final, polished narrative.

By incorporating these elements into a narrative writing anchor chart, students can refer to it as a constant reminder of the key components and techniques needed for successful storytelling. This visual aid can be a valuable resource in fostering a supportive and creative writing environment in the upper elementary classroom.

More Posts about Narrative Writing

• 20 Inviting Narrative Writing Example Prompts for Upper Elementary Students
• Vocabulary Words for 6th Graders Can Be Exciting and as Simple as 1-2-3
• 4 Exciting Prompts for Narrative Writing That Will Spark Creativity
• A Useful Guide to Using a Narrative Writing Graphic Organizer for Kids

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4 comments:

Deb, this might be my new favorite book!! Hilarious! I am ordering it now. This would be a good one to read at a staff meeting just for fun :) Thank you for such a great post. Julie The Techie Teacher

Deb, this post is incredible! This is such a complex skill for my students to understand, but so critical. I will be sharing your post with my ELA head and suggest that it is shared with our district. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I'm embarrassed to say that I've never read this book before - but now I am going to! What a great resource for perspective!

Thank you for practice passage and for the wonderful teaching ideas! I love Sharon Creech and look forward to checking out this book.

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6th Grade Anchor Charts: Ideas For Language Arts, Math, And Science

January 12, 2024 //  by  Eileen Zajac

Anchor charts help teachers create an engaging learning environment. Teachers alongside students are able to visualize their thinking. Anchor charts also foster independence giving students the resources to check their work and build on their ideas. Reinforcing lessons through creative scaffolding is the foundation of Anchor Charts.

In middle school, it is important to give students the resources of being independent. Although Anchor charts are super beneficial, there are also points to watch out for! Keeping anchor charts co-created and fixed to a specific lesson or unit plan is very important! Check out these literacy-standard-based anchor charts.

1. Fun with Figures!

Figurative language is very important throughout middle school. Figurative language guides readers to understand the text. Through Figurative Language, readers are able to imagine both the characters and events in a text.  Don’t let your 6th graders fall behind use this colorful chart to keep them attracted. Allowing them to make their own personal flipbook could add a little extra creativity to learning Figurative Language!

Learn More: Pinterest

2. Track Traits of Writing

Traits of writing is a teaching method that benefits both students and teachers. Allowing teachers and students the space to focus on one or two elements of writing. Providing students with a scaffold similar to this anchor chart will allow them independently monitor their own writing success and allow them to do it at their own pace.

3. Remember the Writing Process

By sixth grade, students have learned and used each phase of the writing process. At this point, students are building on the knowledge they already have. Integrating it into different forms of writing (think research and book reports). This anchor chart is a must-have to remind students and build independent, confident writers! Keep your students engaged and able to independently check in with this anchor chart during writing.

Learn More: Becky Young

4. Teaching theme

Differentiating between Theme and Main Idea is such an important aspect of reading, but is EXTREMELY difficult to teach. There are so many activities out there that help teach Theme , but providing a scaffold such as this anchor chart will provide students with a constant reminder. A proper approach to teaching Theme will guide students to understand and find the hidden messages within the books they read . Use this theme anchor chart to display the meaning of the story theme.

Learn More: Etsy

5. Show me the evidence

Using evidence from a story is a foundational skill used throughout a student’s entire life. It’s natural to ask questions and make opinions about reading, but it’s essential to be able to answer those questions and support those opinions. Having students show their evidence demands them to look back in the text and cite the evidence. Use this chart and bring out the sticky notes during your evidence writing lessons!

Learn More: Ms. Rivas

6. 6th Grade Book Review

Writing a successful book review is awesome for 6th Grade writers. Book reports and reviews give students the space to build structure and express their thoughts. They also provide teachers with a great assessment tool to track students’ understanding of their independent reading novels. Provide students with the tools like this anchor chart to make sure they are confident and have a full understanding of what is expected.

Learn More: Young Teach MD

7. Elevate the Elements

Story Elements help 6th-grade writers to understand what they are reading and properly comprehend the information. It’s very important for students to be able to pick out the different elements in a story independently. Having an anchor chart such as this at the beginning of a unit will provide students with constant reassurance throughout the entire unit. Sticky notes are also a great way to bring in student collaboration and help students chart during writing.

Learn More: Teaching Tapas

8. RACE for Writing

The RACE for writing strategy will enhance student understanding of the rules of writing. Making this anchor chart with students will enhance student writing, while also helping them to better understand the writing process.

Learn More: RACE for Writing

9. Proportions, Proportions, Proportions

Middle school math is a whole new game for our students. Providing students with visuals has never been more important. Proportional Relationships are the answer to many real-life problems. This anchor chart is a great unit starter for teaching them!

Learn More: Maneuvering The Middle

10. Word Cues

Word cues will be something students will use for the rest of their lives. Make sure you engrain those words with some handy visuals, like this chart. Specifically geared towards integers and the number system!

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

11. Algebra Prep

Preparing for algebra can be stressful and even a bit shocking for our 6th graders. With this Preparing for Algebra visual students will be able to start off with a strong foundation!

Learn More: Facebook

12. Plant Movement

Teaching living things in 6th grade can be super fun, but can also be a bit daunting with all of the note-taking and memorization. Make it easier on students with visual displays, including this exciting Really Cool Plant Adaptations anchor chart!

Learn More: The Pensive Sloth

13. Cell Me That one! 

This is a colorful anchor chart that easily organizes cells in middle school! It’s great for students to have in the classroom but also great for them to have in their notebooks. Don’t miss a beat this year teaching your kiddos about living organisms.

14. Firsthand / Secondhand

Social Studies starts to really overlap with English Language Arts (ELA) in middle school. It’s super important for students to have a strong foundation when accounting for different events throughout history. Don’t let your students be fooled by primary and secondary sources! Deck out your classroom and their notebooks with this handy anchor chart.

15. Understand my Letter Grade

Upper elementary is normally a pretty big change for students. Including some of their first years receiving letter grades! It’s important to teach students in grades 5, 6, and 7 what their letter grades mean. This upper-grade anchor chart does exactly that.

Learn More: Teacher Trap

Anchor charts can be used throughout classrooms for a variety of reasons. Teachers use anchor charts in writing classrooms to help students better understand the plethora of rules for writing. An anchor chart in education is a creative scaffold to support all students in the classroom while also providing students with independence.

Teachers can even have students make their own anchor charts! By using student collaboration and even some sticky notes, students will love to use their creative superpowers in creating an anchor chart of their own. Anchor charts are beneficial for SO many reasons. Especially in classrooms that are focused on fostering all student learning.

While we may get swept up in using anchor charts, it is important to remember to set clear objectives for student outcomes. It’s easy to get lost in the creativity and forget to reinforce the point of the colorful anchor charts throughout your classrooms.

Writing Biographies! {FREEBIE}

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53 Comments

I will be teaching biographies later in the school year. I love that your pack includes interviewing and writing biographies about a friend/classmate. Thanks for the chance to win it 🙂 Storie [email protected] Stories by Storie

I love the idea of combining genre study, writing, and social studies! My firsties would love this pack!

I love all the cute choices for people to write biographies about!

Teacher at Heart Teachers Pay Teachers [email protected]

This pack looks amazing! We are getting ready to learn about Washington and Lincoln and I think this cute pack will be perfect for my class! I LOVE it! Lori Teaching With Love and Laughter [email protected]

We are starting informational writing this quarter and this would be the perfect resource to use! I love that you made it printer friendly! Thank you for the chance to win. Teacher Gone Digital [email protected]

Love your units…I own SEVERAL…would love to add this one!!! Thanks for helping make my job easier with all of your wonderful packs! [email protected]

This looks like such a great unit for teaching little ones about biographies! I would love to add this to my classroom library!!! 🙂

Jennifer [email protected]

Fantastic! And this pack works with our mini biography unit coming up! Jennifer you are truly amazing!! 🙂 [email protected]

This looks great! I would love to win! [email protected]

It's funny that you just created this pack because we just added the word biography to our "wow words" wall! I deleted the previous comment because it didn't make sense!

Jennifer, this biographies pack looks AMAZING! I would love to win a copy!

Christy [email protected]

This is adorable! I love all of the things you create!

Tawna [email protected]

I love your units and we also teach about biographies especially at this time of year. We also use Storytown! [email protected]

You're a winner! I am emailing you the pack now!

I am do biographies in a few weeks. This looks like an amazing resource! Jen [email protected]

Wow! This looks great! I would love to win. [email protected]

This would be great. Looks just perfect and I would love to win it.

Marybeth Cialinichat

What a great packet…I would love to win it to use with my first graders! Thanks for the opportunity!

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I would love to use this with my first graders. I would be perfect. [email protected]

This looks amazing! I love the fonts and graphics you used. The pages are SUPER cute! Hope I win 🙂 [email protected]

Melissa First Grade Smiles

This is perfect! I would love to use this in my classroom. Fingers crossed!! [email protected]

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This is my first year in First. I would love to win this!

This would also work great for my second graders. We have a mini-bio unit coming up later in the year. FIngers crossed!

tokyoshoes at hotmail dot com

Wow! Would love to win this!

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I would love to use this in my classroom. This is a fun way to work on biographies. [email protected]

Adorable pack!! Would love a chance to win it :). [email protected]

We are dedicating the month of February to learning about the lives of some very special people. This would make a great addition to their learning!! Hoping….

I would really love to win this unit! It would fit in perfectly in February! Thanks…..

I love your biography unit! What a great addition to our nonfiction unit and would fit in perfectly with Presidents' Day . I would love to win it! [email protected]

Thank you so much for the shout out and for visiting my sad little neglected blog. 🙂 I love this biography pack and am so happy to have found something like this for my kids who LOVE biographies. I'd love a chance to win before I buy! [email protected] . Thanks again for the link! Jeremie Applescrayonsandcaffeine.blogspot.com

Love, love, love this pack! Such cute ideas. Thanks so much for spending the time to create such a great resource for teachers. [email protected]

This is such a helpful packet, and it would be so useful, too! I would love to share this with my first graders. Thank you so much! Kris [email protected]

You make so many cute papers and activities. I only wish my school gave us more copies!

I teach a 1/2 combo class and would so love this packet… it fits perfectly with both grade level's curriculum at this time of year at that is a rarity! Maybe I will be lucky this time. Thanks for the opportunity! [email protected]

I would love to use this with my first graders! [email protected]

Wow what a wonderful unit! I love your stuff!

This looks fabulous! Having this resource would bring a little blue skies to my classroom.

Forgot to mention my email, [email protected]

What a great unit. It would be a great unit to win or buy! [email protected]

Would love this!! [email protected]

Love, love, love this! Thank you for the chance to win! [email protected]

This is SO cute!! Would love to win! :o)

Cindy [email protected]

oh this looks so fun…

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This looks wonderful! Would love to win this pack! [email protected]

love this! what a great-looking unit!

rachel [email protected]

I will be doing biographies (and autobiographies) soon. Love this

Love this! Can't tell if you've already picked a winner. If not, my email is [email protected] . Thanks for the freebie!

Oh please tell me you haven't already picked a winner! I SO NEED THIS! My student teacher and I are getting ready to do a unit on biographies and this would be so helpful! When you pick me, my email is [email protected] I love it! So awesome, thanks for your hard work on it!

I really liked the idea! Mirna Merie

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I would love to teach my first graders more about biographies as part of our informational texts analysis. I think this product will help me accomplish my goal.

Thank you I was looking for something like this for my 1st graders.

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