LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

"Kid-Created" Biographies

In this lesson plan, the students will create biographies on the people they know best-- their teachers! The students will use various skills to collect information, organize details, publish the biographies and present the information.

A lesson plan for grades 3–4 English Language Arts and Information Skills

By Gregg Farr, Lynn Beatty, and Tricia Freeze

About the authors

The lesson plan was created by a combination of two teachers and a school counselor. This collabortion of ideas was beneficial to the design of the project. Lynn Beatty, a fourth grade teacher, teaches at Cool Spring Elememtary School. She is the Technology Trainer in her school and enjoys creating unique projects. Tricia Freeze, a third grade teacher, enjoys learning how to integrate technology into lesson plans and impleting these ideas with other staff members and grade levels. She feels that the collobration of grade levels is essential in the process of elementary students’ learning. Gregg Farr, the school counselor, is a wonderful resource for the team. His knowledge of the students needs and technology helps make this project possible. He is an expert in the “hardware” portion of technology and has enjoyed spending time collaborting with two wonderful teachers.

Learn more

Related pages

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Learning outcomes

The students will learn to:

  • create a webpage
  • write a biography
  • take a digital photograph of a person
  • upload a digital photo to a website
  • interview a person to discover information
  • order events in a person’s lifetime
  • edit a biography to improve structure and order of the story
  • use the five steps of publishing a paper/story

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

5 days

Materials/resources

paper
pencil
clipboard

Technology resources

  • Digitial Camera
  • Computer Lab
  • School Website
  • Internet Connection
  • Netscape Communicator
  • tape recorder
  • cassette tape
  • Microsoft Word or Works

Pre-activities

The students will need to know how to:

  • Formulate questions using the 5 W’s
  • Use a word processing program
  • Create complete sentences
  • Use a digital camera
  • Work collaboratively
  • Edit/Proofread writing

Activities

Day 1

  1. Divide class/classes into collaborative groups. (mix ability levels)
  2. Ask students to select a teacher or staff member in the school to write about. Encourage students to collectively and mutually decide on a person they will enjoy writing about as a team.
  3. Have students browse samples of biographies written about famous people and biographies written by other children. Several good links are:http://www.myhero.com/sports/sports_content.asp, http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm, http://www.achievement.org/galleryachieve.html. You may choose to bookmark these sites.
  4. Brainstorm a chart listing the pros and cons of various biographies. The students should analyze the biographies for types of content, timeline order, transition words, and sentence structures.

Day 2

Students will:

  1. Brainstorm a set of questions which they would like to ask their school personnel. Encourage students to ask a variety of questions that would complete picture of the life of the person.
  2. Compare and contrast their list of questions with one from another group.
  3. Set an appointment time to interview their teacher/staff member.
  4. Practice interviewing skills with members of their group.

Day 3

Students will:

  1. Interview their person. (audio tape the conversation)
  2. Take a digital photograph of the person.
  3. Debrief after the interview and take notes from the taped conversation.
  4. Select direct quotes to use in the biography.

Day 4

Students will:

  1. Order the events of the person’s life they are writing about using a brainstorming tool such as a timeline or a past, present, future worksheet.
  2. Compose the biography in a word processing document. (Teacher may wish to model an example of a biography prior to the students beginning to write their own. Emphasize transition words and sentence structures.)
  3. Edit the biography.

Day 5

  1. In the edit mode of Netscape Composer, demonstrate how to copy text from a word document and paste into a web site.
  2. Demonstrate how to insert a picture into a web page. Click on Insert, then image, choose graphic file, then click on insert. This method becomes easier if the students have created a folder on the desktop which allows them to store of their graphic and text.
  3. Publish the biographies to their school web site using cut and paste.

Assessment

The students should not be graded solely on the end product in this lesson plan. If a true grade is to be taken on this lesson, a rubric must be used to assess all the objectives the students learned. Please see attachment one for a sample rubric we used.

Supplemental information

Attachment:
Bio: doc | rtf

Related websites

http://www.bham.wednet.edu/bio/biomaker.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/biograph/
http://www.42explore2.com/biographies.htm
http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/great/great.htm
http://www.biography.com/
http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm
http://www.4teachers.org/testimony/vanwinkle/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/president/
http://www.achievement.org/galleryachieve.html
http://www.myhero.com/sports/sports_content.asp

“Kids Created Biographies” webpage created by students at Cool Spring
http://www.iss.k12.nc.us/schools/coolspring/biography.htm

Comments

None

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Information Skills (2000)

Grade 3

  • Goal 5: The learner will COMMUNICATE reading, listening, and viewing experiences.
    • Objective 5.01: Respond to reading, listening, viewing experiences orally, artistically, dramatically, through various formats (e.g., print, multimedia).
    • Objective 5.02: Produce media in various formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia) appropriate to audience and purpose.
    • Objective 5.03: Collaborate with others, both in person and through technologies, to identify information problems and to design, develop and evaluate information products and solutions.

Grade 4

  • Goal 1: The learner will EXPLORE sources and formats for reading, listening, and viewing purposes.
    • Objective 1.06: Identify characteristics of various genres.
    • Objective 1.09: Recognize that ideas are produced in a variety of formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia, web-based).
    • Objective 1.10: Identify characteristics and advantages of various media formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia, web-based) for a specific task.
  • Goal 5: The learner will COMMUNICATE reading, listening, and viewing experiences.
    • Objective 5.01: Respond to reading, listening, viewing experiences orally, artistically, dramatically, through various formats (e.g., print, multimedia).
    • Objective 5.02: Produce media in various formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia) appropriate to audience and purpose.

Computer Technology Skills (2005)

Grade 3

  • Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate knowledge and skills in the use of computer and other technologies.
    • Objective 2.01: Select and use appropriate features and functions of hardware and software for class assignments. Strand - Societal/Ethical Issues
    • Objective 2.09: Identify, discuss, and use multimedia tools (e.g., capture, create, edit, publish). Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
    • Objective 2.11: Investigate teacher-selected Internet resources about communities; discuss and compare findings for usefulness as a class. Strand - Telecommunications/Internet
  • Goal 3: The learner will use a variety of technologies to access, analyze, interpret, synthesize, apply, and communicate information.
    • Objective 3.03: Use word processing as a tool to write, edit, and publish sentences, paragraphs, and stories. Strand - Keyboard Utilization/Word Processing/Desk Top Publishing
    • Objective 3.04: Identify, discuss, and use multimedia to present ideas/concepts/information in a variety of ways as a class. Strand - Multimedia/Presentation

Grade 4

  • Goal 3: The learner will use a variety of technologies to access, analyze, interpret, synthesize, apply, and communicate information.
    • Objective 3.01: Select and use technology tools (e.g., probeware, digital camera, scanners) to collect, analyze, and display information for content assignments. Strand - Societal/Ethical Issues
    • Objective 3.06: Use word processing as a tool for writing, editing, and publishing paragraphs, stories, and assignments. Strand - Keyboard Utilization/Word Processing/Desk Top Publishing
    • Objective 3.07: Locate, select, organize, and present content area information from the Internet for a specific purpose and audience, citing sources. Strand - Telecommunications/Internet

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 3

  • Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
    • Objective 2.03: Read a variety of texts, including:
      • fiction (short stories, novels, fantasies, fairy tales, fables).
      • nonfiction (biographies, letters, articles, procedures and instructions, charts, maps).
      • poetry (proverbs, riddles, limericks, simple poems).
      • drama (skits, plays).
    • Objective 2.06: Summarize main idea(s) from written or spoken texts using succinct language.
    • Objective 2.08: Listen actively by:
      • facing the speaker.
      • making eye contact.
      • asking questions to clarify the message.
      • asking questions to gain additional information and ideas.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
      • present information in a sequenced, logical manner.
      • discuss.
      • sustain conversation on a topic.
      • share information and ideas.
      • recount or narrate.
      • answer open-ended questions.
      • report information on a topic.
      • explain own learning.
    • Objective 4.03: Share written and oral products in a variety of ways (e.g., author's chair, book making, publications, discussions, presentations).
    • Objective 4.04: Use planning strategies (with assistance) to generate topics and to organize ideas (e.g., drawing, mapping, discussing, listing).

Grade 4

  • Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
    • Objective 2.03: Read a variety of texts, including:
      • fiction (legends, novels, folklore, science fiction).
      • nonfiction (autobiographies, informational books, diaries, journals).
      • poetry (concrete, haiku).
      • drama (skits, plays).
    • Objective 2.05: Make inferences, draw conclusions, make generalizations, and support by referencing the text.
    • Objective 2.09: Listen actively by:
      • asking questions.
      • paraphrasing what was said.
      • interpreting speaker's verbal and non-verbal messages.
      • interpreting speaker's purposes and/or intent.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
      • present information and ideas in a clear, concise manner.
      • discuss.
      • interview.
      • solve problems.
      • make decisions.
    • Objective 4.03: Make oral and written presentations using visual aids with an awareness of purpose and audience.
    • Objective 4.05: Use planning strategies to generate topics and organize ideas (e.g., brainstorming, mapping, webbing, reading, discussion).