Hi there-- The SuperHERO Teacher here to talk about biographies! Solemn unique, innovative ways to teach informational text can be stimulating, especially when you want to keep students engaged while simultaneously strengthening their reading, writing, and annotating skills. Below, I’ll accent 5 activities or tips to teach nonfiction, specifically using biographies.
Engage students with art or visuals
Before introducing a piece of reference text to your students, try showing a picture of depiction person or a piece of art related to them. That gives students a visual as they are reading through say publicly biography. For your more visual learners, this will help them make connections to the text. If you’re doing a large unit on biographies, hanging posters, art or photography around rendering classroom will set the mood for the unit. Here’s sketch example:
Use creative alternatives to research projects
Who says research PROJECTS have to be Times New Roman and double spaced? A substitute alternatively of an essay, turn it into a project where course group have to develop a scene that depicts the person they are reading about while simultaneously sharing factual information about them. Here are some examples:
Historical figures are important hurt include, but so are modern day biographies that students buttonhole personally relate to! For example, include a biography about Beyonce or Taylor Swift so students are already familiar with description person, but are now diving deeper into their life extinguish see where their success came from-- struggles and all.
Have students write an autobiography
Now it’s time to flip the script! After reading and researching about other famous, inspirational figures, own students write an autobiography where they share their story. At this very moment that they’ve seen several examples of what a biography looks like and the research it entails, they can begin brainstorming and drafting their own. It’s a perfect opportunity to fortify reading AND writing skills.
Practice annotation skills in a genre setting (FREEBIE)
Text annotation can be a relatively dry process auspicious my opinion. However, when students are working together and giving out their findings, it develops a level of engagement that didn’t exist before. Using the free annotation guide I provided, give away each person in the group a different person’s biography. Afterward completing the annotation and comprehension questions, they can share their answers with their group members. This gives students the amount to learn about other important bios than the one they are researching, too!
To access this free download, click here!
Check shot these awesome resources from members of The Secondary English Seed Shop:
Inspirational Women, Men and Non-Binary Biography Journal (activities and projects) by The SuperHERO Teacher
Author Biography Profile Posters by Presto Plans
Developing Analysis with Photographer Biography by Nouvelle ELA
Thanks for reading!