biography lesson plan grade 4

Biography Lesson Plans for a Unit You’ll Love

These biography lesson plans can take your unit from blah to outstanding! First, kids read biographies. Then they respond with graphic organizers, templates, and crafts. For the grand finale, students participate in a living history museum.

Ms. Sneed Finds Some Biography Lesson Plans

Our favorite fourth grade teacher opened the file for her biography unit . Her thoughts turned back to last year’s genre study . Sure, the activities engaged her students. However, she reflected, something was missing in the ELA unit . As she tapped her pencil absentmindedly, it came to her: continuity. Great parts. But they just didn’t fit together all that well.

“What I need is some great biography lesson plans,” she said aloud. She clicked over to TPT and did a quick search. Aha! Her favorite teacher-author had posted a free set of plans .

Biography Lesson Plans Introduce the Genre

As Ms. Sneed scanned the plans for the first day, she nodded her head. The class would read a biography picture book and explore elements of the genre.

Next, each child would choose an activity from a choice board . So far, so good! She liked the idea of reading and discussing together – then giving the kids options.

Students Read and Respond

Quickly, Ms. Sneed’s eyes moved to biography lesson plans listed for the next two days. Kids would read one long or more short biographies. Her eyes lit up. For each of those days, kids responded with an organizer or craft !

On the fourth day, students picked a specific person to research. Using differentiated templates , they spent the next four days recording information about that person.

Present a Wax Museum

During the last week or so, the biography lesson plans laid out a wax museum project . They created a timeline for their person. Then they turned it into a monologue and practiced. For the grand finale, each member of the class dressed as their famous person, stood in an open area, and greeted guests with their monologues.

Now Ms. Sneed was really grinning. “I can’t wait to show these biography lesson plans to my co-teacher!” she said. “They will make our unit cohesive – and compelling.”

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Familiarize your class with the genre of biography. After some direct instruction about biography, work together to discuss historical facts and significant events from  A Picture Book of Anne Frank  by David A. Adler. In order to assess individual understanding, ask class members to answer comprehension questions about the book. Materials are included, but require a free account.

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Wild west book list, the popcorn book, timeline for anne, children's books about the holocaust, dear miss breed, books that stand the test of time, celebrate books with an author study, a tale to tell, anne frank: the island of the skog.

Biography Unit of Study for Reading

Download this free biography unit of study for reading to help you introduce and work with biographies in the classroom.

This biography unit of study contains anchor charts, lessons, graphic organizers and more within this collection.

This is another free unit of study for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

We enjoy reading workshop because it is a great way for teachers to help students explore different elements of literature. At the same time, we love that we are encouraging our students to build a love of reading. 

The Key to Teaching Biographies

Biography is a genre that can sometimes easily be neglected in classrooms with regards to informational text studies. We suggested giving it a try because it’s one that can be truly engaging for lots of students.

The key to getting students excited about a study of biographies is to have many relevant and appropriately leveled texts for all of your various readers.

You might even want to think about having a class discussion (or present an interest inventory) to find out who your students might be interested in learning about. 

Once you know their interests, take some time to visit your school and local libraries. Add to your book basket by picking up some favorites at your favorite used bookstore or ordering from Amazon. You will keep interest and engagement high if students are reading about people who are relevant to their interests and lives.

Starting with Immersion

We believe that immersing students in books and letting them develop their own “noticings” is a great way to begin many language art units.  

Be sure your collection of biographies includes a variety of options. You will also want to be sure that your collection contains as many of the biography text features as possible.

We have included a Biography Noticings Anchor Chart that you can use with your kids during or after their immersion experience. Or, you might choose to record your students noticings on a blank chart (which we have also provided).

What We Learn From Biographies is another tool you can use to get your students familiar with this genre. It is an anchor chart that contains characteristics of many biographies.

We have also provided two Find the Biography  resources that require students to distinguish between different genres.  Begin by giving small groups two different types of texts. You can give them literature & biographies OR give them biographies & another type of informational text. They will need to flip through the books to determine differences. They can write their ideas on the organizers.  If you don’t want them to write on these organizers, another thought would be to just have them do a similar activity with Post-It notes.

Yet another resource is our Biography Text Feature Checklist. This would be a good tool to use to facilitate a class discussion as you flip through some biographies together. Check off when you see the specific text features listed within the books. This is also provided in a black & white version with a space for student’s name in case you want to use it as a literacy center activity.

New to reading workshop? Start here and then come back to this unit: Preparing Your Reading Workshop

Read Alouds

Another way to get students familiar with the biography genre is to share them during your read aloud time.  Choose a few examples that will be of high interest to your students, but that might be above their reading level.  

As you read the books or chapters aloud during your regular read aloud time, you can touch on the ideas you are teaching during your reading block.

Focus On Author’s Purpose

You might want your students to think more deeply about why specific biographies have been written. Obviously the purpose of a biography is to inform, but thinking about the reasons an author has to write the biography can help students to determine importance.  

Our goal as teachers is to help students pull out the purpose. You can use this half sheet Focus on Author’s Purpose during a mini-lesson or at literacy center. There is also a page of Author’s Purpose Exit Slips you can use as a quick check.

An extension of this could be our  Biography   Search , which is intended to be used as a literacy center as well. Once students are able to determine why biographies have been written about specific people, then you could have them search through a stack of books to find different categories.

Thinking About Background Knowledge

Activating schema is an important part of students becoming strong readers. A goal for teachers is for our students to think about what they already know before learning new information.

We have created two Building Background  organizers for students to record their background knowledge. Choose the one that you feel best fits your specific students.

Gathering Important Information

Your students might no be ready to begin reading appropriately high interest biographies and gathering information to share.  We have come up with a few different ways for your students to begin to pull out important information from the biographies they are reading.

One way for students to begin focusing on important information from biographies is to have them begin to take simple notes.  Students need guidance so that they don’t copy complete sentences or paragraphs from books.   Biographies: When Will I Take Notes  is an anchor chart that will help them begin to figure out what to write when taking notes. If you have other ideas about how and when you want students to take notes, you can use our blank template to write your own ideas on.

Our  Life Outline resource is a simple way for students to break down personal information from the biographies they are reading into portions of time in a subject’s life.

We have also included nine different Graphic Organizers that you can introduce to your students as they begin to read.  These cover a range of skills.

There is also a cause & effect organizer that will get your students thinking about how particular events have affected the lives of the people they are reading about.

You might also want to try our set of Important Information Bookmarks . These can be used for students to mark text.

Students simply insert them into the book at the appropriate places. They then go back to them to share information with the class or to fill out one of the organizers.

Most biographies share the impact that others had on the subjects’ lives. These influences can be either positive or negative. Whichever case is true, we want students to be able to name those people who were crucial to the success or failure of the person and why.   

This task may be difficult for students, so we suggest that you choose a short, simple biography to read to the class. You will then discuss the influences in the subject’s life. Identify why they had a positive or negative effect. Finally, fill out one of our two organizers with the students so that they can understand their use.

Biography Reading Response Prompts

You can cut these 8 prompts apart, assign to students and glue into reading response notebooks.

Character Traits

While reading biographies you will want to focus on the character traits of the biography subjects.  Many times it is these character traits that serve as the author’s purpose.  

For materials to use in focusing on those traits, you can check out our Character Traits post. You will find a range of lists of character traits and activities to use during reading workshop.

Sharing Student Learning

You will want your students to be able to share their learning as they read and learn. There are so many different ways they can do this. Below we have shared some of our own resources and ideas.

Biography Brochure – This template can provide your students with an outline to create a brochure focusing on the individuals they are reading about.  Choose the template that fits your students.

Simple Biography Books –  Once your students have read many biographies, you might have them create simple books to share with younger students. We have created templates for both female and male subjects. You will find them with handwriting and standard lines.  You will find this download here: Simple Biographies – Books

Timelines – Of course biographies lend themselves well to student-created timelines. Our students always love using PowerPoint for timelines, but good old-fashioned posters are always great visuals too!

Wax Museums – Another popular way to share student learning for this genre is the Living Wax Museum. Students view pictures and dress up as their characters. They memorize as much as possible and stand at-the-ready to tell others about their lives.  These can be fun presented during the school day to other classes. Or, make it an evening event where parents would be able to watch.

You can download the PDF printables for this unit of study here:

Reading Download

We know that some teachers like to have the lessons above in a document they can easily print and add to their lesson plans. You can download these lesson plans here:

Lesson Download

A few of our favorite biography studies can be found below. These are each free and designed to be ready to go literacy centers.

You might like these for your biography book basket (contains affiliate link)

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thank you so much for this great resource on biographies for grade 2.

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Introduction to Biographies

A biography is an account of someone’s life that is told by someone else. It can be about a famous person or about an ordinary person who has done interesting things. Biographies usually center around a person’s life and positive ways that they have contributed to the world. They are a great way for kids to learn about elements of nonfiction, organization, research, and expository writing. It is also fun to learn about someone who has made a difference! The following activities will provide students with many different ways to organize information and show what they have learned.

Student Activities for Biographies

Essential Questions for Biographies

• Where and when was this person born?
• What was this person’s childhood like?
• What kind of education did this person have?
• What is/was this person’s family life like?
• What are/were this person’s accomplishments?
• What positive contributions has this person made to the world?
• Why did I choose this person?

Why Create Biographies?

When someone has a biography written about them, it is because they have done something in their life that others consider to be quite important--important enough to learn and write about! Usually the person has done something positive and admirable and is an inspiration to others.

In order to create a biography, students will learn about the person’s early life, childhood, education, family, and accomplishments. It is also important for the student to be able to express why they chose this person, and the impact this person has made on the world or the student’s life in particular. For example, students can ask: what can I learn from this person? What mistakes has this person made that I can relate to and grow from? How has this person inspired me?

When reading about and researching a person, students will encounter at least one theme, or recurring main idea, in a biography. The following is a list of potential themes:

• Sometimes life is tough and it takes strength to keep going.
• Believe in yourself and others will believe in you.
• No matter how many times you fail, never give up.
• The most difficult times in life can inspire others.
• Always have hope and stay positive.
• Know your worth: don’t let anyone drag you down.

Students should pay attention to what they think the theme is and be able to explain how they can learn from the person they are researching. Themes also make it much easier for students to present their chosen person's life as a narrative rather than a collection of facts.

Along with being able to identify the theme, there are certain elements of the biography genre that always need to be included in research if the information can be found. These elements are:

• Date and place of birth (and death, if applicable)
• Educational background
• Family life, either past, current, or both
• Adult life: job and current location, if applicable
• Major accomplishments

Other information like fun facts, quotes by or about the person, and photographs may also be included in the biography.

While researching an influential person , students will learn not only about the individual, but about many ways one person can change or contribute to the world. Learning about others helps us find the positive power within ourselves, and motivates us to be the best people that we can be. It is important for the student to fully be interested in learning about the person, so it is best if students choose on their own. Teachers may want to provide a list to help narrow down the choices by focusing on categories such as sports figures, entertainers, inventors, political figures, historical figures, change-makers, or someone the student knows personally. This way, they can make the biographies relevant to the unit they're teaching or the time of year!

How To Teach Biographies in an Elementary School

Explore life events in the story.

Start by talking about the key life events in the biography with students. Consider birth date, family life, education, jobs, and personal events. Guide students through the key life events in chronological order.

Talk About Themes

After they understand the event’s in a person’s life, you can lead them to discuss themes, or what they learn about life from the biographical story. Common themes include making a difference, overcoming obstacles, and always have hope.

Connect to Student's Life

Have students use a Venn Diagram to connect with the person in the biography. They can share things they have in common in the middle of the circles, and things that are different about each of them on the outside.

Draw it Out

Let students draw a body biography in order to understand the person more fully. Have them fill in body parts, such as putting what the character loves in the heart area, and drawing what the person thinks about up in the head.

Frequently Asked Questions about Biographies

How do biographies help students understand how individual people relate to the world around them.

When we read a story about how one person lived their life, we can better understand the power within ourselves and see how our lives matter. Every person influences the world around them.

What are some common themes that run through biographies?

Many biographies teach lessons such as how to overcome obstacles, believing in yourself, and making the most of what you have.

What universal elements are found in almost all biographies?

Most biographies explain a person’s birth and death dates (if they have died), what their childhood was like, their education, their work accomplishments and their personal or familial accomplishments.

Why should we read biographies?

When we read about other people's struggles and triumphs, we see what we have in common and are able to see the importance of our own life.

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Educator Resources for Biography

Lesson Plans

Biography background information for teachers, parents and caregivers, classroom activities: biography, family and homeschool activities: biography, biography lesson plan: an introduction to biographies, teaching tips.

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Biography Writing (KS2)

Subject: English

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

19 August 2019

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This series of lessons teaches children how to plan, structure, write and edit biographies.

Can be used and adapted to Years 4-6

Included is the PowerPoint, example biography and lesson plans.

Hope it is useful.

Visit 2 Stars and a Wish for ideas on how to use songs and poetry to teach reading.

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Biography Reading & Writing Workshop Lessons & Mentor Texts - 4th Grade

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Description

This unit provides teachers with EVERYTHING they need to successfully teach a biography reading and writing workshop for an entire month of school!!

COPYRIGHT NOTE : This curriculum was completely researched, designed, and created by Jen Bengel at Out of This World Literacy™.

NEW 2nd EDITION: This unit was completely revised into a 2nd edition!

What's Included:

• 20 reading and 20 writing mini lessons all linked to the Common Core and TEKS standards!
• Students note-taking pages for all 40 lessons. Perfect to glue into reading and writing notebooks and keep the learning going all year long.
• 20 printable graphic organizers designed specifically for each reading lesson.
• 20 printable thinkmark graphic organizers for each reading lesson.
• Writing rubrics for grading.
• Writing editing and revising checklists.
• Sample completed anchor charts for several lessons.
• Mentor texts INCLUDED! 7 2-page original mentor texts with custom illustrations are included to support the reading and writing lessons.
• TONS of teacher pages for organizing, conferencing, assessing, and note-taking.

PLEASE NOTE

• The mini-lessons in this unit are the same as the lessons in the informational units for grades 2-6. The only difference is the grade 4 standards attached and the mentor text passages.

Download the free preview to see more.

CLICK THE LINKS TO SEE EACH SET:

• Historical Fiction
• Informational
• Personal Narrative
• Realistic Fiction
• Traditional Literature

Copyright © 2014 Jen Bengel - Out of This World Literacy™️

2nd Edition © 2019

All rights reserved by author.

Permission to copy for single classroom use only.

Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.

Not for public display.

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Getting to Know You: Developing Short Biographies to Build Community

• Resources & Preparation
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Students in a class form a type of community, and members must get to know one another for that community to thrive. When students and teachers share their backgrounds and interests early in the year, they develop a base for understanding that will support effective teaching and learning throughout the months that follow. This lesson, which is designed for the first few weeks of school, helps build classroom community. Students begin with a discussion about community and what it means to be part of a community. They then prepare interview questions to ask a classmate about their lives. Students interview a fellow classmate to compile biographical data about him or her and use a Web tool called Bio-Cube to organize the material. In a culminating activity, students use their completed Bio-Cube to introduce their partner to the class.

Featured Resources

Bio-Cube : Have students use this interactive to compile biographical information about a classmate.

From Theory to Practice

• Comprehension is a social constructivist process. Learning is the continuous integration of knowledge and experience and promotes the active construction of personal meaning.
• Thematic approaches to teaching and learning are responsive to the interests, abilities, and needs of students and are respectful of their developing aptitudes and attitudes.
• We read biographies to gain insight into the lives of others, which in turn offers us insight into ourselves.

Important "new literacies" needed in the 21st century include the opportunity to collaborate with others, engage in critical inquiry, and enhance communication skills while learning to respect the varied perspectives of others.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 9. Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Computers with Internet access
• LCD projector (optional)
• Overhead projector and transparency
• Bio-Cube Assessment
• Interview Checklist
• Presentation Checklist
• Bio-Cube Planning Sheet

Preparation

Student objectives.

Students will

• Gain knowledge of the backgrounds and interests of their teacher and classmates through personal interviews and the creation of a Bio-Cube
• Develop communication skills by practicing a variety of speaking techniques such as making eye contact, asking and responding to questions while interviewing, and orally presenting biographical information to classmates
• Review and expand their knowledge of text structure and practice using technology in relevant ways by organizing and presenting information with an online organizer using an online biography development tool
• Practice working collaboratively to develop their Bio-Cubes

Introducing the Strategy/Activity

Modeling the Strategy/Activity

Note: If you do not have classroom computers, this session should take place in your school’s computer lab (see Preparation, Step 1). Guided Practice

Independent Practice

• Display the Bio-Cubes in your classroom. This can be especially nice for families to view at Open House or fall conferences.
• Share the Bio-Cubes they have created with students in other classes in the same grade level so that everyone gets to know one another.
• Create Bio-Cubes for themselves, family members, or other people they are interested in.
• Use the Bio-Cube as a graphic organizer to write a complete biography or autobiography.
• Read biographies and use the Bio-Cube to summarize the text and share information with others.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Observe students during the whole-class discussions, interviews, and as they work to create and share the Bio-Cube . Look for interpersonal skills, oral and written communication skills, how students work collaboratively, and who might require more or less support in the future.
• Assess students using the Interview Checklist . Provide coaching and additional practice with interviewing for students who demonstrate difficulty on one or more of these criteria. You might even pair these students together and coach them while they conduct an additional interview.
• Use the Presentation Checklist to assess students’ presentations. Provide coaching and practice to students who need more support.
• Extend students’ reflections from Session 2 by keeping the chart about classroom community up and periodically returning to it during the year, reflecting on how successful you have been at establishing your classroom community. You might ask students to complete the same activity part of the way through the year to see how they are able to deepen their interview responses. Or you might have students complete a Bio-Cube for themselves and compare it to the one their peer created.
• Ask students to use the Bio-Cube Assessment to assess their work. Meet with each pair of students and discuss the assessment, providing feedback and completing the Teacher section of the rubric. Work with students to develop goals for improvement. Since this lesson is most likely occurring early in the year, this can be a good assessment of what students can do independently and in partnerships.
• Student Interactives

Bio Cube is a useful summarizing tool that helps students identify and list key elements about a person for a biography or autobiography.

The interactive Cube Creator helps students identify and summarize key elements. It can be used as a prewriting or postreading activity.

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