Who are your students? What do they know of themselves? What did they do with themselves before entering your class?
These are just some of the questions that might arise at the start of the school year.
Arguably the most important thing a student learns to do in their 13 years of study is to have the skills to present themselves to the world and to be able to clearly articulate their identity.
In this lesson plan, we’ll share a great way for students to create an autobiography that serves not just one, but many functions throughout the school year.
Unwrapping the onion of autobiography
On the surface, this lesson asks the student to describe all the things that make them unique in this world. However, once your students have thought about these materials, this project takes on a life of its own based on the projects that may arise from its completion. (See below for more information)
In this project, students will learn:
- What is a biography and an autobiography?
- How to write a personal story
- How to Edit a Peer Partner Biography
- How to share your story.
Key lesson points
Throughout this lesson, the student will learn several key topics. Each of these types of autobiographies has the potential to open up additional projects during the school year, making them the perfect first or second lesson.
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- What is a biography?
- A biography is a story (in the third person) about someone’s life and accomplishments.
- They are designed to help tell someone’s story and are intended to help provide a clear picture of who someone is personally and professionally.
- A tool that can be put to good use when networking.
- Where do you find biographies?
- resume
- Social media profiles
- Presentations / Speeches
- “About me” pages
- Ways to start a biography/autobiography?
- “Johnny Appleseed is an 8th grader in middle school.”
- “Johnny Appleseed is interested in volleyball, science and plays the violin.”
- “In 2018, Johnny won his first bowling competition…”
- “When he’s not in college, Johnny is active in volleyball.”
- “Johnny Appleseed lives with his mother and 4 siblings”
Tips for Writing Biographies and Autobiographies
- Start writing your biography with your first and last name.
- Present what you are currently doing with your life or what interests you.
- Include at least one achievement.
- Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of school.
- Consider adding a personal story.
Project materials
Course procedures
Part 1: Write down your thoughts
- Step 1:
- 2nd step:
- Ask your students to write down as many memorable events in their lives as they can think of that are significant.
- Step 3:
- When you’re done, have your students click the DATE button in Google Classroom.
Part 2: Overview of the biography
- Step 1:
- 2nd step:
- Have your students fill in the blanks using details about their background, history, and accomplishments.
- Step 3:
- When you’re done, have your students click the DATE button in Google Classroom.
Part 3: Writing the biography
- Step 1:
- 2nd step:
- Ask your students to write the first draft of their autobiography using the paragraph guides in the template.
- Step 3:
- When you’re done, have your students click the DATE button in Google Classroom.
Educational resources
Digital learning skills
There are several digital learning skills that students will need or learn during this activity.
- Typing
- Editing
- Peer review
- Capitalization and punctuation
- Bold / Italic
- Heading and paragraph styles
follow-up activities
As mentioned above, there are several follow-up activities that will complement this lesson well. Once a student has written their own autobiography, they can then choose someone from the story or a topic that is in the curriculum and write a report to share someone else’s story. Another great extension of this lesson would be to put your students in front of a camera and read the autobiography into a camera to create the beginnings of a short video project.
Are you interested in creating dynamic lessons this year to support digital learning skills? Would you be interested in me working with you or your team of teachers? Please reach out and let me know how I can best support you this year.
About the Author, Jeffrey Bradbury
Jeff Bradbury, creator of TeacherCast and father of the famous @EduTriplets Thanks for checking out TeacherCast today. Please take a moment to find me on all my social media channels!