Michelle Moss
Eastwood Middle School
English 7
Assisting Teacher: Tiffany M. Bishop
Biography and Autobiography
Unit Plan
March 4, 2013 – March 8, 2013
Overview:





Monday, March 4, 2013: Introduction to Biography and Autobiography
Tuesday, March 5, 2013: Biographies of Famous People (Chunking Text
and Graphic Organizer)
Wednesday, March 6, 2013: Group Project - Body Biography
Thursday, March 7, 2013: Group Project – Body Biography Presentations
and Vocabulary Review
Friday, March 8, 2013: Lesson 26 Vocabulary and Biography and
Autobiography Test
Introduction to Biography and Autobiography
March 4, 2013
Teacher: Michelle Moss
Assisting Teacher: Tiffany Bishop
Subject Area: English
Grade Level: 7
 Objectives:
o Students will apply strategies to comprehend the use and
importance of biographies and autobiographies as literary genres.
ARMT Standards:
o Apply strategies appropriate to the type of material, including
setting purposes for reading and making generalizations, to
comprehend seventh-grade literary/recreational materials. [1]
Common Core Standards:
o Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
[CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1]
o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text; provide an objective
summary of the text. [CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2]
 Procedures
Before:
o Bell Ringer
o (Modified) KWL Chart:
 What do you think you Know about biographies and
autobiographies?
 What do you Wonder about them?
 How did you Learn about them?
During:
o Notes and Examples on Biography and Autobiography
o Essential Questions:
 What is a biography?
 What is an autobiography?
 How are they similar and different?
o See PowerPoint and Graphic Organizer Attached
After:
o If you were to write a biography about a person who inspires you,
who would you write about and what adjectives would you use to
describe him or her?
Adjective
Adjective
Name
Adjective
Homework:
o Study Vocabulary Lesson 26
Adjective
Biography and Autobiography
Essential Questions
Biography (Definition)
Biography (Word Work)
Autobiography (Definition)
Autobiography (Word Work)
“Biography or Autobiography?”
Challenge and Justification
“Biography or Autobiography?”
Challenge and Justification
Biography
March 5, 2013
Teacher: Michelle Moss
Assisting Teacher: Tiffany Bishop
Subject Area: English
Grade Level: 7
 Objectives:
o Students will apply strategies to comprehend the use and
importance of biographies and autobiographies as literary genres.
o Students will read biographies of inspirational figures and use a
graphic organizer to organize the information.
ARMT Standards:
o Apply strategies appropriate to the type of material, including
setting purposes for reading and making generalizations, to
comprehend seventh-grade literary/recreational materials. [1]
Common Core Standards:
o Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
[CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1]
o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text; provide an objective
summary of the text. [CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2]
 Procedures
Before:
o Bell Ringer
o Quick-Write:
Choose one person from the following list of people. If you were to
write a biography about that person, what are 3 things you would
say about his or her life?
 Michael Jordan
 Barak Obama
 Beyonce
 Will Smith
 Oprah Winfrey
During:
o Graphic Organizer on a Biography of a Famous Person
o Each group will be reading a biography of a different person. We
will be working through the graphic organizer as a class, so that
each student will work at the same pace no matter which
biography the group has.
o The text will be chunked into manageable portions for reading.
o See Biographies and Graphic Organizer Attached
After:
o 3-2-1
3 facts about the person
2 connections to the person/text
1 lesson/inspiration from the person
Homework:
o Study Vocabulary Lesson 26
Name of Person
Author of Biography
Heart:
What does this person love the
most?
What means the most them?
Music, politics, sports, etc.
Use evidence from the text!
Backbone:
What motivates this person?
Money, family, fame, etc.
How do you know? Use evidence
from the text.
Hands:
What does this person hold in their
hands? Explain.
For example: Michael Jackson
holds a microphone because he
loved to sing.
Feet:
What is this person standing on?
What do they spend most of their
time doing?
For example: Nick Saban spends
most of his time on the football
field.
Background:
Quotation:
How does this person inspire you? Write down one quote from this
How has their life impacted yours? person.
Body Biography
March 6, 2013
Teacher: Michelle Moss
Assisting Teacher: Tiffany Bishop
Subject Area: English
Grade Level: 7
 Objectives:
o Students will apply strategies to comprehend the use and
importance of biographies and autobiographies as literary genres.
o Students will work in small groups to produce life-size visual
representations of a person from reading their biography.
ARMT Standards:
o Apply strategies appropriate to the type of material, including
setting purposes for reading and making generalizations, to
comprehend seventh-grade literary/recreational materials. [1]
Common Core Standards:
o Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
[CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1]
o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text; provide an objective
summary of the text. [CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2]
 Procedures
Before:
o Bell Ringer
o Think-Pair-Share
Think back to the person’s biography you read yesterday. What are
three things that stood out to you the most about that person?
Examples may include career, quotes, family, etc.
During:
o Body Biography Project
o After students have read a biography and have organized notes on
the information received, they will be divided in to groups based on
the biography they have read.
o Students will be given a six-foot length of newsprint or bulletin board
paper and materials to incorporate in the project.
o Students will trace an outline of one group’s member’s body on the
paper.
o Each group will then choose the best way to represent the following
aspects of the character: the heart, the backbone, the hands, the
feet, the background, and the quotations. (This information has
already been recorded by each student from the previous lesson.)
o See Rubric Attached.
After:
o 3-2-1
3 new things you learned about your person
2 things you already knew about your person
1 thing you would still like to know about your person
Homework:
o Study Vocabulary Lesson 26
Body Biography Rubric
20
Project is neat,
well organized,
and easy to
Neatness read.
15
10
5
Project is
somewhat
neat,
organization is
sufficient, and it
is easy to read.
Project is either
lacking in
neatness,
organization, or
the handwriting
is too sloppy or
small
Team members
worked well at
time, were off
task at times
Project is not
neat,
organized, or
clearly written
Team
Work
All team
members work
well and
efficiently; no
one was ever off
task
Team members
work efficiently;
at times a
group member
was off task
Foldable
Each member
completed the
foldable with
thoughtful and
correct
information.
Each member
completed the
foldable, but
one or more
was lacking in
quality.
One or more
members did
not complete
the foldable.
Foldables
were
altogether
missing or did
not following
directions
The body as well
as the symbolic
images were
well done,
colorful, and
represented the
person well.
The body as
well as the
symbolic
images were
somewhat
completed,
colorful, and
represented
the person well.
The visuals
overall did not
meet the
requirements.
The person’s
body, clothing,
and symbolic
images portray
Evidence
an
from Text
understanding of
the biography.
The person’s
body, clothing,
and symbolic
images are
appropriately
used from the
biography.
The body or
symbolic
images were
either
incomplete,
not colored, or
did not make
sense based on
the biography
of the person.
The person’s
body, clothing,
and symbolic
images are
somewhat
appropriately
used from the
biography.
Visual
Team
members did
not work
efficiently
The body,
clothing,
and/or
symbolic
images are
not
appropriately
used from the
biography.
Autobiography
March 7, 2013
Teacher: Michelle Moss
Assisting Teacher: Tiffany Bishop
Subject Area: English
Grade Level: 7
 Objectives:
o Students will apply strategies to comprehend the use and
importance of biographies and autobiographies as literary genres.
o Students will work in small groups to produce life-size visual
representations of a person from reading their biography.
o Students will write a “Bio-Poem” as an autobiography of their own
life.
ARMT Standards:
o Apply strategies appropriate to the type of material, including
setting purposes for reading and making generalizations, to
comprehend seventh-grade literary/recreational materials. [1]
Common Core Standards:
o Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
[CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1]
o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text; provide an objective
summary of the text. [CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2]
o Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience. [CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.4]
 Procedures
Before:
o Bell Ringer
o Finish/Present Body Biography Project
Students will wrap up the work they have done on their body
biographies and turn them in. Groups will be called to present their
projects.
During:
o Students will create their own autobiography by writing a “BioPoem.” Examples will be provided and we will write the poems
together at an equal pace. The following format will be used:
Line 1: First name:
Line 2: Four traits to describe line 1:
Line 3: Related to/sibling of:
Line 4: Who cares about: (three things)
Line 5: Who feels: (three things)
Line 6: Who needs: (three things)
Line 7: Who gives: (three things)
Line 8: Who fears: (three things)
Line 9: Who would like to see: (three things)
Line 10: Resident of:
Line 11: Last name
After:
o After Activity:
Transfer the rough draft of your poem onto a final draft. You may
then draw a picture to illustrate your poem.
Homework:
o Study Vocabulary Lesson 26
Biography and Autobiography
March 8, 2013
Teacher: Michelle Moss
Assisting Teacher: Tiffany Bishop
Subject Area: English
Grade Level: 7
 Objectives:
o Students will apply strategies to comprehend the use and
importance of biographies and autobiographies as literary genres.
o Students will be tested on their knowledge of vocabulary words
and biographies and autobiographies.
ARMT Standards:
o Apply strategies appropriate to the type of material, including
setting purposes for reading and making generalizations, to
comprehend seventh-grade literary/recreational materials. [1]
Common Core Standards:
o Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
[CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1]
o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text; provide an objective
summary of the text. [CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2]
 Procedures
Before:
o Bell Ringer
o Vocabulary Review
During:
o Vocabulary Lesson 26/Biography and Autobiography Test
o See attached.
After:
o Lesson 27 Vocabulary:
1. Define each word.
2. Write a sentence using each work correctly.
3. Write an example for each word.
4. Write a non-example for each word.