Teacher-of-English.com Biography and Autobiography Non-fiction Reading and Writing Teacher-of-English.Com Biography and Autobiography What is the difference? Biography and Autobiography Objectives: • To learn the difference between biography and autobiography • To explore a multi-modal example of a biography What is the difference? What is the difference between a biography and an autobiography? A biography is written by a person about someone else. An autobiography is written by a person about themselves. William Shakespeare was born in… I was eight when I broke my arm… Biography Biography means writing about another person’s life: “bio” comes from the Greek word for “life” “graphy” comes from the Greek word for “I write”. Therefore a biography is the story of the another person’s life. Biographies of famous people are very popular and sell millions of copies every year. Biography: Charles Dickens We are going to read extracts from different biographies of Charles Dickens. The first one can be found on the following slide. Read the text and discuss it with your teacher. Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, on February 7, 1812. His father John worked as a clerk in the Navy Payroll Office but was constantly in debt, and in 1824 he was imprisoned in a debtor's prison. Charles was forced to leave school at the age of 12 and go to work in a factory to help support the Dickens family. He was released from the misery of factory work when his father received a legacy from a relative, and could finally pay his debts and be set free from prison. Charles went to school for two years, then took work as a clerk in London. In 1835 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth and together they had 10 children before they separated in 1858. In 1837 Dickens had his first book, The Pickwick Papers, published and success was almost instant. For the next 30 years Dickens was incredibly famous, wrote dozens of hugely successful books and travelled around the world reading his stories to massive audiences. He died on June 9, 1870 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. The Information Superhighway The internet contains lots of biographical information about Charles Dickens. However be aware that information found on the internet is not always as reliable as that found in traditionally published media such as books, DVDs or CD ROMs. (Why would that be?) Use reputable websites to find reliable information you can trust. For example: www.charlesdickenspage.com http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victoria n_britain/?site=history_victorianlj_sour Charles Dickens’ Animated Life Click on the link below to watch an animated version of Charles Dickens’ life from the BBC website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/bleakhouse/anima tion.shtml Click below for more pages from the BBC website about life in Dickens’ World. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/deary_gall ery_05.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/victorians/index. shtml Biography A biography gives the reader lots of information about a person’s life. Talk to a partner about Charles Dickens. Try to include the following points in your talk. •Where did Charles Dickens spend his early childhood? •What happened to the Dickens family when Charles was 12? •Name three of his famous novels. •Tell your partner three unusual facts about Charles Dickens. •When did he die and how old was he? Plenary Feedback to the rest of the group. Discuss what you have discovered about Charles Dickens. How did the different text types provide different information? Teacher-of-English.com Conventions of biography Biography Writing Objectives: • To learn the main features of biographical writing • To explore a biography of Roald Dahl The Third Person A biography is always written in the third person. ‘Kate’s first acting role was in the school nativity. When she was only eight years old Kate wowed audiences with her portrayal of Mary.’ The third person means writing about another person from your own point of view. You describe what happens to them and refer to their thoughts and feelings. When using the third person you will use pronouns such as: He, she, they, (the person’s name), and them. A Brief Roald Dahl Biography Roald Dahl is one of the world’s most popular and most famous children’s writers. Have you read any of Roald Dahl’s books? In pairs complete a spider diagram showing everything you know about Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl What do you know about Roald Dahl? Write down as much as you can on the spider diagram below. Roald Dahl Over the coming lessons we will be studying Roald Dahl’s autobiography ‘Boy’ but before we begin the book we are going to look at a brief biography of the author. Click the picture above to watch a short film about Roald Dahl. By the end of today’s lesson you should be a Roald Dahl expert! Roald Dahl Roald Dahl was born on 13 September 1916 and died on 23 November 1990. He was a novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter. Born in Llandaff, Cardiff, to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander. Dahl became famous in the 1940s writing for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. He has been referred to as “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century” and his books are well loved for their fantastic characters and often very dark humour. Some of his most popular works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The Big Friendly Giant. Check your understanding 1.When was Roald Dahl born and when did he die? 2.List three of Roald’s jobs. 3.When did Roald’s stories first gain popularity? 4.Name three of Roald Dahl’s books. 5.Where did Roald write his stories? 6.Describe a typical day’s writing routine. Plenary Create a Roald Dahl fact file using your own knowledge and research, information from this PowerPoint presentation and the BBC video clip. Teacher-of-English.com Biography and Autobiography Boy – Roald Dahl’s Family Tree Roald Dahl Objectives: • To understand the meaning of autobiography • To create a family tree for Roald Dahl using events from Chapter One of Boy • To create your own family tree What is an Autobiogrphy? What is the difference between a biography and an autobiography? A biography is a text written by a person about someone else. An autobiography is a text written by a person about themselves. William Shakespeare was born in… I was eight when I broke my arm… Autobiography Autobiography means writing about your self: “auto” comes from the Greek word for “self” “bio” comes from the Greek word for “life” “graphy” comes from the Greek word for “I write”. Therefore an autobiography is the story of the author’s life. Boy is autobiographical. It is the story of Roald’s childhood, full of exciting and unusual events! Facebook, blogs and websites If you have a Facebook page, a blog or a website then you have probably written some kind of autobiographical text. Why are these texts examples of autobiography? What information do people put on them? What is a Family Tree? On this and the next slide are two examples of a family tree. Study them then explain what a family tree is. Family Tree Read Chapter One of Boy. Create a family tree for Roald Dahl based on the information provided in Chapter One. Plenary Homework Create your own family tree. Ask your relatives to help you with the information you need. Teacher-of-English.com Biography and Autobiography Writing about people Writing about people in autobiography Objective: • To understand how Dahl presents Mrs Pratchett in Boy Mrs Pratchett What have you discovered about Mrs Pratchett? Read up to the end of ‘The bicycle and the sweet shop’ then jot down everything you can remember about her. Mrs Pratchett Mrs Pratchett is a person from Roald’s early childhood. Write a paragraph about her. Below are a few sentence starters to help you: 12th June 11 Mrs Pratchett Mrs Pratchett is introduced to the reader in Chapter Three where she… Roald describes her as… She speaks to the children like… The young Roald Dahl and his friends feel… Plenary Volunteers read out their work to the class. The rest of the class will provide constructive criticism based around the following questions: What is good about it? How could it be improved? Teacher-of-English.com Biography and Autobiography Holiday in Norway Going to Norway Objective: • To talk about your favourite holiday • To study Roald Dahl’s childhood memories of Norway • To create an advertisement for Norway as a tourist destination Welcome to Norway Read the chapters ‘Going to Norway’ and ‘The magic island’. In these chapters Roald writes about his boyhood holidays in Norway. What do we find out about Norway from reading them? Answer the questions below. 1. What is the capital of Norway? What do we learn about it? 2. What is the journey from Oslo to Tjome like? 3. What can tourists do on the islands of Norway? 4. What dangers are there about holidaying in Norway? 5. What fish can be caught in the early evening? 6. What is so good about Norwegian fish? 7. What do you know about ice cream in Norway? 8. What is ‘skaaling’? 9. What is gjetost? Holiday in Norway Using the information you have gathered about Norway, create a magazine advertisement designed to persuade people to visit Norway for a holiday. Things to include •What is the scenery like? •What are the people like? •What food and drink is available? •What activities could holiday makers enjoy? •Describe the capital city of Oslo. Teacher-of-English.com Biography and Autobiography My First Day at School My First Day at School Objective: • To understand the key features of autobiographical writing • To read Chapter Ten and Chapter Eleven of Boy • To write a letter home in the style of Roald Dahl in Boy First Day at School Do you remember your first day at school? What was it like? How did you feel? Was it different to what you expected? The First Person Autobiography is written in the first person. The narrator always tells the story from their own point of view: “My earliest memory is when I fell down the stairs aged three and a half. My mum had left me playing…” The first person means writing from your own point of view. You describe what happened from your perspective and include your personal thoughts and feelings. When using the first person you will use personal pronouns such as: I, me, my, myself, we and us. The text below is an extract from an autobiography, part of which is set in Glasgow. It describes a boy's first day at secondary school. A lank young teacher led us into the classroom. The girls sat in desks to his right, the boys to the left, and he faced them with hands on hips leaning forward from the waist. He said, "My name is Maxwell. I'm your form teacher. You come to me first period each day to have the class register called and to bring reasons for having been absent or late. They'd better be good reasons. I'm also your Latin teacher." He stared at us a while, then said, "I'm new to teaching. Just as I'm your first senior secondary school teacher, you are my first senior secondary school class. We're starting together, you see, and I think we’d better decide here and now to start well. You do right by me and I'll do right by you. But if we quarrel about anything you're going to suffer. Not me." He stared at us brightly and the frightened class stared back. He had a craggy face with a rugged nose, trimmed red moustache and broad lips. First Day at school Here's a closer look at some of the features you may be able to spot. Notice that characters are introduced. Mr Maxwell is a "lank young teacher". The writer provides description of characters: " he faced them with hands on hips leaning forward from the waist.” The story is told in the 1st person: "A lank young teacher led us into the classroom". Language in both extracts is used imaginatively. Look for the vivid description in "He had a craggy face with a rugged nose, trimmed red moustache and broad lips." This example shows words being used to create strong impressions of the people or places in the story. Boy’s letter Read up to the end of ‘Letters home’. Imagine you are Roald Dahl. Think about what has happened during the first few days at your new school. What would Roald think and feel about life at St Peter’s so far? Imagine that you are writing a letter home about your new school. Remember to use the key features of autobiographical writing: •First person perspective •Personal pronouns •Introduce new characters (the Headmaster) •Use imaginative and vivid description •Include the main events of Chapters 10 and 11 Plenary Read out your letter to the rest of the group. If you have not finished, complete your letter for homework. Teacher-of-English.com Boy Captain Hardcastle Captain Hardcastle Objective: • To know the difference between description, dialogue and action • To read to the end of the chapter ‘Captain Hardcastle’ • To explore how Roald Dahl presents the character of Captain Hardcastle to the reader Captain Hardcastle What are your first impressions of Captain Hardcastle? What words or phrases does Roald Dahl use to describe him. First impressions last… Do you think that Captain Hardcastle is a hero or villain in this book? What evidence is there for this? Authors create characters through description, dialogue and action but do you remember exactly what those things are? 12th July 11 Captain Hardcastle Captain Hardcastle is a… Description, Dialogue, Action! Can you match up the word with its correct definition? Description What the character says Dialogue What the character does Action How the character looks, feels and behaves Description, Dialogue, Action! Can you match up the word with its correct definition? Description What the character says Dialogue What the character does Action How the character looks, feels and behaves Captain Hardcastle Look at the words and phrases used by Roald Dahl to present the character of Captain Hardcastle. What do these tell us about him? Quotation His legs were as hard and thin as ram’s legs. Description, dialogue or action? description “You, what’s-your-name, get on with your work!” His small milky-blue eyes would rove the Hall for the full sixty minutes, searching for trouble, and heaven help the boy who caused it. action What it suggests about him Captain Hardcastle Write a paragraph explaining how Roald Dahl uses description, dialogue and action to present the character of Captain Hardcastle to the reader. You could use some of the sentence starters on the next slide to get you up and running. 12th May 11 Captain Hardcastle My first impression of Captain Hardcastle is that he is a… Captain Hardcastle What are your first impressions of Captain Hardcastle? Below are a few sentence starters to help with your paragraph: 12th May 11 Captain Hardcastle Captain Hardcastle is introduced to the reader in chapter 15 where he… Hardcastle is described as … When he speaks to Roald Dahl he says… The author’s use of description, dialogue and action gives the reader an insight into Captain Hardcastle’s character… Plenary Read your paragraph about Captain Hardcastle to the rest of the group. Do they agree or disagree with your description of him? Teacher-of-English.com Personal Pronouns Me, myself and I Personal Pronouns In this lesson we are going to: • Learn about personal pronouns • Learn how to use personal pronouns in autobiographical writing Personal Pronouns A noun is a word that is a person, place or thing. A pronoun can be used in place of a noun A personal pronoun is used in place of a noun that is a person or thing. Emma loves chocolate. She could eat it all day. Personal pronouns are used so that you don’t have to repeat the same words in your writing. Personal pronouns for people include… I they him she her he us you me them we Personal pronouns for things include… it they them The following sentences do not use personal pronouns. Rewrite each sentence using a personal pronoun. 1.Mike turned the fire on because Mike was cold. 2.Jane loves football, Jane plays football after school. 3.The rain poured down, the rain made a tremendous noise. 4.The car broke down because the car ran out of petrol. 5.Amir loves Saira, Amir bought Saira a ring. Check your answers 1.Mike turned the fire on because he was cold. 2.Jane loves football, she plays it after school. 3.The rain poured down, it made a tremendous noise. 4.The car broke down because it ran out of petrol. 5.Amir loves Saira, he bought her a ring. Check your sentences with your teacher Did you remember to change the noun for a personal pronoun? Personal Pronouns In autobiographical writing personal pronouns are used all the time as the author is writing about themselves. ‘I remember when I was seven, scoring a last minute goal…’ Biography and Autobiography Describing a place from the past Describing a place from the past Objective: • To understand how to use adjectives to create effective description • To explore examples of descriptive writing • To learn how to use the senses when creating description Adjectives Adjectives describe a noun. They are used to add description and mood to a piece of writing. E.G: I fell into the river becomes I fell into the raging river. • The adjective ‘raging’ adds description to the sentence. It helps the reader get a clear picture of what is being described. The reader can now imagine the scene vividly: a rapidly flowing river. • The adjective also adds tension to the sentence. The word ‘raging’ makes the river sound fast flowing and dangerous. This makes the sentence more exciting for the reader. Spot the Adjective Underline, circle or highlight the adjectives in the following sentences: 1.The vicious dog ran straight for me. 2.The angry sea crashed against the black rocks. 3.The fragile, old lady peered through the smashed window. 4.My new bike landed in the muddy pond. 5.A lonely star shone in the purple sky. Using Adjectives Place adjectives into the following sentences: 1. The _____ wind blasted the _____ castle walls. 2. The _____ child threw its _____ toy onto the floor. 3. A _____ woman crept out of the back door of the _____ house. 4. I sat there _____ in the _____ examination hall. 5. The _____ striker smashed the ball past the _____ goal keeper. Effective Descriptive Writing Descriptive Writing puts into words what a person, thing or place is like. Good descriptive writing should make the object, place or person being described come alive in the reader’s imagination. It’s just like being there! For the purpose of this task you will describe a place that is important to you. Planning Your Writing Look at the question : Describe a place that is important to you. What is the secret of writing a successful description? Planning! How do I plan my writing? Once you have chosen your place you need to begin a plan. When you are planning try to use the senses. Add as much information as you can to the spider diagram below. touch smell taste Holiday in Majorca see hear Plan your Writing Now plan your description, try to use the senses. Add as much information as you can to your spider diagram. Sand between my toes touch smell taste Holiday in Majorca Waves crashing on the rocks Children paddling in the sea see hear Writing to describe - Example Read the example below. How has the author made the place being described come alive in the reader’s imagination? Strolling along the promenade was always a special thrill. I loved the familiar sights - the white houses and hotels along the front, the shelters occupied by little old ladies, the beach and the ravenous pleading gulls that circled above it. My mother would stand by the seafront railings and inhale great lungs full of sea air and cry "Oh, smell that sea air - the sea never smells as good anywhere else as it does here.” The sticks of rock that we all sucked, were like barbers’ poles made of sugar... Did you spot these techniques? Use of effective verbs Use of adjectives Strolling along the promenade was always a special thrill. I loved the familiar sights - the white houses and hotels along the front, the shelters occupied by little old ladies, the beach and the ravenous pleading gulls that circled above like vultures. My mother would stand satisfied by the seafront railings and inhale great lungs full of sea air and cry "Oh, smell that sea air - the sea never smells as good anywhere else as it does here.” The sticks of rock that we all sucked, were like barbers’ poles made of sugar... Use of similes Use of past tense Did you spot these techniques? Use of effective verbs Use of adjectives Strolling along the promenade was always a special thrill. I loved the familiar sights - the white houses and hotels along the front, the shelters occupied by little old ladies, the beach and the ravenous pleading gulls that circled above like vultures. My mother would stand satisfied by the seafront railings and inhale great lungs full of sea air and cry "Oh, smell that sea air - the sea never smells as good anywhere else as it does here.” The sticks of rock that we all sucked, were like barbers’ poles made of sugar... Use of similes Use of past tense Developing and Improving Which description is more effective? Holiday in Majorca Holiday in Majorca The sun shone in the sky. I could see children paddling in the sea and I could hear waves crashing on the rocks in the distance. I could feel the sand between my toes. I decided to go for a swim. The sun blazed down upon the white Spanish sands of Puerto Pollensa. Everywhere you looked people were enjoying the sunshine. Children splashed and squealed with delight as waves crashed against… What differences can you spot between the two descriptions? Effective Description Why is this description more effective? Holiday in Majorca The sun blazed down upon the white Spanish sands of Puerto Pollensa. Everywhere you looked people were enjoying the sunshine. Children splashed and squealed with delight in the waves, which crashed against… Remember to use effective adjectives and verbs. Don’t forget to use the senses and if you can try to use other descriptive techniques such as similes. Now use your notes to begin a first draft. Don’t worry about it being perfect just yet, just have a go at writing a descriptive paragraph of your special place. From First to Second Draft How has this student improved her second draft? Holiday in Majorca Holiday in Majorca The sun shone in the sky. I could see children paddling in the sea and I could hear waves crashing on the rocks in the distance. I could feel the sand between my toes. I decided to go for a swim. The August sun blazed down upon the white Spanish sands of Puerto Pollensa. At the water’s edge children splashed and squealed with delight as waves crashed against the shore like a giant’s hands splashing around in a gigantic bathtub. Teacher-of-English.com Biography and Autobiography My Story My story Objectives: • To produce a piece of writing, using the conventions and key features of autobiography, about an event from your life which would interest others. My Story Read up to the end of the book then discuss your favourite story from Roald Dahl’s childhood. What makes it such a good story? How does Roald Dahl capture and keep your attention? Assessment Task Choose an event from your life that you think would interest others. You are going to write about this event just as Roald Dahl writes about moments from his childhood in ‘Boy’. You will need to: •Select an unusual, amusing or entertaining event •Use the first person perspective •Use personal pronouns •Include imaginative and vivid description My Story You have 40 minutes to write your autobiographical story. Spend five minutes planning, 30 minutes writing, then the final five minutes checking. Good luck! Teacher-of-English.com Boy Links Boy and Roald Dahl Links The Roald Dahl official website Roald Dahl fan’s website The Roald Dahl Museum An episode from ‘Reading Aloud’ with Michael Rosen about Roald Dahl and ‘Boy’ Free Roald Dahl resources (stickers, posters and quizzes) Planning Documents Assessment: AFL, APP and Assessment Outcomes This unit has been designed to be used with both APP and AFL. KS3 Nonfiction unit – Biography and Autobiography Prior Learning Prior learning evident in lessons one and two where pupils discuss their knowledge of biography, autobiography and Roald Dahl. Assessment for Learning (AFL) Opportunities for AFL appear throughout this unit and are evident in activities through PowerPoint slides and worksheets. Assessing Pupil Progress (APP) Opportunities for APP can be found in lessons 4,5,6,7 and 10 Assessment outcomes Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson 4: (Reading) Writing about how the author presents a character 5: (Writing) Norway holiday brochure 6: (Writing) Letter writing 7: (Reading) Writing about character 10: (Writing) Unit main assessment task – write an autobiographical story
