BIOGRAPHY UNIT 2013
Week 1 Created by Lisa Radford  & Carmen Diaz 
MONDAY
TUESDAY
R: Readers read biographies to
learn what a person has done in
his/her life.
 In groups students will
discuss and chart what
they know about
biographies.
 In partnerships students
will read a biography
of Christopher
Columbus (see packet)
and annotate the text.
 In notebook students
will list details to
support why they think
we celebrate Columbus
Day.
R: In partnerships students will
read a biography of
Christopher Columbus from the
perspective of the Native
Americans.




Student will engage in
a carousel
brainstorming.
What did Columbus
find when he reached
his destination?
What happened to
Columbus before he
reached land?
What do you think the
Native Americans
thought when they saw
Christopher Columbus
and his men?
What happened to the
Native Americans after
the arrival of
Columbus?
W: Based upon what they read
and their notes students will

give their perspective about
whether or not we should
celebrate Columbus Day.
 Student will complete

the “ Should We
W:
Students
will work in
Celebrate Columbus
partnerships
and
use a t-chart to
Day? Considering
show Columbus’ perspective
different perspectives
and the Native American’s
worksheet.
perspective
 We will take a class
survey on the number
 Students will complete the
of students who think
“Did Your Point of View
we should and the
Change” worksheet.
number of students

In groups students will
who think we should
discuss their perspectives
not celebrate Columbus
and the textual evidence that
Day.
shaped their viewpoint.
 Whole class share of each
group’s findings.
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
R: Introduce on chart paper;
How bias is defined in writing.
 A prejudice against
something the author is
writing about.
 Favoritism for
something the author is
writing about.
 An author letting
feelings, emotions or
opinions influence their
writing
Model using the first three
paragraphs of the passage
Columbus Day From The
Native American Perspective.
Show students how to
recognize bias and point of
view. Graphic organizer
worksheet
R: In partnerships student will
analyze the second part of
Columbus Day From The Native
American Perspective for bias.
 Shared reading of the first
paragraph
 Students will work with a
partner to analyze and find
the bias’ for the first
paragraph.
 Class discussion of their
findings.
 Student will go off in their
partnership and continue to
analyze the text for biases.
 Students will complete the
graphic organizer.
R: Shared reading of
questions to consider when
analyzing a text for author
bias:
W: Students will work in small
groups; students will analyze
text for bias and point of view.
 Students will look for
positive and negative
statements about the
subject.
 Discuss what they
think the author’s bias
or viewpoint is.
 Whole class share of
each group’s findings
and class discussion on
what we think bias is
and how writers try to
influence people.
W: Students will work in
partnerships to compare the
word choices and facts of the
two texts on a t-chart.
 Students will analyze and
discuss the information on
their graphic organizers.
 Reflect on how word
choice and the facts
presented create a positive
or negative image.
Reflections piece in their writer’s
notebook.
 Does the author seem to be
deliberately creating a
positive or negative image
with their word choice and
the facts they choose to
use?

Students will go
off in partnership,
discuss and answer
the questions citing
textual evidence
when appropriate.
W: Students will
engage in a textual
evidence scavenger
hunt.




Student will
choose 2 questions
that they answered
with textual
evidence.
They will choose a
different partner to
share their
questions answered
and textual
evidence.
Then change
partners and
repeat.
Inter-class
discussion?
BIOGRAPHY UNIT 2013
Week 2 Created by Lisa Radford  & Carmen Diaz 
R: Students will learn different
ways to interact text.
Modeling using the first two
paragraphs of Thomas Edison
1847-1931, show students how
to annotate for
 Unfamiliar vocabulary
 Questions for the author
 Opinion statements
 Connections
 Rewrite, paraphrase or
summarize a difficult part
Students will work with a
partner to annotate the third
paragraph of the text. Then
they will annotate the rest of
the text independently.
Small group of strugglers with
shared annotating.
W: Students will work in small
groups; students will analyze
text for bias and point of view.
 Students will look for
positive and negative
statements about the
subject. (color code)
 Discuss what they
think the author’s bias
or viewpoint is.
R: Re-read/scan Thomas
Edison 1847-1931 to find
textual evidence to support
your response.
 Group discussion and
shared writing using textual
evidence to answer the
following question
Q: Does the author seem to be
deliberately creating a positive
or negative image?
 Partners will discuss and
engage in a shared writing
to answer the following
question using textual
evidence
Q: What do you think the
author wants the reader to
believe about Edison?
W: Model using student
responses to the question
Q: What do you think the
author wants the reader to
believe about Edison?
Students will work
independently to respond to the
following questions with citing
evidence to support their
answer.
Q: What might the author have
left out about Thomas Edison?
Q: Who might have a different
point of view?
R: Students will practice
different ways to interact text.
Modeling using the first
paragraph of Nikola Tesla
1856-1943, show students how
to annotate for
 Unfamiliar vocabulary
 Questions for the author
 Opinion statements
 Connections
 Rewrite, paraphrase or
summarize a difficult part
Students will work with a
partner to annotate the second
paragraph of the text. Then
they will annotate the third
paragraph independently.
Small group of strugglers with
shared annotating.
W: Students will examine
through a shared reading on the
Smart Board student models of
annotating.
 Group discussion
 What did you
notice?
 What did you do
differently?
 What can you try
out next time?
 Write a list in your
notebook of annotating
techniques that were
different than yours.
R: Students will work with a
partner to annotate the rest of
the text Nicola Tesla 18561943.
 They will tryout
techniques that were
modeled by other
students.
 Student share their
annotating
 Question and answer
session to explain their
thought process of
annotating
W: Students will work in small
groups; students will analyze
text for bias and point of view.
 Students will look for
positive and negative
statements about the
subject. (color code)
 Discuss what they think
the author’s bias or
viewpoint is.
R: Re-read/scan Nikola Tesla
1856-1943 to find textual
evidence to support your
responses.
Group Discussion of questions
then answer independently in
notebook using textual
evidence.
Q: What might the author
have left out about Tesla?
Q: What do you think the
author want the reader to
believe about Tesla?
Q: Who might have a different
point of view?
Q: Does the author seem to
be deliberately creating a
positive or negative image?
*conferencing
W: Model student work that
demonstrates how to
respond to questions using
textual evidence.
 Group discussion
 What did you
notice?
 What did you do
differently?
 What can you try
out next time?
 Write a list in your
notebook of
annotating techniques
that were different
than yours.
*conferencing