Grade 3 Readers’ Workshop: Unit 5
Recommended Time Frame: February/March
Readers Study Biography: Book Clubs
UNIT OVERVIEW
In this unit, third graders will learn to read and understand the genre of biography, a form of narrative nonfiction that’s told like a story, with many of the
features of the fictional genres studied earlier in the year. Students will read and listen to several biographies of people who made a difference in the world.
During the first part of the unit, the focus will be on the difference between expository nonfiction and narrative nonfiction. Students will revisit many of the
comprehension strategies they learned in previous units (activating background knowledge, asking questions, attending to character changes, making
inferences about themes, etc.) in order to understand the main character, setting, events, and important themes in biographies. In the second part of the
unit, students will work in book clubs to engage in literary conversations about their biographies, with particular attention to the big idea or message in these
nonfiction stories. In the final part of the unit, students will read and listen to other stories that are narrative nonfiction but not biographies. They will learn to
recognize the structure and patterns of these narrative nonfiction texts, often stories of achievement (i.e. Vikings) or disaster (i.e. Titanic).
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will continually ponder such questions as….
Q1. What is a biography?
Q2. What can we learn from reading biographies?
Q3. What do the decisions and actions of people tell us about their character?
Q4. How do we use what we know about reading nonfiction and fiction genres to understand the important events and themes in biographies?
MASSACHUSETTS ELA STANDARDS
RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
RI.3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language
that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
RI.3.5 Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
RI.3.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.
RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where,
when, why, and how key events occur).
RI.3.9 Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
SL.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.3.2 Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
SUGGESTED TEXT FOR CLOSE READING: Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln: A Photo--illustrated Biography (T.M. Usel)
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Adapted from A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop (Calkins, 2011); Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for ELA (2011);
Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998); ELA Model Curriculum Units (Mass. Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012).
Grade 3 Readers’ Workshop: Unit 5
Recommended Time Frame: February/March
Readers Study Biography: Book Clubs
OUTCOMES: Students will know and be able to…
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that…
U1. Biographies tell us about people in the context of historical events and places in the world.
U2. Biographies are narrative nonfiction, which flows like a story in chronological order. Expository nonfiction is organized differently (main ideas and
supporting details).
U3. Biographers often use graphics (photographs, captions, timelines, sidebars, etc.) to enhance our understanding about the person’s life.
U4. Life decisions and actions reflect a person’s personality and character.
U5. Reading biographies helps readers to learn why the subject is important or what can be learned from his or her life.
U6. Biography readers talk and write about what they read in order to recall, organize, and understand important information about the person’s life.
U7. Biographies are stories about people that describe their life experiences and contributions to their community and the world.
U8. Biographies do not always include the whole of a person’s life; they may focus on one part of it.
U9. Biography readers understand subjects of a biography through their decisions and actions in life.
U10. Biography readers understand their own challenges, decisions, and actions by reading and discussing the subjects of biographies.
SKILLS & CONTENT
Students will know and be skilled at:
S1. Reading a biography and identifying important relationships, decisions, and events that were significant in the subject’s life.
S2. Recognizing different ways biographies are organized.
S3. Using text features in a biography (e.g. photographs and captions, sidebars, timelines, maps, charts) to understand more about the person.
S4. Taking notes, synthesizing ideas, and summarizing in preparation for book club discussions.
S5. Making inferences about a person based on the events, decisions, and actions in his/her life.
S6. Synthesizing big ideas and themes in biographies and other forms of narrative nonfiction.
S7. Applying and transferring the reading strategies they use in biographies when reading other narrative nonfiction texts.
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Adapted from A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop (Calkins, 2011); Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for ELA (2011);
Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998); ELA Model Curriculum Units (Mass. Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012).
Grade 3 Readers’ Workshop: Unit 5
Recommended Time Frame: February/March
Readers Study Biography: Book Clubs
Preparing for the Unit
 Stock the classroom library with biographies that cover a variety of people: historical figures,
sports stars, scientists, inventors, pioneers in a field, authors, artists, singers, activists, etc.
 Supplement biography reading with other forms of fiction and nonfiction reading.
 Gather expository nonfiction texts as well as historical fiction that can support and supplement
students’ understandings of their biographical figures.
 Create a collection of narrative nonfiction texts other than biographies.
 Choose several biographies for your read aloud, including picture books and short texts as well as
chapter books.
Possible Mini Lessons
Part 1: Biography Readers Bring Forward All We Know about Reading Stories
a) Narrative and expository nonfiction texts both give information, but are structured differently. Expository gives information in a boxes
and bullets type format, whereas narrative nonfiction flows like a story, telling a series of events in a chronological fashion. When
readers know what kind of nonfiction book they have, they know how to tackle it. Narrative nonfiction reads like a story.
b) Biographies are a special kind of narrative nonfiction. The story centers around a main character whose life story contains challenges
and struggles. As the character fights and overcomes the obstacles he or she faces, he or she grows and learns a valuable life lesson.
The story arc of biographies is similar to the story arc of narrative fiction.
c) Just as in narrative fiction, biography readers pay attention to the traits and motivations of the characters in their books. Readers are
always studying the character’s actions and behaviors, asking themselves what they are learning about the character, from these
actions.
d) Biography readers notice the relationships between characters, and how these relationships, both positive and negative, impact the
character (subject of the biography).
e) Biography readers read long and strong, envisioning the story of their subject’s life as they are reading.
f) When reading with speed and momentum, if readers come to a word they don’t know, they can insert a synonym as a placeholder for
the unfamiliar word and then read on.
g) Like all nonfiction, biographies are written to teach. Readers need to pay attention to significant details, such as historical references,
descriptions of places and events, etc.
h) Biography readers use their prior knowledge on the subject or topic in order to build understanding of the book they are reading.
They can also supplement this understanding with expository nonfiction reading.
i) Readers use book club discussions to express their ideas, and grow and revise their thinking.
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Adapted from A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop (Calkins, 2011); Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for ELA (2011);
Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998); ELA Model Curriculum Units (Mass. Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012).
Grade 3 Readers’ Workshop: Unit 5
Recommended Time Frame: February/March
Readers Study Biography: Book Clubs
j) The setting of a biography impacts the subjects greatly. Readers need to pay careful attention to the details, gathering information
about the lives of the characters and thinking about how the daily life of the subject impacted their decisions and actions.
k) Biography readers pay special attention to events that trigger the subject’s decisions and actions. There is a predictable path to a
biography. Readers approach biographies expecting to follow that person’s path to achievement.
Part 2: Biography Readers Not Only Follow a Life Story, We Also Learn to Grasp and Grow Ideas
a) Biography readers figure out the big message that a person’s life offers to the world. The subjects of biographies did something
notable that causes the world to take notice.
b) Biography readers think about the choices the subject made to accomplish their big achievement.
c) Biography readers use precise language to describe their subject and the choices they made. They can support their ideas with
evidence from the text.
d) Biography readers make inferences about what the subject represents. Are there larger societal groups that are represented? What
are the life lessons that are being taught?
e) Biography readers take the life lessons that they learn from their subjects and reflect on their own lives, thinking about how they might
live their own lives differently.
f) Readers use post it notes to prepare for book club conversations, and to grow their ideas into bigger theories.
Part 3: Readers Know that Biography Is but One Form of Narrative Nonfiction
a) There are other kinds of narrative nonfiction, besides biography. Any true story that is told in a chronological sequence is narrative
nonfiction.
b) Some nonfiction texts are hybrid. They contain narrative and expository sections, and readers need to approach these sections in
different fashions.
c) All narrative nonfiction texts have a central character. The character can be a person, a group of people, or even an inanimate object.
d) Narrative nonfiction is generally either a story of achievement or disaster; both follow a predictable pattern and teach a lesson.
Achievement stories document a story where the character faces a challenge, takes risks, and then makes choices to overcome the
challenge. Disaster stories are written so that others don’t make the same mistakes and so history is not forgotten.
e) Nonfiction readers read for the underlying ideas. These big ideas and lessons of the story take the reader’s understanding to a new
level.
f) Readers notice the choices that subjects make during a crucial time. This can help them determine the theme.
g) Celebration: Students choose one biography or narrative nonfiction text that had an impact on them. They can write about, or act
out, how the theme of the text has implications for their own lives.
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Adapted from A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop (Calkins, 2011); Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for ELA (2011);
Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998); ELA Model Curriculum Units (Mass. Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012).