Unit Overview
Content Area: English Language Arts
Unit Title: Biography
Target Course/Grade Level: Sixth Grade
Timeline: 4 to 6 Weeks
Unit Summary: The Biography Unit will introduce readers to a genre of literature where they will gain
knowledge through the chronological events of a subject’s life. Through this exposure, the reader can
discover how an individual leads their life can impact the society, the world, and the people around them
in a positive and/or negative way.
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Vocabulary, Writing, Current Events, Social Studies,
Technology
21st century themes and skills: Global Awareness, Environmental Literacy, Life and Career Skills
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standards for Reading
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite
specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Craft and Structure
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and
figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the
text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning
as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to
compare the approaches the authors take.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Anchor Standards for Writing
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Anchor Standards for Language
Conventions of Standard English
1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.
Knowledge of Language
3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make
effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using
context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference
materials, as appropriate.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term
important to comprehension or expression.
Learning Targets/Activities
Domain: Reading, Writing, and Language
Cluster: Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, Range of
Reading and Level of Complexity, Text Types and Purposes, Production and Distribution of Writing,
Research to Build and Present Knowledge, Conventions of Standard English, Knowledge of Language,
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Standard #
Standards
Cite
textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
RI.6.1.
inferences drawn from the text.
Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details;
RI.6.2.
provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments
Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and
RI.6.3.
elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
RI.6.4.
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall
RI.6.5.
structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in
RI.6.6.
the text.
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that
RI.6.8
are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a
RI.6.9.
memoir written by and a biography on the same person).
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text
RI.6.10.
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.6.1.
a. Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
b. Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and
demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
W.6.5.
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
W.6.9.
research.
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
W.6.10.
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific
tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
L.6.1.
writing or speaking.
a. Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive).
b. Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
c. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.
d. Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous
antecedents).
e. Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others’ writing and
speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve expression in conventional language.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation,
L.6.2.
and spelling when writing.
a. Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical
elements.
b. Spell correctly.
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
L.6.3.
listening.
a. Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.
b. Maintain consistency in style and tone.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
L.6.4.
based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position
or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the
meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and
digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or
its part of speech.
d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by
checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific
L.6.6.
words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or expression.
Unit Essential Questions
Unit Enduring Understandings
 How can one person make a difference?
 A person can make a positive or negative
difference in the lives of others and in the course
 How does the kind of life one leads impact
of history.
others and history?
 Personal characteristics and the action of an
individual can lead to making a difference.
Unit Learning Targets
Students will ...
W.6.4.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Set a purpose for reading. (RI.6.2, RI.6.3)
Identify the chronological events of the subject’s life (timeline). (RI.6.3, RI.6.5)
Understand the consequential events of the subject’s life. (RI.6.5, RI.6.6, RI.6.8)
Differentiate between verifiable facts and opinions in a biography. (RI.6.1, RI.6.4, RI.6.5)
Understand and identify the writer’s bias. (RI.6.1, RI.6.5, RI.6.6)
Determine the author’s purpose/central idea of the biography supported with evidence from the
text. (RI.6.6)
•
Make personal connections between self and subject. (RI.6.9)
•
Develop and apply criteria to determine the legacy of the subject. (RI.6.2, RI.6.3)
•
Analyze and cite textual evidence and formulate well thought out inferences to write a well
structured, well supported response and/or essay related to the biography. (RI.6.1, RI. 6.8, W.6.1
(a-c), W.6.4, W.6.5, W.6.9 (a-b), W.6.10, L.6.1 (a-e), L.6.2 (a-b), L.6.3 (a-b))
•
Independently self-monitor for understanding and apply strategies to clarify confusion (i.e. reread, uncover word meanings, make text-text/self/world connections, ask questions while reading).
(RI.6.1,RI.6.2, RI.6.3, RI.6.4, RI.6.5, L.6.4 (a-d), L.6.6)
Learning Activities
 mini-lessons
 read aloud/model texts
 shared reading
 Reading journals/Written response
 independent reading
 skill-based work stations
 think aloud
 text browsing (locate parts of a text)
 graphic organizers: facts, compare and contrast,
 modeled and guided practice
time line
 peer conferencing
 story maps/venn diagrams
 sharing/discussions
 questions and responses
 reading conferences
 written reports
Evidence of Learning
Formative Assessments
 Graphic organizers
 Conferences
 Rubrics
 Oral and written response/summary
 Exit tickets
 Classroom Observation
Summative Assessments
 Timeline of chronological and/or consequential events
 Presentation/Book Talk
 Extended written Response
RESOURCES/TECHNOLOGY
Suggested Teacher Instructional Resources:
 Carry On Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
 Extended Biography Texts:
-Knots in My Yo-Yo String by Jerry Spinelli
Short Story Resources:
 Magazine articles
 News articles
 On line articles
Poetry Resources:

Integration of Technology:
 Multimedia Presentation
Technology Resources:
Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit:
EBSCOhost
http://search.epnet.com
Facts on File
http://www.fofweb.com/IP
Opportunities for Differentiation:
 Rubrics
 Books on tape
 Grouping
 “Chunking” reading selections
 Question/discussion techniques
 MI-inspired activities and lessons
 Metacognitive strategies
Teacher Notes: