Write a Biography,
Researching the Facts Behind the Fictional Characters in Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli: An
Inquiry Project
Author
Kay Dimon
Grade Band
5-7
Estimated Lesson Time
Eight - 50 minute sessions
Overview
In this lesson students will research how the fictional characters in
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli could be based on real characters. As they read
they will decide to focus on one of the main characters. They will write
their chosen character’s biography. They will develop and substantiate their
character as they research the events during Nazi –occupied Warsaw. They
will explore a variety of resources to capture the spirit of their character’s individuality and
position in life and existence during the Holocaust.
Here are several other novels that could be used with this inquiry.
Journey to America by Sonia Levitin ...a Jewish family tries to escape 1930s Germany
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry *Newbery 1990 ...a girl in Nazi occupied Denmark must save
her friend
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff ...a young girl deals with issues on the home front while
her father fights in WWII
The Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Crutches by Peter Hartling (translated by Elizabeth Crawford) ...post WWII in Vienna
War Without Friends by Evert Hartman (translated by Patricia Crampton) ...WWII in Holland
Journey to America by Sonia Levitin ...a Jewish family tries to escape 1930s Germany
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord ...a young Chinese girl adjusts to
her new life in late 1940s Brooklyn
Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor ...short but powerful book about racism, honor, and a rainswollen river
1
From Theory to Practice
Each student will transform a fictional character from Milkweed into a possible real person during the
Holocaust and write a biography. They will support their biographies with facts from their research. Through
this activity, students will make connections from the emotional stirring Milkweed to the staggering facts
and events portrayed in the internet inquiry.
In her article on biographies, Gwen Taylor explains:
Investigating the lives of other people will expand student’s knowledge about themselves, others, and
the world while developing and refining literary skills. Biography study can also be engaging and
stimulating, and thus motivational for readers.(342)
This activity will combine the reading of Milkweed, Holocaust research, writing a poem and a biography.
Students will connect their reading to their writing.
Further Reading
Who's who? Engaging biography study
Gwen Taylor. The Reading Teacher. Newark: Dec 2002/Jan 2003. Vol. 56, Iss. 4; p. 342
Students Objectives
Students will
 Students will analyze a character
 Students will read a variety of picture books to gather background information about the
Holocaust
 Students will research using Internet reference resources to learn more about Nazi-occupied
Warsaw, Poland, information that will support the possibilities of their characters existence.
 Students will research the formats of a biography
 Write a poem and a biography about a character from Milkweed
 Present their biography to the class
Resources
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=189158&page=print
2
Instructional Plan
Resources
-Computers
-internet access
-class set of novels
-Test Biography Maker
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/bio/biomak2.htm
Preparation
 Students have read Milkweed
 Laptops available
 Children have made a choice of a character from Milkweed to write their biography.
 Teacher has challenged some students to make different choices so that all the characters are
represented.
 Students will come to class with a Drama Map (using story maker and character map)
 Make copies of….
 Test the sites….
 Have sample biographies available.
 Have available picture books.
Instruction and Activities
Session One - Introducing the assignment
1 –Students will make a bubble map to start describing their character from Milkweed.
http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/skills/organizing/bubble.pdf
2 - A biography will be discussed. What makes a biography? A list will be generated through
discussion. The following video will be viewed.
http://www.tv411.org/lessons/cfm/writing.cfm?str=writing&num=13&act=1
3 – As a class view this biography on Steve Irwin .
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=189158&page=print
3
Session Two – Learning about Biographies
1 - Students will look through the following sites to continue to become familiar with biographies.

Bartleby.com. Provides students, educators, and the intellectually curious with unlimited access to
books and information on the Web, including 17,000 up-to-date biographical entries

Biography.com. Features a searchable biographical database of 25,000 famous names

Biographical Dictionary. Contains information on 19,000 notable people from ancient times to the
present day; the dictionary is searchable by names, keywords, and dates

Black History Month: Biographies. Presents the biographies of significant African-American
individuals

Distinguished Women of Past and Present. Includes biographies of women who contributed to our
culture, such as writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists,
entertainers, and others

Images of Greatness. Focuses on 12 famous individuals selected and researched by a class of fourthand fifth-grade students
http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm

2 – Students, as a class, will generate a list of what a biography looks like.
Session Three: The steps in writing a biography
1 - Students will become familiar and comfortable with this site to organize their biography
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/bio/biomak2.htm
2 - There are four steps in Biography Maker; students will use Step 1 Questioning, Step 3 Synthesizing
and Step 4 Story- Telling.
*Step 2 will be done through the internet inquiry in session five.
3 - They will keep all of their notes on word documents and file them in public data under their names.
4 - Students will read through Step 1 and be prepared to start answering some of the questions in
session four.
4
Session Four: Picture Books
1 - Students will begin their research by reading and sharing picture books. They will be assigned learning
partners and read the picture books provided. They will start making connections with the events and
characters in the book with the characters from Milkweed. They should start to creating the answers to the
questions in Step 1 of Biography Maker.
The Number on My Grandfather’s Arm David A. Adler
One Yellow Daffodil David A. Adler
Star of Fear, Star of Hope Jo Hoestlandt
Rose Blanche Roberto Innocenti
Ericka’s Story Ruth Vander Zee
The Cats in Krisinski Square Karen Hesse
Additional Picture Books:
The Children We Remember Chana Byers Abells
A Picture Book of Anne Frank David Adler and Karen Ritz
The Feather-Bed Journey Paula Kurzband Feder
The Butterfly Patricia Palacco
Session Five: Online Internet Inquiry
The students will continue to pursue the questions from Step one as they review these Holocaust Web Sites:
Online Holocaust Inquiry
Additional Resources:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20070216friday.html
http://www.teacheroz.com/holocaust.htm
Session Six: Writing a Bio-Poem
1 – Students will summarize their information into a poem using the following format.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr230.shtml
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LASSBioPoem7.htm
5
Session Seven and Eight: Writing
1 – Students will review the rubric for scoring the biography (using the 6 + 1 Traits) and the Presentation
Rubric
Written: http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/pdfRubrics/6plus1traits.PDF
Oral presentation: http://www.tcet.unt.edu/START/instruct/general/oral.htm
2 - Continue with the Biography Maker Step 3 – Synthesis
3 - Continue on to Biography Maker Step 4 - Storytelling
Session Nine: Presenting
1 – Students will present their biographies to their classmates
http://www.tcet.unt.edu/START/instruct/general/oral.htm
Extensions/Alternative Sites
Have students use the online Bio-Cube tool to plan and write biographies of a person who lived during the
Holocaust.
Students could use NoteTaker to organize their information
Another form of graphic organizer http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson243/web.pdf
If the lesson was to have collaboration this is a great rubric:
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/morse/oceanhealth/rubrics/collrubric.html
Web Resources
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0021.html
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/04-1/lesson017.shtml
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/biograph/biography_brainstorming.htm
6
Student Assessment/Reflections
Students will respond to each others presentation using the same rubric as the teacher uses. After each
presentation, the class will give a two positive and one negative comment to the presentor.
NCTE/IRA Standards
1 - Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing
problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and
nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and
audience.
2- Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases,
computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate
knowledge.
3 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for
learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
7
8