Biographies: My Autobiography

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SWBAT create their own autobiographies and add text features to their non-fiction piece.

Big Idea

In our biography unit, we have learned about many amazing people. Today the amazing people we are going to focus on are the students. They will be writing the stories of there lives so far and including text features in their writing.



15 minutes

To start our lesson out today, we will review non-fiction text features. I found a great chart that is available for free on that shows the many text features used in non-fiction text.  The chart can be found HERE.  We have discussed text features throughout this unit.  We will also discus the difference between a biography and an autobiography.  

The students will be creating their own autobiographies and I would like them to include text features in their work.  I will challenge them to use at least three text features and be able to identify them.  Of course at least three means that they are welcome to do more!  

We will also brainstorm as a class some of the key information that has been found in the biographies we have been studying.  We will compile a list on the board as a class.  I will challenge the students to include as many of these things in their autobiographies as they can as well.  

We will be making these autobiographies into a book that the students can use as holiday gifts to their parents or any other family member.  (To do this, we will create a cover, glue in to a card-stock, laminate that cover and another sheet of card-stock for the back cover, and put it all together with a binding comb.)

Autobiography Rough Draft

30 minutes

During this time, students will create their rough draft versions of their autobiographies.  I will remind them that they need to include at least 3 text features and also most of the ideas we brainstormed on the board that a biography should include.  I will walk around while the students are working, answering questions and helping those who need help.