Elementary biography activities

When I was a little girl many, many years ago I remember biographies being boring, fact-filled chapter books. They were definitely not the books that I chose when I went to the library. The only biographies I remember reading were those assigned to me by my teachers. Today's biographies for children are very different. Biographies for children are now colorful picture books full of interesting information that grab the reader's attention and are enjoyable to read.

I recently gathered a variety of biographies for my students on Benjamin Franklin. My school library has several wonderful biographies about Mr. We combined learning about the characteristics of biographies with learning more about this U. Who Was Ben Franklin? Language Arts and Writing. Physical Education. Reading and Literature. Social Studies and History.

All Subjects. Early Learning. All Grades. Advice for Parents. Character and Social Traits. Distance Learning and Homeschooling. ESL Students. End of Year. Essentials Kit. Language Arts and Reading. Virtual tours of museums, landmarks, and historical sites provide immersive learning experiences without leaving the classroom. Living Wax Museum.

Host a living wax museum event where students dress up as their biographical subjects and present information about their lives to visitors. I have done this bilingually before where people could push the button for English or Chinese. This interactive and theatrical activity brings history to life in a memorable way. Fictional Character Biographies.

You can teach the biography structure using fake characters too. Encourage your students to write a biography of Harry Potter, Llama Llama, or any other character they want. For this, it is best to choose a character that has enough information to write a biography about. This will often be a character from a series. Peer Feedback.

Encourage students to provide feedback and constructive criticism on each other's biography projects. Peer review sessions promote collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills. Remember to first teach kids how to give feedback in a constructive way. I teach them to sandwich. Neutral statement, "I noticed you included a lot of details about her house.

It was like a little story in one paragraph. I also don't encourage comments about handwriting or vague comments like, "I like it. On the other hand, receiving feedback is also a skill that needs practice. I remind students that feedback is often an opinion. We can listen to opinions and then choose whether we want to use them or thank the person and ignore them.

Elementary biography activities

You can model this activity with cards. Write an opinion on a card, "you should stand up and do three jumping jacks because you will have fun doing that" or "You should put your jacket on because you will get cold without it. They can pick up the opinion and do it or leave it and say, "Thank you for your opinion. Bio Pics. Create movie posters advertising the biography movie.

If you have tablets or cameras, you can make movie trailers summing up the subject's life. Students can edit them and present them at a film festival. The pacing of the lessons is excellent, is easy to follow, and comprehensive. The posters and graphic organizers are engaging and helpful. Brenda W. I loved the other units that I had previously bought, so I decided to purchase the whole bundle.

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