A complete Grade 8 ESL writing pack on biographies, using a model biography of the scientist Marie Curie. Students identify the features of a biography (third person, past tense, chronological order, dates and time expressions, achievements and impact), build a timeline, compare biography and autobiography and plan and write a biography of a person they admire. Includes slides, a lesson plan, worksheet, quiz, homework, flashcards, a rubric and answer keys.
A biography is the true story of a person's life, written by someone else. It usually opens by saying who the person is and why they are important, then tells the main events in chronological order, using the third person (she, he, they), the past tense, dates and time expressions such as As a child, In 1891 and Four years later. It ends by explaining the person's impact. Students read a short biography of Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, answer questions, order events on a timeline, compare biography and autobiography and practice time expressions. They then plan and write a biography of a person they admire, from history or from their own family.
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Support: give a timeline template and paragraph starters (was born in…, As a child…, Later…, Today, … is remembered for…). Challenge: students add a quotation by or about the person and explain how one event led to another.
Use the worksheet and quiz to check understanding of biography features. Use the rubric to assess the biography written in activity 6 or for homework.
Students often copy whole sentences from sources. Teach them to take notes as key words and dates on a timeline, then write the biography in their own words from the notes. Encourage them to choose people from different countries and fields, including people from their own community.
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