Biography
Background Information & Activities

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Help your children develop their research and writing skills. Writing a biography is a great opportunity for them to build their knowledge and explore subjects and people that interest them. It also allows children to share their work and teach others about a person who is important to them.

Remind your children that a biography is a book that tells about a person's life. This is different from autobiography or memoir, which are pieces of personal writing about oneself. Biographies are nonfiction, which means they are about real people and actual events and places. Review a few biographies you have read together and discuss. Who were the biographies about? Why were the biographies interesting? Help your children understand that biographies can be about famous people in history or about people who are alive today. They can even be about people they know, such as a friend, parent, or grandparent. Biographies tell about someone's life and have a beginning, middle, and end. Explain that when they are writing a biography, it is important that they choose a person that they're interested in exploring. A lot of time will be spent researching the subject's life, so children should find someone that inspires them or someone they're curious about, including artists, government leaders, scientists, and relatives.

Before researching, children should think of questions they want to ask about their subject. They can write a list or use a graphic organizer such as KWL chart or a 5 W's chart. Who is the person? What accomplishments did the person make in his or her life? Why is the person important? How did he or she change the world or affect others? We recommend choosing a subject together and brainstorming questions.

The next step is to research. Remind children that when they research, they gather information about a topic. They can visit the library and look up different resources including books, newspaper and magazine articles, reference books, and even documentary films about their subject. Encourage children to draw from a variety of resources. They can also go on the Internet to research and gather more information. Video sites may have archival footage of their subjects, and image searches can show pictures or illustrations related to their topics. Remind children to take notes as they research.

Now they are ready to start writing a rough draft. Children may want to use their notes to create an outline to organize their ideas. Then they can start writing. Many children will list facts about a subject, without really getting across a thorough picture. Remind children to explain why their subject is important or exciting. Make sure they include details that form a clear picture of the subject, and not just list the person's history. You may want to practice writing a biography together. First list facts, and then go back and revise. Add specific details that make the subject come to life. Remind children that they should proofread their work for mistakes in grammar, usage, and punctuation. Watch out for run-on sentences and make sure they use descriptive words and powerful verbs. Some children may want to add photographs or pictures to their biographies or create a cover.

Biographies are fun to read, and even more fun to write! They foster children's natural curiosities and help them become passionate readers and writers. Encourage your children to share their work and ask questions about each other's work. This will give them an opportunity to learn about new people and find new heroes and role models.

See more lesson plans and resources: BrainPOP Educators.

Biography Teacher Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Biography of a Classmate

Have students choose a classmate to write a biography about. Encourage them to choose a classmate they do not know very well in order to develop new friendships or gain a better understanding of one another. Discuss the writing process together and have students interview their subjects to gather information. They may also wish to interview the subject's family members or friends for research. Subjects may also wish to supply writers with photographs, artwork, or other materials to help writers with their biographies.

Sketch of a Community Helper

Discuss different community helpers together, such as police officers, fire fighters, park rangers, doctors, nurses, and government leaders. Have your students choose a community helper to be a subject of a biography. You may wish to brainstorm different questions for students to ask their subjects. Then have students draw a sketch or illustrate a picture of their community helper. They can write their final drafts on the back of their sketches and share them with the class.

Documentary

Explain to your children that a documentary is a film about real people or events. You may wish to screen a documentary as an example. Then, if possible, have your students create a documentary film about a person. Choose a subject together, such as a school, community, or government leader. Come up with questions to ask and have students collaborate as they conduct research about the subject. Small groups can take turns filming the person, while others can interview the person or narrate. Help students edit the film together to create a biopic!

Biography Family Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Family History

Have your child choose a relative for a subject of a biography. They can choose a relative from history or one who is alive today. Your child may want to choose an older relative and interview them to learn more about his or her history. Help your child through the writing process. Your child can continuously update the biography with major events that occur in the subject's life. Your child may also want to write biographies on other family members and put them in a collection to create a family biography.

Biography Without Words

Challenge your child to create a biography of someone without using words. He or she may want to pantomime major events that happened in the subject's life or draw pictures, paintings, or a comic to chronicle a person's life. Encourage your child to be creative!