Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech: Betsy Byars: Techniques and Themes
Teachers with classes reading the works of Betsy Byars will find information on this prolific author's craft.
Yale University
Avalon Project: African Americans Biography, Autobiography and History
Five primary source materials on African American history: I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr., My Bondage and Freedom by Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, Up From...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Writing an Autobiographical Incident
Lesson in which students are required to read and analyze biographies and autobiographies and use them as a model for writing about an autobiographical experience. Students complete the writing process and share written work with the class.
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Louis Sachar
Delve into this resource featuring links to biographical information, and lesson plans for some of Louis Sachar's work.
Other
Hans Wilhelm
Hans Wilhelm's site offers a biography, an autobiography, photos, a story to read aloud and news about his upcoming work and appearances.
University of North Carolina
Documenting the American South: John Andrew Jackson
Read this exciting recollection of John Andrew Jackson in his book, "The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina, "published in 1862. Find out about his experiences as a slave and his escape. Included are illustrations, biographical...
Other
Penguin: Reading Guide: The Autobiography of My Mother
This reading guide provides a critical introduction to Kincaid's novel, background information about the author, and a number of discussion questions suitable for reading groups or class discussion.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Tomie De Paola's Biography
This resource features a booklist for Tomie dePaola. There is a summary and a picture of each book.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Zines for Kids Multigenre Texts About Media Icons
Contains plans for nine lessons that ask students to create multigenre zines for popular culture figures that include letter, persuasive, narrative, acrostic poetry, comic, and biography/autobiography writing. To accomplish this,...
Other
Michael Snow Biography
Featured is Michael Snow's own autobiography. A Toronto born painter and sculptor, he is also an award winning musician, filmmaker, and photographer.
American Academy of Achievement
Academy of Achievement: Ernest J. Gaines
Biography of American author, Ernest Gaines, well-known for his novels and essays, including The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman and A Gathering of Old Men, both adapted for television.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Benjamin Franklin
This is a brief biography of businessman, politician, scientist, and author Benjamin Franklin. Click "Benjamin Franklin Activities" for related materials.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Southern Renaissance: Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston is featured in this biography highlighting her literary contributions which focused on African Americans as whole people, celebrating their heritage, in an era when black authors tended to write about their...
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Informational Text: Quote Accurately
Learn about quoting accurately and making inferences on this site. A link provides a model with text and supported inferences.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Literary Nonfiction (English 7 Reading)
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Learn how to describe the structural and substantive differences between an autobiography or diary and a fictional adaptation of it.
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Ernest J. Gaines Lesson Plans
An online resource featuring links to information on the life and work of Ernest J. Gaines. These links provide biographical information along with lesson plans and activities.
African American Literature Book Club
African American Literature Book Club: Alex Haley
This site provides a concise biography of Haley, the video [12:28] "Alex Haley Interview Roots (Merv Griffin Show 1977)" and links to six of his books.
Other
Mapping Margery Kempe: Guide to Late Medieval Material
Margery Kempe's spiritual biography is often called the first autobiography in English this provides access to the material culture of Kempe's 15th century world.
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Gary Paulsen Lesson Plans
This resource focuses on several of Gary Paulsen's novels. There are resources at the different links featuring lesson plans, activities, teaching guides and more.
Other
Janet Stevens
Read Janet Steven's autobiography and visit her studio to learn more about being a children's literature author.
Read Works
Read Works: In the Enemy's Grip
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about a prisoner of war and his escape from Vietnam. A question sheet is available to help students build reading comprehension skills.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Fugitive Slave Harriet Jacobs: Coming Up for Air
Harriet Jacobs escaped from slavery and wrote a book about her life experience. Her autobiography was written in 1861 with the help of an abolitionist.
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Genre Worksheets
This learning module provides remediation with identifying genre of books and various texts. Practice with capitalizing nouns is provided with through worksheets, an online site, and a video tutorial. .
Penguin Publishing
Penguin Random House: "Frederick Douglass American Slave" [Pdf]
Teacher guide for Douglass's biography features 24 pages of chapter-by-chapter study questions, quotations, and activities. Valuable post-reading activities as well as methods for eliciting student responses also included. This is a .pdf...