Civil War Trust
Civil War Personalities Lesson Plan
Caring, trustworthiness, and responsibility—these are only a few character traits in focus of a lesson based on stories from the Civil War era. Class members explore several influential lives while reading biographies that highlight...
Curated OER
Body Biography: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Class groups assume the identity of one of the primary human characters in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They create a body biography that identifies the most important traits of their character, translate these traits into...
Look! We're Learning!
Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
Curated OER
Honoring Neighborhood Heroes
Read biographies and use the internet to research stories of courage.Young writers compare and contrast characteristics that societies value. They write reports about their family and community's heroes.
Curated OER
My Antonia: Body Biography Book Report
Examine the characters in Willa Cather's My Antonia with a group project. Small groups illustrate their chosen character on a large piece of paper and choose quotes from the text that tell about the character. Where students choose to...
Boston Public Schools
What's in a Biography?
Reinforce research skills, close reading, teamwork, and biographical writing skills with one collaborative lesson. Groups create slide shows detailing the elements of a biography through a presentation on a famous American person. Based...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss and Read Across America
What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class members write a...
Shell Education
Althea Gibson
What would it like to be the first person to achieve something? Read about Althea Gibson, the first black tennis player to win a Grand Slam title, to win at Wimbledon, and more. Class members respond to questions to demonstrate their...
Curated OER
Introducing Biographies-Getting to Know You
Students study biographies as a nonfiction genre while examining a variety of examples. Next, they access and complete an online tutorial about biographies. They choose one person that interests them to conduct further research using a...
K12 Reader
Civil Rights Biography: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Why do schools and government offices close one day every January to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Young learners discover the achievements and lasting significance of this influential figure in American history with...
EngageNY
Reading to Determine Important Relationships between People and Events: The Importance of the 1936 Olympics for African Americans (Promises to Keep, Pages 16–19)
Scholars look at cause-and-effect relationships while doing a close read of the 1936 Olympics on pages 16-19 of Promises to Keep. They complete a cause-and-effect note catcher and add their ideas to an anchor chart. Readers then work...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks is a great book for studying the Civil Rights Movement. Use this packet of worksheets to track reading, elicit responses, and promote book-related activities. Character analysis, prediction and short essay skills will be...
Curated OER
Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
Need a musical lesson for your drama or performing arts class? VH1 has put together a really neat lesson, in which learners use biographical information about Alicia Keys to write and perform a one-act musical related to her life. This...
Annenberg Foundation
Spirit of Nationalism
What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...
K12 Reader
Biography of Abraham Lincoln
One skill essential to reading comprehension, is learning how to summarize a text. After reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln, readers demonstrate this ability by crafting a brief summary of Lincoln's life.
Curated OER
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Read biographical information on Arthur Miller, author and notable playwright. Show your class this presentation as you begin reading Death of a Salesman and look into the man who created the work.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 11: The Historical/Biographical Approach to Literature
How affected is Thinks Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe's personal biography? Using a four corners strategy, and evidence from their readings, class members debate the degree of biographical influence in Achebe's novel.
Curated OER
Alec Wek- Sudanese Superstar
In this biography worksheet, students read a one page story about a famous supermodel who visited Australia. Students answer 15 questions about the story.
Reading Vine
Confucius: The Most Famous Teacher in China
Introduce young philosophers to the wisdom of China's most famous thinkers with a short bio. The reading comprehension passage includes an answer key.
Reed Novel Studies
A Single Shard: Novel Study
Fulfilling a dream requires a lot of hard work. A study guide for the novel A Single Shard shares the dream of a young Korean orphan. As readers work through the guide, they answer comprehension questions about Tree-ear and the other...
EngageNY
Reading Closely: Introducing Chávez’s Commonwealth Club Address and Considering the Plight of the Farmworker
How can a persuasive speech help inspire social change? Scholars read along as they listen to the first half of César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Commonwealth Club Address." Next, pupils use graphic organizers to analyze one of Chávez's...
Curated OER
Biographies
Learners read a biography and discuss what defines a biography. Students choose a biography of their own interest to read and write a report about one of the people in the biography. Reports are shared with classmates.
Curated OER
Amelia Earhart: A Biography
Second graders investigate the accomplishments of Amelia Earhart. They read and discuss a biography of Amelia Earhart, complete a Venn diagram, and conduct an interview with a classmate and write and publish a biography of their classmate.
Curated OER
Video Biographies
Who was Alexander The Great? How did Abraham Lincoln’s early life influence his political life? Learners select a historical figure to use for video biography. After developing research questions and collecting information, pupils search...