Thanks everyone you are all so wonderful! :)
-Cindy
I need some ideas on teaching a Library Lesson on Biographies for 3 - 5
Grade.
I always include biographies in our genre studies. I
usually book talk or read a short biography.
Shelley, Bound for Legend by San Souci is a good
choice. I used the book near the beginning of the
school year and it has been signed out ever since. I
also point out to my sports fans that many nonfiction
books on sport figures can be found by browsing the
biography section. It doesn't hurt that I put sports
stickers on all the sports biographies' spines.
I have been reading When I Was Nine by James Stevenson to 3-5. They have learned
about bio, autobio and memoir in the classroom and were able to differentiate
between the three. (At least some were. We were able to review the concepts) It was
also a great lesson in other ways. They could not believe he did not have TV as a
child. We talked about how it was interesting to see how his life was alike and
different from their lives.
I also read My Great Aunt Arizona to some classes. We talked about how a biography
is usually about someone famous but sometimes it's just about an ordinary person
who had an interesting life.
I have third graders interview someone. I can't find my handout file,
but I create 4 questions they have to answer and as a class generate
other questions that could be asked. The students have to pick three of
these questions to ask their interviewee. We write, revise, edit and
then copy our final copy on a silhouette page (see attached). Students
then trace the silhouette of the person they wrote about and the
write-up is glued on the silhouette and displayed in the library.
All of our third graders are required to read a biography, then dress
up as
the character and do their report in front of their parents.
In preparation, I do a lesson I think based on a suggestion from Judy
Freeman. I made a poster with a big soup/stew pot I drew on chart
paper
with the words Biography Stew (or Soup). Then I cut out of
construction
paper and laminated the shapes of a variety of "ingredients" (slightly
larger than life-size) that would go into a soup/stew like carrots,
onions,
meat, celery, pasta, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. and labeled them with the
"ingredients" of a biography: Birth, Death (the onion) , Childhood,
Reason
for Fame (the "meat"), Occupation (which is sometimes different than
the
reason they are famous), Family, Anecdote (interesting story-something
you
might not know), Photo/Likeness, Later Life.
I bring a big soup pot from home, put the labelled ingredients
inside,
put on an apron and tell the kids we're going to be making biography
soup
(or stew.) We talk about how people make stew--using whatever
ingredients
they have on hand--and cooking in whatever order they decide. Then we
compare making soup to an author making a biography--it's their choice
about
what ingredients to put in and in what order.
Then I call students up (you decide how you choose them) to pick
an
ingredient out of the pot. They have to read their "ingredient" out
loud to
the class (discuss what it means if they're not sure) and they will be
responsible for listening for that "ingredient" as the biography story
is
read. (I have two favorites: Lou Gehrig, Luckiest Man (Adler) and
Honest
Abe (Kundhardt) because they seem to have all of the ingredients.) For
those that don't get chosen, I have them be listening for another
reason--for example--why Lou Gehrig considered himself the luckiest
man.
After we read the story (trying to catch the eye of the student
who's
part is mentioned/emphasizing the parts of the story where the
"ingredients"
fit in), I add a second poster of the stew pot with all of the
ingredients
scattered around in the pot (to help me remember which ingredients to
ask
for!) and call out each ingredient and have that student come up and
tell
where that ingredient was in the story and put the ingredient back in
the
pot.
[As an aside--I have reused that pot and it's ingredients as a
review
when students in 4th and 5th have to read biographies for Explorers,
Colonial history, making their own autobiography, etc.]
As a follow up lesson, I have them read MY biography (as a world
famous
librarian--don't you know!) as it would appear in an Encyclopedia
(trying to
make it look as realistic as possible--with columns, guidewords, etc.
and
using a digital camera to insert a captioned photograph--ie. extra
info. in
the caption of the photo.). I make an overhead of the bio. but also a
hand-out copy to each student since the font on the overhead may not be
big
enough for those in the back. Again, they look for those "ingredients"
in
my biog. and talk about the order, and we start by looking at the
"guide
words" at the top of the "encyclopedia" and talk about how names are
written
in the encyclopedia.
Then, the students have an assignment to research a famous person from
our
state in the encyclopedia (Mass. is lucky--lots of famous people!),
using
guide words to find the person, looking for the ingredients, and in
what
order they are in the article.
In other words, it's a month-long unit that satisfies curricular needs
on
studying famous people from the state, learning about the biography
genre,
and also gets in some location and access skills about using an
encyclopedia.
Cindy,
Make baseball cards. The biographies are your resource. They can pick
anyone they want. They have to learn to pick important information and
you use your questions (name, date of birth, important accomplishment)
it
as a guideline. Templates are easy to find. They make a nice display,
especially for black history month. You tell the kids they are going to create a
baseball card about
a
famous person (not necessary an athlete or baseball player). Either
you
or together decide what information is important to include on the card
(picture of the person, birth date, birth place, etc.). Then use the
biography to "Find" the information. Do one as a demo and explain to
the
kids how to use index, contents, etc. to answer the question. What
would
be the best way to find place of birth...I found this really makes a
connection with the kids. My biography circulation went way up after
that!
Cindy Lund Moreno, Elementary Librarian
Loretto Academy Elementary
El Paso, Texas
cindy55twu@yahoo.com
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