Mary fran hazinski biography graphic organizer

.

This graphic organizer gives students practice with this skill while asking them to record their thoughts.  

Create an anchor chart for students to refer to that is titled “Noticings” and contains the student observations.  

When students practice this skill independently, you might choose to have them use a post-it note to mark the evidence found in the text.

Lesson 9 Life Lessons

Sometimes reading a biography might teach us lessons we can apply to our own lives.

Please let us know if you have any questions.  It’s also a good idea to gather a stack of informational text books that fall under that category of narrative nonfiction.  

As part of this work, help students identify where the answers are.  

It will be necessary for you to model this with the class in order for students to understand the expectations.

Biographies fall under the category of narrative nonfiction and tell a story.  

This organizer can be used for a tool that helps students record the facts in the book.

Lesson 6 Reflections

An important part of reading is thinking about what is being read.  

You may choose to have students answer their own questions or to trade with a peer who is reading the same book.

Lesson 8 Cause & Effect

This is a concept which will take a great deal of modeling.

Use these cards to encourage students to think about the person they are reading about.

The next day, students will use their silent reading time to read a different biography they are interested in and then complete the story map.

Lesson 3 Character Traits

Just like when reading fiction, students reading biographies should be trying to determine the character traits of the subject of the biography.

Other students might be able to research on their own without the guidance.

Some children might benefit from a small group where you complete the research together.

Have students choose a biography to read and complete this story map.  Once students have developed an understanding, they can complete their own graphic organizer after reading a just right book during silent reading time.

Lesson 4 Influences

Every person has others who influence his or her life.

Whether in printed or biography graphic organizer PDF format, these tools make biographical writing more organized and efficient. Expository nonfiction provides an explanation or directions.

This first lesson is designed to help students develop an understanding of the difference between a biography (which is narrative nonfiction) and expository nonfiction.

Share the stack of mentor texts along with the nonexamples of biographies (which should be expository nonfiction.)

Allow students time to look through these books and “notice” differences.  

As you read a biography, work with the class to find important events in a person’s life and the impact those events had on the person.

 Encourage them to make notes on post-its and mark the spots in the text.

Whether used in classrooms, research projects, or personal writing, this tool simplifies complex biographical information into digestible sections.

What is a Biography Graphic Organizer?

A biography graphic organizer is a visual framework that helps users break down essential elements of a person’s life, such as early years, accomplishments, challenges, and legacy.

As always, I encourage you to model these organizers as you introduce them.

Remember to differentiate for your students so that each has a task that fits their needs.

Each of the 8 organizers has a different focus, but is presented in the same format.