Biography genre activities for 4th grade

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They complete sections such as a speech bubble with a quote by the individual, a thought bubble to show what they have thought about, shoes labeled with places the person has been, a heart filled with character traits. I simply purchased two collective biographies: Amelia to Zora and Akira to Zoltan.

Students can brainstorm what should be included in their biography by creating a timeline that includes important events in their life. While both biographies and autobiographies provide insight into someone’s life, autobiographies are more intimate and personal, whereas biographies can offer a broader and more objective perspective.

Why are Biographies Important for Students?

There are so many benefits of teaching biographies!

Let’s make biography lessons fun!

1. Ask them to write down what they notice. At first, they can just explore. She had always thought of sharks as beautiful while others viewed them as ugly and scary. 

Eugenie spent her childhood learning as much as she could about sharks. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

The Story of Ruby Bridges details the struggles that six-year old Ruby Bridges endured when she was chosen to attend an all-white, segregated school as a black girl.

All of the other students’ parents pulled their children out of school because of her, and so she was forced to attend class all alone.

And within each, there are even more subcategories. Learn about them below!

1.

biography genre activities for 4th grade

Be sure to tell students the difference between biographies and autobiographies too. Actually, this is a picture of my own daughter. You could even take it a few steps further and have students share what they learned in costume as the person they researched in a wax museum activity! 

  • Have students create a social media page of the person they learned about in their biography
  • Have students read about a person of interest, and then write journal entries as that person. 
  • You could make it seasonal!

    Biographies can be about historical figures, celebrities, scientists, politicians, or even regular people who’ve had interesting lives.

    What is the Difference Between a Biography and an Autobiography?

    The difference between a biography and an autobiography is who is telling the story. Then we’ll invite our students to choose biographies and enjoy the excitement!

    “We’ll arrange them like. Students generally have TONS of connections to share during biography read alouds that lead to great conversations. 

    How To Teach Students To Write Biography Reports

    One way to help students learn how to write biographies is to write their first one about themselves! (Make sure you preview the text first and mark with sticky notes to remember to stop and discuss during the read-aloud!) Some of my favorites are Martin’s Big Words, The Story of Ruby Bridges.

    To help with making biographies fun, I suggest a biography anchor chart that you can laminate and keep in your classroom throughout the unit or throughout the entire year. They really open up and share such sweet ideas and insight into who they are.

    3. The Important Book Biography Activity

    The Important Book is a great book for teaching students about writing patterns.