Read & Write a Biography
Beginner level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide process and product writing practice of a biography about someone the students know or someone famous
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide detailed reading practice using a text about the biography of a woman
Procedure (40-49 minutes)
The teacher asks the students to think of an important person or a person whom they respect in their lives and the reason of it. The students discuss in pairs for a minute and some of them share their ideas with the whole class.
The teacher mentions about a previous lesson where the students have read about two famous and important people in the history - Jan Wnek and Harriet Chalmers Adams. The teacher asks what is told in them and tries to elicit 'the events in their lives'. After that she tries to elicit 'Biography' by asking if we're writing about the life of a person, what is it called? The teachers drills 'biography'. The teacher asks the students the biography is written about another person or oneself and after getting the answer she tells that writing the story of onself is called autobiography. The teacher tells the students to open Page 83 from their coursebooks. She tells them to look at the picture and the biography of the woman who is called Um Ahmad. She tells them that they have 10 seconds to scan the text to find the answer of the question 'When did she die?' After getting the answer, she asks how they find it. The teacher now tells them to read carefully fand check if the sentences in exercise 7 are True or False and if False why for 3 minutes. After the students check their answers in pairs, they share them with the whole class.
The teacher emphasizes two highlighted words from the biography and says these are sequencers in accordance with point 8a. She asks what 'twelve' in the text refers to and expects them to answer as 'age' and then focuces on 'eighteen' and asks them if twelve comes after eighteen (No - before). She mentions about 'After that' and adds it is same with 'then'. According to the text, she asks which event happened first (marriage). In accordance with the exercise 8b, the teachers tells the students to put 'then' and 'after that' in the correct places. The teacher models the first one through eliciting the answer and expects them to do the others. They check their answers in pairs and the teacher shares the answer key with the whole class. In accordance with the exercise 9a, the teacher asks if the students know Ayrton Senna and any other racing drivers. Then she mentions the picture of him on the book to look at them. She tells them that they will check the biography of him through putting them in the correct order. The teacher will divide the class into two and give them papers including the sentences from the book. Each group will try to put them in the correct order as soon as possible to be the winner. After that each group will check the answers of each other.
The teacher reminds the students that they talked about an important person in their lives and now asks them to write 5 to 8 facts about their life using 'then' and 'after that'. She asks to check if they understand: How many facts do you write? Do you use sequencers? Then by using these prompts, she tells them to make full sentences to write the biography in a correct order. She tells them that they can get help from the biographies of Um Ahmad and Ayrton Senna. The teacher goes around the class to monitor and notes down the mistakes.
Some volunteers share what they write with the whole class. The teacher provides feedback related with the mistakes in their writings.