Sixth-grade students at W.T. Clarke Middle School have been learning how to effectively write a biography. Through this literary unit, the students examined a variety of biographies about Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs and learned about the writing form’s textual structures and features.
The biography study concluded with the writing of a fellow classmate’s biography. Each student generated open-ended questions, staged an interview and wrote an article based on the information provided by his or her subject.
In each classroom, the students celebrated their work by placing their writing in the Biography Museum. The completed works were posted on the walls of each classroom and viewed by the students, much like a museum. The activity also included small-group critique sessions where students discussed how they would write their biography differently and what strategies were the most helpful to them during the writing process. “This activity not only helped the students master a particular genre of writing, it also allowed them an opportunity to get to know each other better,” teacher Patricia Hartman stated.
Sixth-grade student Jennifer Daly explained that she enjoyed the assignment and learned that she had common interests with her classmates. “I learned about other classmates by reading their biographies,” Jennifer said. “This unit also helped me to become a more mature writer.”
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