Big6 Lesson Plan Template

Unit Title: Autobiography and Biography

Teacher: Rachel Mainero
Grade Level: 7
Subject/Topic Areas: English Language Arts
Number of Periods/Days: 12 days
Rationale: What do you want students to know, do and be like when they finish this unit of study?
By the end of this unit, students will be able to
Evaluate the validity of print and online sources
Compose a well-written CERC paragraph
Create a MLA formatted bibliography
Create and publish a e-biography profile through weebly
Understand what makes someone worthy of a biography
Know how to conduct a research project in its entirety
Identify purpose and characteristics of biography and autobiography

Overview: Summarize the nature and scope of the unit. (1-2 paragraphs)
Have you ever put together a photo album or scrapbook to help tell others about an important event in your life? If
someone looked through the book without you there to explain it, what would they learn about you? Sharing
stories from our lives can help us better understand each other.
We are all curious about other peopleabout what they do, why they do it, and how they feel. The purpose of
biographies and autobiographies is to satisfy our curiosity, to inform us about the effect people have on the world
and to entertain us.

What BIG question(s) will guide this unit and focus teaching and learning?
What makes someone worthy of a biography?

Content and Technology Standards:

ELA Content Standards
RI 1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly.
RI 3 Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text.
RI10 Read and comprehend nonfiction.
W1ae Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W 4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W 5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach,
focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

Adapted from: Berkowitz, R.E. (2010). Big6 and Instructional Design Webinar, 10/12/2010.

W 10 Write routinely over shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
L 2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling.

Technology Standards
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and
processes using technology. (1)
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate and use information. (3)
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and
make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. (4)

How will students demonstrate what they have learned?

Students will demonstrate what they have learned by becoming biographers and creating, publishing, and sharing
an e-biography profile with their classmates and family members. Students will apply the skills that they learned
from this unit to create an authentic, online biography project.

Resources: List all resources, locations (e.g., computer lab, media center), websites, texts, etc.
required for the lesson.
Media center, computer lab, EasyBib.com, class website- www.mrsmainero.com, rubrics, biography
matrix for WNB, e-biography weebly guide, biography book, textbook, Google Docs
Adaptive/Assistive Technologies: List where in your lesson students with special needs may utilize
any adaptive and/or assistive technologies. Provide context as well (i.e., what specific populations
benefit from the technology and how).

Audiobook biography- this technology will benefits students that are unable to read the grade
level biography book in the library. The audiobook/book on tape will help students to better
comprehend the nonfiction text and still gain valuable information about their biography
person. Students will be able to follow along in the book as it is read aloud to them on tape.
Talk to type- this technology will be available to students who struggling with typing. Students
will be able to use a microphone and type their research information into a Google Doc and
then upload it onto their weebly page. The Google Doc will also provide spell check to help
poor spellers. Instead of spending hours just trying to type up their biography poems and
character attributes paragraphs, students will save valuable time by talking into the microphone
what they intend to type.

Adapted from: Berkowitz, R.E. (2010). Big6 and Instructional Design Webinar, 10/12/2010.

Skill

Activities (~Lesson Plan)

1. Task Definition

Teacher: Explain to students that they will need to determine what

makes someone worthy of a biography as they research a
motivational person for this unit of study. Remind students that they
will need to uncover the answer to this BIG question by the end of
the unit.

1.1 Define the information problem

1.2 Identify information needed

Note: you may not need Teacher and Student activities for each step. Feel
free to delete as necessary.

Student: Students will go to the media center and select a biography

book of their choosing. The book will serve as the print source for the
biography research project. Students will need to take notes on their
matrix in their writers notebook and gain information on questions
below in order to complete the project.
1.) What makes your subject so special and interesting?
2.) What positive effect did this person have on the world or other
people?
3.) Come up with five adjectives to describe your person.
(Examples: powerful, trustworthy, dedicated, intelligent, caring,
determined, optimistic, supportive, generous, charitable,
creative, thoughtful, courageous, influential, etc.)
4.) For each adjective, find at least one quote from your biography
book to prove that your subject was the adjective you picked.
(For example, if I say that Nelson Mandela was compassionate, I
would have to find at least one example from my book to PROVE
that he was compassionate.)
5.) What events shaped or changed your subjects life?
6.) What obstacles did your subject overcome? Or what risks did
he/she have to take?
7.) What would the world be like if your subject never existed?
Explain.
VERY IMPORTANT: Write down the following information about
your biography book!
Authors Last Name: ______________________
First Name: _________________________
Title of Book: _____________________________________
Year Published: ______________________
Publication City: __________________ Publication State: _______
Childhood facts related to his/her childhood such as where/when
born, name of parents, number of siblings, education, hobbies, or
other related facts about growing up.
Education facts about schools attended (where/when), college
majors, apprenticeship opportunities, degrees earned, traveling while
in school, or other related facts.
Career facts about his/her jobs (where, when, duration of
employment)
Accomplishments facts about honors received, awards won,
trophies, research, organizations, charities, speeches, educational
Adapted from: Berkowitz, R.E. (2010). Big6 and Instructional Design Webinar, 10/12/2010.

achievements, career achievements, or other related accomplishments

as in First woman to or First African American or First
scientist to
Death facts about death including where/when/cause (if applicable)
Interesting facts general facts related to your subjects hobbies,
experiences, travels, beliefs, surprising facts, and anything else that
makes your subject stand out.

2. Information Seeking
Strategies
2.1 Determine all possible sources
2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access

3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and
physically)
3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)
4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis
5.1 Organize from multiple sources
5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation
6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

Student: Students will need to select four of the best sources for their
research and biography artifacts.
1. The biography book from the library
2. Two websites from EasyBib
3. An additional online or print source of their choosing
Student: Students will locate their sources through the Rochester
Hills Public library, the Reuther Middle School library, and online
sources within EasyBib.
Students are responsible for choosing reliable and verified sources to
find the information needed for their biography project. Students will
need to judge the validity of each source they examine.
Student: Students will engage in the information by reading and
viewing sources that highlight key information about their biography
person. Students will take virtual notes in EasyBib for each source
they find information in. Students will have to practice parenthetical
and in-text citation to prove where they found the information.
Students will also need to create a bibliography page with proper
MLA format to document the sources used.
Student: Student will organize all the information from the multiple
sources into an e-biography portfolio through a weebly website. A
guide is attached to this lesson for students to follow. Students will
present the information to the class through a presentation of the
website.
Teacher: Teacher will use the Teacher Rubric to determine the
effectiveness and efficiency of the product and process.
Student: Students will critique and offer suggestions to classmates
based upon the Student/Editor Checklist. Students will then use the
feedback form their peers to enhance the project before final
submission to teacher.

Adapted from: Berkowitz, R.E. (2010). Big6 and Instructional Design Webinar, 10/12/2010.