Start kids thinking about point of view and autobiographies by telling them a short story about your morning (first person), and then asking a volunteer to re-tell the story to you (second person). There are tips to help you tie this...

Are you working on an autobiographical or narrative writing unit? Bring this instructional activity to your class, as it takes young writers through the process of drafting and sequencing an autobiography. After observing and...

Youngsters write and construct their own autobiographies based on The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. They engage in pre-writing steps, narrative writing, and peer editing. This is the second part of a two-part project lesson.

What is the author's purpose for sharing an autobiography? Start this lesson with the short story provided about getting pulled over by a police officer. Then, discuss the acronym PIES and how it stands for the four main reasons an...

Give young scholars a chance to practice making inferences after reading the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. They confirm whether or not their conclusions are true, have a class discussion, and then independently complete an...

Sixth graders examine implicit and explicit opinions in a text about Rosa Parks. In this explicit and implicit opinions lesson, 6th graders participate in direct teaching, guided practice, and independent practice while reading an...

Students complete autobiographical writing assignments throughout the school year that they save and rewrite to put into a published book during the last month of class. They include photographs, drawings and mementos of their lives in...

Students create an autobiography. In this writing lesson, students use a life map as a graphic organizer to develop their autobiography.

Improve your youngsters' descriptive writing. They study an object and write about what they see as a warm-up, then they read an excerpt from Paul Guest's memoir, One More Theory about Happiness. The next part of the...

Sixth graders interpret Franklin's style, his ease of writing and content, using this to inspire, motivate and guide them to do more writing. They list Franklin's civic accomplishments and political accomplishments. They name 4...

Students identify personal traits. In this autobiographical art lesson, students read the book Whoever You Are and use art supplies to create a body cut-out of themselves. Students include physical characteristics on their cut out.

Foster community in your classroom and encourage learners to get up and get to know each other. Individuals each receive the classmate inventory handout included and use it to fill in information about their fellow scholars. Once they...

This annotated bibliography and list of websites are valuable resources for any study of the Holocaust and/or of Elie Wiesel's Night.

Help your middle schoolers identify personal experience narratives in their own lives through telling stories themselves and from family members or other adults. They study personal experience narratives in Swapping Stories and compare...

When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

Transform a written biography into a video biography! Introduce your learners to the biography format by reading them a few examples (some suggestions are included). Then discuss the factors that make a good biography. What information...

Tenth graders explore the self through a study of autobiographies. By writing daily in their journals, they improve their writing skills and write reflection pieces at the end of the year. Through a series of writing assignments, 10th...

Students discover labor issues of the 1800's.  In this Pennsylvanian history lesson, students research the case of Mary Harris Jones and discover her work as a labor activist.  Students discuss the case together in class.

First graders explore and explain that different plants and animals live in different kinds of environments. They illustrate various plants and animals and how they survive in the places where they live. A nature journal for enrichment...

Students read excerpts of autobiographies from Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. After listening to excerpts of an oral reading of Frederick Douglass' book, they discuss the ways African Americans were treated on plantations. ...

Learners discover ways to learn about the past. In this writing activity students use a writing web to organize their ideas about how we learn about the past. The learners then start a time capsule about their lives....

Students are introduced to the idea of traditional oral narratives and divide them into genres. They explore the genres of context, motifs and variants. Each student finds oral narratives in their own lives and practice retelling them in...

Who was Alexander The Great? How did Abraham Lincoln’s early life influence his political life? Learners select a historical figure to use for video biography. After developing research questions and collecting information, pupils search...

In this lesson, students research the history, meaning, and personal significance of their life story. Students will interview parents and reflect on their own experiences to learn the history of their lives. Contains links to step...