lesson plan biography

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Introduction to Biographies

A biography is an account of someone’s life that is told by someone else. It can be about a famous person or about an ordinary person who has done interesting things. Biographies usually center around a person’s life and positive ways that they have contributed to the world. They are a great way for kids to learn about elements of nonfiction, organization, research, and expository writing. It is also fun to learn about someone who has made a difference! The following activities will provide students with many different ways to organize information and show what they have learned.

Student Activities for Biographies

Essential Questions for Biographies

• Where and when was this person born?
• What was this person’s childhood like?
• What kind of education did this person have?
• What is/was this person’s family life like?
• What are/were this person’s accomplishments?
• What positive contributions has this person made to the world?
• Why did I choose this person?

Why Create Biographies?

When someone has a biography written about them, it is because they have done something in their life that others consider to be quite important--important enough to learn and write about! Usually the person has done something positive and admirable and is an inspiration to others.

In order to create a biography, students will learn about the person’s early life, childhood, education, family, and accomplishments. It is also important for the student to be able to express why they chose this person, and the impact this person has made on the world or the student’s life in particular. For example, students can ask: what can I learn from this person? What mistakes has this person made that I can relate to and grow from? How has this person inspired me?

When reading about and researching a person, students will encounter at least one theme, or recurring main idea, in a biography. The following is a list of potential themes:

• Sometimes life is tough and it takes strength to keep going.
• Believe in yourself and others will believe in you.
• No matter how many times you fail, never give up.
• The most difficult times in life can inspire others.
• Always have hope and stay positive.
• Know your worth: don’t let anyone drag you down.

Students should pay attention to what they think the theme is and be able to explain how they can learn from the person they are researching. Themes also make it much easier for students to present their chosen person's life as a narrative rather than a collection of facts.

Along with being able to identify the theme, there are certain elements of the biography genre that always need to be included in research if the information can be found. These elements are:

• Date and place of birth (and death, if applicable)
• Educational background
• Family life, either past, current, or both
• Adult life: job and current location, if applicable
• Major accomplishments

Other information like fun facts, quotes by or about the person, and photographs may also be included in the biography.

While researching an influential person , students will learn not only about the individual, but about many ways one person can change or contribute to the world. Learning about others helps us find the positive power within ourselves, and motivates us to be the best people that we can be. It is important for the student to fully be interested in learning about the person, so it is best if students choose on their own. Teachers may want to provide a list to help narrow down the choices by focusing on categories such as sports figures, entertainers, inventors, political figures, historical figures, change-makers, or someone the student knows personally. This way, they can make the biographies relevant to the unit they're teaching or the time of year!

How To Teach Biographies in an Elementary School

Explore life events in the story.

Start by talking about the key life events in the biography with students. Consider birth date, family life, education, jobs, and personal events. Guide students through the key life events in chronological order.

Talk About Themes

After they understand the event’s in a person’s life, you can lead them to discuss themes, or what they learn about life from the biographical story. Common themes include making a difference, overcoming obstacles, and always have hope.

Connect to Student's Life

Have students use a Venn Diagram to connect with the person in the biography. They can share things they have in common in the middle of the circles, and things that are different about each of them on the outside.

Draw it Out

Let students draw a body biography in order to understand the person more fully. Have them fill in body parts, such as putting what the character loves in the heart area, and drawing what the person thinks about up in the head.

Frequently Asked Questions about Biographies

How do biographies help students understand how individual people relate to the world around them.

When we read a story about how one person lived their life, we can better understand the power within ourselves and see how our lives matter. Every person influences the world around them.

What are some common themes that run through biographies?

Many biographies teach lessons such as how to overcome obstacles, believing in yourself, and making the most of what you have.

What universal elements are found in almost all biographies?

Most biographies explain a person’s birth and death dates (if they have died), what their childhood was like, their education, their work accomplishments and their personal or familial accomplishments.

Why should we read biographies?

When we read about other people's struggles and triumphs, we see what we have in common and are able to see the importance of our own life.

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Biography Lesson Plans for a Unit You’ll Love

These biography lesson plans can take your unit from blah to outstanding! First, kids read biographies. Then they respond with graphic organizers, templates, and crafts. For the grand finale, students participate in a living history museum.

Ms. Sneed Finds Some Biography Lesson Plans

Our favorite fourth grade teacher opened the file for her biography unit . Her thoughts turned back to last year’s genre study . Sure, the activities engaged her students. However, she reflected, something was missing in the ELA unit . As she tapped her pencil absentmindedly, it came to her: continuity. Great parts. But they just didn’t fit together all that well.

“What I need is some great biography lesson plans,” she said aloud. She clicked over to TPT and did a quick search. Aha! Her favorite teacher-author had posted a free set of plans .

Biography Lesson Plans Introduce the Genre

As Ms. Sneed scanned the plans for the first day, she nodded her head. The class would read a biography picture book and explore elements of the genre.

Next, each child would choose an activity from a choice board . So far, so good! She liked the idea of reading and discussing together – then giving the kids options.

Students Read and Respond

Quickly, Ms. Sneed’s eyes moved to biography lesson plans listed for the next two days. Kids would read one long or more short biographies. Her eyes lit up. For each of those days, kids responded with an organizer or craft !

On the fourth day, students picked a specific person to research. Using differentiated templates , they spent the next four days recording information about that person.

Present a Wax Museum

During the last week or so, the biography lesson plans laid out a wax museum project . They created a timeline for their person. Then they turned it into a monologue and practiced. For the grand finale, each member of the class dressed as their famous person, stood in an open area, and greeted guests with their monologues.

Now Ms. Sneed was really grinning. “I can’t wait to show these biography lesson plans to my co-teacher!” she said. “They will make our unit cohesive – and compelling.”

Educator Resources for Biography

Lesson Plans

Biography lesson plan: an introduction to biographies, related videos.

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Biography Unit of Study for Reading

Download this free biography unit of study for reading to help you introduce and work with biographies in the classroom.

This biography unit of study contains anchor charts, lessons, graphic organizers and more within this collection.

This is another free unit of study for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

We enjoy reading workshop because it is a great way for teachers to help students explore different elements of literature. At the same time, we love that we are encouraging our students to build a love of reading. 

The Key to Teaching Biographies

Biography is a genre that can sometimes easily be neglected in classrooms with regards to informational text studies. We suggested giving it a try because it’s one that can be truly engaging for lots of students.

The key to getting students excited about a study of biographies is to have many relevant and appropriately leveled texts for all of your various readers.

You might even want to think about having a class discussion (or present an interest inventory) to find out who your students might be interested in learning about. 

Once you know their interests, take some time to visit your school and local libraries. Add to your book basket by picking up some favorites at your favorite used bookstore or ordering from Amazon. You will keep interest and engagement high if students are reading about people who are relevant to their interests and lives.

Starting with Immersion

We believe that immersing students in books and letting them develop their own “noticings” is a great way to begin many language art units.  

Be sure your collection of biographies includes a variety of options. You will also want to be sure that your collection contains as many of the biography text features as possible.

We have included a Biography Noticings Anchor Chart that you can use with your kids during or after their immersion experience. Or, you might choose to record your students noticings on a blank chart (which we have also provided).

What We Learn From Biographies is another tool you can use to get your students familiar with this genre. It is an anchor chart that contains characteristics of many biographies.

We have also provided two Find the Biography  resources that require students to distinguish between different genres.  Begin by giving small groups two different types of texts. You can give them literature & biographies OR give them biographies & another type of informational text. They will need to flip through the books to determine differences. They can write their ideas on the organizers.  If you don’t want them to write on these organizers, another thought would be to just have them do a similar activity with Post-It notes.

Yet another resource is our Biography Text Feature Checklist. This would be a good tool to use to facilitate a class discussion as you flip through some biographies together. Check off when you see the specific text features listed within the books. This is also provided in a black & white version with a space for student’s name in case you want to use it as a literacy center activity.

New to reading workshop? Start here and then come back to this unit: Preparing Your Reading Workshop

Read Alouds

Another way to get students familiar with the biography genre is to share them during your read aloud time.  Choose a few examples that will be of high interest to your students, but that might be above their reading level.  

As you read the books or chapters aloud during your regular read aloud time, you can touch on the ideas you are teaching during your reading block.

Focus On Author’s Purpose

You might want your students to think more deeply about why specific biographies have been written. Obviously the purpose of a biography is to inform, but thinking about the reasons an author has to write the biography can help students to determine importance.  

Our goal as teachers is to help students pull out the purpose. You can use this half sheet Focus on Author’s Purpose during a mini-lesson or at literacy center. There is also a page of Author’s Purpose Exit Slips you can use as a quick check.

An extension of this could be our  Biography   Search , which is intended to be used as a literacy center as well. Once students are able to determine why biographies have been written about specific people, then you could have them search through a stack of books to find different categories.

Thinking About Background Knowledge

Activating schema is an important part of students becoming strong readers. A goal for teachers is for our students to think about what they already know before learning new information.

We have created two Building Background  organizers for students to record their background knowledge. Choose the one that you feel best fits your specific students.

Gathering Important Information

Your students might no be ready to begin reading appropriately high interest biographies and gathering information to share.  We have come up with a few different ways for your students to begin to pull out important information from the biographies they are reading.

One way for students to begin focusing on important information from biographies is to have them begin to take simple notes.  Students need guidance so that they don’t copy complete sentences or paragraphs from books.   Biographies: When Will I Take Notes  is an anchor chart that will help them begin to figure out what to write when taking notes. If you have other ideas about how and when you want students to take notes, you can use our blank template to write your own ideas on.

Our  Life Outline resource is a simple way for students to break down personal information from the biographies they are reading into portions of time in a subject’s life.

We have also included nine different Graphic Organizers that you can introduce to your students as they begin to read.  These cover a range of skills.

There is also a cause & effect organizer that will get your students thinking about how particular events have affected the lives of the people they are reading about.

You might also want to try our set of Important Information Bookmarks . These can be used for students to mark text.

Students simply insert them into the book at the appropriate places. They then go back to them to share information with the class or to fill out one of the organizers.

Most biographies share the impact that others had on the subjects’ lives. These influences can be either positive or negative. Whichever case is true, we want students to be able to name those people who were crucial to the success or failure of the person and why.   

This task may be difficult for students, so we suggest that you choose a short, simple biography to read to the class. You will then discuss the influences in the subject’s life. Identify why they had a positive or negative effect. Finally, fill out one of our two organizers with the students so that they can understand their use.

Biography Reading Response Prompts

You can cut these 8 prompts apart, assign to students and glue into reading response notebooks.

Character Traits

While reading biographies you will want to focus on the character traits of the biography subjects.  Many times it is these character traits that serve as the author’s purpose.  

For materials to use in focusing on those traits, you can check out our Character Traits post. You will find a range of lists of character traits and activities to use during reading workshop.

Sharing Student Learning

You will want your students to be able to share their learning as they read and learn. There are so many different ways they can do this. Below we have shared some of our own resources and ideas.

Biography Brochure – This template can provide your students with an outline to create a brochure focusing on the individuals they are reading about.  Choose the template that fits your students.

Simple Biography Books –  Once your students have read many biographies, you might have them create simple books to share with younger students. We have created templates for both female and male subjects. You will find them with handwriting and standard lines.  You will find this download here: Simple Biographies – Books

Timelines – Of course biographies lend themselves well to student-created timelines. Our students always love using PowerPoint for timelines, but good old-fashioned posters are always great visuals too!

Wax Museums – Another popular way to share student learning for this genre is the Living Wax Museum. Students view pictures and dress up as their characters. They memorize as much as possible and stand at-the-ready to tell others about their lives.  These can be fun presented during the school day to other classes. Or, make it an evening event where parents would be able to watch.

You can download the PDF printables for this unit of study here:

Reading Download

We know that some teachers like to have the lessons above in a document they can easily print and add to their lesson plans. You can download these lesson plans here:

Lesson Download

A few of our favorite biography studies can be found below. These are each free and designed to be ready to go literacy centers.

You might like these for your biography book basket (contains affiliate link)

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thank you so much for this great resource on biographies for grade 2.

A Biography Study: Using Role-Play to Explore Authors' Lives

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Dramatizing life stories provides students with an engaging way to become more critical readers and researchers. In this lesson, students select American authors to research, create timelines and biopoems, and then collaborate on teams to design and perform a panel presentation in which they role-play as their authors. The final project requires each student to synthesize information about his or her author in an essay.

Featured Resources

ReadWriteThink Timeline Tool : This interactive tool can be used with any lesson requiring students to create a timeline.

K-W-L-S Chart : Students can use this chart to help guide their inquiry process in a variety of different lesson types.

From Theory to Practice

• Role-play is one technique that has the potential to generate excitement and engagement as students explore the past.
• The process of studying a person's life story and performing as if one were that person is rooted in the institution of Chautauqua. The Chautauqua institution began as an adult education movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
• The role-playing technique used in this lesson is an excellent introduction to Chautauquan tradition, as it uses a similar, but less arduous process of historical investigation and presentation of biography.
• Biographies can provide role models for learning new attitudes and behaviors. They can help promote an appreciation of diversity, giving students a renewed inspiration to promote equality and justice.
• Biographies provide an interesting way to practice interpreting data for biases, embellishments, or deletions. Students learn to assess the quality of a biography by noting if it has sufficient and trustworthy references, a balanced portrayal of the subject, and an explicit identification of which parts are true and which parts are fictionalized.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Bridging the Gap: Group Work Rubrics and Checklists
• Essay Rubric
• Timeline Rubric
• Author Panel Presentation Rubric
• Biography Project Discussion Questions
• American Authors: Biography Assignment Sheet
• Critical Evaluation of a Website
• How to Write a Biopoem
• K-W-L-S Chart
• Biography Project Suggestions
• Peer-Editing Instructions
• Notes and Source Card Guidelines
• Guidelines for Preparing a Script for the Panel Discussion

Preparation

Student Objectives

Students will

• Learn about important American authors by researching their lives and sharing research with peers
• Develop research and inquiry skills by researching an author's life, examining the impact of culture on the author's life, and evaluating biographical material for bias, embellishments, or deletions
• Improve their communication skills by presenting an author to the class, listening to other students present their authors, and working collaboratively in groups to plan panel discussions
• Enhance their use of technology by using the Internet to research an author, post a written report, and prepare supplemental visuals to complement their panel presentations
• Improve their critical reading skills by evaluating websites and resource materials for accuracy and selecting information to include in their presentations
• Improve their writing skills by researching an American author, writing a brief report, and peer editing and revising their work

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading: Author Mixer

Panel Presentation

Author Essay

Have each student write a brief biographical sketch about his or her author. The essays on the U.S. Literary Map Project website can serve as models for students' work. Allow students to explore the site, but also provide them with guidelines for their assignment (i.e., the Essay Rubric ), since the online samples vary in length and content. You might ask students to write their essays as if they were going to submit them to the site. While writing of the essay can be done for homework, set aside part of one class session for peer editing. Students should use the Peer-Editing Sheet and the Essay Rubric to guide their evaluations. A final copy of each essay should be submitted both electronically and as a hard copy. After you review the essays and have students make any further revisions, as needed, upload them to the website per the instructions provided.

As extensions to this project, you can have students use the online Bio-Cube tool to summarize what they have learned about their authors. They can then:

• Write a more formal research paper on the author
• Present their information in other dramatic ways, such as by acting out an exciting scene in the person's life or telling the story dressed as the person
• Prepare a slide show or PowerPoint presentation on the author
• Read and report on a book written by the author
• Write a poem or song about the person's life
• Script a news program about the person's life
• Write a letter to the editor persuading the public about an issue that was significant in the person's life
• Write a children's version of the person's life

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Use the Timeline Rubric , Essay Rubric , and Author Panel Presentation Rubric to assess the student's work during the lesson. Several rubrics are available at Bridging the Gap: Group Work Rubrics and Checklists for assessing group work. Rubistar can also be used to find or create rubrics for this lesson.
• Periodically evaluate the reading logs, K-W-L-S charts , and notes to ensure that students are completing the project as expected.
• Teacher observation should also be a part of the assessment for this lesson. Watch to see that groups are working equitably on their panel presentations and are not wasting time. You will also want to observe students during the author mixer to gauge their interactions with one another and knowledge of the authors they have been researching.
• Self- and peer-editing should be used for the written essay (see Peer-Editing Sheet ).
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

Students generate descriptive timelines and can include images in the description.

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• Kindergarten K

Biography Themed Teaching Resources

Our biographies on famous and historical figures will enhance your lessons and students will enjoy studying them. Included are reading warm-ups, poems, discussion guides, and more. These resources are appropriate for a variety of grade levels, from kindergarten through high school.

Printables for Grades K-5

• Nelson Mandela Biography: A Reading Warm-Up

Helen Keller Biography: A Reading Warm-Up

• Walt Disney Biography: A Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up
• Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

Helen Keller

Getting to Know Me

Learn About Susan B. Anthony

• More Popular Biography Printables for Grades K-5

Printables for Grades 6-12

• We Beat the Street Discussion Guide
• Albert Einstein Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
• Albert Einstein, Physicist
• The Peanuts Gang: Charles Schulz
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Fastest Woman in the World: Wilma Rudolph
• More Biography Printables for Grades 6-12

Lesson Plans for Grades K-12

An Autobiographical Poem

• Sunflowers, Van Gogh, and You
• Rachel Carson: The Coming of a Silent Spring
• Martin Luther King Jr, Civil Rights Leader
• Marie Curie's Discovery
• Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights
• The Era of Thomas Jefferson
• More Biography Lesson Plans

Biography Teaching Guides

• Red Scarf Girl Teacher's Guide
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Teacher's Guide
• A Long Way Gone Teacher's Guide
• The Henry Books: A Teacher's Guide
• Up Close: Jane Goodall Discussion Guide
• Listening Is an Act of Love Teacher's Guide
• Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy's Day Parade Educator's Guide
• More Biography Teaching Guides

Social Studies Activities

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl Discussion Guide

• Chronology of Conscription in the U.S. -- Colonial Era to 1999
• Benjamin Franklin Little Book
• Abraham Lincoln Biography & Mini-Book
• Ryan White, My Own Story
• Betsy Ross Little Book
• More Biography Activities for Social Studies

Reading & Language Arts Activities

• Babe Ruth Reading Warm-Up: Biography
• Henry Ford Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal

Learning About Famous People

• More Biography Activities for Reading & Language Arts

Science Activities

• Learn About Johnny Appleseed
• Science and Social Studies: Benjamin Franklin
• Bio of a Famous Scientist
• Jane Goodall, Ethologist
• The First Man in Space
• Early Astronomers
• More Biography Activities for Science Class

Holidays & Seasonal Resources

• "I Have a Dream" Little Book
• Jackie Robinson Coloring Page
• Rosa Parks Coloring Page
• Learn About Pocahontas
• Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up: Sacagawea Biography
• More Biography Resources for the Holidays

Art & Music Activities

• My Book About Abraham Lincoln
• My Book About George Washington
• George Washington Carver Coloring Page
• My Book About Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Claude Monet Biography: A Reading Warm-Up

I Have a Dream: Drawing Activity

• More Biography Activities for Art & Music

Biographies & Physical Education Connected

• Past Olympic Athletes: Profiles, Biographies, and Activities

Michelle Kwan Reading Warm-Up

• Jesse Owens: Olympic Champion
• Jackie Robinson Mini-Biography
• Jim Thorpe Reading Warm-Up
• Althea Gibson
• More Physical Education Biographies
• Overview of the Presidents: Basic Facts & Figures
• Martin Luther King Jr.'s Life
• Assassinations and Attempts in U.S. Since 1865
• Just Where Was Columbus?
• President Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Biography
• President George Washington Biography
• President James Monroe Biography
• More Popular Biography References
• Martin Luther King Jr. Quiz
• Notable African-American Women Quiz
• Martin Luther King Jr. Printable Book (Grades 4-8)
• Popular Presidents' Day Printables

Recommended Biographies Resources

Albert Einstein Biography: A Reading Warm-Up (Grades 5 & 6)

Timeline: Conscription in the United States, 1620-Present

Sense and Sensibility

DAILY WARM-UPS

Clara Barton Reading Warm-Up

Theodor Seuss Geisel Biography

Influencing Others in Our World

Spoonerisms Activity

LESSON PLANS

Birthday Buddies

The Life and Accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr.

Harriet Tubman Writing Activity

Carleton Kendrick Ed.M., LCSW

Homesick: My Own Story

The Anne Frank and Miep Gies Connection

To plan a biography

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Slide decks, worksheets, quizzes and lesson planning guidance designed for your classroom.

Lesson details

Key learning points.

• In this lesson, we will write a complex sentence with a relative clause about Charles Darwin. We will plan a biographical introduction and refer to notes made from the previous lesson. Finally, we will plan a concluding paragraph.

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

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Unit english / important scientists - biographical writing.

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Biography Writing (KS2)

Subject: English

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

19 August 2019

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This series of lessons teaches children how to plan, structure, write and edit biographies.

Can be used and adapted to Years 4-6

Included is the PowerPoint, example biography and lesson plans.

Hope it is useful.

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Teaching How to Write a Biography: Lesson PLan

• Trent Lorcher
• Categories : English lesson plans for middle school
• Tags : Teaching middle school grades 6 8

Assignment Ideas

Use biography writing assignments in conjunction with current events, a literature unit, a research paper, or a history project. Use the following ideas to get you started:

• Short Story Unit: Write a magazine article describing a meeting with a character from any story you’ve read this semester. Be sure your article portrays the character consistently with the character in the story. Create a name for the magazine and a title for the article. The audience should be the type of person who would read the magazine you created.
• Novel Unit: Do the above assignment. Choose a character from the novel to write the article on.
• History Class: Write a magazine article chronicling an encounter with any famous historical figure. Identify whether or not the person became famous before or after the meeting. Create a name for the magazine and a title for the article. The audience should be the type of person who would read the magazine you created.
• Research Paper: Write a biography on a famous writer. Research biographical information and his or her works.
• Current Events: Follow the same steps as the short story unit biography. Instead of a literary character, make a person in the news the subject of your article.

How to Procedures

The following procedures involve writing about a fictional character. Simply change a few words to adapt it to any of the above assignments.

• Prewriting - Review short stories. Brainstorm characters who attracted your attention. Choose the one you feel would make the most interesting biography.
• Prewriting - Visualize the character. Much of what you write will come from the author’s description. You can, however, fill in missing information.
• Prewriting - List character traits. Remember traits aren’t always directly shown by the author. You may have to make inferences .
• Prewriting - Set up a believable situation in which you meet the character.
• Drafting - Explain the circumstances of your meeting, how you met the person, and what you talked about.
• Drafting - Keep the character consistent.
• Revising - Add details to make the encounter and the character more realistic. Make sure you focus on your audience as you revise.
• Revising - Use peer evaluation . Exchange papers with a partner and comment on the article’s strengths and weaknesses.

This post is part of the series: Writing Assignments

Find different writing assignments to give your students.

• Writing Lesson Plans: How to Write a Biography
• Teach Your Students How to Write Science Fiction
• Teaching Instructional Articles: How to Write Instructions
• Lesson Plan: How to Write an Essay Introduction
• Sophmores Assess Their High School Role While You Assess Their Writing

Lesson Plan

June 17, 2024, 6:05 a.m.

Lesson plan: History of Juneteenth and why it became a national holiday

A Juneteenth celebration in Richmond, Virginia, 1905. Library of Congress

This lesson was originally published on June 16, 2021, and was updated on June 16, 2024.

For a Google version of this lesson plan, click here . (Note: you will need to make a copy of the document to edit it).

In this lesson, students will explore and discuss the history and context around the Juneteenth holiday in the United States. Topics explored will include the history of racial injustice in the U.S., the Civil War and the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation. Additionally, students will be encouraged to explore the modern significance of Juneteenth and its long-term impact.

Estimated time

One 50-60 minute class period

Grade Level

Grades 6-12

On June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously approved a bill approving June 19 as a federal holiday for “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” The House passed the bill one day later. Still, many Americans are still unaware of the history and significance of June 19.

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves” in the Confederacy “shall be free.” While this may have freed some enslaved people on paper, the reality was much more complicated.

Source: PBS NewsHour via Associated Press

For instance, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed those slaves held under the Confederacy, not in border states loyal to the Union, including Kentucky, West Virginia and Delaware, where slavery was still legal after the Emancipation Proclamation. In fact, slavery was still legal in Kentucky until Dec. 1865, when the 13th Amendment was passed, though Kentucky voted against ratifying the amendment.

Confederate states and slaveholders also resisted emancipation, and many people remained enslaved in Confederate states after the proclamation, even as many enslaved people fought for their freedom or escaped behind Union lines. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union issued an order in Galveston, Texas, alerting all enslaved persons that they were legally free.

At this point in 1865, Texas was the westernmost state in America and one of the last Confederate states to be occupied by the Union. Many slaveholders had fled Union advances in other parts of the South to Texas, along with the people they had enslaved.

While it took time for the logistics of “freeing” enslaved people to come into effect, the importance of June 19, or “Juneteenth” lived on. Considering how complicated emancipation was, many dates were considered for holding celebrations of emancipation, but over 150 years later, June 19 remains.

What originally was a holiday mainly observed by Texans has grown to be recognized all over the country. Each year on “Juneteenth,” (or more formally Juneteenth National Freedom Day), communities all around the United States gather and celebrate and reflect on the history of slavery and struggle for civil rights and equality, including the work that still remains after conditional advances such as the Emancipation Proclamation.

Warm up activity

As a class, watch the BrainPop video (8 minutes) below found here introducing Juneteenth. While watching the video, answer the following discussion questions.

Source: BrainPop

Discussion questions:

• What is “Juneteenth”? What does it celebrate?
• Why did it take so long for enslaved peoples in Texas to finally be free? What obstacles existed?
• What were some of the forms of discrimination against newly freed people mentioned in the video?
• What is the Great Migration?
• How did Juneteenth become a national, not just regional, celebration?

After watching the video, separate into groups of 3-4 to discuss the focus questions (5 minutes).

Main activities:

• Why was June 19th chosen as the date to celebrate the freedom of all Americans? What were some of the drawbacks to other dates? Can you make an argument for why you think a different date might have been better and/or worse?
• Gates describes several reasons why Juneteenth struggled to be remembered at times, and why it was able to endure. Compare and contrast what the BrainPop video included as reasons why Juneteenth struggled and endured with what Gate’s emphasizes. What do you think were the most important factors in Juneteenth’s momentum and remembrance continuing?
• “When did they start recognizing Juneteenth, if at all?”
• “What was the process of Juneteenth becoming a holiday in my state?”
• If Juneteenth isn’t recognized in your state, see if you can answer, “Why is Juneteenth not recognized?”
• This search engine for state and local government websites
• The Library of Congress

Additional activities

• Brainstorm or plan a Juneteenth celebration activity. This can be decorating a common area, bringing in a relevant local speaker or planning a refreshment break for your school. Juneteenth celebrations can be in the home, at school or in community locations. For more inspiration see these resources:
• “ How to Celebrate ” from Juneteenth.com
• See how others are celebrating Juneteenth on Twitter .
• Some activists feel ambivalent about Juneteenth becoming a national holiday, or reject the idea. To learn more about the nuances surrounding making Juneteenth a federal holiday, watch this NewsHour interview with Dr. Mark Anthony Neal recorded in 2020 amid the George Floyd protests.

• The day now known as Juneteenth was formally recognized as a national holiday in 2021, due in large part to the activism of retired teacher Opal Lee. Learn more about Lee's activism and the message of Juneteenth in this NewsHour interview with Opal Lee.

If classrooms finish and plan a celebratory activity, please share your ideas with us on social media @NewsHourEXTRA on Twitter.

This lesson was written by Cecilia Curran, NewsHour Classroom intern, while she was a rising sophomore at Amherst College. This lesson was edited by NewsHour Classroom's education producer and former history teacher Vic Pasquantonio.

Fill out this form to share your thoughts on Classroom’s resources. Sign up for NewsHour Classroom’s ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning.

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Independent presidential aspirant Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lauded WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s release from prison and called for a statue to be erected in his image.

Kennedy, 70, who had long been a proponent of pardoning Assange, also re-upped his well-worn push for him and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to be pardoned, while upholding the pair as models for the country .

“We should not just release Julian Assange and Edwin (sic) Snowden, but … we should build a monument to them in Washington as a civics lesson to the American public about the importance of free speech,” Kennedy contended on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” Tuesday.

“A transparent government is the essence of democracy. That’s what Julian Assange did for us,” he said, noting that the government will “constantly try to increase its power by reducing transparency.”

The White House hopeful conveyed a similar sentiment on social media Monday shortly after news broke of the agreement between Assange and the US government.

Per the terms of the agreement, Assange, 52, was set to plead guilty to violations of the Espionage Act and enjoy credit for the five-year stint he served in the United Kingdom, court documents revealed.

Assange had spent about seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London . After his asylum was revoked, he was imprisoned by the British in 2019 . The US had sought his extradition.

The US government had Assange in its crosshairs for publishing unvarnished documents and material during the so-called War on Terror. This included footage of a 2007 helicopter attack, in which US forces killed 11 people and wounded children in Baghdad.

“The odd thing about Julian Assange[‘s] imprisonment is that the American press did not rise up in outrage and indignation to object on this,” Kennedy mused.

Morgan noted some of the criticisms against Assange, namely that he published raw material on WikiLeaks — files that did not contain redactions of sensation methods and sourcing.

“I would want journalists to exercise some discretion if, for example, there are confidential sources in other countries whose names are exposed [and it] could put their lives in danger,” Kennedy conceded when pressed.

Kennedy stressed that there are civil lawsuits that could’ve been used instead of prosecution to remedy the situation.

The scion bemoaned how Assange entered a guilty plea in the first place and noted that Assange’s health was “shaky.” Assange’s brother previously divulged that his health was “deteriorating.”

“He shouldn’t have been prosecuted. And you know, I’m disappointed that he had to make this guilty plea,” he said.

Hearkening back to the Pentagon Papers, Chelsea Manning and other episodes of whistleblowing, Kennedy underscored that “the government has an interest in lying to us.”

Kennedy ripped into the media and suggested that its lost its way of being a proper counterweight to the government by being too willing to keep its secrets hidden.

“One of the things that’s happened with the press is that they no longer do that job. They’ve become propagandists for government, rather than speaking truth to power. They’ve become stenographers and propagandists for government,” he said.

“We saw this during COVID. We saw it during the Iraq War,” he went on. “It almost always is a bad idea for the press to keep the government secrets.”

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Health Lesson: Learning About Bones

Information on this page is mapped to national science and health education standards and is for students in grades 4 through 6 who are learning about the human body. Teachers may also use these resources to inform their lesson plans.

On This Page

• For Students : Find all classroom materials and activities about bones
• Kahoot! Quiz : Test your knowledge about muscles on your own or as a class!
• Vocabulary : See all of the medical terms in this lesson defined
• Teacher's Corner : See the National Education Standards covered in these lessons

For Students

What would your body be like without bones ? Bones give your body shape, help you move, protect your organs, and more! On this page, you can learn about bones, what happens when they get hurt, and how to keep them healthy.

What are bones?

Bones are the tissues —groups of cells that work together—that make up your skeleton. Bones might remind you of dead things or fossils, but the bones in your body are alive. They grow and change all the time!

Bones keep your body healthy in many ways. They:

• Support and hold up your body . Without bones your body would be a squishy blob on the ground.
• Help you move . Muscles work together with bones to move your body around.
• Protect your organs . Some bones shield your organs from injury. For example, your ribs protect your heart and lungs, and your skull protects your brain.
• Make blood cells . Some types of bone have a jelly-like material inside called bone marrow (MEH-row) . New blood cells are made inside the bone marrow!
• Store energy . Some types of bone, like the leg bones, contain cells that store fat and release it when your body needs energy.
• Store minerals and vitamin D . Bones can store minerals like calcium and phosphorus, and vitamin D, and release them when your body needs them.  

What are bones made of?

Bones are made mostly of a protein called collagen (KAA-luh-jn) and a mineral called calcium phosphate (KAL-see-uhm FAA-sfayt) . Together, these materials make your bones strong and flexible.

Bones have three layers:

• The periosteum (peh-ree-ow-STEE-uhm) is a thin membrane covering the bone that contains nerves and blood vessels.
• Compact bone is the dense and hard outer layer of the bone that you see when you look at a skeleton.
• Cancellous (KAN-suh-luhs) bone is inside the compact bone. It is full of holes and looks a little like a sponge. Bone marrow fills in the holes of the sponge.

Bones are held together at the joints by ligaments (LI-guh-muhnts) , a type of tissue that is like a strong rubber band. Learn more about joints , which are made up of ligaments and other types of tissue.

Try this experiment at home to learn what makes bones strong and flexible at the same time! Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after touching the bones!

How do bones grow?

As you get older and grow taller, your bones grow, too! There are special zones of bones that grow with you called growth plates .

Did You Know?

A baby is born with about 300 bones. Many of them eventually fuse (grow together) to form the 206 bones that adults have.

Bone tissue is constantly changing in a process called remodeling . All the time, old or damaged bone tissue is broken down, and new bone tissue is made to replace it. When you’re young, new bone is made faster than old bone is broken down, which means that your bones get denser and stronger. In most people, the amount of bone tissue in the skeleton peaks by their mid- to late 20s.

• The bone cells that break down old bone are called osteoclasts (AA-stee-uh-klasts) .
• The bone cells that make new bone are called osteoblasts (AA-stee-uh-blasts) .

As you age, old bone tissue is broken down faster than new bone is made. For some people, the bones become weaker and easier to break. This condition is called osteoporosis (aa-stee-ow-opr-OW-suhs) .

Doctors have special names for the ways bones can break. Learn about the different types of fractures with this activity !

What happens when bones break?

Broken bones are also called fractures (FRAK-chrz) . The break can go through only part of the bone or completely through it.

It hurts to break a bone! There might also be swelling and bruising. If you are injured and go to the doctor, the doctor may take pictures of your bone with x-rays to see if it is broken. If you do have a broken bone, the doctor may put on a cast, splint, or brace to keep the bone from moving around as it heals, and to make sure it heals correctly. Sometimes, bones move so much when they break that the doctor has to “set the bone”—put it back in the right place before putting a cast, splint, or brace on it.

How much force does it take to break a bone? Try this experiment at home with chicken bones to find out!

Most broken bones heal within a few months. First, your body forms a blood clot around the break to protect it and deliver the cells that will heal it. Next, a healing zone called a callus (KA-luhs) forms around the break. It joins the bones together. At first, the callus is soft, but it gets harder and stronger as the bone heals.

What is scoliosis ?

Your backbone, also called your spine, is actually made of many small bones called vertebrae (VUR-tuh-bray) that form a line. Scoliosis (skow-lee-OW-suhs) happens when the spine bones are curved instead of being straight.

Most of the time, people get scoliosis as pre-teens or teenagers. By going to the doctor and getting treated when needed, people with scoliosis can have healthy, active lives.

Small curves usually don’t cause problems. If a doctor notices you have a curved spine, they may just check it every once in a while, to make sure the curve doesn’t get worse. Really big curves or small curves that get worse can cause health problems. In these cases, doctors treat scoliosis with a back brace or surgery.

Doctors don’t know what causes scoliosis, but they do know that having a parent who had scoliosis makes it more likely that you will have it, too.

How can I help keep my bones healthy?

Avoid bone injuries..

Wear the right equipment to protect your bones. Always wear a helmet to protect your skull while biking, scootering, skateboarding, or skating. You can also wear elbow and knee pads to protect your arms and legs.

When playing sports like football, soccer, lacrosse, or ice hockey, always wear all the right equipment. Make sure the safety gear fits you, or else it might not do its job.

When you’re in the car, remember to buckle your seatbelt.

Get plenty of physical activity every day. Your bones respond to exercise by making new bone tissue, which helps keep them strong.

To keep bones healthy, do activities that put weight on your bones. Playing basketball, kickball, walking, jumping rope, and dancing are good examples.

Eat well to keep your bones healthy.

Calcium and vitamin D . Remember that bones are made of a mineral called calcium phosphate? To keep bones strong, you need to get that calcium from food or supplements . You can get calcium from milk, cheese, and yogurt. Leafy green vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, and kale are also important sources of calcium.

Vitamin D helps your body absorb the calcium in the foods you eat. You can get vitamin D from certain foods , like eggs, fish, and special types of orange juice, milk, and cereals that have vitamin D added to them.

Eat a balanced diet . Try to eat a combination of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy.  Eating a variety of foods and being active every day helps keep your body healthy and strong. While you need both muscle and fat for your body to work properly, in general, having more healthy muscle tissue helps keep your bones healthy.

Test your knowledge about bones with this Kahoot! quiz

This Kahoot! quiz tests your knowledge about bones and how to keep them healthy.

Check out our other webpages to learn about joints , muscles , and skin .

Bone marrow (MEH-row). A jelly-like material inside some types of bones. New blood cells are made inside the bone marrow.

Bone remodeling (ruh-MAA-duh-luhng). A process where old or damaged bone tissue is broken down, and new bone tissue is made to replace it.

Calcium phosphate (KAL-see-uhm FAA-sfayt). A mineral, along with a type of protein called collagen, that make up bones. Calcium phosphate helps make bones hard and strong.

Callus (KA-luhs). A healing zone that forms around a broken bone and helps join the bone pieces together.

Cancellous (KAN-suh-luhs) bone. The bone layer inside the compact bone. It is full of holes and looks a little like a sponge.

Cells. The smallest building blocks of life. Your body is made of trillions of cells!

Collagen (KAA-luh-jn). A type of protein, along with a mineral called calcium phosphate, that make up bones. Collagen helps make bones flexible and strong.

Compact (KUHM-pakt) bone. The smooth and hard outer layer of the bone that you see when you look at a skeleton.

Fractures (FRAK-chrz). Broken bones.

Growth plates. Special zones of bones that grow with you.

Ligaments (LI-guh-muhnts). Tissues that hold bones together.

Membrane. A thin sheet of tissue that acts as a boundary or lining.

Mineral. Solid substances made in nature, but not by living things, that can help your body grow and stay healthy.

Organ. A part of the body that has a specific job.

Osteoblasts (AA-stee-uh-blasts). The bone cells that make new bone.

Osteoclasts (AA-stee-uh-klasts). The bone cells that break down old bone.

Osteoporosis (aa-stee-ow-opr-OW-suhs). A condition that some people get when they age, where old bone tissue is broken down faster than new bone is made, which can make the bones weaker and easier to break.

Periosteum (peh-ree-ow-STEE-uhm). A thin membrane covering the bone, which contains nerves and blood vessels.

Proteins. Large chains of molecules made by living things and essential to life. There are many different types of proteins, and proteins do several different jobs. For example, they provide structure for the cell and can also help important chemical reactions happen in the body.

Scoliosis (skow-lee-OW-suhs). A condition that happens when the spine bones are curved instead of being straight.

Supplement. A substance that a person can add to their diet to make sure they get all the nutrients their body needs.

Tissues. Groups of cells that work together.

Vertebrae (VUR-tuh-bray). Small bones arranged in a line that form your backbone, also called your spine. 

Teacher’s Corner

The content on this NIAMS webpage aligns with the following national standards:

Next Generation Science Standards

• NGSS Standard 4-LS1-1 “Animals have internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.”
• NGSS MS-LS1-1 “All living things are made up of cells , which are the smallest units that can be said to be alive. An organism may consist of one single cell (unicellular) or many different numbers and types of cells (multicellular).”
• NGSS MS-LS1-3 “In multicellular organisms, the body is a system of multiple interacting subsystems. These subsystems are groups of cells that work together to form tissues and organs that are specialized for particular body functions.”

National Health Education Standards

• NHES 1.5.1 “Describe the relationship between healthy behaviors and personal health.”
• NHES 1.5.4 “Describe ways to prevent common childhood/adolescent injuries and health problems.”
• NHES 1.5.5 “Describe when it is important to seek health care.”

CDC Healthy Schools

• CDC Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum, Characteristic 4 : “Address social pressures and influences”

Portland teachers union leaders vote to remove links to lessons advocating for Palestinians, after weeks of back and forth

• Updated: Jun. 21, 2024, 9:30 a.m. |
• Published: Jun. 18, 2024, 5:00 p.m.

Hundreds of Portland high school students streamed out of schools Friday, March 15, 2024, to protest ongoing bloodshed in Gaza. Mark Graves/The Oregonian

• Aimee Green | The Oregonian/OregonLive

After a tumultuous few weeks since the teachers’ union for Portland Public Schools promoted lesson plans that encouraged students to pray for the plight of Palestinians and described Israelis as “Zionist bullies” who stole Palestinian land, the union announced it had removed links to the controversial teaching materials from its website — with no stated plans to repost them.

The Portland Association of Teachers’ president, Angela Bonilla, didn’t return requests for an interview or comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday or Tuesday. But the links to the lesson plans, videos and other teaching materials and to an advocacy guide entitled “Know Your Rights! Teaching & Instructing for Palestine within Portland Public Schools” disappeared from the union’s website over the weekend.

In its newsletter to its more than 4,000 members on Tuesday, the union said its leadership voted Saturday to remove the links to the lesson plans, videos and teaching materials and to “temporarily remove and revise” the “Know Your Rights” guide, with a plan to repost an “updated guide” at a later date. The newsletter said only that the removals were in response to feedback from teachers.

“Our Executive Board (E-Board) has heard member concerns about democratic processes and systems in our union,” the newsletter read.

This week’s development is the latest in an on-again and off-again saga that has sparked criticism from many members of Portland area Jewish communities that the teaching materials and guide were one-sided, antisemitic and violated the foundations of secular public education.

Teacher David Goldstein doesn’t think the announcement went far enough. It came a day after he recognized the materials weren’t accessible through the union’s website. He wants to see the union acknowledge the harm done to Jewish students, staff and community members, said Goldstein, who works at Robert Gray Middle School.

“What I’m upset about is the antisemitism and the intimidation and the unsafe environment they’ve created for the Jewish community of Portland, Oregon — and how that’s completely unacceptable,” Goldstein said. “I think they should apologize and explain how they’re going to prevent this from happening again. That’s a minimum.”

Goldstein said he’s open to having a dialogue with union leadership but is not hopeful that or an apology is coming.

“I think they’re completely dedicated to their cause and this is a strategic move,” he said. “They got pressure from all over.”

In recent weeks, a firestorm of controversy has erupted:

• In early June, some teachers began circulating flyers calling for a vote of no confidence in union leadership. The effort apparently was driven by frustrations over the November teachers’ strike as well as leaders’ push to support Gaza. The flyers state that leadership should instead focus on “OUR workplace issues,” including pay increases, smaller class sizes and “crumbling” infrastructure.
• On Monday, No Hate Zone founder Sam Sachs, who is Jewish, filed a report about the union to the Oregon Department of Justice’s Bias Response Hotline. Sachs, who also is running for Portland City Council, said he reached out to the hotline because he thinks union leadership have left Jewish students feeling “targeted and vilified for being Jewish.”
• Sachs said he also complained to the Portland School Board for not issuing a statement condemning the union’s advocacy. “This has damaged Jewish students and staff, and nobody is saying anything about it,” Sachs said. “I think the most important thing is when Jewish students and staff go back to school, is there a safe environment for them to go back to? Because I think this has been compromised.”
• In late May, some Portland City Council candidates said they thought the union seemed unduely focused on their views about supporting protesters’ rights to demonstrate in support of Palestinians instead of meatier educational issues during endorsement interviews.
• Last week, city council candidate Jesse Cornett, who was endorsed by the union, said he wrote Bonilla, the union president, to ask her to take down the lesson plans. Cornett said he also asked her to refrain from allowing the sale of clothing at union-sponsored events if it contains the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Palestinians say that describes their right to reclaim land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, but the vast majority of Israelis and many Jews consider it a threatening call for the destruction of Israel, even at the cost of many Israeli lives.
• Complaints to the union also have streamed in from parents, community members and Jewish organizations.

Links to the materials first appeared on the union’s website in late May, around the time the union hosted a May 28 meeting urging teachers to stand by what the union believes is their right to show their support for Palestinians and educate children about those views. Also during that meeting, organizers or their supporters passed out Palestinian flags, distributed handouts celebrating Hamas militants who have massacred civilian Jews and sold shirts stating “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

The union removed the links to the lesson plans and other materials on June 4 amid criticism — with Bonilla saying she and members of the union’s Social Justice and Community Outreach Committee hadn’t reviewed the materials before providing them as a resource for teachers to use.

The union reposted many of the links — including ones that attempted to share some Israeli points of view — on June 5 to a less visible spot on its website, where they remained until this past weekend.

Bonilla told The Oregonian/OregonLive in early June that the “Know Your Rights” guide and lesson plans aren’t antisemitic. But she said they do support the right of educators to teach the Palestinian perspective, which she said has often been overlooked and disregarded amid so much turmoil and tragedy in the region. She said union leadership is “vehemently against any forms of bigotry.”

— Aimee Green covers breaking news and the justice system. Reach her at 503-294-5119, [email protected] or @o_aimee .

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Stories by Aimee Green

• Hail of 50 bullets fired at 3 victims in deadly North Portland ambush last year, court docs say
• Disabled man died on street hours before he was reported missing from Portland group home
• Estate of man sues homeless shelter for $2 million after he was strangled to death on premises
• Franklin High student who sheared off part of finger sues district for $4.7 million
• Portland police officer run over on the job sues city for $1 million

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