It’s Never too Early for Your Students to Write Their Autobiography (Lesson Plan)

Who are your students? 

What do they know about themselves? 

What have they done with themselves before they entered your classroom?

These are just a few of the questions that might come up at the beginning of the school year.

It can be said that the most important thing that a student learns how to do during their 13 years of education is to have the skill set to introduce themselves to the world and be able to clearly articulate their identity.

In this lesson plan, we are going to share a great way for students to create an autobiography that has not just one, but several functions throughout the school year.

Unwrapping the Onion of the Autobiography

On the surface, this lesson asks the students to describe all the things that make them unique in this world.  However, once you have your students thinking about these subject areas this project takes on a life of its own based on projects that might stem from its completion. (See below for more information)

In this project, students will learn:

• What is a biography & autobiography?
• How to write a personal narrative
• How to peer edit a partner's biography
• How to share your story.

Key Points of the Lesson

Throughout this lesson, there are several key topics that the student will learn. Each of these types of autobiographies has the potential of opening additional projects during the school year making this the perfect first or second lesson.

• What is a Biography?
  • A Biography is a story (in third person) about someone's life and accomplishments.
  • They are designed to help tell someone's story and are meant to help provide a clear picture of who someone is personally and professionally.
  • A tool that can be leveraged when networking.
• Where Do You Find Biographies?
  • Resumes
  • Social Media Profiles
  • Presentations / Speeches
  • “About Me” Pages
• Ways to Start a Biography/Autobiography?
  • “Johnny Appleseed is an 8th grade student in Middle School.”
  • “Johnny Appleseed is interested in Volleyball and science, and plays the violin.”
  • “In 2018, Johnny won his first bowling competition…”
  • “When not attending Middle School, Johnny is active in Volleyball.”
  • “Johnny Appleseed lives with his mother and 4 siblings”

Tips for Writing Biographies & Autobiographies

• Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.
• Showcase what you currently are doing with your life or are interested in.
• Include at least one accomplishment.
• Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of school.
• Consider adding a personal story.

Project Materials

• Google Doc: Introduction Assignment
• Google Doc: Biography Outline
• Google Doc: Write your Autobiography Assignment

Lesson Procedures

Part 1: Write Down Your Thoughts

• Step 1:
  • Create an assignment using the “What Do You Remember?” Google Doc
• Step 2:
  • Ask your students to write down as many memorable events in their life as they can think of that are meaningful.
• Step 3:
  • When finished, ask your students to click the TURN IN button in Google Classroom.

Part 2: Biography Outline

• Step 1:
  • Create an assignment using the “Who Are You? (Outline)” Google Doc
• Step 2:
  • Ask your students to fill in the blanks using details from their backgrounds, history, and accomplishments.
• Step 3:
  • When finished, ask your students to click the TURN IN button in Google Classroom.

Part 3: Writing the Biography

• Step 1:
  • Create an assignment using the “Who Are You? (Template)” in Google Classroom
• Step 2:
  • Ask your students to write the first draft of their autobiography using the paragraph guides in the template.
• Step 3:
  • When finished, ask your students to click the TURN IN button in Google Classroom.

Lesson Resources

• Video 1: How to Write an Autobiography
• Video 2: How to Write an Autobiography
• Video 3: How to Write YOUR Autobiography

Digital Learning Skills

There are several digital learning skills that students will need or will learn when completing this activity.

• Typing
• Editing
• Peer-Review
• Capitalization and Punctuation
• Bold / Italics
• Header & Paragraph Styles

Follow Up Activities

As mentioned above, there are several follow-up activities that will nicely complement this lesson.  Once a student has written their autobiography, they can then choose someone from history or from a topic that is in the curriculum and write a report to share someone else's story.  Another great extension of this lesson would be to put your students in front of a camera and read the autobiography into a camera to create the beginnings of a short video project.

Are you interested in creating dynamic lessons this year to support digital learning skills?  Would you be interested in having me work with you or your team of teachers? Please reach out and let me know how I can best support you this year.