Teacher’s Guide: Biography
™
Reading Objectives
•C
omprehension: Identify cause and
effect; Compare and contrast
• Tier Two Vocabulary: See book’s Glossary
• Word study: Word origins
• Analyze the genre
• Respond to and interpret texts
• Make text-to-text connections
• Fluency: Read with inflection/tone: pitch
Marian Anderson
Frida Kahlo
Level R/40
Writing Objectives
• Writer’s tools: A strong lead
• Write a biography using writing-process
steps
Related Resources
•
•
•
•
Comprehension Question Card
Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart
Using Genre Models to Teach Writing
Pocahontas, Squanto (Level R/40)
Unit-at-a-Glance
Day 1
Prepare to Read
Day 2
Read “Marian Anderson”*
Day 3
Read “Frida Kahlo”*
Day 4
Reread “Frida Kahlo”*
Day 5
Days 6–15
B
While you are meeting with small groups, other
students can:
• read independently from your classroom library
• reflect on their learning in reading response
journals
• engage in literacy workstations
Literature Circle Discussion/Reinforce Skills*
Write a biography using the process writing
steps on page 10.
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Day 1
Prepare to Read
Build Genre Background
• Write the word genre on chart paper. Ask: Who
can explain what the word genre means? (Allow
responses.) The word genre means “a kind of
something.” Ballroom dancing and square dancing are
different genres, or kinds, of dance. Each dance genre
has its own characteristics that we can use to identify
it. In the same way, we can identify literary genres by
their characteristics. As readers, we pay attention to
the genre to help us comprehend. Recognizing the
genre helps us anticipate what will happen or what
we will learn. As writers, we use our knowledge of
genre to help us develop and organize our ideas.
• Ask: Who can name some literary genres? Let’s make
a list. Allow responses. Post the list on the classroom
wall as an anchor chart.
• Draw a concept web on chart paper or the
chalkboard. Write Biographies in the center circle
of the web.
• Say: A biography is one example of a literary genre.
Think of any biographies you know. How would you
define what a biography is?
• Turn and Talk. Ask students to turn and talk to a
classmate and jot down any features of a biography
they can think of. Then bring students together
and ask them to share their ideas. Record them
on the group web. Reinforce the concept that all
biographies have certain common features.
Introduce the Book
• Distribute a book to each student. Read the title
aloud. Ask students to tell what they see on the
cover and table of contents.
• Ask students to turn to pages 2–3. Say: This week
we are going to read biographies that will help us
learn about this genre. First we’re going to focus
on this genre as readers. Then we’re going to study
biographies from a writer’s perspective. Our goal this
week is to really understand this genre.
• Ask a student to read aloud the text on pages 2–3
while others follow along. Invite a different student
to read the web on page 3.
• Point to your biographies web on chart paper. Say:
Let’s compare our initial ideas about biographies
with what we just read. What new features of this
genre did you learn? Allow responses. Add new
information to the class web.
• Post this chart in your classroom during your
biographies unit. Say: As we read biographies this
week, we will come back to this anchor chart. We
will look for how these features appear in each
biography we read.
2
• Ask students to turn to pages 4–5. Say: The
biographies in this book tell about the important
events and people in the lives of two famous
artists. Let’s take a close look at the time lines of
these women’s lives.
• Have a student read aloud the information on the
time lines while others follow along.
• Say: Time lines tell about events in sequence.
Biographies usually tell about the events in a
person’s life in the order in which they happened.
What can you infer, or tell, from this? Allow
responses. Prompt students to understand that time
lines and biographies have similar structures. A time
line can often be used to summarize the content of
a biography.
Introduce the Tools Writers Use: A Strong Lead
• Read aloud “Tools Writers Use” on page 5.
• Say: Authors write biographies to inform and
entertain readers. Starting with a strong lead,
or opening section, gets readers’ attention by
announcing the subject and hinting at what is to
come. Both biographies in this book have strong
leads. Let’s practice identifying the characteristics of
a strong lead so we can understand what makes the
leads in these biographies strong.
• Distribute BLM 1 (A Strong Lead). Read the sample
biography lead aloud with students.
• Model Identifying a Strong Lead: These
paragraphs introduce us to an artist named Frederic
Remington. The lead first gets our attention with a
true story about the artist, and then it summarizes
why he is important. The lead creates an expectation
that we will learn about Remington’s adventures and
achievements. The author uses a strong lead to make
us want to read on.
• Ask students to work with a partner or in small
groups to answer the questions about the lead and
to write their own strong lead.
• Bring the groups together to share their findings.
Point out that although this lead uses both direct
and indirect techniques, not every lead will use both.
• Ask each group to read its strong lead. Use
the examples to build students’ understanding
of how writers create a strong lead. Remind
students that a strong lead can help the reader
focus on the subject, understand the subject’s
importance, and predict what information the
biography will contain.
• Ask groups to hand in their leads. Transfer studentwritten leads to chart paper, title the page “A Strong
Lead,” and post it as an anchor chart.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the
guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-4509-0018-8
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
Day 2
Before Reading
Introduce “Marian Anderson”
•R
eread the biography anchor chart or the
web on page 3 to review the features of a
biography.
• Ask students to turn to page 6. Ask: Based on
the title and photographs, what do you predict
this biography might be about? Allow time for
students to respond.
• Invite students to scan the text and look for the
boldfaced words (magnificent, segregation,
sensation, declared, audience). Say: As
you read, pay attention to these words. If you
don’t know what they mean, try to use clues in
the surrounding text to help you define them.
We’ll come back to these words after we read.
Set a Purpose for Reading
Reflect and Review
• Turn and Talk. Write one or more of the following
questions on chart paper.
What is a literary genre, and how can understanding
genres help readers and writers?
What did you learn about the biography genre?
How can readers recognize a strong lead?
Ask partners or small groups to discuss their ideas
and report them back to the whole group as a way
to summarize the day’s learning.
Management Tips
• Throughout the week, you may wish to use
some of the reflect and review questions as
prompts for reader response journal entries in
addition to turn and talk activities.
• Have students create genre study folders. Keep
blackline masters, notes, small-group writing,
and checklists in the folders.
• Create anchor charts by writing whole-group
discussion notes and mini-lessons on chart paper.
Hang charts in the room where students can see
them.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
• Ask students to read the biography, focusing
on the genre elements they noted on the
anchor chart. They should also look for
characteristics of a strong lead and think about
how the author’s lead makes them want to
read on to learn more about the subject.
Read “Marian Anderson”
• Place students in groups based on their reading
levels. Ask students to read the biography
silently, whisper-read, or read with a partner.
• Confer briefly with individual students to
monitor their understanding of the text and
their use of fix-up strategies.
Management Tip
Ask students to place self-stick notes in the
margins where they notice characteristics of a
strong lead or features of the genre.
After Reading
Build Comprehension: Identify Cause
and Effect
• Lead a student discussion using the “Analyze
the Subject” questions on page 13. Then,
use the following steps to provide explicit
modeling of how to identify causes and effects
in a biography.
• Explain: We learned yesterday that
biographies tell about the events in the life
of a person. A biography explains how these
events affected the person and how the person
affected others. As you read a biography,
notice how one event can be the cause of or
the result of another event. Also pay attention
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
3
Day 2 (cont.)
to how events reveal the subject’s personality. Watch
for details that help you feel connected to the person
and help you understand him or her.
• Distribute copies of BLM 2 (Identify Cause and Effect)
and/or draw a chart like the one below.
• Model: When I read a biography, I pay attention to
the major events in the person’s life. I analyze what
caused each event and how it affected the person.
I also consider what the events tell me about the
character of the subject. As a six-year-old girl, Marian
Anderson began singing in her church choir. Because
her voice was so strong and beautiful, people knew
Marian had a special talent they should encourage.
In spite of prejudice, Marian was able to nurture her
gift, because others helped her.
• Guide Practice. Work with students to list and
analyze other events in Marian Anderson’s life. Help
them identify the cause of each event and the effect
it had on Marian’s attitudes and actions.
• Have students keep BLM 2 in their genre studies folder.
Marian Anderson
Event
Cause of Event
Effect on Person
dropped out of
school to work
father died suddenly
turned to music for
happiness in sad time
began to doubt
herself
received bad reviews
from New York
performance
became more
determined, worked
harder, and improved
became a sensation
in 1924
sensational performance recognition helped her
with NY Philharmonic
rise to fame
Orchestra
achieved worldwide successful tour
fame
throughout Europe
sang with new passion
and emotion
sang at Lincoln
turned away from
Memorial on Easter, Constitution Hall
1939
because she wasn’t
white
proved racism would
not keep her from
reaching the public
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for
ELA Assessment
• Remind students that when they answer questions
on standardized assessments, they must be able
to support their answers with facts or clues and
evidence directly from the text.
• Use the Comprehension Question Card with
small groups of students to practice answering
text-dependent comprehension questions.
4
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
•S
ay: Today I will help you learn how to answer Find
It! questions. The answer to a Find It! question is
right in the book. You can find the answer in one
place in the text.
• Model. Read the second Find It! question. Say:
When I read the question, I look for important words
that tell me what to look for in the book. What
words in this question do you think will help me?
(Allow responses.) Yes, I’m looking for the words
invited and White House. On page 11, I read,
“President and First Lady Roosevelt invited her to
perform at the White House.” This sentence answers
the question.
• Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Find It!
questions to use with students.
Focus on Vocabulary: Word Origins
• Explain/Model: A word’s origin or history can
help you understand its meaning. For example, the
word prejudice comes from Latin prae-, meaning
“before,” and judicium, meaning “judgment.” This
agrees with the current definition of prejudice, “an
unfair judgment formed in advance.” Sometimes
readers can learn a lot about an unfamiliar word by
analyzing its origin in a dictionary.
• Practice. Ask students to find the words piano
(page 7), native (page 10), and dedicated (page 12)
in the biography. Guide them in finding and
analyzing the origins of the words in a dictionary.
Compare and discuss the words’ meanings and the
meanings of their Latin precursors.
• Say: Let’s find the boldfaced words in this
biography. What can you do if you don’t know
what these words mean? (Allow responses.) Along
with looking for clues in the text, you can look
in a dictionary to learn the origin of the word.
The history may help you understand the current
definition of the word.
• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the
“Focus on Words” activity on page 13 using BLM 3
(Focus on Word Origins). Explain that they should
look in a dictionary to find the origin and meaning
of each boldfaced word. They should think about the
connection between the modern definition of the
word and its history.
• Transfer Through Oral Language. Ask groups
of students to share their findings. Then challenge
students to brainstorm other words that have a
connection to the history of the boldfaced word (for
example, magnificent: magnify, magnificence).
Encourage all students to discuss the related meanings
of the sets of words.
• Ask students to save their work in their genre studies
folders to continue on Days 3 and 4.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day 3
Before Reading
Marian Anderson
Page
Word
Origin and Meaning
Dictionary Definition
6
magnificent Latin magnus, “great”
7
segregation
Latin se-, “apart” +
greg-, “herd”
separation of a race,
class, or ethnic group
9
sensation
Latin sensatio,
“understanding, idea”
a cause of excited
interest
11
declared
Latin de-, “from, away, made known publicly
down” + clarare, “to
or officially
make visible”
11
audience
Latin audire, “to hear”
grand, splendid,
impressive to the mind
or spirit
a group of listeners or
spectators
Reflect and Review
• Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to
reread the “Features of a Biography” web on page 3
and decide whether all of these features are present
in “Marian Anderson.” Ask groups to share and
support their findings.
Fluency: Read with Inflection/Tone: Pitch
• You may wish to have students reread the biography
with a partner during independent reading time.
Have them focus on raising pitch to make important
points stand out and lowering pitch to evoke more
feeling in moving passages. Ask students to read the
first and second paragraphs on page 8 with varied
pitches to express seriousness and sadness as well as
to suggest the importance of Marian’s response to
her difficulties.
Introduce “Frida Kahlo”
• Ask students to turn to page 14. Say: Today we
are going to read “Frida Kahlo.” This biography
is written in a different format from the other
biography we read. Notice how in the margins
there are notes to you, the reader. The first time
we read the text, we will read to understand the
biography, focusing on the causes and effects of
events in the artist’s life. Tomorrow, we will read
this biography like a writer and think about the
notes in the margin as a model for how we can
write our own biography.
• Say: Let’s look at the title and photographs
of this biography. What do you predict it
might be about? Give students time to share
their predictions.
• Ask students to scan the text and look for the
boldfaced words (rebellious, fractured, mural,
introspective, confined, vivid). Ask: What do
you notice about these words? Why do you think
they appear in boldfaced type? Allow responses.
Encourage students to notice that all the words
contain a root that is part of other words they
may know.
• Say: As you read, try to figure out the meanings
of these words. Think about other words you
know that share a root or word part with the
boldfaced word. Look in a dictionary to find the
origin of the word and the origin’s meaning.
After we read, we will talk about how you used
word origins and context clues provided by the
author.
Set a Purpose for Reading
• Ask students to read the biography, focusing on
events in the artist’s life and their effects on her.
Encourage them to notice the author’s use of a
strong lead.
Read “Frida Kahlo”
• Place students in groups based on their reading
levels. Ask students to read the biography
silently, whisper-read, or read with a partner.
• Confer briefly with individual students to
monitor their understanding of the text and their
use of fix-up strategies.
After Reading
Build Comprehension: Identify Cause and Effect
• Say: Yesterday we looked at events in Marian
Anderson’s life and the way they affected her.
For example, losing her father at an early age
and facing racism helped make Marian more
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
5
Day 3 (cont.)
determined and hardworking. What were some
events that affected Frida Kahlo’s attitudes and
goals? Allow responses. As students share their
analyses, synthesize their responses into a wholegroup chart like the one on page 6.
• Discuss Causes and Effects Across Texts. Lead a
discussion using the following questions.
How are the things that are important
to Marian Anderson similar to the things
that are important to Frida Kahlo? How are they
different?
Which artist’s achievements seem greater to you? Why?
Why do you think each woman had such an impact
on the world?
How do the strong leads of these biographies help
you understand the subjects?
Frida Kahlo
Event
Cause of Event
Effect on Person
right leg became
thin and weak
got polio at the age
of six
caused her to limp;
did not stop her from
playing sports
spent months
in hospital
school bus collided with painted to keep from
a streetcar
being bored
Focus on Vocabulary: Word Origins
• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the
“Focus on Words” activity on page 21 using BLM 3,
which they started on Day 2. Have groups of students
share their findings.
• Transfer Through Oral Language. Invite pairs
of students to take turns telling how each word
applies to Frida Kahlo. Encourage them to use the
dictionary definition and the history of each word
in their explanations.
Frida Kahlo
Page
Word
Origin and Meaning
Dictionary Definition
15
rebellious
Latin re-, “against” +
bellum, “war”
resisting established
authority
showed her work to had met a few years
Diego Rivera
earlier; shared interests
fell in love and married
16
fractured
Latin fractus,
“broken”
caused damage; broke
moved to United
States in 1930
Diego invited to paint
murals
became homesick for
Mexico
17
mural
Latin murus, “wall”
a painting made on
a wall
gained recognition
as artist
had developed a unique expressed her own
style that represented
imagination and
love of Mexico
feelings through art
20
introspective Latin intro-, “inside” + examining one’s own
specere, “to look”
thoughts and feelings
experienced sadness longed for Mexico;
could not have a child;
divorced for a year
communicated feelings
through self-portraits
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for
ELA Assessment
• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small
groups of students to practice answering textdependent questions.
• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer
Look Closer! questions. The answer to a Look Closer!
question is in the book. You have to look in more
than one place, though. You find the different parts
of the answer. Then you put the parts together to
answer the question.
• Model. Read the first Look Closer! question.
Say: I will show you how I answer a Look Closer!
question. This question asks me to identify cause
and effect. I know because it has the clue word
caused. Now I need to look for other important
information to find in the book. What words from
the question do you think will help me? (Allow
6
responses.) Yes, I’m looking for what happened
to Frida when she was 18. On page 16, I read that
Frida was riding home from school on a bus. Her
bus crashed into a streetcar. The accident shattered
bones all over her body. I have found the answer
in the book. I looked in several sentences to find
the answer.
• Guide Practice. Use the Flip Chart to help you develop
other Look Closer! questions to use with students.
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
Reflect and Review
• Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to
discuss the following questions and report their ideas
to the whole group.
What do you think Frida meant when she said,
“I painted my own reality”?
What would you do or create to express your
happiness and sadness about events in your life?
Fluency: Read with Inflection/Tone: Pitch
• You may wish to have students reread the biography
with a partner during independent reading time.
Have them focus on changing their pitch as they read
to show emphasis and feelings. Have students read
the last paragraph on page 19, using lower pitch to
express Frida’s sadness and higher pitch to emphasize
her quoted explanation.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day 4
Before Reading
Set a Purpose for Rereading
• Have students turn to page 14. Say: Until now, we
have been thinking about biographies from the
perspective of the reader. Learning the features of
biographies has helped us be critical readers. Now
we are going to put on a different hat. We are going
to reread “Frida Kahlo” and think like writers. We’re
going to pay attention to the annotations in the
margins. These annotations will help us understand
what the author did and why she did it.
Reread “Frida Kahlo”
• Ask students to reread the biography silently or
whisper-read.
• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor
their understanding of the text and annotations.
After Reading
Analyze the Mentor Text
• Explain to students that the text they have just read
is a mentor text. A mentor text is a text that teaches.
This text is designed to help them understand what
writers do to write a biography and why they do it.
• Read and discuss each mentor annotation with
students. Encourage them to comment on the
writer’s organization, focus on causes and effects of
important events, and use of literary techniques such
as a strong lead.
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for
ELA Assessment
• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small
groups of students to practice answering textdependent questions.
• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Prove
It! questions. The answer to a Prove It! question is
not stated in the book. You have to look for clues
and evidence to prove the answer.
• Model. Read the first Prove It! question. Say: I will
show you how I answer a Prove It! question. This
question is about making inferences. I know because
it says, “what clue supports the inference.” Now I
need to look for other important information in the
question. What information do you think will help
me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I need to find clues and
evidence about how the people of Mexico felt. On
page 20, I read that “In 1946, Mexico honored her
with a national prize for her work.” I have located
the clue I need to show that the Mexican people
were proud of Frida and her work.
• Guide Practice. Use the Flip Chart to help you
develop other Prove It! questions and support
students’ text-dependent comprehension strategies.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Analyze the Writer’s Craft
• Ask students to turn to page 22. Explain: In the
next few days, you will have the opportunity to
write your own biography. First, let’s think about
how the author wrote “Frida Kahlo.” When she
developed this biography, she followed certain
steps. You can follow these same steps to write
your own biography.
• Read step 1. Say: When you write your
biography, the first thing you’ll do is decide
on a person to write about. Let’s turn back to
pages 6–7 and 14–15 and reread the leads to
recall why the author believed these people
were important. Write the subjects’ names
and the reasons students offer on chart paper.
What person would you like to write about?
For example, I might write a biography about
Helen Keller, because she overcame incredible
physical challenges and became an inspiration
to others. Who else has achieved greatness
against great odds and would be a good subject
for a biography? Allow responses. Write down
students’ ideas on chart paper.
• Read step 2. Say: In the two biographies we
read, other people played important roles in the
subjects’ lives. For example, Guiseppe Boghetti,
a voice teacher, recognized Marian Anderson’s
potential and guided her, helping to shape her
future. What people or groups influenced our
subject? Let’s make a list of people and the ways
they affected our subject’s life. Allow responses.
Write down students’ ideas on chart paper.
• Read step 3. Say: Before you’re ready to write a
biography, you need to list important events in
the subject’s life and when and where they took
place. Marian Anderson worked hard to develop
her voice in the United States, where racism held
her back. Then, she sang in Europe and Russia,
where she was accepted as a brilliant artist.
She returned in triumph to the United States,
breaking barriers of racism and promoting peace.
When you write your biography, think about
what events and settings best represent your
subject. Choose one of the subjects and some of
the influential people the class has brainstormed
and work as a group to outline the important
events in the subject’s life and the settings where
these events occurred.
Build Comprehension: Compare and Contrast
• Explain: A biography describes events
throughout a person’s life. Readers can compare
and contrast the person’s characteristics and
responses over time to see whether the person
changed. To compare, notice ways in which the
person remains the same; to contrast, notice ways
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
7
Day 4 (cont.)
Day 5
in which the person changes. In these biographies,
the author describes two artists’ personalities and
tells about their experiences, the decisions they
made, and the actions they took. As readers, we can
observe how each subject’s attitudes and responses
stay the same over time and how they change. Then
we can think about what these observations reveal
about the person.
• Model: Marian Anderson encountered racism and
prejudice throughout her life. As a girl, she was
horrified and frightened by society’s rejection and
loses confidence. As a mature woman and artist, she
refused to be shut out and found ways to perform
until she was accepted. From this comparison and
contrast, I understand that Marian was always gifted,
but her experiences gave her the strength and
support to overcome racism. Frida Kahlo was crippled
by polio, but she remained active and mischievous.
Twelve years later, she was badly injured in an
accident, but she used her time in the hospital to
learn to paint. The similar reaction to adversity shows
that Frida had great ability to overcome pain and a
strong will to live fully. Observing her reactions gives
me insight into an important trait.
• Guide Practice. Invite students to work in small
groups to compare and contrast events, reactions,
and traits of the artist at different times in “Marian
Anderson” and “Frida Kahlo.” Ask the groups to
share and explain how the similarities and differences
help them better understand the subjects.
Analyze & Synthesize
Reflect and Review
• Ask and discuss the following questions.
How is reading a biography different from writing a
biography? How is it similar?
Which events in each biography seemed to have the
biggest effects on each subject’s life? What were the
effects on the artists’ lives?
What new word has a history that helped you
understand its meaning? How does knowing the
word origin help you?
How can you use a strong lead and word origins to
make your writing stronger?
Fluency: Read with Inflection/Tone: Pitch
• You may wish to have students reread the biography
with a partner during independent reading time.
Have them focus on using pitch to add interest and
emotion to the text. Ask students to discuss what
the last part of Frida’s life was like and how she
responded. Invite them to take turns reading the
second and third paragraphs on the last page of the
article, varying their pitch to emphasize ideas and to
show emotion.
8
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for
ELA Assessment
• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small
groups of students to practice answering textdependent questions.
• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Take
It Apart! questions. To figure out the answer to a
Take It Apart! question, think like the author.
• Model. Read the first Take It Apart! question. Say:
This question asks me to think about the author’s
purpose. I know because the question asks why the
author included certain information. Now I need
to look for other important information in the
question. What information do you think will help
me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I need to think about the
kind of information on page 14. The paragraph tells
about Frida’s strong emotions and her powerful art.
I think this information is intended to get readers
interested in the person they will be reading about.
Thinking about the author’s purpose helped me find
the answer to the question.
• Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Take It
Apart! questions to use with students.
Summarize & Make Connections Across Texts
• Engage students in a discussion about the two
biographies in this book. Invite a different student to
summarize each biography. Encourage other students
to add details and share their ideas.
• Ask students to turn to the inside back cover of the
book. Say: Good readers think about how literary
works are related. We know, for example, that
both of these biographies share certain features.
They both tell about important events in the life
of a person. They both show how that person had
an impact on the world. What else do they have in
common? (Allow responses.) Today we will think
about the similarities and differences in these two
biographies. We will compare and contrast times and
places, and we will summarize why we think people
should learn about each subject’s life.
• Ask students to work individually or in small groups
to complete BLM 4 (Make Connections Across Texts).
• Class Discussion or Literature Circles. Facilitate
a whole-class discussion or keep students in their
small groups for a literature circle discussion. If you
choose to conduct literature circles, share the rules
for good discussion. Each group should discuss and
be prepared to share its ideas about the following
prompts.
What kinds of information are included in both of
the biographies?
In what ways are the subjects of the biographies
alike? In what ways are they different?
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day 5 (cont.)
With which subject do you feel a stronger
connection? Why do you identify with this person?
What did you learn by reading each biography?
• Tell students that at the end of their discussion, you
will ask them to share their important text-to-text,
text-to-world, and text-to-self connections.
• While each small group of students discusses the
book, confer with individual or small groups of
students. You may wish to revisit elements of the
genre, take running records, or model fluent
reading skills.
Marian Anderson
Frida Kahlo
Time/Place
United States
Europe, Russia, England
Mexico
United States
Why People
Should Learn
About Her
Life
Recognized as a girl for
strength and beauty of
voice; won praise despite
racism in U.S.; became
very famous abroad;
first performance by
an African American at
Lincoln Memorial and
Metropolitan Opera
Overcame physical
tragedies; married Diego
Rivera; unique style of
painting that showed
her inner self; remained
strong in spirit though
weak in body; honored by
Mexico with a national
prize
Rules for Good Discussion
• Pay attention to the person who is talking and do
not interrupt him or her.
• Think about what others are saying so you can
respond and add to their ideas.
• Allow and encourage each group member to speak.
• Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.
Reinforce Skills
If time permits, choose from the following activities to
reinforce vocabulary and fluency.
Reinforce Vocabulary: Word History
• Place students in small groups and have them work
together to write each word from the glossary on
one card and each word’s origin on a second card.
• Have students mix the cards and gather around a
table. Then have them place the cards face up in
rows to form a rectangular shape. Each person in
the group takes a turn selecting a matching pair of
a word card and a word origin card.
• The first student to choose a pair should explain
how he or she knows that the word history matches
the word. For example, “Murus is an old Latin
word for a wall, and a mural is a painting made on
a wall.” Other group members can challenge the
match. If the cards match, the student keeps them.
If they do not match, the student puts them back on
the table.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
• The person to the right chooses a matching pair
of cards and explains their connection. Continue
until all students have explained how a word’s
origin helps them understand its current meaning.
Reread for Fluency: Oral Reading Performance
• Discuss with students how each biography includes
events that are impressive, sad, and exciting and
how the subjects experienced both good and bad
events in their lives.
• Say: The author describes how each subject
feels, acts, and makes decisions. When you
read aloud, you can use expression to show
the emotion behind each event. Expressing
emotions in your speech helps listeners
understand the importance of events and make
a connection to the subject.
• Invite individual students to read a section of one
of the biographies with expression that helps
listeners understand the importance of an event
or the emotion behind a decision.
• Encourage students to have fun with their readings
and to make them as dramatic as possible.
• As a whole class, discuss each reader’s
interpretation. Think about alternate ways to
express emotions and emphasize important ideas.
Review Writer’s Tools: A Strong Lead
• Ask students to look for other examples of strong
leads in books from your classroom library or the
school’s library. Each student should select one
book at his or her independent reading level. Ask
students to read specifically to find an example
of a strong lead.
• Invite students to share their examples with the
class. Ask the other students whether they agree
that each lead is strong and if so, why the lead
gets their attention and makes them want to
read what follows. Point out that students will
not find strong leads in all the books they chose.
A strong lead is not a tool all writers use all of
the time.
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
9
Days 6–15
Write a Biography
• Use the suggested daily schedule to guide students
through the steps of process writing. Allow
approximately 45 to 60 minutes per day. As students
work independently, circulate around the room and
monitor student progress. Confer with individual
students to discuss their ideas and help them move
forward. Use the explicit mini-lessons, conferencing
strategies, and assessment rubrics in Using Genre
Models to Teach Writing for additional support.
• Before students begin planning their biographies,
pass out copies of BLM 5 (Biography Checklist).
Review the characteristics and conventions of writing
that will be assessed. Tell students that they will use
this checklist when they complete their drafts.
• This daily plan incorporates the generally accepted
six traits of writing as they pertain to biographies.
Days 6–7: Plan
• Ask students to use BLM 6 (Biography Planning
Guide) to brainstorm the subject for their biography
and the important people, places, and events in that
person’s life.
• Encourage students to refer to the “Features of a
Biography” web on page 3 and to the steps in “The
Writer’s Craft” on pages 22–23 of the book.
• Confer with individual students and focus on their
ideas. Did students begin their biographies with a
strong lead? Did they include facts about the subject
and quotes from or about the subject?
Days 8–9: Draft
• Tell students that they will be using their completed
Biography Planning Guides to begin drafting.
• Say: Remember that when writers draft their
ideas, they focus on getting their ideas on paper.
They can cross things out. They can make mistakes
in spelling. What’s important is to focus on the
person’s life experiences and accomplishments. You
will have an opportunity to make corrections and
improvements later.
• Confer with students as they complete their drafts.
Use the Biography Checklist to draw students’
attention to characteristics of the biography genre
that they may have overlooked. Focus on students‘
organization and voice. Did students include
important facts about the subject’s life? Does the
biography make clear the person’s impact on the
world? Does it have a strong voice? Will the voice
keep readers interested?
• Pair students for peer conferencing.
Days 6–15
• Remind students to use the Biography Checklist as
they edit and revise their biographies independently.
• Confer with students focusing on sentence fluency,
word choice, and conventions. Did students include
both long and short sentences? Do the sentences
read smoothly? Have students used interesting words
and phrases? Did they develop a strong lead? Did
they use appropriate spelling, punctuation, and
grammar?
• You may want students to continue their editing and
revision at home.
Days 12–13: Create Final Draft and Illustrations
• Ask students to rewrite or type a final draft.
• Invite students to illustrate their final drafts with
one or more drawings or photographs that depict
specific events in the lives of the subjects of their
biographies.
• Confer with students about their publishing plans
and deadlines.
Days 14–15: Publish and Share
• Explain: One of the great joys of writing is sharing
it with others. Authors do this in many ways. They
publish their books so that people can buy them.
They make their work available on the Internet.
They hold readings. We can share our writing, too.
• Use one or more of the ideas below for sharing
students’ work:
Make a class display of students’ completed biographies.
Hold a class reading in which students can read their
biographies to one another and/or to parents.
Create a binder.
Days 10–11: Edit and Revise
• Based on your observations of students’ writing,
select appropriate mini-lessons from Using Genre
Models to Teach Writing.
10
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _________________________________________________
Date ___________________
A Strong Lead
Directions:Read the strong lead for a biography. Answer the questions about
the lead below.
The young man sat near the roaring campfire. It was 1881,
and Frederic Remington was just 20 years old. He had left his art
studies at Yale to explore the West, a place that had captured
his imagination. Suddenly, an old-timer said, “There is no West.”
Remington’s heart dropped. At that moment, he decided to preserve
the adventure and excitement of the West.
During his career, Frederic Remington brought the Old West to
life with thousands of drawings, paintings, and sculptures showing
cowboys and cavalrymen, bronco busters and braves. His artworks
bristled with so much energy, movement, and realism, they seemed
ready to leap to life. Remington created a vision of the Wild West that
still inspires Americans today.
1. Who is the subject of the biography?
________________________________________________________________
2. What important information do you learn about the subject?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. What do you predict the biography will tell about the subject?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4. W
hich paragraph has an indirect lead? Which has a direct
lead?
________________________________________________________________
Directions: C
hoose a person. On a separate sheet of paper, write a strong
lead for a biography about him or her.
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
blm 1
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _________________________________________________
Date ____________________
Identify Cause and Effect
Directions:Use the chart below to identify causes and effects in a biography.
Marian Anderson
Event
Cause of Event
Effect on Person
Cause of Event
Effect on Person
Frida Kahlo
Event
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
blm 2
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _________________________________________________
Date ___________________
Focus on Word Origins
Directions: U
se a dictionary to find the origins, meanings, and definitions of
the words from the texts.
Page Word
“Marian
Anderson”
“Frida
Kahlo”
6
magnificent
7
segregation
9
sensation
11
declared
11
audience
15
rebellious
16
fractured
17
mural
20
introspective
20
confined
20
vivid
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
Origin and
Meaning
blm 3
Dictionary
Definition
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _________________________________________________
Date ____________________
Make Connections Across Texts
Directions: F ill in the chart. Use it to compare and contrast the two
biographies.
Marian Anderson
Frida Kahlo
Time/Place
Why People
Should Learn
About Her
Life
1. Which characters in these biographies are alike? How are
these characters alike?
2. H
ow are the biography endings alike? How are they different?
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
blm 4
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _________________________________________________
Date _________________
Title ________________________________________________________________________­______
Biography Checklist
Features of the Genre Checklist
Yes No
2. My biography is logically sequenced. 



3. M
y biography includes the person’s date and place
of birth.


4. M
y biography includes important events from the
person’s life.


7. My biography quotes the person.






8. M
y biography quotes people who knew or know
the person.






1. My biography has a strong lead.
5. M
y biography includes people who have influenced
the person.
6. My biography describes the person’s personality.
9. M
y biography explains why the person is worthy of
a biography.
10. My biography has a strong ending.
Quality Writing Checklist
Yes No
I looked for and corrected . . .








• run-on sentences
• sentence fragments
• subject/verb agreement
• verb tense • punctuation
• capitalization
• spelling
• indented paragraphs
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
blm 5








©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _________________________________________________
Date _________________
Biography Planning Guide
Directions: Use the steps below to plan your own biography.
1. Decide on a subject to write about.
2. Decide who else needs to be in the biography.
Person or Group
Impact on Subject’s Life
Family Members:
Friends:
Heroes:
Others:
3. Brainstorm events and setting.
Setting
Important Events That Occurred
Setting #1
Setting #2
Setting #3
Biographies of two
20th-Century Artists
blm 6
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC