Biography vs Autobiography: Similarities and Differences
Chris Drew (PhD)
Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]
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A biography is an account of someone’s life story that is written by an author who is not the subject of the nook. An autobiography, on the other hand, involves an individual narrating their own life experiences.
The differences between biographies and autobiographies relate most prominently to the authorhship:
- Autobiography: When you read an autobiography, you’re getting the author’s own interpretation of their life.
- Biography: When you read a biography, you experience the subject’s life through someone else’s lens (Schiffrin & Brockmeier, 2012).
Biography vs Autobiography
1. biography.
A biography is a detailed account of a person’s life, scripted by an author who is not the person who is featured in the text itself.
This type of life story focuses both on factual events in the person’s life, such as birth, education, work, and death, but often also delves into personal aspects like experiences, relationships, and significant achievements.
It may also weave-in cultural and contextual factors that help illuminate the person’s motivations and core values .
Origins of Biographies
The concept of biography as a literary genre dates back to antiquity. Such works were primarily used to capture the lives of dignified individuals, mainly rulers and war heroes.
Suetonius’s Lives of the Caesars and Plutarch’s Parallel Lives are landmark examples from this ancient period (Sweet, 2010).
The popularity of biographical works only grew in the ensuing centuries, and they became a prominent part of many cultures’ literary traditions.
Into the 18th century and during the Enlightenment, biographies began to present a more balanced portrayal of the subject. They would present both their strengths and flaws, providing a holistic perspective on the subject.
Dr. Samuel Johnson’s compilation of English poets biographies, Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779-1781) ushered in a new era of biography writing by focusing on examining human nature (Ditchfield, 2018).
In the modern era, the genre has evolved and broadened, encompassing a diverse range of figures from all walks of life – there’s a biography in every niche imaginable, with each offering readers an in-depth exploration of their lives, their struggles, and their triumphs.
This demonstrates the enduring appeal of biographies and their value in providing snapshots of history through individual lenses.
Key Characteristics of Biographies
| The author of the biography is not the person who the story is about. The writer is an observer who collects, verifies, and narrates the life story of the person in focus (Smith et al., 2012). | |
| A biography doesn’t have the of an autobiography. So, a biography is often more trustworthy, but we still need to examine the incentives of the actual author (Jones, 2015). | |
| A biography covers all the significant aspects of the person’s life. From birth to death, or their most noteworthy accomplishments, it encompasses a wide array of life events (Johnson & Johnson, 2017). | |
| A biography prioritizes facts and major milestones in an individual’s life, such as , careers, relationships, and more. It does not delve into trivial details unless they are relevant to the person’s life story (Williams, 2019). |
Examples of Biographies
Title: The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets Author: Dr. Samuel Johnson Description: Dr. Johnson’s work profiles the lives of 52 poets from the 17th and 18th centuries, including John Milton and Alexander Pope. He critiques not just the works, but also explores their personal lives and the sociopolitical contexts of their times (Johnson, 1781). Johnson’s study is invaluable for its integrated historic and biographic approach.
Title: The Life of Samuel Johnson Author: James Boswell Description: This work by Boswell explores, in great depth, the life of his friend and mentor, Dr. Samuel Johnson. The biography offers a compelling portrayal of Dr. Johnson’s life, character, eccentricities, and intellectual prowess (Boswell, 1791). Boswell’s vivid account creates a near-physical presence of Johnson to the readers, making it one of the greatest biographies in English literature.
Title: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt Author: Edmund Morris Description: In this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Morris chronicles the early life of Theodore Roosevelt until his ascension to the U.S presidency. The work brilliantly captures Roosevelt’s extraordinary career and his transformation from a frail asthmatic boy into a robust and vigorous leader (Morris, 1979). Morris accurately represents Roosevelt’s indomitable spirit, making it an engaging and educational read.
Title: Steve Jobs Author: Walter Isaacson Description: This comprehensive biography provides a deep-dive into the life and career of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. Isaacson had unparalleled access to Jobs and those closest to him, thus presenting an intimate and detailed account. He explores Jobs’ professional endeavors as well as his personal life, revealing his ambition, intensity, and visionary mind that revolutionized several high-tech industries (Isaacson, 2011).
Title: Alexander Hamilton Author: Ron Chernow Description: Ron Chernow provides a sweeping narrative of one of America’s most compelling founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton. Chernow combines extensive research with a flair for storytelling, charting Hamilton’s evolution from an orphan into a political genius. The book sheds light on Hamilton’s crucial role in the formation of the United States’ financial system and his political ideologies (Chernow, 2004).
2. Autobiography
An autobiography is a self-written record of someone’s own life. It is a personal narrative in which the author writes about their life from their own perspective.
Autobiographies are usually centered around the author’s personal experiences, including key milestones, challenges, and achievements (Eakin, 2015).
They’re also often a defense of the person’s perspective (especially in political autobiographies) or insight into their thought processes, which can make them very intimate.
Origins of Autobiographies
The term ‘autobiography’ was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English periodical The Monthly Review, when he suggested the word as a hybrid but condemned it as ‘pedantic’.
Pioneering examples of the genre form include Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821) and the memoirs by veterans of the Napoleonic Wars (Lejeune, 2016).
However, apart from these early instances, autobiographies have been composed by a wide array of individuals from history.
In the early 20th century, the genre witnessed major transformations, and autobiographies started to cover a broader spectrum of experiences, including trauma, struggles, and successes.
‘Black Boy’ by Richard Wright, for instance, shares the author’s experiences with racism and his journey towards developing a literary career (Wright, 1945).
This was followed by a host of autobiographies by public figures sharing their diverse stories, such as Ernest Hemingway’s ‘A Moveable Feast’, depicting his days as a struggling young writer in Paris (Hemingway, 1964).
Autobiography as a genre has continued to evolve over the years, and a variety of forms have emerged to communicate individual experiences globally.
As history has progressed, we see more and more people with diverse perspectives sharing their stories, broadening our understanding of the human experience (Smith & Watson, 2010).
Key Characteristics of Autobiographies
| The author of the autobiography is the person the story is about. They are the principal actor and the of the information (Miller, 2014). As a result, we can get a deeper ‘insider’ insight into their mentality and expereinces. | |
| An autobiography emphasizes the personal viewpoint adopted by the author. The story is told from their own emotions, biases, and interpretations, providing a very personal perspective. However, we also need to be aware that it’s going to only present one self-serving perspective on the matter. | |
| Autobiographies go beyond factual accounts and include the author’s internal thoughts, emotions, and introspections about their experiences (Baker et al., 2013). | |
| Unlike a biography, an autobiography may not cover the entirety of the author’s life. Instead, they’re more likely to concentrate on specific themes (like resilience) or significant periods (like childhood or a specific career phase) (Brown & Brown, 2018). |
Examples of Autobiographies
Title: Long Walk to Freedom Author: Nelson Mandela Description: “Long Walk to Freedom” provides an in-depth exploration of ex-President Nelson Mandela, his political journey, and his stand against apartheid in South Africa. The biography offers a unique perspective into Mandela’s noble character, his indomitable spirit, and his commitment to justice when faced with grave adversities (Mandela, 1995). Mandela serves as one of our times’ great moral and political leaders through this biography.
Title: The Diary of a Young Girl Author: Anne Frank Description: This biography provides a startling firsthand account of a young Jewish girl named Anne Frank, who with her family, hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II. Her diary entries offer profound insights into the fear, hope, and resilience she demonstrated during her two years in hiding (Frank, 1947). Frank’s posthumous biographical record serves as a reminder of the injustices of the past and as a symbol of endurance in the face of oppression.
Title: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Author: Maya Angelou Description: This moving autobiography charts Maya Angelou’s early life, from experiencing racial discrimination in the South to becoming the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Angelou portrays her journey of self-discovery and overcoming traumatic experiences, including racial prejudice and personal trauma, with remarkable strength and grace. Her story is one of resilience, and it speaks powerfully about finding one’s voice (Angelou, 1969).
Title: Night Author: Elie Wiesel Description: “Night” is Wiesel’s personal account of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II with his father. This heartbreaking narrative describes not only physical hardship and cruel atrocities but also examines the loss of innocence and the struggle to maintain faith in humanity. It stands as a testament to human resilience in the face of unimaginable horror (Wiesel, 1960).
Title: Dreams from My Father Author: Barack Obama Description: In this engaging memoir, the 44th President of the United States narrates the story of his diverse background and early life. The narrative extends from his birth in Hawaii to his first visit to Kenya, from dealing with racial identity to self-discovery. “Dreams from My Father” not only provides personal insights about Obama’s life and values but also discusses issues of race, identity, and purpose (Obama, 1995).
Similarities and Differences Between Biographies and Autobiographies
| 1. Authorship | Written by a third party. The author and subject are different individuals (Smith et al., 2012). | Written by the subject themselves. The author is the person the story is about (Miller, 2014). |
| 2. Perspective | Presents an objective perspective, offering a balanced view of the subject’s life (Jones, 2015). | Emphasizes a subjective perspective, providing a very personal view of the author’s life. |
| 3. Content | Focuses on facts and major life events, offering a comprehensive account of an individual’s life (Johnson & Johnson, 2017). | Often includes personal reflections and feelings, may focus on specific themes or periods in the author’s life (Baker et al., 2013; Brown & Brown, 2018). |
| 4. Personal Reflections | Contains limited personal reflections or emotions of the subject. | Contains an abundance of personal reflections and emotions from the author (Baker et al., 2013). |
| 5. Subjectivity / Objectivity | More objective due to the distance between the author and the subject (Jones, 2015). | More subjective due to the close relationship between the author and the subject – they’re the same person. |
| 6. Strengths | Provides an impartial and factual account of a person’s life, which can be helpful for historical or academic study (Williams, 2019). | Gives a deeper insight into a person’s thoughts and emotions, providing a unique perspective on their life experiences (Baker et al., 2013). |
| 7. Weaknesses | May lack personal insight or emotional depth due to its objective approach (Williams, 2019). | May be biased or overly emotional due to its subjective approach, and may not cover the entirety of the author’s life (Brown & Brown, 2018). |
While both biographies and autobiographies are excellent sources of information and entertainment about significant figures in history (or the present!), they serve different purposes. By knowing the different purposes of each, we can develop stronger media literacy , understanding what the intention of the author is, and how we should approach the text.
Angelou, M. (1969). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings . Random House.
Baker, J., Davis, E., & Thompson, K. (2013). Reflection and Emotions in Autobiography . Chicago University Press.
Boswell, J. (1791). The Life of Samuel Johnson . J.R. Taylor.
Brown, J., & Brown, S. (2018). Thematic Focus in Autobiography Writing . Princeton University Press.
Chernow, R. (2004). Alexander Hamilton . Penguin Books.
Ditchfield, S. (2018). Extracting the Domestic from the Didactic: Transmission and Translation of the Sacred in The Lives of the Ancient Fathers (1672–1675). Church History and Religious Culture, 98 (1), 28-50.
Eakin, P. J. (2015). How Our Lives Become Stories: Making Selves . Cornell University Press.
Frank, A. (1947). The Diary of a Young Girl . Contact Publishing.
Hemingway, E. (1964). A Moveable Feast . Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs . Simon & Schuster.
Johnson, M., & Johnson, S. (2017). A Comprehensive Guide to Biography Writing . New York: Penguin.
Johnson, S. (1781). The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets . Printed by C. Bathurst, J. Buckland [and 28 others in London].
Jones, B. (2015). The Art of Writing Biographies: An Objective Approach . Oxford University Press.
Lejeune, P. (2016). On Autobiography . University of Minnesota Press.
Mandela, N. (1995). Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela . Macdonald Purnell.
Miller, R. (2014). The Self as the Subject: Autobiography Writing . Stanford University Press.
Morris, E. (1979). The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt . Coward, McCann & Geoghegan.
Obama, B. (1995). Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance . Crown Publishing Group.
Schiffrin D., & Brockmeier J. (2012). Narrative Identity and Autobiographical Recall. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 70 , 113-144.
Smith, J., Davis, M., & Thompson, S. (2012). Third Party Narratives: An Exploration of Biography Writing . Cambridge University Press.
Smith, S., & Watson, J. (2010). Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives . University of Minnesota Press.
Sweet, R. (2010). Biographical Dictionaries and Historiography. Bibliothèque d’Humanisme et Renaissance, 72 (2), 355–368.
Wiesel, E. (1960). Night . Hill & Wang.
Williams, T. (2019). The Importance of Facts in Biographies . HarperCollins.
Wright, R. (1945). Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth . Harper & Brothers.
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Genre study: resources for teaching memoir and autobiography, prep students for close reading with curated vocabulary lists.
A good memoir turns a life into literature.
Memoirs and autobiographies can illuminate all manner of endeavors, encompassing the full range of human experience. Whether the author is a notable historical figure or a lesser-known person with an eventful story to tell, memoirs provide detailed accounts of momentous events, extraordinary achievements, everyday struggles, and everything in between.
The rich language that makes memoirs compelling and believable can also pose a challenge to students, so it's helpful to prep them for their reading by explicitly teaching the specific words they'll encounter in the text.
Vocabulary.com offers curated lists for popular and classic memoirs and autobiographies that will appeal to the range of readers in your classroom.
Implementation Ideas
Prep students for closer reading with text-based vocab practice..
- Before students tackle their reading, search for the book in our List Library to pair the title with our curated vocabulary lists.
- Assign a Practice activity based on the list you selected. It's easy to create a series of assignments for an entire book and adjust the due dates.
- Have students independently complete the Practice assignment. They'll learn the most relevant vocabulary words from the book, presented in usage examples from the source text.
Encourage independent, self-selected reading. Our ready-made resources make it easy for you to support independent reading. Have students select their book choice from our recommended titles below, and then complete the Practice activity on Vocabulary.com.
Support genre-based book clubs. Genre study is a perfect match for student book clubs. Have students create their own vocabulary list to share with their group. Encourage them to note the words that they found the most challenging, intriguing, or relevant, and discuss their lists with their peers.
Recommended Reading
The following recommendations are a great place to start. Bear in mind that the titles below are just a sample of our memoir and autobiography titles. Search our List library for thousands of other curated lists and collections.
Becoming Kareem by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah March Forward, Girl by Melba Pattillo Beals Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals El Deafo by Cece Bell Courage to Soar by Simone Biles A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl Lost Boy, Lost Girl by John Bul Dau and Martha Arual Akech Taking Flight by Micheala DePrince Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipović The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Homesick by Jean Fritz Apple by Eric Gansworth Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey My Life with the Chimpanzees by Jane Goodall The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes Almost American Girl by Robin Ha October Sky by Homer Hickam Ugly by Robert Hoge Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom by Lynda Blackmon Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane The Color of Water by James McBride Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt Proud by Ibtihaj Muhammad Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers Born a Crime by Trevor Noah It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup Becoming by Michelle Obama Free Lunch by Rex Ogle Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez by Richard Rodriguez Americanized by Sara Saedi When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor by Sonia Sotomayor Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck They Called Us Enemy by George Takei Guts by Raina Telgemeier Sisters by Raina Telgemeier Smile by Raina Telgemeier Walden by Henry David Thoreau Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Educated by Tara Westover Night by Elie Wiesel Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Black Boy by Richard Wright I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
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3 Creative Ideas for Teaching Biographies Your Students Will Love
There is so much power in teaching our students about history using biographies. We can all learn from the success and failures of others. But biographies often get a bad rap of being dry and boring. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, through this genre, our students can practice many different reading skills and strategies. That’s why I use graphic organizers that will allow my students to recall information from the biographies in creative ways. I am excited to share these 3 creative ideas for teaching biographies using fun and exciting graphic organizers I know your students will love!
Teaching Biographies can be Exciting
When teaching biographies in my classroom I like to immerse my students into the lives of the person they are learning about. From decorating the classroom to dressing up like the person we are studying, the possibilities are endless. This really helps to “bring the person to life” and make the learning more engaging and realistic for our students.
No matter what biography you are focusing on, these 3 creative ideas for teaching biographies are going to be so fun your kids will be begging for more!
1. EXTRA! EXTRA!
Read all about it in this year’s edition of the 3rd grade Daily Times. And that’s the hook! One of my favorite ways to immerse my students into learning is to turn them all into little reporters. At the end of our biography unit, we create a newspaper. It includes articles about each of the people of influence we focused on. I can’t tell you how excited my students get when they hear they will be writing and “publishing” a newspaper!
I like to put students in groups of 3 or 4. Then, give each one a person they will be focusing on. As a group, they must choose graphic organizers to will help them record information about their person. They can read an article that I provide, get information from a book, or research the person on a safe search site.
After reading the information about their person, they use the graphic organizers they chose to record important information about the person. This is the “interview” for the article.
Pulling it all Together
Next, it’s time to put the information from the graphic organizers all together. They will write all of the information in one article that will be included in our newspaper. The newspaper can be tangible if you want your students to assemble it and include their own drawings. But, it can also be digital with each group focusing on specific slides. This can then be projected on a whiteboard or viewed on a tablet or computer.
Not only is it a great way for students to learn from informative text, but it also gives you a fun and easy way to assess their learning. Sharing the newspaper in the school library is sure to be a hit. Teachers or librarians can read the newspaper articles to classes when they visit the library. So cool!
This really is such a great way for me to teach biographies in an easy way my students love!
2. The Life and Times…
This is a fun timeline activity that begs to be interactive! When teaching biographies, I love to use timelines because it gives students a concrete visual of when key events took place. This helps students better able to identify with the life of the person they are studying.
For example, if we are focusing on Amelia Earheart, I create a huge timeline that goes around my classroom. We start at the beginning and focus each day on an aspect of her life. We add information to the timeline as we go, and this is where those awesome graphic organizers come into play.
With a cause and effect graphic organizer, I can ask my students to think critically about events in the life of Amelia Earheart. Then we can discuss how those events shaped her future. As we learn about other things that are happening in the world, we can add those to the timeline as well.
I can’t tell you how awesome it is to get those “lightbulb” moments! I love when students make connections between world events and the person they are studying.
The end of our timeline activity concludes with a flipbook with all the information we have learned about Amelia Earheart. My kids really love this activity because they are allowed to get up and walk around. They take their clipboards to make notes from the timeline to help them complete the information for the flipbook. It’s a great way for them to show off their learning when they take it home.
3. Pick a Person
This is a really fun way to build excitement when teaching biographies. I put the names of all the people I want my students to choose from when working on their biographies. Then, after arranging my class into 4 or 5 groups, it’s time for the choosing ceremony. Each team gets to reach inside a basket and draw the name of a person. This will be the person they will be responsible for reporting on at the end of the unit.
Next, each group has to do some research on the person of influence they will be focusing on. This could mean a special trip to the library for the group to check out a book, some safe search research on the computer, or even a look through our biographies section of our class book boxes. I think this is a great way to give your students a little independence and responsibility they will be overjoyed to get.
Graphic organizers are so great for biographies because there is so much information available out there. It can feel overwhelming for kids to try to organize their thoughts and recall important facts and details about the lives of the people we are studying. They are a great way to get our students to really focus on what’s important and what they want to include in their presentations.
The Presentations
Now, it’s time for the really fun part! I give my students some time to think about how they could present their information to the class. Some groups like to use technology and create a video slideshow, a recorded skit, or even a self-made news clip featuring their famous person. Other groups may want to get creative and make a poster with visual images representing the information they learned about the person they are focusing on.
If a free choice scenario isn’t your cup of tea, consider making a list of presentation options you would be comfortable with. By giving students some choice in their final presentation you really get to see them tap into strengths and creativity. No matter how you choose to have your students present the information, chances are they will have a blast doing it!
Grab Your Free Biography Graphic Organizers
I have put together my favorite graphic organizers to use when teaching biographies and you can grab them for free! Just join the Keep ’em Thinking community to get access to the Free Resource Library. You can find these biography graphic organizers and lots more!
Just sign-up below and grab your free graphic organizers today!
Teaching Biographies is a Breeze
Teaching biographies really is a breeze! With customizable graphic organizers to help your students, they will not only focus on the information they are learning but recall it.
And . . . if you need some ready-to-use biographies check out the Keep ’em Thinking store . You can find a variety of biography resources that are perfect to use with the graphic organizers.
Be sure to save these creative ways for teaching biographies ideas to your favorite Pinterest teacher board so you can come back any time for even more fun and exciting biography activities!
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Teaching Biographies To Elementary Students (Grades 1-5) in 2024
Teaching biographies can feel intimidating at first, but once you have a solid understanding of the genre, a roadmap of how to teach it, and teaching resources and activities, it’s easy! This post will equip you with all of that and more! You’ll feel prepared (and maybe even excited) about teaching biographies (especially if you are using this biography project and these biography activities )!
The Benefits Of Students Reading Biographies
There are so many benefits of teaching biographies and autobiographies! Readers are transported into that person’s life. They learn all about the person’s achievements, struggles, culture, life lessons, and personality. Biographies can also teach us about the world through the eyes of the subject while allowing the reader to make connections to them. Most students can find biographies they enjoy when they find people to read about that connect with their likes and dislikes to top it off.
How To Introduce The Biography Genre To Students
The easiest way to introduce and teach biographies is by gathering as many biographies and autobiographies as possible from your classroom library, school, and public library. Make sure that all the books you collect are around your student’s reading levels. This idea works for any theme.
Then, set out the books you collected on each of your students’ tables and have them explore. Ask them to write down what they notice. What do all the books have in common? Have students write down their findings on chart paper.
Next, have each table share with the class what they noticed. They should come up with some ideas like:
- They are all about people.
- The person accomplished something big.
- They all include essential dates or a timeline of the person’s life.
- They included real pictures or illustrations of the person.
- The books all tell factual information, and there are no made-up stories.
Lastly, tell students that books with these characteristics are called biographies or autobiographies. Be sure to tell students the difference between biographies and autobiographies too. Create an anchor chart to hang up for students to reference throughout your biography unit!
4 Ideas For Biography Mini Lessons
After introducing biographies, try one of these mini-lesson ideas for teaching biographies!
- Have students pick a person they are interested in learning more about. Then have them find books about the person and complete a research project about that person to present to the class. You could even take it a few steps further and have students share what they learned in costume as the person they researched in a wax museum activity!
- Have students create a social media page of the person they learned about in their biography
- Have students read about a person of interest, and then write journal entries as that person.
- You could make it seasonal! Around fall, have students paint a pumpkin like a person they read about and present important events or accomplishments as they share their pumpkin. In spring, students could make biography flowers where the center was a photo of the person, and the petals are important events and accomplishments.
Strategies For Using Mentor Texts To Model Reading Biographies
Teaching biographies is simple when you use these strategies!
First, pick any biography or autobiography mentor text and read it aloud. Ok, maybe not ANY. Be sure to choose one that will be engaging to your students. Think about the things they enjoy and go from there. I love picture books because students can generally read them in one session. (Make sure you preview the text first and mark with sticky notes to remember to stop and discuss during the read-aloud!)
Stop at important dates, accomplishments, life lessons, or significant life events to discuss. I even stop to discuss any figurative language or text features included. This will help students with both reading and writing! Students generally have TONS of connections to share during biography read alouds that lead to great conversations.
How To Teach Students To Write Biography Reports
One way to help students learn how to write biographies is to write their first one about themselves! Students can brainstorm what should be included in their biography by creating a timeline that includes important events in their life. Then, they use the timeline to help them write their biography in chronological order. You can model this with a biography about yourself on an anchor chart for students to use if they need help. This is also an excellent way to get to know each other at the beginning of the year!
When it comes to writing biographies about other people, students need to have read several biographies to get an idea of how authors organize this type of writing. When you read aloud, be sure to point out that authors of biographies generally write the story of the person’s life from beginning to end. So students will need to be familiar with sequential order/chronological order text organization. Have students fill in a timeline when you model during read alouds. Point out that biographies usually focus on a part of the person’s life that taught them a life lesson. This biography project and biography activities are great resources for teaching biographies.
Resources for Teaching Biographies
Here are some resources for teaching biography:
1. Biography Project for Elementary Students
Are you looking to begin using a biography project ? Perhaps you are just looking for something better than you already use. If so, this is the resource you need! It is a great resource for teaching elementary students about biographies.
This is a great project to complement a genre study of biographies, an author study, social studies concepts and more. I’ve recently updated the entire product so that it now includes an option to do the Living Biography Museum where families come into school and the students “perform” in character OR can instead be used simply as an independent research project in class or as a homework assignment.
The twist is that instead of having the students dress in costume (which can be a hassle for the parents since most kids can’t put their own costume together) they make a poster board costume with a space for their head to pop through.
A-DOR-ABLE!!!
In the past I’ve done the living museum and had students prepare a brief speech to recite in character. This year I opted to send it home as a homework project and will instead take their photos with their poster board and display them with the written report.
This download now includes BOTH the original version and my new and improved updated version as well. If you have high achieving students who need enrichment this is a perfect activity for them to do on their own or you can use it with an entire class. It’s ideal for grades 2-5.
This biography project contains everything you need to have your students complete a project of their very own to present in class or at a Living Biography Museum.
What is included in this biography project?
Make teaching biographies fun by incorporating this biography project , which includes the following:
- Grading rubrics / criteria checklist
- Graphic organizer to plan writing
- Graphic organizer to record sources
- Student writing pages
- Poster board visual directions
5 Reasons Why Teachers Love It
Below are 5 reasons why teachers love using this resource for teaching biographies.
- This comprehensive biography project includes differentiated materials, so all you will be able to meet all of your students’ needs and your they will feel successful.
- The project makes a challenging concept accessible for elementary students.
- This resource facilitates a fun hands-on learning experience that offers opportunities for students to practice important skills without them even realizing it.
- This print and go resource will save you lots of time planning and prepping.
- It is aligned to the Common Core Standards, so it will give you peace of mind knowing your students are practicing important grade level skills.
How to Implement the Project in Your Classroom
You can either do a Living Biography Museum where families come in to school and the students perform in character or it can instead be used simply as an independent research project in class or as a homework assignment.
How I Used the Resources in My Classroom to Teach Biography
We had so much fun making these bio poster boards.
As a bonus, the kids learned a ton.
I started by having them complete oodles of activities from my biography activities packet which acquainted them with a whole bunch of famous folks.
Then I had them work in teams to research Benjamin Franklin. They had discussions about why he was famous. They talked about his accomplishments. Finally, they each wrote about him in the 1st person and performed a monologue as if they were Ben.
To make it oh-so-much-more-fun, I gave them each a poster board to use as a “costume.”
I’m now having them each select their own historical figure of choice to repeat the process as an independent project at home.
I seriously loved this project. The kids did too.
They enjoyed walking around wearing their poster boards and singing, “Who flew a kite in a storm and made history… Ben Franklin Square Pants.”
They also enjoyed having “conversations” with each other while wearing the poster board.
Kid 1: Hey Ben
Kid 2: Yo Ben
Me: **Listening carefully how this conversation is going to go.**
Kid 1: Ben, I really liked how you proved lightning was electricity.
Kid 2: Thanks Ben. You know you’re awesome, right? I mean, you signed the Declaration of Independence and all.
Kid 1: I know dude, right? I totally rock!
And then there was the boy who did a stellar job with his presentation… and then ended it by yelling, “Thank you Philadelphia. Ben Franklin has left the building.”
Third graders make me laugh.
2. Biography Activities for Elementary Students
These biography activities are great resources for teaching biographies to elementary students. It provides teachers with no prep printable biography activities that can be used over and over when studying any person.
This unit was designed to enhance the study of individuals. The activities can be used as part of a genre study or within the content areas. I have also used them with author studies and have had the children complete them as autobiographies about themselves.
What is included in this resource?
This biography activities resource includes 7 activities. Learn about them below!
1. Biography Poster
Students gather information about any individual and use their research to create an 8.5 x 11 inch poster. The poster has spaces to record the person’s name, date of birth, place of birth, interesting facts, reasons of importance and character traits. They then draw a portrait of their individual.
2. My Life in Pictures: A Scrapbook Biography Project
To complete this biography, activity the student will take on the role of the individual they are studying. The student can either draw illustrations or print and attach photos highlighting important parts of the individual’s life. The student then writes captions. This biography report is so much more fun than writing an essay and more pages can be added as enrichment.
3. Top-Down Topic Web
This graphic organizer shows the relationships to the main idea and details. They represent main ideas in a hierarchy. These research-based tools help the students to comprehend what they have read because it organizes ideas in a systematic, visual graph.
4. The Important Book Biography Activity
The Important Book is a great book for teaching students about writing patterns. This activity was modeled after the format of that book and was designed to encourage students to identify key, important facts about the person they are studying. It makes a great bulletin board display.
5. Body Biography
A Body Biography project is a combination of artwork and writing. The packet includes a poster to use as directions or to display with the students’ completed biography projects. They complete sections such as a speech bubble with a quote by the individual, a thought bubble to show what they have thought about, shoes labeled with places the person has been, a heart filled with character traits. They then draw objects in the hands that relate to the person and create a background that tells the viewer more about the historical figure.
6. Timeline Biography Report
Unlike a lengthy written report, this is a creative way to showcase important events in the person’s life. Students identify key moments and tell about them in words and pictures. They are added to a foldable accordion booklet in sequential order.
7. I AM Poem
An I AM Poem is typically completed as an autobiography. I also have my students do one about themselves to learn more about them. The format is also great for showing what they know about a person they have learned about. The students take on the role of that person to write the poem in the first person.
- These biographies activities are high-interest for students, so they’ll be motivated to learn through reading and researching.
- This comprehensive resource includes differentiated materials, so all you will be able to meet all of your students’ needs and your students will feel successful.
- Your principal, colleagues and school librarian will be impressed by the creative methods of sharing learned information and the integrated learning that takes place.
- The resources can be used with an biography study and be used over and over again.
How to Implement it in Your Classroom
It’s part of our social studies curriculum and technically it is a study of Massachusetts Biographies, but we began learning about the genre with a mini-study of Martin Luther King Jr.
I read several picture books and the students buddy read a free printable reader from A to Z.
We created a top-down web listing information that we learned about MLK.
Then I read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, and the students completed an activity I created for my biography packet that was inspired by the book. They used the same format as Brown’s book to compose their own version, “The important thing about Martin Luther King Jr. is…”
Finally, each of my friends made a portrait of MLK using the directions from TLC. They came out crazy cute. I hung each of them up even though I’ll probably take them down and send them home soon. They were just too adorable not to display.
Today, we did another activity (The I Am Poem) from the biography activities packet and a craftivity to go with it. I really feel like I am able to get to know my students on a completely different level through projects like these. They really open up and share such sweet ideas and insight into who they are.
3. Biography Picture Books
Belo are 4 high-quality biography children’s books for elementary students.
1. Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport is a nonfiction picture book that teaches children about the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Students will learn what life was like for Martin growing up and how he became a leader in the fight for equal rights.
Throughout the book, the author includes actual quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. This book explains how Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged people to use their words to make change and the impact he had on the country. This story follows Martin all the way from childhood through the end of his life.
I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these Martin’s Big Words activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!
2. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
The Story of Ruby Bridges details the struggles that six-year old Ruby Bridges endured when she was chosen to attend an all-white, segregated school as a black girl.
All of the other students’ parents pulled their children out of school because of her, and so she was forced to attend class all alone. She was escorted by U.S. Marshalls every morning, as she had to listen to jeers and insults being thrown at her while she was entering the school.
Despite these hardships, Ruby’s courage through non-violent actions did so much for the civil rights movement, and later that year, two white boys started to attend school with her. This inspirational true story teaches children that, no matter what age you are, anyone can be a trailblazer for change.
I liked this book so much I will be adding it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these The Story of Ruby Bridges activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!
3. The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca
The story The Girl Who Thought in Pictures follows the life of Temple Grandin. The story starts off with Temple being born, and the doctors thinking that she needed to be sent away because she was different. Temple liked to watch things spin, did not like loud noises or crowds, anything that was itchy, or big squeezy hugs. She also did not talk until she was three. Temple got diagnosed with Autism. Her mom said that Temple was “different, not less.”
When Temple goes to school, the children there would tease her relentlessly. One day, Temple’s mom thinks that it would be better for Temple to stay on her aunt’s ranch. There, Temple finally feels comfortable and explores ways to help animals. Temple goes to college and gets three degrees! Now she travels the world giving speeches and spreading hope. She spreads the message that the world needs brains of all kinds.
I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these The Girl Who Thought in Pictures activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!
4. Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Denise
The sixth picture book on the list of books that are great for teaching biographies is Planting Stories . It is a biographical picture book about Pura Belpre, who was the first Puerto Rican Librarian in New York City. When she started working the library, she realized that there weren’t any of the stories and folktales that she was familiar with in Puerto Rico. She decides to share her stories during story hour and through puppet shows, and eventually publishes a book.
Pura travels across the country and from classroom to classroom planting her story seeds and educating about her homeland. When she returns to the library, she sees that her story seeds have bloomed and everyone is telling her stories. Students will love learning about Pura and how she shared her stories with children everywhere.
I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these Planting Stories activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!
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