Biography, Autobiography, Memoir

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 Biography, Autobiography, Memoir Unit, Gr. 5-6
In this unit, students will focus on text structure and the role of point-of-view in nonfiction texts.

Biography Lessons
1 Biography: Readers differentiate between fiction and nonfiction narratives.
Mentor Text: The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull
2 Biography: Readers differentiate between pure fact and fictionalized fact.
Mentor Text: Soar, Elinor! by Tami Lewis Brown
3 Biography: Readers notice text features common to biographies.
Mentor Text: Mandela: From the Life of the South African Statesman by Floyd Cooper
4 Biography: Readers use text features to better understand the text.
Mentor Text: Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers by Sarah Warren
5 Biography: Define Biography.
Mentor Text: The Goose Man: The Story of Konrad Lorenz by Elaine Greenstein
6 Biography: Readers understand why most biographies are written in third person.
Mentor Text: Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese
7 Biography: Readers differentiate between full and partial biographies (text structure).
Mentor Text: Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg
8 Biography: Readers explain how events in a biography impact each other (text structure).
Mentor Text: A Voice from the Wilderness: The Story of Anna Howard Shaw by Don Brown
9 Biography: Readers identify and explain the author’s focus.
Mentor Text: Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime by Gloria Spielman
10 Biography: Readers differentiate between direct quotes and fictionalized dialogue.
Mentor Text: Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Doreen Rappaport
 Biography, Autobiography, Memoir Unit, Gr. 5-6
Biography Lessons, continued
11 Biography: Readers differentiate between biographies and historical fiction.
Mentor Text: Sweet Land of Liberty by Deborah Hopkinson
12 Biography: Readers identify turning points in the biographical figure’s life.
Mentor Text: Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull
13 Biography: Readers develop a purpose for reading biographies.
Mentor Text: The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass
Autobiography Lessons
14 Autobiography: Readers make inferences about an autobiographical figure.
Mentor Text: Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
15 Autobiography: Identify point of view in autobiography.
Mentor Text: Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
16 Autobiography: Define Autobiography.
Mentor Text: Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges (continued)
Memoir Lessons
17 Memoir: Readers analyze the reflective nature of memoirs.
Mentor Text: Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson
18 Memoir: Readers analyze the short timespan/focus of a memoir (text structure).
Mentor Text: Dad, Jackie, and Me by Myron Uhlberg
19 Memoir: Define Memoir.
20 All: Compare and contrasting biography, autobiography, and memoir.