Biographies are a way for a writer to share someone else's story and they tell us about the person's life.
They are written about someone by someone else.
Biographies provide facts for us to learn.
They are a type of non-fiction text.
They are written about people! They are real stories about real people.
They are written in the third person. This means that you shouldn't see any "I" or "me" (Unless it is in a quote) throughout the story.
They are often written about influential people who have impacted their society and community!
They often open up a whole new world and culture for the reader!
Take a look at this video for more information about what a biography is!
A Biography Checklist
Birth and death date Place of birth and death Major events Timeline Education Family Work The main character isn’t the author It is written in 3rd person (Meaning you shouldn’t see “I” or “Me” unless in a quote!) What the person did Why they are important
Helpful Hint: Have your child use this checklist as they look through biographies! It can be a great help for them to have something to look for in their reading and it is a great way for them to ensure that what they are reading is a biography! While not all biographies will have each of these items, many of them will have some of them! This checklist is meant to be a guideline, but you may also find more things to add as you explore the different texts! It would be helpful for your child to write it down on a piece of paper and have it with them as they go through learning about biographies. Some of the activities even ask for it!
Activity Alert! Biography Sort
What you will need:
A book that is a biography (Check out the "Who" page for some ideas where to find them)
A second book that is not a biography (Can be fiction or non-fiction)
The Biography checklist (above)
Paper and pencil
Purpose of the activity: The purpose of this activity is for your learner to see the difference between a biography and a book that isn't a biography. By looking and comparing the two, your learner will be able to begin to identify what makes a biography different than other books! What to do:
Have your child write down the checklist from above on a piece of paper.
Then have your child read a biography, but don't tell them it is a biography! While reading the book, keep the checklist nearby. Encourage your child to check off anything they hear or see in the book that is on the checklist as they read. Have a brief discussion with them after about the book. Who was it about? What did you notice about it? What did you like about it? What didn't you like?
Then read the second book, making sure to not mention whether it is a biography or not! Have the checklist nearby while reading this one as well. Have your learner refer to it as they are reading! Have a discussion about it after, similar to the one you had after reading the first book.
Now have a discussion with them about both. What were the similarities between the two books? What was the difference?
Tell them that one of them was a biography and one of them wasn't. Which one do they think it is? Why?
You can do this with as many different books and biographies however many times your learner wants to!
If you are looking for a bigger challenge, have your student look at a biography and then a non-fiction book. Biographies are a specific type of non-fiction but has aspects (such as those on the checklist) that set it apart from other non-fiction texts!
Sample Biography
Viola Desmond: The Lady on the $10 Bill By Lucy Garrett Viola Desmond was an African Nova Scotian woman who was a mentor to young African Nova Scotian women. She can even be found on some of the Canadian $10 bills. Viola was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 6, 1914. She had 10 siblings. Her father, James Davis, worked at the docks unloading items from the ships that came into the harbor. He later became a barber. Her mother was named Gwendolin Irene Johnson and she was born in the United States of America.
As she was growing up, Viola wanted to be a businesswoman. She taught at 2 different schools before going to beauty school in Montreal. She did more training in the United States of America. She moved back to Halifax after that and opened her own beauty business called Vi’s Studio of Beauty Culture for the other African Nova Scotian woman in the Black community. It was a very successful business so she opened a beauty school of her own named the Desmond School of Beauty Culture. It trained other women to become hairdressers. It helped these women get jobs and supported young Black women to be successful in the community.
In 1946, Viola was travelling to Sydney, Nova Scotia from Halifax when her car broke down in New Glasgow. To pass time, Viola decided to go see a play at the Roseland Theatre. While there, she was told that was not allowed to sit on the main floor because she was African Nova Scotian. Viola decided to sit there anyways and ended up being arrested by the police and she was fined. She decided that she wasn’t going to pay it because it was them treating her unfairly. After many, many years of trying to get the courts to take back the charge, she was unable to get them to let it go in her lifetime. Her actions for fighting against the unfairness set against her helped segregation (to separate different people from the rest) in Nova Scotia to be legally over. It was with her help that African Nova Scotians were to be treated as equals.
Viola moved to Montreal after the long battle with the courts and then to New York where she died on February 1965. On April 15, 2010, Viola was freed of her charges and in November 2018, the Bank of Canada released the $10 bill with a picture of Viola Desmond.
Viola helped her community by providing job opportunities for African Nova Scotian women and helped stand up for them by helping change the rules that created an unfair society.