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Designed by Hollie Koehn Introduction
| Task
| Process
| Internet
Links | Resources Evaluation
| Conclusion
| Credits
Getting to know you... learning all about
you... That's what this lesson is all about. Since we have been talking about
people and how their lives affect us, you will now get a chance to read all
about some of your favorite authors and study the variety of
biographies. Where
do our favorite authors get their ideas? As writers we use these authors
as role models for our own writing. We get to enjoy their finished
products, but rarely get to hear about the author and their life. Let’s
look deeply into your favorite authors work and see if we can figure out what
makes them so great! If we look deep enough, we may be able to find and
apply some of their same ideas in our own writers’ workshops. Are you
ready to study your favorite author?! As the great
finale you will write your own autobiography and publish it!
Discovering about yourself and others is always
fun. You will have the chance to read biographies of some of your favorite
authors. You will find key elements that biographies have. You will also
discover great things about the authors you might not know. Using these key
elements you will write your own personal autobiography!
This WebQuest will involve three parts-- research on your favorite authors, writing your autobiography, and the oral presentation of your autobiography. Part
1: Author Research Discover the world of famous authors. Go to the
websites of the authors below and read about them. Keep in mind you will be
looking for similarities between biographies. This
should give you some great ideas of where he or she gets ideas for
writing! There are key elements you need to be aware of.
Please start out by going to the website below and read about the key
elements. Please print this page to help with your research. http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/marvin/autobiography/key.htm
Print and fill out the sheet titled Author Key
Elements Sheet for each biography. I will collect these when you are done. You
may need to do additional research on the author to answer some of the
questions. http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/marvin/autobiography/authors.htm
#1 J.K Rowling- http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/author/index.htm #2 Beverly Clearly- http://www.beverlycleary.com/beverlycleary/index.html #3 Katherine Paterson- http://www.terabithia.com/about.html #4 Roald Dahl- http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rdahl.htm #5 You choose the last author and find his/her
biography using one of the search engines: www.google.com www.ask.com www.yahoo.com
Part
2: Writing Your Autobiography
Prepare a personal key elements sheet on
yourself. Open up the link down below labeled, Personal key elements sheet,
and use this sheet when writing the rough draft of your autobiography.
You will also use the guide below to help you in your writing. Your final
copy will be typed. Make sure you edit your work carefully. Your completed
autobiography will be evaluated using the rubric in the evaluation section. Personal key elements sheet: http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/marvin/autobiography/personal.htm
Guide: http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/marvin/autobiography/autoscaffold.htm
Part
3 Oral Presentations
You will be reading your finished autobiography
in class. Make sure you practice presenting so your formal presentation will
go smoothly. The rubric that will be used to evaluate you in the evaluate section of the webquest.
Please make sure you include everything in your autobiography that is
necessary.
Go to this website below and pick a person from
either the Latest Biographies list or Today's Birthday list to read about.
Once you have done that, write down 8 facts you found out about that person. Then, go to the website below and search for
your favorite author or person (it can be anyone famous) and write a paragraph
about what you found out about them. The last few links have games and resources that link to the authors.
If you have additional time please look at them. http://www.beverlycleary.com/beverlycleary/index.html http://www.jkrowling.com/en/thankyou.cfm
You will need to familiarize the students with
some of the author's works. You will find a website down below with a listing
of the authors and their books. You will also need to have taught the basics
of a word processor. You will also need to have completed lessons on biographies and autobiographies to familiarize the students with them. This lesson uses the author's section of Scholastic Books. You might want to teach the students about this website. You may also want to introduce the students to the biography sections of the library. This lesson is easily taught by one teacher
though more than one teacher/adult or use of peer editors is helpful when the
student is working on their autobiography. Additional resources are: Computer and Printer http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/marvin/autobiography/authorbooks.htm
Research Evaluation You will be expected to turn in Author Key Element Sheets and your
Personal Key Elements Sheet to be evaluated. This rubric will be used to
evaluate your work. Name ____________________ Date _________________
Autobiography Evaluation This rubric will be used to evaluate your autobiography.
You did it! Not only have you
practiced some great research skills, had some great experience with
publishing your work on the computer, you have also become very knowledgeable
about some of your favorite authors! I sure hope that this learning will
transfer into your own writings. Perhaps you got a few ideas for
writing your own story again later in life. If you can't wait until the
next time you write, then why not try it right now? Your an expert on
now! There are many great biographies written about
historical characters you may also enjoy reading. You may visit your local
library or check out the Internet Public Library for more author biographies.
Read on!! All clip art was obtained from
Microsoft clip art. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us Based on a template from The WebQuest Page |
Reading/Literature: The student will apply a wide range of
strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, appreciate, and respond to a
wide variety texts.
Standard 4: Literature - The student will read to construct
meaning and respond to a wide variety of literary forms.
1. Literary
Genres - Demonstrate knowledge of and appreciation for various forms (genres)
of literature.
a. Identify the
defining characteristics of a variety of literary genres and forms (e.g. contemporary realistic fiction,
historical fiction, nonfiction, modern fantasy, poetry, drama, legends, myths,
biography, autobiographies, and traditional stories such as fairy tales and
fables).
b. Read and
construct meaning from a variety of genres.
Standard 5: Research and Information -
The student will conduct research and organize information.
2. Interpreting Information - Analyze
and evaluate information from a variety of sources.
a. Identify a
research question and appropriate sources to answer that question.
d. Report on the findings of research
in a variety of formats including written, oral, and/or visual presentations.
Writing/Grammar/Usage and Mechanics: The student will express
ideas effectively in written modes for a variety of purposes and audiences.
Standard 1: Writing Process - The student will use the writing
process to write coherently.
2. Select a focus and an organizational
structure based upon purpose, audience, length, and required format and write
one or more drafts by categorizing ideas, organizing them into paragraphs, and
blending paragraphs into longer text.
Standard 3: Grammar/Usage and Mechanics
- The student will demonstrate appropriate practices in writing by applying
Standard English conventions to the revising and editing stages of writing.
1.
Grammar/Usage: Students are expected to recognize and use nouns, pronouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions correctly in their writing.
a. Singular and
plural forms of nouns
b. Singular and
plural possessive nouns
e. Present,
past, future, and present perfect verbs tense
2. Mechanics:
Students are expected to demonstrate appropriate language mechanics in writing.
a. Capitalize
correctly geographical names, holidays, dates, proper nouns, book titles,
titles of respect, sentences, and quotations.
b. Capitalize correctly familial
relations, proper adjectives, and conventions of letter writing.
3. Punctuation: Students are expected
to demonstrate appropriate punctuation in writing.
c.
Terminal punctuation
d. Apostrophes
in contractions and possessives
e. Commas
4. Sentence Structure: The student will
demonstrate appropriate sentence structure in writing.
b. Create
interesting sentences using words that describe, explain, or provide additional
details and connections, such as adjectives, adverbs, appositives, participial
phrases, prepositional phrases, and conjunctions.
c. Correct
sentence fragments and run-ons.
Oral Language/Listening and Speaking: The student will demonstrate
thinking skills in listening and speaking.
Standard 2: Speaking - The student will express ideas and opinions
in group or individual situations.
5. Engage the
audience with appropriate words, facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact.
Standard 3: Group Interaction - The student will use effective
communication strategies in pairs and small group context.
3. Participate
in story telling, give oral book reports, and present poems, stories, plays,
and pantomime.