ALEX Classroom Resource

  

Getting to Know You: Developing Short Biographies to Build Community

  Classroom Resource Information  

Title:

 Getting to Know You: Developing Short Biographies to Build Community

URL:

 http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/getting-know-developing-short-999.html

Content Source:

 ReadWriteThink
Type: Lesson/Unit Plan

Overview:

Students in a class form a type of community, and members must get to know one another for that community to thrive. When students and teachers share their backgrounds and interests early in the year, they develop a base for understanding that will support effective teaching and learning throughout the months that follow. This unit, which is designed for the first few weeks of school, helps build a classroom community. Students begin with a discussion about community and what it means to be part of a community. They then prepare interview questions to ask a classmate about their lives. Students interview a fellow classmate to compile biographical data about him or her and use a Web tool called Bio-Cube to organize the material. In a culminating activity, students use their completed Bio-Cube to introduce their partner to the class.

Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 3
R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
R1.
  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation
Knowledge:
R1. Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.
Skills:
R1. Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.
Understanding:
R1. Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 3
2. Present information orally using complex sentence structures, appropriate volume, and clear pronunciation.

a. Use oral language for different purposes: to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to clarify, and to respond.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
2.
  • Present
  • Orally
  • Complex sentence structure
  • Appropriate volume
  • Clear pronunciation
2a.
  • Oral language
  • Inform
  • Entertain
  • Persuade
  • Clarify
  • Respond
Knowledge:
2. Students know:
  • Clear oral communication requires the speaker to use complex sentence structures, appropriate speaking volume, and correct speech pronunciation.
2a.
  • Oral language is used for different purposes.
  • Oral language can be used to inform about a topic, to provide an entertaining story, to persuade someone about a particular opinion, to further explain a topic, or to respond to someone else's ideas.
Skills:
2. Students are able to:
  • Form complex sentences, use appropriate voice volume based on the situation or environment, and use clear pronunciation when sharing information orally.
2a.
  • Use their listening and speaking skills to inform an audience about a topic.
  • Use their listening and speaking skills to entertain an audience.
  • Use their listening and speaking skills to further explain information or provide additional details.
  • Use their listening and speaking skills to respond to others' ideas or questions.
  • Use their listening and speaking skills to persuade an audience about a particular opinion.
Understanding:
2. Students understand that:
  • Presenting information orally requires them to use complex sentences, an appropriate voice volume for the setting, and speaking words clearly.
2a.
  • They can use their oral language skills for a variety of purposes, including informing others, entertaining others, persuading others, clarifying ideas, and responding to others.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 4
35. Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical plot, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, and dialogue, and providing a sense of closure.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
35.
  • Personal narratives
  • Fictional narratives
  • Logical plot
  • Transitional words and phrases
  • Sensory details
  • Dialogue
  • Closure
Knowledge:
35. Students know:
  • A narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story.
  • A personal narrative tells about an event that was personally experienced by the author, while a fictional narrative tells a made up story.
  • A narrative story describes a sequence of events in a logical order (beginning, middle, end) and provides a sense of closure as an ending.
  • Narrative transitions indicate when and where the story is occurring.
  • Sensory details use descriptions of the five senses.
  • Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people.
Skills:
35. Students are able to:
  • Write a personal narrative that recalls a personal experience or a fictional narrative with a made-up story.
  • Write a narrative with a logical sequence of events and sensory details.
  • Use appropriate transitional words and phrases in narrative writing.
  • Include dialogue in narrative writing.
  • Write a narrative that ends with a sense of closure.
Understanding:
35. Students understand that:
  • Narrative writing includes predictable elements, like a logical sequence of events and an ending that provides the reader with a sense of closure.
  • Because narrative writing describes a chronological sequence of events, it includes transitions that indicate the time and place in which the story is occurring.
  • Narrative writing can be used to tell about something that happened to them personally or it can tell a story they made up.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 5
R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
R1.
  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation
Knowledge:
R1. Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.
Skills:
R1. Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.
Understanding:
R1. Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 5
9. Express ideas clearly and effectively to diverse partners or groups.

a. Pose and respond to explicit questions in ways that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others.

b. Verbally summarize information read aloud or presented in diverse media and formats.

c. Report orally on a topic or text, sequencing ideas logically and supporting main ideas with appropriate facts and relevant details.

d. Speak clearly at an understandable rate.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
9.
  • Express
  • Clearly
  • Effectively
  • Diverse
9a.
  • Pose
  • Respond
  • Explicit questions
  • Contribute
  • Elaborate
  • Remarks
9b.
  • Summarize
  • Diverse media
  • Diverse formats
9c.
  • Report
  • Orally
  • Sequencing
  • Logically
  • Main ideas
  • Appropriate facts
  • Relevant details
9d.
  • Understandable rate
Knowledge:
9. Students know:
  • Oral language and literacy skills.
  • Collaboration skills.
9a.
  • Effective communication with others requires asking questions, responding to questions, and elaborating on others' statements.
9b.
  • A summary is a short statement explaining the main point or most important details of presented information.
9c. Student know:
  • An effective oral presentation includes a logical sequence of main ideas that are supported by appropriate and relevant facts and details.
9d.
  • An effective speaker pronounces words clearly and speaks at a speed that is understandable by the audience.
Skills:
9. Students are able to:
  • Clearly and effectively share ideas with others through speaking.
9a.
  • Pose questions that contribute to discussions.
  • Respond to explicit questions in ways that contribute to discussions.
  • Expand on others' comments by adding additional relevant information.
9b.
  • Present a summary of information read aloud or presented in diverse formats through speaking.
9c.
  • Orally report on a topic or text.
  • Sequence ideas logically in an oral report.
  • Support main ideas with appropriate facts and relevant details in an oral report.
9d.
  • Speak clearly at an understandable rate when orally presenting information.
Understanding:
9. Students understand that:
  • They can communicate with a variety of people if they express themselves clearly.
9a.
  • Discussions should include relevant questions, answers to questions, comments, and remarks.
9b.
  • Summarizing information demonstrates understanding and can help communicate ideas with others.
9c.
  • To be an effective speaker, they must logically sequence presented ideas and include appropriate facts and relevant details to support their main points.
9d.
  • To be understood by the audience, a speaker must clearly pronounce words and speak at an understandable pace.
Tags: bio cube, biographical data, classroom, community, cube creator, interview
License Type: Custom Permission Type
See Terms: http://www.readwritethink.org/util/legal.html
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses
Accessibility
Comments
  This resource provided by:  
Author: Cassie Raulston
This site may contain links to other websites or content belonging to or originating from third parties or links to websites and features in banners or other advertising. Such external links are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness by us. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OFFERED BY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES LINKED THROUGH THIS SITE.
Copyright © 2017, Alabama Learning Exchange
Alabama State Department of Education
Alabama State Department of Education