Biographies
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A great way to teach about history and content-area topics, biographies highlight famous figures, inventors, scientists, civil rights leaders, sports legends, and heros. Many of these mini-books, plays, and passages feature question/response activities, biography worksheets, teaching guides, lesson ideas, and graphic organizers.
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Biography Graphic Organizers
Use this collection of biography graphic organizers to help your fourth and fifth grade students explore biographies during reading workshop.
These biography graphic organizers will be a helpful tool for you as you are planning your biography unit of study.
This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.
Planning for a study of biographies
As you plan for your unit of study, your first action should be gathering high interest biographies for your students to explore.
These mentor texts should be good, clear examples of biographies. Include your favorites and be sure to include books that will interest your students as well. It’s also a good idea to gather a stack of informational text books that fall under that category of narrative nonfiction. Throughout the unit, you might want to refer to these as nonexamples of biographies.
There are many informational text picture books that are written at a fourth to sixth grade level. This means that you should be able to find some shorter texts that will still challenge your readers. This can be helpful when you want students to explore multiple biographies.
As you work to gather your books, ask students who they would be most interested in learning about. Try to find books that match their requests to keep them engaged in the unit.
If you have a student interested in a subject but are unable to find a book to share, you can turn this into a follow up project. Have the student write their own biography about the subject. You can add this to your classroom librarym .
About these biography graphic organizers
This collection contains a variety of biography graphic organizers. You can choose to use the ones that fit your students best.
As always, I encourage you to model these organizers as you introduce them. This will help students to fully understand the expectations.
Lesson 1 Expository or Narrative Nonfiction?
Begin by helping students understand that there is a different between expository nonfiction and narrative nonfiction. Biographies fall under the category of narrative nonfiction and tell a story. Narrative nonfiction may also tell about an event. Expository nonfiction provides an explanation or directions.
This first lesson is designed to help students develop an understanding of the difference between a biography (which is narrative nonfiction) and expository nonfiction.
Share the stack of mentor texts along with the nonexamples of biographies (which should be expository nonfiction.)
Allow students time to look through these books and “notice” differences. Encourage them to make notes on post-its and mark the spots in the text.
These differences will help students begin to develop an understanding of the differences. When students have completed their noticings, pull them together as a class and give them time to share what they found.
Create an anchor chart for students to refer to that is titled “Noticings” and contains the student observations. Observations for biographies might include: tells a story, tells about a person’s life, includes dates, has bold words, has a table of contents, includes a glossary, has an index.
Observations for expository nonfiction might include: gives directions, tells all about an object or animal, explains something, includes dates, has bold words, has a table of contents, includes a glossary, has an index.
Noticings Exit Ticket To check student understanding, have students complete this exit ticket. Students find a biography and an example of expository nonfiction. They then include their choices and reasoning on their exit ticket.
Lesson 2 Biography Story Map
A biography can be similar to a fiction book which tells a story.
It includes a main character, setting, time and often problems.
Have students choose a biography to read and complete this story map.
You might choose to model this lesson by reading aloud a biography one day and completing the story map together.
The next day, students will use their silent reading time to read a different biography they are interested in and then complete the story map.
Lesson 3 Character Traits
Just like when reading fiction, students reading biographies should be trying to determine the character traits of the subject of the biography.
It is important for students to understand that character traits are different from what the person looks like. These resources can be used to help students develop an understanding of the difference: Character Traits .
We suggest using a biography that can be shared during class in order to model the differences for students. Once students have developed an understanding, they can complete their own graphic organizer after reading a just right book during silent reading time.
Lesson 4 Influences
Every person has others who influence his or her life.
These people have positive and negative effects on the character in a book.
For this lesson, focus on how other people in the biography have had an impact on the person.
Students will identify what influence the person had and if the influence was positive, negative or both.
It will be necessary for you to model this with the class in order for students to understand the expectations.
Once a model has been completed with the class, you can have students complete their own graphic organizer during independent reading time.
Lesson 5 Taking Notes While Reading
When reading a biography, it is sometimes important for the reader to take notes so that they remember the important facts.
This organizer can be used for a tool that helps students record the facts in the book.
Lesson 6 Reflections
An important part of reading is thinking about what is being read.
Use these cards to encourage students to think about the person they are reading about.
You can print the page on cardstock and then laminate for durability.
Or, you can print on regular paper and have students choose a question. They can record their response on the back like an exit ticket.
Lesson 7 Asking and Answering Questions
Readers ask and answer questions in their heads as they read to help them create meaning.
This graphic organizer gives students practice with this skill while asking them to record their thoughts.
You may choose to have students answer their own questions or to trade with a peer who is reading the same book.
Lesson 8 Cause & Effect
This is a concept which will take a great deal of modeling.
Students must understand that events in a person’s life lead to outcomes.
As you read a biography, work with the class to find important events in a person’s life and the impact those events had on the person.
As part of this work, help students identify where the answers are.
When students practice this skill independently, you might choose to have them use a post-it note to mark the evidence found in the text.
Lesson 9 Life Lessons
Sometimes reading a biography might teach us lessons we can apply to our own lives.
Encourage students to look at the book they are reading and determine what they can learn from their character.
These lessons might be positive or negative.
You can download this set of biography graphic organizers here:
Reading Download
CCSS Standards Addressed:
Preparing Your Reading Workshop - The Curriculum Corner 123
Thursday 20th of June 2019
[…] Biographies Collection for 4th and 5th Grades […]
Biography Unit of Study for Reading - The Curriculum Corner 123
Monday 27th of May 2019
[…] you need additional resources for enrichment or differentiation you might want to check out the Biographies – Resources from our 456 […]
Monday 14th of April 2014
This is a fabulous post! I hope you don't mind, I'm going to link to this page on Wednesday when I share about biographies on my blog, too! :) :)
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Biography Themed Teaching Resources
Our biographies on famous and historical figures will enhance your lessons and students will enjoy studying them. Included are reading warm-ups, poems, discussion guides, and more. These resources are appropriate for a variety of grade levels, from kindergarten through high school.
Printables for Grades K-5
- Nelson Mandela Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
Helen Keller Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
- Walt Disney Biography: A Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up
- Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Helen Keller
Getting to Know Me
Learn About Susan B. Anthony
- More Popular Biography Printables for Grades K-5
Printables for Grades 6-12
- We Beat the Street Discussion Guide
- Albert Einstein Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
- Albert Einstein, Physicist
- The Peanuts Gang: Charles Schulz
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Fastest Woman in the World: Wilma Rudolph
- More Biography Printables for Grades 6-12
Lesson Plans for Grades K-12
An Autobiographical Poem
- Sunflowers, Van Gogh, and You
- Rachel Carson: The Coming of a Silent Spring
- Martin Luther King Jr, Civil Rights Leader
- Marie Curie's Discovery
- Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights
- The Era of Thomas Jefferson
- More Biography Lesson Plans
Biography Teaching Guides
- Red Scarf Girl Teacher's Guide
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Teacher's Guide
- A Long Way Gone Teacher's Guide
- The Henry Books: A Teacher's Guide
- Up Close: Jane Goodall Discussion Guide
- Listening Is an Act of Love Teacher's Guide
- Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy's Day Parade Educator's Guide
- More Biography Teaching Guides
Social Studies Activities
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl Discussion Guide
- Chronology of Conscription in the U.S. -- Colonial Era to 1999
- Benjamin Franklin Little Book
- Abraham Lincoln Biography & Mini-Book
- Ryan White, My Own Story
- Betsy Ross Little Book
- More Biography Activities for Social Studies
Reading & Language Arts Activities
- Babe Ruth Reading Warm-Up: Biography
- Henry Ford Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal
Learning About Famous People
- More Biography Activities for Reading & Language Arts
Science Activities
- Learn About Johnny Appleseed
- Science and Social Studies: Benjamin Franklin
- Bio of a Famous Scientist
- Jane Goodall, Ethologist
- The First Man in Space
- Early Astronomers
- More Biography Activities for Science Class
Holidays & Seasonal Resources
- "I Have a Dream" Little Book
- Jackie Robinson Coloring Page
- Rosa Parks Coloring Page
- Learn About Pocahontas
- Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up: Sacagawea Biography
- More Biography Resources for the Holidays
Art & Music Activities
- My Book About Abraham Lincoln
- My Book About George Washington
- George Washington Carver Coloring Page
- My Book About Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Claude Monet Biography: A Reading Warm-Up
I Have a Dream: Drawing Activity
- More Biography Activities for Art & Music
Biographies & Physical Education Connected
- Past Olympic Athletes: Profiles, Biographies, and Activities
Michelle Kwan Reading Warm-Up
- Jesse Owens: Olympic Champion
- Jackie Robinson Mini-Biography
- Jim Thorpe Reading Warm-Up
- Althea Gibson
- More Physical Education Biographies
- Overview of the Presidents: Basic Facts & Figures
- Martin Luther King Jr.'s Life
- Assassinations and Attempts in U.S. Since 1865
- Just Where Was Columbus?
- President Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Biography
- President George Washington Biography
- President James Monroe Biography
- More Popular Biography References
- Martin Luther King Jr. Quiz
- Notable African-American Women Quiz
- Martin Luther King Jr. Printable Book (Grades 4-8)
- Popular Presidents' Day Printables
Recommended Biographies Resources
Albert Einstein Biography: A Reading Warm-Up (Grades 5 & 6)
Timeline: Conscription in the United States, 1620-Present
Sense and Sensibility
DAILY WARM-UPS
Clara Barton Reading Warm-Up
Theodor Seuss Geisel Biography
Influencing Others in Our World
Spoonerisms Activity
LESSON PLANS
Birthday Buddies
The Life and Accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr.
Harriet Tubman Writing Activity
Carleton Kendrick Ed.M., LCSW
Homesick: My Own Story
The Anne Frank and Miep Gies Connection
- ELEMENTARY TEACHING , INTEGRATED CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES
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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One-Page NONFICTION Readings: Grade 5 Center for Urban Education
Resources to Guide and Assess Nonfiction Reading/Thinking\Writing Aligned with Common Core Standards
One-Page Readings
These passages are listed at their readability level according to the Fry formula. However, you may want to use a reading from an earlier grade level because the formula does not factor in conceptual difficulty of a text.
American Explorers infer and support the main idea of a passage
Animal Studies infer and support the main idea of a passage
Better Living in Chicago: Jane Addams restate a situation presented in text; write to communicate about a situation
Chicago Changes infer and support the main idea of a passage
Chicago Fire infer and support the main idea of a passage
Chicago Legacy: Burnham's Plan locate and use information to analyze a situation, write about a topic English / Spanish
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I can infer the author's purpose
Election Choices infer and support the main idea of a passage
From Many Places evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
Learn about Ethiopia infer and support the main idea of a passage
George Washington Carver
Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet
How Did People Solve a Problem?
How Have Students Made Community Progress? analyze a problem and solution in a text, identify and support the main idea
Prairie Keepers analyze information in a nonfiction text
Prairie Keepers with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
Public Transportation evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
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Seasons on the Prairie analyze information in a nonfiction text
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Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage
Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions
Valley Forge infer and support the main idea of a passage
Who Am I sequence events, infer motive, and write about nonfiction
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Reading Comprehension - Biographies
Inspire readers with these free printable stories about the lives of important people in culture and history. print the one-page reading passages for offline use or test comprehension with the online reading quizzes. recommended level: 3rd or 4th grade and up.
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Famous People Learning Games Faces of Black History Scrambled Quotes Celebrity Scrambles
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Fifth Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Grade 5 stories and exercises.
Children's stories and comprehension exercises at a grade 5 level; all worksheets are pdf documents.
Reading worksheets - leveled stories
These levelled stories are taken from our series of leveled reading workbooks . Each successive level provides increasing reading challenge.
Children's stories and reading worksheets
Over 20 free children's stories ; each 5th grade reading passage is followed by comprehension questions.
Historical reading worksheets & fables
Each kid's fable or historical passage is followed by four questions. Questions focus on prediction, inference and character traits.
Reading comprehension exercises for grade 5
These worksheets focus on specific comprehension topics such as the "main idea" and "supporting details" of a text; sequencing events; story elements and so on.
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4th Grade Reading Comprehension - Short Passages
This page contains printable reading comprehension passages at a 4th grade level. Most passages are only 1 or 2 paragraphs long. Each passage includes reading comprehension questions.
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Non-Fiction
Here you will find longer, full-length reading comprehension passages at a fourth grade level. Each passages has comprehension questions and a vocabulary activity.
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Learn the life story and biography of influencial people: US Presidents, World Leaders, Inventors, Women, Artists, Civil Rights heroes. History Biography Geography Science Games. Search Ducksters: Biographies. Biographies by Date Biographies Alphabetical. Pick the person or subject below to view biography or list of biographies: ...
Download printable lesson plans , reading passages , games and puzzles , clip art , bulletin board ideas, and skills sheets for kids in any grade. Browse Scholastic's collection of printable biography worksheets and mini-books on famous historical figures, inventors, civil rights leaders, and more!
These biographies for kids are specifically written for kids to learn the life story of influential people, including presidents, leaders, inventors, women, civil rights activists, and more. One of the challenges of teaching elementary grades is finding engaging nonfiction reading passages that students can actually read, comprehend, and use ...
Biographies. Grade 5 Biographies "Louis, the Yard Teacher" A Time Machine into the Past A. A. Milne Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Aksel Lund Svindal Alan Turing Alexander Calder Alice Roosevelt Longworth Amelia Jenks Bloomer: Fashion Trend Setter Andre Agassi Andres Segovia Andrew Johnson Andy Griffith Anne Frank Anne Frank Anne Morrow ...
Biography Worksheets for Grades K-5. Introduce your students to the lives of famous and notable individuals with our biography printables. These resources, activities, and lesson plans are sure to interest your students in the study of biographies. They can follow the lives of many interesting people, including presidents, suffragists, and ...
Some recommended biographies for elementary students. For elementary students who are just beginning to read biographies, we recommend starting with short, simple books or reading passages that focus on one important person. For example, your child might enjoy learning about George Washington in "The Story of George Washington" by Lisa ...
Use this collection of biography graphic organizers to help your fourth and fifth grade students explore biographies during reading workshop. These biography graphic organizers will be a helpful tool for you as you are planning your biography unit of study. This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum ...
American Revolution Figure Biography Graphic Organizer for 3rd-5th Grade. 4.8 (4 reviews) Clara Barton PowerPoint for 3rd-5th Grade. 5.0 (1 review) Joan of Arc Printable Book. Martin Luther King Jr. Biography Web Activity for 3rd-5th Grade. 4.6 (8 reviews) Cesar Chavez Biographical PowerPoint & Google Slides.
Nonfiction. 1 Q set. A biography is the written story about a real person's life. A biography tells what has happened to this person. A biography tells what the person has done. Many books are biographies. Biographies be about people who did bad things. There are biographies about scientists. There are biographies about presidents.
Printables for Grades 6-12. Use these printables to expand your students' learning about well-known people. Activities include warm-ups, reading passages, fun-fact printables, and much more. We Beat the Street Discussion Guide. Albert Einstein Biography: A Reading Warm-Up. Albert Einstein, Physicist. Gandhi. The Peanuts Gang: Charles Schulz.
"Ruby Bridges" by Kio Herrera (5th grade) In this informational text, Herrera discusses Ruby Bridges's experience integrating a school as a six-year-old and how she became a symbol for the fight for civil rights in America. After reading this biography, have students read the Paired Text, "We Will Walk" by Sarah Kovatch. This piece of ...
Cut and Paste Worksheets 1. Graphic Organizers 1. Task Cards 1. availability . Premium 20. Free 5. file formats . Printable PDF 22. Google Slides 11. Microsoft Word (.docx) 2. ... Biography Writing for 1st Grade Biography Writing for 2nd Grade Biography Writing for 3rd Grade Biography Writing for 4th Grade Biography Writing for 6th Grade ...
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.
avg rating 4.28 — 3,508 ratings — published 2007. Books shelved as 5th-grade-biography: The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jeanette Winter, Will You Sign Here, John Hanco...
Australia NEW. This short passage is about the smallest continent on Earth--Australia! It offers plenty of interesting facts in just three paragraphs. The worksheet also includes 4 reading comprehension questions. 5th Grade. View PDF. Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is known for its enormous size and colorful landscape.
by Rita Dove. 1989. 7th Grade. Font Size. Untitled by Carl Zitsman is licensed under CC0. [1] I was four in this photograph fishing. with my grandparents at a lake in Michigan. My brother squats in poison ivy. His Davy Crockett cap.
Browse nonfiction biography passages resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. Menu. About Us ... Reading: Biography Passages: 4th-5th Grade Social Studies: US History. by . Elementary Lesson Plans. 81. $16.50. $13.00. Zip. This is a Civil War BUNDLE that includes 11 ...
Below you'll find 5th grade reading comprehension passages along with questions and answers and vocabulary activities. These printable 5th grade practice activities are helpful for struggling readers or students who just need extra comprehension practice! ... Biography: Dorothea Lynde Dix. Dorothea Dix (1802-1887) was born in Massachusetts ...
Dorothea Dix (1802-1887) was born in Massachusetts. Her early childhood with her parents was unhappy. When she was 12 years old, she went to live with her wealthy grandmother in her house called Orange Court. That is where the passage begins. —————————— At Orange Court, Dorothea was allowed no time….
5th Grade. Resources to Guide and Assess Nonfiction Reading/Thinking\Writing Aligned with Common Core Standards. One-Page Readings. These passages are listed at their readability level according to the Fry formula. However, you may want to use a reading from an earlier grade level because the. formula does not factor in conceptual difficulty of ...
Reading Comprehension Biographies for 3rd Grade and up. Inspire readers with these printable one-page reading passages about a variety of importantn historical and cultural people. Suitable for all readers and English Language Arts learners from 3rd or 4th grade and up. Includes questions to test comprehension and close reading skills. Free, printable, no registration required.
Children's stories and reading worksheets. Over 20 free children's stories; each 5th grade reading passage is followed by comprehension questions. Historical reading worksheets & fables. Each kid's fable or historical passage is followed by four questions. Questions focus on prediction, inference and character traits.
5. "But Kirk's the one that's impossible to live with.". 6. Mom handed me a dishcloth. "Kirk's been in that room since he was a baby. It will be easier on him to be alone if he's still in familiar surroundings.". 7. "But all the stuff in that room is mine. It's decorated with posters of my favorite baseball players.".
This page contains printable reading comprehension passages at a 4th grade level. Most passages are only 1 or 2 paragraphs long. Each passage includes reading comprehension questions. Biography. Mary Anning NEW . Read about the renowned fossil-hunter Mary Anning and learn about some of her discoveries. Then answer several short answer and ...