john adams abigail adams - s3.amazonaws.com€¦ · • ask students to turn to pages 4–5. say:...

Reading Objectives• Comprehension: Compare and contrast;

Summarize or paraphrase information• Tier Two Vocabulary: See book’s Glossary• Word study: Emotion words• Analyze the genre• Respond to and interpret texts• Make text-to-text connections• Fluency: Read with prosody: phrasing

Writing Objectives• Writer’s tools: Direct quotes• Write a biography using writing-

process steps

Related Resources• Comprehension Question Card• Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart• Using Genre Models to Teach Writing• Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth

(Level U/50)

John Adams

Abigail Adams

While you are meeting with small groups, other students can:• read independently from your classroom library• reflect on their learning in reading response

journals• engage in literacy workstations

Teacher’s Guide: BioGraphy

Unit-at-a-Glance

Day 1 Prepare to Read

Day 2 Read “John Adams”*

Day 3 Read “Abigail Adams”*

Day 4 Reread “Abigail Adams”*

Day 5 Literature Circle Discussion/Reinforce Skills*

Days 6–15 Write a biography using the process writing steps on page 10.

Level U/50

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y®

™

• Ask students to turn to pages 4–5. Say: This book presents important events and people in the lives of John and Abigail Adams. Let’s read a few facts about these two historic figures.

• Have a student read aloud the background information while others follow along.

• Say: John and Abigail Adams both lived long, active lives. They were vital to the success of the founding of the United States. What can you infer, or tell, from this? Allow responses. Prompt students to understand that the couple loved their country, utilized their leadership abilities to help others, and were devoted to the cause of independence for the colonies.

Introduce the Tools for Readers and Writers: Direct Quotes• Read aloud “Direct Quotes” on page 4. • Say: Many writers use direct quotes, or the exact

words people have said. Using this technique helps writers bring scenes to life. Sometimes we get to hear the subject speak for himself or herself, and other times we get to hear what other people have said to or about the subject. The biographies in this book have many examples of direct quotes. Let’s practice identifying direct quotes so we can recognize them when we read the biographies.

• Distribute BLM 1 (Direct Quotes). Read aloud sentence 1 with students.

• Model Identifying Direct Quotes: The first sentence introduces the direct quote by explaining that it comes from a letter Mark Twain wrote home from a mining camp. Twain’s exact words are enclosed in quotation marks and set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma. By using a direct quote, the author shows Twain’s voice, experience, and humor.

• Ask students to work with a partner or in small groups to identify the direct quotes in the remaining sentences, name the source of each direct quote, and write their own paragraphs using direct quotes.

• Bring the groups together to share their findings.• Ask each group to read one of the paragraphs

they completed. Use the examples to build their understanding of how and why writers use direct quotes. Remind students that direct quotes can help readers understand and make inferences about the subject in a biography.

• Ask the groups to hand in their sentences. Transfer student-completed and student-written sentences to chart paper, title the page “Direct Quotes,” and post it as an anchor chart in your classroom.

two biographies2

Prepare to ReadBuild Genre Background• Write the word genre on chart paper. Ask: Who

can explain what the word genre means? (Allow responses.) The word genre means “a kind of something.” Would you rather listen to a blues song or a rap song? Blues and rap are different genres, or kinds, of music. Each has its own characteristics that we can use to identify it. In the same way, we can identify literary genres by their characteristics. As readers, we pay attention to the genre because it helps us anticipate what will happen or what we will learn. As writers, we use our knowledge of genre to help us develop and organize our ideas.

• Ask: Who can name some literary genres? Let’s make a list. Allow responses. Post the list on the classroom wall as an anchor chart.

• Draw a concept web on chart paper or the chalkboard. Write Biography in the center circle of the web.

• Say: A biography is one example of a literary genre. Think of any biographies you know. How would you define what a biography is?

• Turn and Talk. Ask students to turn and talk to a classmate and jot down any features of a biography they can think of. Then bring students together and ask them to share their ideas. Record them on the group web. Reinforce the concept that all biographies have certain common features.

Introduce the Book• Distribute the book to each student. Read the title

aloud. Ask students to tell what they see on the cover and table of contents.

• Ask students to turn to pages 2–3. Say: This week we are going to read biographies that will help us learn about this genre. First we’re going to focus on this genre as readers. Then we’re going to study biographies from a writer’s perspective. Our goal this week is to really understand this genre.

• Ask a student to read aloud the text on pages 2–3 while others follow along. Invite a different student to read the web on page 3.

• Point to your biographies web on chart paper. Say: Let’s compare our initial ideas about biographies with what we just read. What new features of this genre did you learn? Allow responses. Add new information to the class web.

• Post this chart in your classroom during your Biography unit. Say: As we read biographies this week, we will come back to this anchor chart. We will look for how these features appear in each biography we read.

Day 1

©2011 benchmark education Company, LLC. all rights reserved. teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.isbN: 978-1-4509-2976-9

3two biographies©2011 benchmark education Company, LLC

Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Write one or more of the following

questions on chart paper. Name other literary genres besides biographies. How can you recognize these genres? What did you learn today about biographies? What are direct quotes? How can writers use them

to communicate ideas to their readers? Ask partners or small groups to discuss their ideas

and report them back to the whole group as a way to summarize the day’s learning.

Before ReadingIntroduce “John Adams”• Reread the biographies anchor chart or the web

on page 3 to review features of a biography.• Ask students to turn to page 8. Ask: Based on

the title, photographs, and artworks, who do you predict this biography will be about? Allow students to respond.

• Invite students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (irritable, enraged, dismayed, somber, frustrated). Say: As you read, pay attention to these words. If you don’t know what they mean, try to use clues in the surrounding text to help you define them. We’ll come back to these words after we read the biography.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the biography, focusing on

the genre elements they noted on the anchor chart. They should also look for examples of direct quotes and think about how the author’s use of direct quotes helps them understand the character of John Adams.

Read “John Adams”• Place students in groups based on their reading

levels. Ask students to read the biography silently, whisper-read, or read with partners.

• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their understanding of the text and their use of fix-up strategies.

Management Tip Ask students to place self-stick notes in the margins where they notice examples of direct quotes or features of the genre.

After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Compare and Contrast• Lead a student discussion using the “Analyze

the Subject” and “Focus on Comprehension” questions on page 16. Then, use the following steps to explicitly model how to compare and contrast information in a biography.

• Explain: We learned yesterday that a biography tells about the important people, places, times, and events in a person’s life. Readers get a chance to learn about the subject’s family, childhood, and personality. When you read a biography, you can compare and contrast the

Day 2

Management Tips• Throughout the week, you may wish to use

some of the reflect and review questions as prompts for reader response journal entries in addition to turn and talk activities.

• Have students create genre study folders. Keep blackline masters, notes, small-group writing, and checklists in the folders.

• Create anchor charts by writing whole-group discussion notes and mini-lessons on chart paper. Hang charts in the room where students can see them.

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCTWO BIOGRAPHIES BLM 1

Direct QuotesDirections: Read each sentence. Underline each direct quote. Then write speech,

letter, or interview to identify the source of the quote.

1. Writing home from the mining camp, author Mark Twain said, “It is true, all that glitters is not gold.”

_________________________________________________________________

2. “Finishing it was the most remarkable feeling I’ve ever had,” Rowling said when asked about the last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows.”

_________________________________________________________________

3. The new President’s words rang out across the Mall in Washington, D.C., “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

_________________________________________________________________

Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph about a recent experience at school using at least two direct quotes.

letter

interview

speech

subject’s actions over time to analyze his or her character and better understand what made the person great.

• Distribute copies of BLM 2 (Compare and Contrast) and/or draw a chart like the one below.

• Model: When I analyze the subject of a biography, I read about each stage in the person’s life and ways the person stays the same or changes. Do the subject’s circumstances change? Does the subject become wealthier or more powerful? Do his or her views change? These changes may reveal traits of the biography’s subject.

• Guide Practice: Work with students to compare and contrast the subject’s traits, actions, and views. Help them identify things the subject did and said that reveal character and attitude. Ask students to think about how the subject’s words and deeds create a dynamic picture of a leader.

• Have students keep BLM 2 in their genre studies folder.

©2011 benchmark education Company, LLCtwo biographies4

• Model. Read the first Find It! question. Say: When I read the question, I look for important words that tell me what to look for in the book. What words in this question do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I’m looking for the words marry and Abigail Smith. On page 8, I read, “In October 1764, John married Abigail Smith.” This sentence answers the question.

• Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Find It! questions for students.

Focus on Vocabulary: Emotion Words• Explain/Model. Read aloud “Emotion Words”

on page 4. Say: Emotion words reveal people’s personalities and their feelings about themselves, other people, or events. For example, I might say, “I was scared but determined when I went whitewater rafting for the first time.” The words scared and determined are emotion words that explain how I feel about a particular event and show something about my personality. Paying attention to emotion words helps readers better understand the people they read about.

• Practice. Ask students to think of emotion words they already know. List the words and discuss the emotions they describe. (For example: lonely, ashamed, honorable, cooperative)

• Say: Let’s find the boldfaced words in this biography. What can you do if you don’t know what one of these words means? (Allow responses.) Besides looking in the glossary or a dictionary, you can look for clues in the text to help you figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar word. You can also think about the emotions the word stirs up and how those emotions apply to the event at hand.

• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the “Focus on Words” activity on page 17 using BLM 3 (Focus on Emotion Words). Explain that they should read the sentences around the boldfaced word to find context clues that help define the word. Then they should check the glossary to see if their predictions were correct. Finally, they should think about how the emotions that go with the word affect their view of the person or people the word describes.

• Transfer Through Oral Language. Ask groups of students to share their findings. Then challenge individual students to say an original sentence using each word in context and act out the meaning of the sentence. Ask other students to listen, observe, and explain how the actions help them understand the word.

• Ask students to save their work in their genre studies folders to continue on Days 3 and 4.

Day 2 (cont.)

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment• Remind students that when they answer questions

on standardized assessments, they must be able to support their answers with facts or clues and evidence directly from the text.

• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small groups of students to practice answering text-dependent comprehension questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Find It! questions. The answer to a Find It! question is right in the book. You can find the answer in one place in the text.

John Adams

As a Boy/ Young Man

As an Adult/ Elderly Man

Likes and Dislikes

loved to read; planned to be farmer; disliked grouchy teacher; loved discussing politics

delighted in rebellious acts of colonists—except for attacks on British officials

Personality Traits

independent; intelligent; fair-minded; willing to sacrifice for country

realistic about difficulties of fighting Britain; unwilling to bend principles; opinionated and argumentative; devoted to wife


Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to

reread the “Features of a Biography” web on page 3 and decide whether all of these features are present in “John Adams.” Ask groups to share their findings with evidence from the text.

Fluency: Read with Prosody: Phrasing• You may wish to have students reread the biography

with partners during independent reading time. Have them focus on reading with phrasing. Explain that when we talk, we say words in groups, or phrases, so we should do the same thing when we read. Read aloud the section “Farm Boy” on page 7 and show how you pause between phrases using meaning and structure to guide you. Invite students to choose a section to read aloud with phrasing. Afterward, discuss how they decided where to pause.

Before ReadingIntroduce “Abigail Adams” • Ask students to turn to page 18. Say: Today

we are going to read “Abigail Adams.” This biography is written in a different format from the other biography we read. Notice how in the margins there are notes to you, the reader. The first time we read the text, we will read to understand the biography, focusing on details about the subject and her life. Tomorrow, we will read this biography like a writer and use it as a model for writing.

• Say: Let’s look at the title, artworks, and photographs of this biography. What information do you predict it will include? Give students time to share their predictions.

• Ask students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (suffered, longed, stubbornly, brokenhearted, endured). Ask: What do you notice about these words? Point out that the words express or convey strong emotions.

• Say: As you read, try to figure out the meanings of these words. Look for context clues in the text. After we read, we will talk about how you used context clues and your own experiences to understand the words.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the biography, focusing on

Abigail Adams’ changes and what they reveal about her character. Encourage them to notice the author’s use of direct quotes.

Read “Abigail Adams”• Place students in groups based on their reading


• Confer briefly with individuals to monitor their understanding use of fix-up strategies.

After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Compare and Contrast• Say: Yesterday we compared and contrasted

the early and later life of John Adams. We noted how Adams’s traits and actions changed or stayed the same over time. How did Abigail Adams change over time? What traits and actions stayed the same? What was her impact on the world as a young woman and older woman? Allow responses. Synthesize students’ responses into a chart.

Day 3

Page WordDictionary Definition

Who the Word Is Describing

7 irritable short-tempered young John’s teacher

8 enraged filled with anger colonists

9 dismayed disappointed and confused

people (colonists)

11 somber serious John Adams

13 frustrated discouraged and upset John Adams

Note Regarding This Teacher’s GuideEach book provides an opportunity for students to focus on an additional comprehension strategy that is typically assessed on state standards. The strategy is introduced on page 4 (the third item in the “Tools for Readers and Writers” section) with text-specific follow-up questions found on the Reread pages. Some Reread sections also introduce an advanced language arts concept or comprehension strategy, such as protagonist/antagonist, perspective, or subtitles, because students at this level should be able to consider more than one comprehension strategy per text.


in it, so the first sentence tells the main idea. I have found the answer in the book. I looked in several sentences to find the answer.

• Guide Practice. Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Look Closer! questions.

Focus on Vocabulary: Emotion Words• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the

“Focus on Words” activity on page 29 using BLM 3. Have students share their findings.

• Transfer Through Oral Language. Invite pairs of students to act out a situation in which someone experiences one of the emotions using dialogue, gestures, and facial expressions.

• Discuss Subjects Across Texts: Lead a discussion using the following questions. How are Abigail and John Adams similar in character? How are they different? What events most influenced Abigail and John?

What do you think accounts for the different ways in which Abigail and John Adams spent their lives?

Where has the author used direct quotes? How do these help you better understand Abigail and John?

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with

small groups of students to practice answering text-dependent questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Look Closer! questions. The answer to a Look Closer! question is in the book. You have to look in more than one place, though. You find the different parts of the answer and put them together.

• Model. Read the first Look Closer! question. Say: I will show you how I answer a Look Closer! question. This question asks me to identify the stated main idea. I know because it says, “What sentence tells the main idea?” Now I need to look for other important information to find in the book. What information do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I’m looking for the stated main idea of the last paragraph on page 26. The first sentence says that Abigail’s final job as first lady was to make the White House into a home. The other sentences give details about the house and how Abigail adapted to living

Day 3 (cont.)Abigail Adams

As a Girl/ Young Woman

As an Adult/ Elderly Woman

Likes and Dislikes

longed to go to school; liked expressing and defending strong opinions; liked Boston but disliked British troops in city; happy in marriage and family life

feared for safety of husband, children, country; disliked British control; missed husband terribly; wanted to go home; hated slavery

Personality Traits

stubborn, opinionated, hard working; devoted to family; dutiful

excellent farm manager; thought like a stateswoman

Actions and Reactions

educated at home; married at 20; ran home and farm while husband was away; five children, heartbroken when 2nd daughter died

boycotted British tea; wrote many letters to husband; ran farm; helped others; spoke up for women’s rights; joined husband in France, England; hosted formal dinners as wife of Vice President, President

Page WordDictionary Definition


18 suffered had to put up with difficult circumstances

Abigail Adams

19 longed wanted strongly Abigail Adams

19 stubbornly obstinately unyielding

Abigail Adams

21 brokenhearted extremely sad Abigail and John Adams

26 endured experienced the hardship of something

Abigail Adams

Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to

discuss the following questions. Do you agree that Abigail Adams was stubborn and dutiful? Explain why or why not. What actions or words show that Abigail was intelligent and patriotic?

List some facts about Abigail Adams that demonstrate her impact on the world.


with partners during independent reading time. Have them focus on reading with phrasing. Remind them to pause between phrases, using meaning and structure as a guide, to help listeners understand what they are saying.

©2011 benchmark education Company, LLC two biographies 7

Before ReadingSet a Purpose for Rereading• Have students turn to page 30. Say: Until now, we

have been thinking about biographies from the perspective of the reader. Learning the features of biographies has helped us be critical readers. Now we are going to put on a different hat. We are going to reread “Abigail Adams” and think like writers. We’re going to read the annotations in the margins to understand what the author did and why she did it.

Reread “Abigail Adams”• Place students in groups based on their reading


• Confer briefly with individuals to monitor their understanding of the text and annotations.

After ReadingAnalyze the Mentor Text• Explain to students that the text they have just read

is a mentor text, a text that teaches. This text is designed to help them understand what writers do to write a biography and why.

• Read and discuss each mentor annotation with students. Focus on the writer’s style, development of character and events, and use of literary techniques such as direct quotes.

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with


• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Prove It! questions. The answer to a Prove It! question is not stated in the book. You have to look for clues and evidence to prove the answer.

• Model. Read the second Prove It! question. Say: I will show you how I answer a Prove It! question. This question asks me to analyze a character. I know because I must find clues that support one of Abigail’s character traits. Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I need to look on page 19 to find evidence that Abigail was willing to let others know how she felt. I read that Abigail freely shared her strong opinions and stubbornly defended them. I have located the clues I need.

• Guide Practice. Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Prove It! questions and support students’ text-dependent comprehension strategies.

Analyze the Writer’s Craft• Ask students to turn to page 30. Explain: In

the next few days, you will write your own biography. First, let’s think about how the author wrote “Abigail Adams.” When she developed this biography, she followed certain steps. You can follow these same steps.

• Read step 1. Say: When you write your biography, you’ll first decide on a person to write about. Let’s turn back to pages 6 and 18–19 and reread the opening paragraphs of the biographies to see why the author chose to write about these people. (Write the subjects’ names and the reasons students offer on chart paper.) I might write a biography about Sally Ride, an astronaut and author. What other people would be good subjects for a biography? Why? Capture ideas on chart paper.

• Read step 2. Say: In each biography we read, the author included information about the subject’s parents and other people who were important in the subject’s life. These people helped form the subject’s character. For example, Thomas Jefferson often argued with John Adams about how to govern the new country. Let’s list people who were important in our subject’s life and how they were important. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

• Read step 3. Say: Before you write, list the important events in the subject’s life and the times and places they happened. Think about how the settings and events are connected. What important issues or problems are highlighted through events in the subject’s life? Choose one of the subjects and some of the significant people the class has brainstormed. Work as a group to outline important events in the subject’s life and times and places they occurred.

Build Comprehension: Summarize or Paraphrase Information• Explain: When authors write biographies, they

generally devote a section to each major event or period in the subject’s life. Readers need to be able to pick out the most important ideas in each section and state them in their own words. For example, here is one way we could summarize the section called “A Smart and Stubborn Girl”: Abigail Adams had a busy childhood as she worked and learned at home. Her parents encouraged her to think for herself. Figuring out the important ideas and putting them in our own words helps us better understand and remember what we learn about the subject.

Day 4

Analyze & SynthesizePractice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with


• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Take It Apart! questions. To figure out the answer to a Take It Apart! question, think like the author.

• Model. Read the first Take It Apart! question. Say: This question asks me to think about the author’s purpose. I know because it asks me to decide why the author began the biography with a specific quote. Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I need to look on page 18, read the direct quote, and think about what it shows. I read that Abigail is writing to her husband. She says it is better to be herself and an American than to be a queen. This quote gives a strong impression of a proud American. I think the author included this quote to help readers understand the person they will be reading about. Considering what the quote shows about Abigail helped me to answer the question.

• Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Take It Apart! questions.

Summarize & Make Connections Across Texts• Engage students in a discussion about the two

biographies in this book. Invite a different student to summarize each biography. Encourage other students to add their ideas and details.

• Ask students to turn to the inside back cover of the book. Say: Good readers think about how literary works are related. We know, for example, that both of these biographies share certain features. They both include information about the subject’s early life and family. They both include quotes that reveal information about the subject’s personality and feelings. What else do they have in common? (Allow responses.) Today we will think about how the subjects in these two biographies are alike and different and the impact each made on history.

• Ask students to work individually or in small groups to complete BLM 4 (Make Connections Across Texts).

• Class Discussion or Literature Circles. Facilitate a whole-class discussion or keep students in their small groups for a literature circle discussion. If you choose to conduct literature circles, share the rules for good discussion. Each group should discuss and be prepared to share its ideas about the prompts.

• Model: In the section “Farm Boy,” the author tells about John’s birthplace, his family, and his interests as a boy. I can sum up these details: John Adams was born in 1735 into a humble farming family. His love of learning and admiration for his father led him to Harvard College at the age of fifteen. Summarizing this section helps me remember its important ideas.

• Guide Practice. Invite students to work in small groups to summarize and paraphrase at least one section of “John Adams” and “Abigail Adams.” Ask the groups to share their summaries and explain how they help them better understand the biographies.

Reflect and Review • Ask and discuss the following questions.

How is reading a biography similar to and different from writing a biography? Which of the emotion words you added to your vocabulary this week do you think is most powerful? Which biographical subject do you find most interesting? Why? How can you use emotion words and direct quotes to improve your writing?


with partners during independent reading time. Have them focus on phrasing. Ask each pair to choose and copy a section from one of the biographies and prepare to read it aloud by marking the phrases. Remind students that we group words in ways that make sense, sound right, and follow how the author has structured the sentences. Demonstrate how you would read the second section on page 7. Then invite pairs to take turns reading their sections aloud.


Day 4 (cont.) Day 5

• The first student to choose a word does a dance, pantomime, or skit that expresses the emotion behind the word without using the word. For example, for irritable, the student might do a dance that incorporates stomping feet, frowning, sighing, and placing hands on hips.

• The person to the student’s right says the word that the dance, pantomime, or skit expresses. That person then chooses the next word to present.

• Continue until all students have had a chance to present an emotion word.

Reread for Fluency: Oral Reading Performance• Discuss with students the various emotions shown

by the subjects in the biographies. • Say: John and Abigail Adams felt sadness, anger,

loyalty, frustration, and happiness as well as other emotions at different times in their lives. When you read the biographies aloud, you can demonstrate your understanding of these emotions through your expression. This helps your listeners appreciate the subjects more and better understand their life stories.

• Invite individual students to read a section of one of the biographies with expression that helps listeners understand the subject’s emotion.

• Encourage students to have fun with their readings and to make them as dramatic as possible.

• Invite the class to comment on each reader’s interpretation. Encourage students to offer alternate ways to express the emotions.

Review Writer’s Tools: Direct Quotes• Ask students to look for other examples of direct

quotes in books from your classroom library or the school’s library. Each student should select one book at his or her independent reading level. Ask students to read to find an example of a direct quote.

• Invite students to share their examples with the class. Encourage them to discuss how the direct quotes help them better visualize or understand people or characters. Point out that not all students will have found examples in the books they chose. Direct quotes are not used by all writers in all genres.

Which details in the biographies taught you the most about each subject? Why? How are both biography subjects important to American history? Which subject do you admire more? Why?

• Tell students that at the end of their discussion, you will ask them to share the important text-to-text, text-to-world, and text-to-self connections they have made.

• While each small group of students discusses the book, confer with individuals or small groups. You may wish to revisit elements of the genre, take running records, or model fluent reading skills.

Rules for Good Discussion• Pay attention to the person who is talking and do

not interrupt him or her.• Think about what others are saying so you can

respond and add to their ideas.• Allow and encourage everyone to speak.• Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.

Reinforce SkillsIf time permits, choose from the following activities to reinforce vocabulary and fluency.

Reinforce Vocabulary: I Have a Feeling• Place students in small groups and have the members

of each group sit in a circle.• Have group members write each word from the

book’s glossary on a scrap of paper, put the words in a box or pile, and take turns choosing one randomly.


John Adams Abigail Adams

Attributes loved learning, fair-minded, argumentative, patriotic, enduring, hot-tempered

smart, stubborn, opinionated, devoted, self-sacrificing, independent, skilled, resilient, patriotic

Important Influences

father, Boston lawyer who argued against British intrusion, Jefferson

father, mother, grandmother, husband

Challenges forming government, persuading Europe to support new country, political disagreements, losing daughter

running farm without help, being separated from husband, making home in unfinished White House, losing daughter

Historical Importance

key role in going to war with Britain, forming United States, first vice president, second president

strong, independent woman who spoke for women’s rights; indirectly shaped United States

Day 5 (cont.)

Write a Biography• Use the suggested daily schedule to guide students

through the steps of process writing. Allow approximately 45 to 60 minutes per day. As students work independently, circulate around the room and monitor student progress. Confer with individual students to discuss their ideas and help them move forward. Use the explicit mini-lessons, conferencing strategies, and assessment rubrics in Using Genre Models to Teach Writing for additional support.

• Before students begin planning their biographies, pass out copies of BLM 5 (Biography Checklist). Review the characteristics and conventions of writing that will be assessed. Tell students that they will use this checklist when they complete their drafts.

• This daily plan incorporates the generally accepted six traits of writing as they pertain to biographies.

Days 6–7: Plan • Ask students to use BLM 6 (Biography Planning

Guide) to brainstorm who they could write about in their biography and the important people, places, and events in the subject’s life.

• Encourage students to refer to the “Features of a Biography” web on page 3 and to the steps in “The Writer’s Craft” on pages 30–31 of the book.

• Confer with individual students and focus on their ideas. Did students begin their biographies with a strong “hook”? Did students include facts about the subject and quotes from or about the subject?

Days 8–9: Draft • Tell students that they will be using their completed

Biography Planning Guides to begin drafting their biographies.

• Say: Remember that when writers draft their ideas, they focus on getting their ideas on paper. They can cross things out. They can make mistakes in spelling. What’s important is to focus on the person’s early life and his or her accomplishments. You can make corrections and improvements later.

• Confer with students as they complete their drafts. Use the Biography Checklist to draw students’ attention to characteristics of the biography genre that they may have overlooked. Focus on how students have organized their ideas and the voice of the writer. Did students give the subject’s date and place of birth at the beginning of the biography? Did they include all the significant people and events in the subject’s life? Does the biography have a strong voice? Will the voice keep readers interested?

• Pair students for peer conferencing.

Days 10–11: Edit and Revise • Based on your observations of students’ writing,

select appropriate mini-lessons from Using Genre Models to Teach Writing.

• Remind students to use the Biography Checklist as they edit and revise their biographies independently.

• Confer with students, focusing on sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions. Did students include both long and short sentences? Do the sentences read smoothly? Have students used interesting words and phrases? Did they use direct quotes? Did they use appropriate spelling, punctuation, and grammar?

• Students can continue editing and revising at home.

Days 12–13: Create Final Draft and Illustrations • Ask students to rewrite or type final drafts.• Invite students to illustrate their final drafts to

depict specific people or events in the lives of their biographies’ subjects.

• Confer with students about their publishing plans and deadlines.

Days 14–15: Publish and Share• Explain: One of the great joys of writing is sharing

it with others. Authors do this in many ways. They publish their books so that people can buy them. They make their work available on the Internet. They hold readings. We can share our writing, too.

• Use one or more of the ideas below for sharing students’ work: Display students’ completed biographies. Hold a class reading in which students can read their biographies for an audience. Create a binder of all the biographies for your school or classroom library.

two biographies ©2011 benchmark education Company, LLC10

Days 6–15

Features of the Genre Checklist Yes No 1. My biography has a strong lead. 2. My biography is logically sequenced. 3. My biography includes the person’s date and

place of birth. 4. My biography includes important events from

the person’s life. 5. My biography includes people who have influenced

the subject of the biography. 6. My biography describes the person’s personality. 7. My biography quotes the person. 8. My biography quotes people who knew or know the

person. 9. My biography explains or shows why the person

is worthy of a biography. 10. My biography has a strong ending.

Quality Writing Checklist Yes No I looked for and corrected . . .

• run-on sentences • sentence fragments • subject/verb agreement • verb tense • punctuation • capitalization • spelling • indented paragraphs

Biography Checklist

Biography Planning Guide

Directions: Use the steps below to plan your own biography.

1. Decide on someone to write about.

2. Decide who else needs to be in the biography.

3. Recall events and settings.

Setting Important Events That Occurred

Setting #1_______________Setting #2_______________Setting #3_______________

Person or Group Impact on Subject’s LifeFamily Members:_______________

Friends:_______________

Heroes:_______________

Others:_______________

©2011 benchmark education Company, LLCtwo biographies bLm 1

Name _________________________________________________ Date ___________________

Direct QuotesDirections: Read each sentence. Underline each direct quote. Then write speech,

letter, or interview to identify the source of the quote.

1. �Writing�home�from�the�mining�camp,�author�Mark�Twain�said,��“It�is�true,�all�that�glitters�is�not�gold.”�

_________________________________________________________________

2. “Finishing�it�was�the�most�remarkable�feeling�I’ve�ever�had,”�Rowling�said�when�asked�about�the�last�book�in�the�series,�Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows.”�

_________________________________________________________________

3. �The�new�President’s�words�rang�out�across�the�Mall�in�Washington,�D.C.,�“And�so,�my�fellow�Americans,�ask�not�what�your�country�can�do�for�you;�ask�what�you�can�do�for�your�country.”�

_________________________________________________________________

Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph about a recent experience at school using at least two direct quotes.

two biographies ©2011 benchmark education Company, LLC

Compare and Contrast

Name _________________________________________________ Date ____________________

Directions: Use the chart below to compare and contrast the subjects at different times in their lives. Then summarize the ways each person stayed the same and ways he or she changed.

bLm 2

John Adams

As a Boy/Young Man As an Adult/Elderly Man

Likes�and�Dislikes

Personality�Traits

Actions�and�Reactions

Abigail Adams

As a Girl/ Young Woman

As an Adult/ Elderly Woman

Likes�and�Dislikes

Personality�Traits

Actions�and�Reactions

©2011 benchmark education Company, LLC

Name _________________________________________________ Date ___________________

Focus on Emotion WordsDirections: Reread each biography. Use context clues and the dictionary to find the

definitions of the words. Then tell who the emotion word is describing.

two biographies bLm 3

Abigail�Adams

Page Word Dictionary Definition


18 suffered

19 longed

19 stubbornly

21 brokenhearted

26 endured

John�Adams

Page Word Dictionary Definition


7 irritable

8 enraged

9 dismayed

11 somber

13 frustrated

Make Connections Across Texts

Name _________________________________________________ Date ____________________

Directions: Fill in the chart. Use it to compare and contrast the two biographies.

two biographies ©2011 benchmark education Company, LLCbLm 4

John Adams Abigail Adams

Attributes

Important�Influences

Challenges

Historical�Importance

two biographies ©2011 benchmark education Company, LLCbLm 5

Features of the Genre Checklist Yes No� �1.��My�biography�has�a�strong�lead.� � � �2.��My�biography�is�logically�sequenced.� � � �3.��My�biography�includes�the�person’s�date�and��

place�of�birth.� � � �4.��My�biography�includes�important�events�from��

the�person’s�life.� � � �5.��My�biography�includes�people�who�have�influenced��

the�subject�of�the�biography.� � � �6.��My�biography�describes�the�person’s�personality.� � � �7.��My�biography�quotes�the�person.� � � �8.��My�biography�quotes�people�who�knew�or�know�the��

person.� � � �9.��My�biography�explains�or�shows�why�the�person��

is�worthy�of�a�biography.� � 10.��My�biography�has�a�strong�ending.� �

Quality Writing Checklist Yes No I�looked�for�and�corrected�.�.�.

•�run-on�sentences� � •�sentence�fragments� � •�subject/verb�agreement� � •�verb�tense�� •�punctuation� � •�capitalization� � •�spelling� � •�indented�paragraphs� �

Name _________________________________________________ Date _________________

Biography Checklist

Title ________________________________________________________________________ ______

bLm 6

Biography Planning Guide

Name _________________________________________________ Date ____________________

Directions: Use the steps below to plan your own biography.

1.��Decide�on�someone�to�write�about.

2.��Decide�who�else�needs�to�be�in�the�biography.

3.��Recall�events�and�settings.

Setting Important Events That Occurred

Setting�#1

_______________

Setting�#2

_______________

Setting�#3

_______________

Person or Group Impact on Subject’s LifeFamily�Members:_______________

Friends:_______________

Heroes:

_______________

two biographies ©2011 benchmark education Company, LLC

john adams abigail adams - s3.amazonaws.com€¦ · • ask students to turn to pages 4–5. say:...

Documents