Write The Biography Of A Friend Or Relative (9-13 years)

- Year levels
- Years 4–6
- File type
- Preparation
- Print ready
- Subject
- Writing, English
- Topic
- Writing Skills, Interview
- Resource types
- Worksheets
- Preparation
- Print ready
From the author
About this resource
Discover An Educational Resource: Write The Biography Of A Friend Or Relative
This is an engaging resource tailored for students in Year 4 to Year 6, ideal for enhancing creative writing skills in children aged 9-13. Perfectly suitable for English studies, focusing on the sub subject of writing.
How Does it Work?
The learners are encouraged to interview someone they know well and come up with thought-provoking questions that help gather meaningful insights about their chosen individual. After recording the interview, students then compile their findings into a complete biography.
More Than Enhancing Writing Skills
- Fosters critical thinking by determining suitable questions.
- Encourages empathetic listening while recording interviews.
- Cultivates interpersonal skill development through conducting an interview process.
Pack Details
The Write The Biography pack comes as a seven-page PDF loaded with compelling content for eager learners. Here's what sets this package apart:
- A series of themed prompts to make practice enjoyable.
- Outlines that guide children when planning their story, article, letter or play script.
- Presents examples built with challenging vocabulary aimed at engaging more able students and fostering a positive learning mindset.
Versatility and Usability
This activity can be implemented within whole group instruction or small groups discussions including peer interviews. It also works well when assigned as individual work or homework assignment where parents can join in the interviewing process too!
Inspire your students with valuable life skills while enhancing academic progression using the Write The Biography Of A Friend Or Relative educational material today!In the classroom
Teaching tips & learning objectives
Learning objectives
Distinguish a closed interview question from an open one and write six questions of their own
Record an interview's content under set headings rather than as continuous notes
Write a biography in the third person and past tense, as non-fiction rather than as a story
Teaching tips
The unit runs in a fixed order - questions, chart, draft, then a worked example - so the example on page 6 arrives after students have already tried the chart for themselves, which suits a review rather than a model
The sample questions assume the interviewee is an adult with a work history, so a student choosing a friend rather than a relative will need to rewrite several of them
The planning chart and the family-history chart differ by one row: the second replaces Quotes from the interview with a Died field, which is worth flagging before a student uses it for a living relative
Skills covered
Question design - students see closed and open questions separated and explained, then write six of their own with the question mark already printed at the end of each line.
Structured note-taking - the planning chart forces an interview into fixed fields rather than a running record, including a row reserved for direct quotations.
Biographical writing conventions - the style panel specifies non-fiction register, third person and past tense, and offers reported and direct speech with a worked sentence of each.
Good to know
Questions teachers ask about this resource
How does the family-history chart differ from the interview chart?
The family-history version includes a Died field in place of the interview-quotes field. Choose the chart appropriate to the person being described.
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Resource details
Concepts & topics
Core concepts
Biography
Interviewing
Non-fiction writing
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