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

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From the author

Write the Biography of a Friend or Relative

This seven-page PDF supports biography writing for ages 9–13. Students plan open and closed interview questions, collect information about someone they know and organize the facts in a chart before drafting.

Interview prompts, planning charts, two ruled writing pages with style guidance and a worked family-history example are included. The family-history chart replaces the interview-quotes row with a Died row. Adapt the questions and chart to the chosen person.

Use peer interviews in class or arrange an interview at home. The example can be introduced before drafting or used for discussion afterward.

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 eight-row 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 unit distinguish the two kinds of interview question?

By what each one gets back. Six examples are given as questions that "only require a short answer" - where were you born, where did you go to school, what was your first job. Four more are described as open, allowing the person to express an opinion, such as whether working hard at school and getting qualifications matters. Students then write six of their own on lines that already end in a question mark.

What writing guidance sits alongside the draft?

A panel down the side of the writing lines. It says to write as for non-fiction, in third person and past tense; to use reported speech, with the example "The actress said that going to drama school changed her life"; that direct speech is an option, with "I just love being on the stage," exclaimed the actress; to introduce the person first; and to make points under the headings School, Job, Successes, Achievements and Conclusion.

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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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

W.4.3

Core concepts

Biography
Interviewing
Non-fiction writing
Note-taking
Family history

Topics

Writing skills Interview Biography Creative writing Critical thinking History

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Categories this resource belongs to

ELA Worksheets Writing Worksheets Elementary Worksheets 4th Grade Worksheets 5th Grade Worksheets 6th Grade Worksheets

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