Biography Talk4writing yr 6 Harriet Tubman
The following 4 weeks of English have been carefully thought-out and planned for primarily yr 6 but can be taught to yr 5 as well.
The first week looks at the features of a biography and recognises the key features with this children will learn about the famous abolitionist Harriet Tubman and her biography through a text and a BBC clip. A story map has not been included, however, if you wish to purchase the story map then please get in touch. Interesting activities have been included based on grammar and reading comprehension to retrieve information about the text.
The second week offers opportunities for children to identify grammatical features in a biography, using the box-up plan to help develop ideas, before composing ideas orally and in writing. The English lessons links to History, where children will research another abolitionist/civil rights campaigner or a Quaker during the 19th Century. This research will give children a deeper understanding of what life as a slave working on a plantation was like in the United States of America or as a worker in Great Briton in the workhouses in Victorian Briton. During this week, children will use the box-up grid to develop ideas before starting to prepare a shared piece of writing on an either famous person.
The third week focuses on continuing a shared write putting together a complete biography aiming to write five paragraphs. Other fun activities include role-playing a Historian of American History/slavery radio phone-in.
In week four children will choose and write independently a biography about another historical person from the Victorian era who has made a difference in our lives today. This four-week block will link to cross-curricular topics of The Victorians or 19th Century American history.
Take the time to read the biography of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling before you teach the 4-week block or read it as a class book. I enjoyed reading Harriet’s biography.
