Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Headlines

20 minutes

Find Out: Biographies and personal narratives

25 minutes

Take Action: Writing a blurb for a biography

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

understand the structural elements of biographical texts about individuals who aspire to make a difference.
understand how language can be context-specific and unique to different communities, demonstrating their membership of particular groups.
enhance their understanding of biography structures and the importance of these devices in communicating meaning about the experiences of individuals aspiring to make a difference.

Success criteria

Students can:

explain the features of a biographical texts and provide examples of these.
write a short blurb that uses biographical elements to communicate key information and meaning and engage readers.

Tune In: Headlines

Step 1

Explain to students that some issues they will hear about in relation to the ocean and ocean conservation can be communicated from a variety of perspectives. One issue is sharks and the role they play in ocean/marine ecosystems. Many students will have only heard about sharks through news media, especially when they attack humans.

Establish what students already know or think about sharks and their role by facilitating a quick class sharing session. Then, explain to the class that this video examines some of the issues that they may not know about sharks and the factors contributing to their decline. Further information can also be found on the following factsheets: Turtles Factsheet, Seabirds Factsheet, Sharks Factsh eet, Fishing Factsheet.

For the love of sharks (https://vimeo.com/1056609005/fd59bf4c92)

After watching the video, facilitate a brief class discussion about the issues raised. Students might refer to issues such as:

Variety of species
Role of sharks within ecosystem
Danger of some sharks
Legal and illegal fishing practices
Shark population decline
Shark fin trade/illegal shark finning

Step 2

Use the ‘Headlines’ visible thinking routine to encourage students to succinctly and precisely communicate their own understanding of an issue related to sharks or people who work with them. Explain to the class that this thinking routine draws on the idea of newspaper-type headlines as a way to sum up and capture the essence of an event, idea, concept, or topic. Ask students to respond to the following question on the Student Worksheet:

If you were to write a headline for this topic or issue right now that captured the most important aspect that should be remembered, what would that headline be?

Give students a few minutes to write a headline that is 10 words or less, then invite volunteers to share theirs with the class. Facilitate a discussion with them about what the headlines indicate about the issues or challenges.

Find Out: Biographies and personal narratives

Step 1

Explain that the two women in the ‘For the love of sharks’ video Madison Stewart and Valerie Taylor, have dedicated a significant part of the their lives to working with and advocating for sharks.

Inform the class that they will soon be watching a video about Madison Stewart and noting some of the key information that could be used in a biography written about her, but before doing this, they will examine some of the features of biographies.

Briefly review some elements of biographical genres with the class. Before showing them the biographical writing factsheet, conduct a quick brainstorm on the board with the class to establish and activate their prior knowledge about this genre of writing.

This could be facilitated by asking anyone who has read a biography to share what they can recall. You could guide the discussion with questions such as:

Who are biographies written about?
What sort of stories and content is included in biographies?
What type of language is used? (such as formal/informal, tense, narrative voice)
How can biographies be organised or structured and why?

Step 2

After this brief brainstorm, refer students to the Biographical Writing Factsheet and highlight to students the information provided under the three main areas of genre, organisation/structure and language features. Show students the prompts underneath the features and explain they can use these to complete the planning/ideas questions on the Student Worksheet after watching the following video.

Who is Madison Stewart (https://vimeo.com/1056608696/f87d86ca45)

Step 3

After watching the video, invite students to complete the questions on the Student Worksheet. This will help them to think about and note some of the biographical information about Madison Stewart (Shark Girl). Explain to the class that this information could form the basis of a written biography.

Step 4

After students have completed the questions, facilitate a brief discussion with the class about the biographical information they have noted. Students might refer to some of her motivations or the challenges she has faced, or might comment on her age and achievements so far. Encourage students to think about and identify what they feel is the most interesting aspect of this information before moving to Part C of the lesson.

Take Action: Writing a blurb for a biography

Step 1

Ask the class if they know what the short piece of text on the back cover of a book is called, confirming with them that it is called a ‘blurb’. Write this on the board and ask the class to list some of the features or things they know about blurbs. Prompt them by asking about the purpose, the length, and the kind of information that is included.

Step 2

Next, refer students to the bottom of the Biographical Writing Factsheet and ask them to identify some of the features of blurbs in the example about Madison Stewart. Discuss this blurb with students, pointing out some of the language such as “passion”, “spectacular and misunderstood” and “idealistic yet down-to-earth” and the impact that this has on readers.

Explain to the class that they will be soon writing their own blurb for Madison Stewart, using information from the video in this lesson, and any further research they complete. Watch the following video about Madison Stewart to provide some further information and ideas for students.

Shark Girl Trailer: (https://youtu.be/CjawVX8SIIk)

Step 3

Invite students to use the space on the Student Worksheet to plan, draft and revise a short blurb of approximately 100-150 words about Madison Stewart. They can use the example they have just read to get some ideas, though encourage them to find some further information through research or from the videos that have been watched in the lesson.

Remind the class that a good blurb draws on something interesting or engaging about the subject/person/story to ‘hook’ the reader, so they should focus on what aspect of Madison Stewart’s ‘story’ that they find most interesting or that they feel would be most interesting for readers. It might help them to identify a target age group for their blurb, such as teenagers or young adults.

Step 4

Encourage some volunteers to read their blurb to the class and facilitate a brief discussion/feedback with the class about some of the content they have used. Alternatively, have students print and display their blurbs around the room and facilitate a gallery walk by having students quietly and safely walk around reading each other's blurbs before bringing the class back to identify and discuss some of the key features and content.

Learning support: Spend extra time with students, ensuring their understanding of the Find Out activity. Support students to plan their writing by asking them to work with a partner. You could also provide students with some examples of 'hooks'.

Learning extension: Students can enhance their blurbs by designing the entire cover (front and back) for a biography about Madison Stewart, using images and some visual design/creative layout skills. These could be printed and displayed around the classroom.

Reflection

Invite students to complete the reflection activity on the Student Worksheet. This is a short 3-2-1 activity that encapsulates their thinking and learning at the end of the lesson. This can be about the topic of biographical writing or blurbs, about the skills and thinking routines, or about the topic of sharks and Madison Stewart. Students are asked to reflect on what they have learnt and participated in this lesson and identify:

3 things they have learnt
2 things that were interesting
1 question they now have

Learning opportunity: Students can reflect on their experience/s and explain or write a short paragraph about the role of biographies in communicating information. Linking this to the experience and information about Madison Stewart and her work with sharks would indicate some stronger knowledge and thinking about the connection between language, communication and various issues.

Blue - 'Shark Girl' Biographical Writing

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

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Lesson Details

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Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

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