Biographical Sketches

Subject Area: Language Arts

Activity Overview
Students will practice the technique of writing biographical sketches.

Activity Outline

  1. Each student will choose a genetic engineering historical figure.
  2. Students will conduct detailed research of their person.
  3. Students will take appropriate notes on note cards.
  4. Students will write a biographical sketch of their genetic engineering historical figure.
  5. Students may create visual aides to accompany their reports.
  6. Plays or skits may be presented.
  7. Biographical sketches may be presented orally.

    • Names of historical figures
    • Charles Darwin Alfred Russel Wallace
    • Gregor Mendel Carl Correns
    • Erich von Tschermak Harriet B. Creighton
    • Barbara McClintock Oswald Avery
    • Colin MacLeod Maclyn McCarty
    • Erwin Chargaff Rosalind Franklin
    • Martha Chase Alfred Hershey
    • Francis Crick James Watson
    • Matthew Meselson Frank Stahl
    • Hamilton Smith Kent Wilcox
    • Paul Berg Herb Boyer
    • Annie Chang Stanley Cohen
    • Fred Sanger

     

Assessment

  • Assess note cards/research
  • Assess biographic sketches for correct structure, mechanics, etc.
  • Assess oral presentation, skit, or play

Standars and Benchmarks

Writing
Standard 1: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process

  1. Prewriting: Uses a variety of prewriting strategies (e.g., makes outlines, uses published pieces as writing models, constructs critical standards, brainstorms, builds background knowledge)
  2. Drafting and Revising: Uses a variety of strategies to draft and revise written work (e.g., analyzes and clarifies meaning, makes structural and syntactical changes, uses an organizational scheme, uses sensory words
    and figurative language, rethinks and rewrites for different audiences and purposes, check for a consistent point of view and for transitions between paragraphs, uses direct feedback to revise compositions)
  3. Editing and Publishing: Uses a variety of strategies to edit and publish written work (e.g., eliminates slang; edits for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling at a developmentally appropriate level; proofreads using reference materials, word processor, and other resources; edits for clarity, word choice, and language usage; uses a word processor or other technology to publish written work)
  4. Evaluates own and others' writing (e.g., applies criteria generated by self and others, uses self-assessment to set and achieve goals as a writer, participates in peer response groups)
  5. Uses content, style, and structure (e.g., formal or informal language, genre, organization) appropriate for specific audiences (e.g., public, private) and purposes (e.g., to entertain, to influence, to inform)
  6. Writes biographical sketches (e.g., illustrates the subject's character using narrative and descriptive strategies such as relevant dialogue, specific action, physical description, background description, and comparison or contrast to other people; reveals the significance of the subject to the writer; presents details in a logical manner)

Standard 2: Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing

  1. Uses paragraph form in writing (e.g., arranges sentences in sequential order, uses supporting and follow-up sentences, establishes coherence within and among paragraphs)
  2. Uses a variety of sentence structures to expand and embed ideas (e.g., complex sentences; parallel structure, such as similar grammatical forms or juxtaposed items)
  3. Uses explicit transitional devices


Standard 3: Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions

  1. Uses simple and compound sentences in written compositions
  2. Uses pronouns in written compositions (e.g., relative, demonstrative, personal [i.e., possessive, subject, object])
  3. Uses nouns in written compositions (e.g., forms possessives of nouns; forms irregular plural nouns)
  4. Uses verbs in written compositions (e.g., uses linking and auxiliary verbs, verb phrases, and correct forms of regular and irregular verbs)
  5. Uses adjectives in written compositions (e.g., pronominal, positive, comparative, superlative)
  6. Uses adverbs in written compositions (e.g., chooses between forms of adjectives and adverbs)
  7. Uses prepositions and coordinating conjunctions in written compositions (e.g., uses prepositional phrases, combines and embeds ideas using conjunctions)
  8. Uses interjections in written compositions
  9. Uses conventions of spelling in written compositions (e.g., spells high frequency, commonly misspelled words from appropriate grade-level list, uses a dictionary and other resources to spell words, uses common
    prefixes and suffixes as aids to spelling, applies rules for irregular structural changes)
  10. Uses conventions of capitalization in written compositions (e.g., titles [books, stories, poems, magazines, newspapers, songs, works of art], proper nouns [team names, companies, schools and institutions, departments of government, religions, school subjects], proper adjectives, nationalities, brand names of products)
  11. Uses conventions of punctuation in written compositions (e.g., uses exclamation marks after exclamatory sentences and interjections; uses periods in decimals, dollars, and cents; uses commas with nouns of address and after mild interjections; uses quotation marks with poems, songs, and chapters; uses colons in business letter salutations; uses hyphens to divide words between syllables at the end of line)
  12. Uses appropriate format in written compositions (e.g., includes footnotes, uses italics [for titles of books, magazines, plays, movies])

Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes

  1. Uses card catalogs and computer databases to locate sources for research topics
  2. Uses the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature and other indexes to gather information for research topics
  3. Uses a variety of resource materials to gather information for research topics (e.g., magazines, newspapers, dictionaries, schedules, journals, phone directories, globes, atlases, almanacs)
  4. Determines the appropriateness of an information source for a research topic
  5. Organizes information and ideas from multiple sources in systematic ways (e.g., time lines, outlines, notes, graphic representations)
  6. Writes research papers (e.g., separates information into major components based on a set of criteria, examines critical relationships between and among elements of a research topic, addresses different perspectives on a topic, achieves balance between research information and original ideas, integrates a variety of information into a whole, draws conclusions)
  7. Uses appropriate methods to cite and document reference sources (e.g., footnotes, bibliography)

Reading
Standard 5: Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process

  1. Establishes and adjusts purposes for reading (e.g., to understand, interpret, enjoy, solve problems, predict outcomes, answer a specific question, form an opinion, skim for facts; to discover models for own writing)
  2. Uses word origins and derivations to understand word meaning (e.g., Latin and Greek roots, meanings of foreign words frequently used in the English language, historical influences on English word meanings)
  3. Uses a variety of strategies to extend reading vocabulary (e.g., uses analogies, idioms, similes, metaphors to infer the meaning of literal and figurative phrases; uses definition, restatement, example, comparison and contrast to verify word meanings; identifies shades of meaning; knows denotative and connotative meanings; knows vocabulary related to different content areas and current events; uses rhyming dictionaries, classification books, etymological dictionaries)
  4. Uses specific strategies to clear up confusing parts of a text (e.g., pauses, rereads the text, consults another source, represents abstract information as mental pictures, draws upon background knowledge, asks for help)


Standard 7: Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts

  1. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts (e.g., textbooks; biographical sketches; letters; diaries; directions; procedures; magazines; essays; primary source historical documents; editorials; news stories; periodicals; bus routes; catalogs; technical directions; consumer, workplace, and public documents)
  2. Uses new information to adjust and extend personal knowledge base
  3. Understands techniques used to convey viewpoint (e.g., word choice, language structure, context)
  4. Reflects on what has been learned after reading and formulates ideas, opinions, and personal responses to texts
  5. Differentiates between fact and opinion in informational texts


Listening and Speaking
Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

  1. Asks questions to seek elaboration and clarification of ideas
  2. Uses strategies to enhance listening comprehension (e.g., takes notes; organizes, summarizes, and paraphrases spoken ideas and details)
  3. Listens in order to understand topic, purpose, and perspective in spoken texts (e.g., of a guest speaker, of an informational video, of a televised interview, of radio news programs)
  4. Conveys a clear main point when speaking to others and stays on the topic being discussed
  5. Makes oral presentations to the class (e.g., uses notes and outlines; uses organizational pattern that includes preview, introduction, body, transitions, conclusion; and point of view; uses evidence and arguments to support opinions; uses visual media)
  6. Uses appropriate verbal and nonverbal techniques for oral presentations (e.g., modulation of voice, inflection, tempo, word choice, grammar, feeling, expression, tone, volume, enunciation, physical gestures, body movement, eye contact, posture)