Auto/Biographical Writing

A full unit including: 44-slide PowerPoint presentation, various extra resources and extracts from biographies and autobiographies, assessment task and a unit reflection.

This unit is designed for IB MYP Language and Literature, but it can be very easily adapted and used for any KS3 class. It covers skills in reading and writing in particular (communication skills and creative thinking skills).

The unit lasts for roughly 6-7 weeks. It includes a statement of inquiry, inquiry questions, approaches to learning and assessment task in the ‘GRASPS’ format.

The unit begins by encouraging students to understand various concepts, including identity, relationships, communication, genre and context. It then goes on to introduce students to various examples of biographical and autobiographical writing, such as ‘I Am Malala’ (Malala Yousafzai) , ‘Twin Ambitions’ (Mo Farah), ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood’ (Roald Dahl) and many more. Students will explore and analyse the conventions of the genre, looking at how writers express identity using language and other features.

The unit then guides students through an exploration of aspects of their own identity, before planning and producing their own assessed piece of autobiographical writing.