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ESL Support - Autobiography Unit

Description: 

As part of their ELA coursework, students are reading an autobiography to study author’s craft.  In particular, students are exploring how authors use dialogue, transitional phrases/clauses, and sensory details to tell a personal story. The unit will culminate with students writing their own memoirs. The bulk of the unit takes place in the ELA classroom. In the ESL support block, students will receive support with reading an autobiography of their choice, noting examples of author’s craft in the autobiography, and integrating this craft into their own writing.

In this first lesson of the unit, students choose from two memoirs 15 on the Road to Freedom and the Big Lie. Students participate in a F2F mini-lesson in how dialogue can develop characters in an autobiography. Students then transition to technology for a book introduction with historical context and a chapter 1 book preview (guided reading). Students in 15 on the Road to Freedom then continue to receive support via Ed Puzzle for identifying dialogue and documenting in a graphic organizer, while students in The Big Lie meet with the teacher for the support. While students in The Big Lie transition to continue completing the graphic organizer independently, students in the 15 on the Road to Freedom meet with the teacher F2F to discuss their completed graphic organizers. Students then return to their autobiographies (written on google docs and organized in google classroom) to include additional dialogue in their stories and peer-review a partnerś story. Students then participate in a full group F2F wrap up/reflection where they share out examples of dialogue their partner included in their writing as a result of the lesson.

 

Online Lesson for Books: Historical Context/Chapter 1 Intro/Graphic Organizer Support

 

Graphic Organizers

 

Assignment Sheet

 

F2F Mini-Lesson #1

 

Please email [email protected] if you would like me to send you the additional resources I created for the remaining mini-lessons and book chapters! 

Learning Targets: 
I can identify how authors use sensory details to develop experiences --> I can use sensory details to develop an experience in a memoir
I can identify how authors use dialogue to develop characters --> I can use dialogue to develop characters in my memoir
I can identify precise language authors use to introduce dialogue --> I can use precise language to introduce dialogue in my memoir
I can identify how authors use transitional words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence shifts --> I can use transitional words, phrases, and clauses in my memoir to convey sequence shifts
Link: 
Unit/Lesson Outline (Links to Ed Puzzle Book Intros for Guided Reading and Graphic Organizers)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10R3WztUYe9sApzr4GeRT-m7rSsKYeZ8q8OolcvsIGeE/edit
Author: 
[email protected]
Content Area: 
Language Arts
Reading
Language: 
English
Resource Type: 
Unit
Licensing: 
Creative Commons Licence
Grade: 
6-8
Common Core Language Arts
Common Core Language Arts: 
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3
Tags: 
autobiography
memoir
dialogue
sensory details
15 on the road to freedom
the big lie
esl
el learners

How are the standards/objectives assessed?

Students practice reading to identify how authors use the following skills and then receive support in applying these skills to their own writing:

  • using dialogue to develop characters

  • using precise language to introduce dialogue 

  • using sensory details to develop experiences

  • using transitional words, phrases, and clauses to introduce sequence shifts 

Student prerequisite skills and knowledge

Students have had a basic introduction to the genre of autobiography in their ELA classes. However, the book introduction (posted via ed puzzle in the unit outline) provide a review and formative assessment opportunity of student genre knowledge.

The books are lexiled between 600 and 790, but are high interest books with visual supports and large text to provide accessibility for a large range of learners. Teachers could create an audio book read aloud of the book to support emergent readers.

How is the concept or procedure explained or demonstrated?

The teacher provides a F2F mini-lesson. Students then receive a virtual lesson on Ed Puzzle that consists of the following:

  • Historical context for book (with formative assessment)
  • Overview of the genre of autobiography (with formative assessment)
  • Chapter 1  book introducing previewing key words and concepts with visuals
  • Chapter 1 book comprehension check (formative assessment)
  • Support identifying dialogue that develops characters and recording on graphic organizer (Via EdPuzzle for one book and face to face for the other book)
  • Students use the graphic organizers to return to their own writing and edit to add dialogue to develop characters 
  • Students peer review a peers story to identify examples of how characters are developed using dialogue (using the same graphic organizer) 
  • Full group F2F wrap up where students share examples of how a classmate integrated dialogue to develop a character in their own autobiographies

If you would like access to the Ed Puzzles for the remaining chapters or supports using the graphic organizers for the remaining skills (sensory details, dialogue tags, and sequencing) please email me at [email protected]

What concepts or procedures are being explained or demonstrated in this lesson object?

  • using dialogue to develop characters

  • using precise language to introduce dialogue 

  • using sensory details to develop experiences

  • using transitional words, phrases, and clauses to introduce sequence shifts

What was your experience, both successes and challenges, using this lesson object with your students?

It was helpful to be able to float as students were getting started and not have a small group at this time. Because I was able to float as students worked through the virtual lessons on historical context and chapter previews, I was able to target many of the same skills as I would during guided reading and float to give students the opportunity to develop oral language in mini-conferences with me. It worked nicely to pull one group to give the follow up lesson while the other group received this lesson digitally and then continue to flip groups. 

It took one 45 minute class period for the first mini-lesson and chapter 1, it took a second class period to give students the opportunity to edit and peer edit their autobiographies to include additional dialogue. The entire unit took 3 weeks for students to complete their books and then integrate dialogue, dialogue tags, sensory details, and sequencing phrases into their autobiographies.