Writing Biography Kids
May 28th, 2007
Question: Does anyone have any good ideas for how to differentiate a biography writing task for class of year 5/6 kids?
Answer: what is the learning objective for the two groups? define that, and go from there
the exemplar you give them can be differentiated in terms of length, complexity of content and structures, even font size and visual input
the task you set them can be differentiated in much the same way – as can the assessment criteria
give a template for pupils of lower ability, pupils of higher ability need less formal structure (though don’t spoonfeed those of lower ability either, because they never get challenged)
be reasonable and realistic about what you can expect from them – and the time you give them to do it
start off with small group brainstorm on what a biography is, and the kinds of info that might go into one – keep the Yr5s and 6s separate, but do a whole-class feedback with two scribes, one from Yr5, one from Yr6
it’d be good to know where the pupils are generally in their development and abilities – perhaps can share a few more ideas when we have a better understanding of the class profile, what they’ve covered etc
Good Luck
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