This is a third grade
lesson on the autobiography of George Washington. He was born on February 22, 1732, in
Westmoreland County, Virginia. George
Washington served as a general and commander-in-chief of the colonial armies
during the American Revolution, and later became the first president of the
United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.
He died on December 14, 1799, in Mount Vernon, Virginia. (Content)
Read
aloud the autobiography of George Washington. Discuss the important facts told about George
Washington. (DOK1) Highlight his
birth date, things he is well known for or accomplished, his family life, jobs,
etc. Students will then listen to
the autobiography of George Washington, showing this on the smart board. Discuss key points that were the same and any
new information gained by watching the video clip and listening to the story. (CC-R.1.3.3,
R.1.3.7-9) (DOK1, DOK2) We will discuss the important facts of his life and key
components of an autobiography. (DOK2) This
will lead us into our activity of interviewing a grandparent to establish
information needed to write an autobiography.
(Creative Idea) Students will begin generating a list of questions to ask the
grandparents and obtain the key information.
(birth date, where they live, jobs they had, family life, etc.) The
teacher will provide sample questions (or a questionnaire) for students to
formulate the important facts needed to use during their interview. (DOK3) After the interview process students
will formulate their questions and answers into a writing piece. This will be written to produce an
autobiography with an illustration for the person (grandparent). (CC-W.3.4, W.3.5, W.3.6) (DOK4) Students
will go through the writing process from start to finish so this lesson takes
several writing and language art class periods.
**(I have done this in my classroom when I taught second grade. We did this as a grade level event and invited several grandparents to come into the classroom to be interviewed. It was a huge hit and the kids were really involved, although it also took a lot of help from the teacher. It was well worth the process of teaching them about autobiographies!)
**(I have done this in my classroom when I taught second grade. We did this as a grade level event and invited several grandparents to come into the classroom to be interviewed. It was a huge hit and the kids were really involved, although it also took a lot of help from the teacher. It was well worth the process of teaching them about autobiographies!)
Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4c,
4d
Resources:
Book, George Washington by Justin McCory Martin
This is a very fun and worthwhile activity...the students love to ask what school was like for the grandparents--what they had for homework, what was the punishment if they didn't do it, etc. It's good for the grandparents too!! If grandparents have any pictures of their childhood, town or cars it may provide more understanding.
ReplyDeleteI like linking Washington's biography to the biographies of people that the kids know - it helps them understand that everyone makes history.
ReplyDeletePlease remember that an autobiography means the subject wrote it his/herself. Washington did not write an autobiography (Ben Franklin did) so you are working with one of the many biographies of him.