Materials Needed:
- One short biography picture book (e.g., a 'Who Was?' book excerpt or similar)
- One short autobiography picture book (e.g., 'My Life as a Book' by Janet Tashjian - sections, or similar simple text)
- Plain paper
- Crayons or markers
Let's Learn About Life Stories!
Hi there! Today, we're going on an adventure to learn about two special ways authors tell stories about people's lives. These are called biographies and autobiographies. Sounds tricky? Don't worry, it's super fun!
What's a Biography?
A biography is the story of a person's life written by someone else. Think of it like this: 'Bio' means life, and 'graphy' means writing. So, it's 'life writing' done by another person. For example, if I wrote a book all about your favorite superhero, that would be a biography!
Let's look at our biography book. Who wrote this book? Who is the book about? Notice the author is different from the person the story is about.
What's an Autobiography?
An autobiography is the story of a person's life written by that person themselves! The 'auto' part means 'self.' So, it's 'self life writing.' If you wrote a book all about your own life, your adventures, and your feelings, that would be an autobiography!
Now let's look at our autobiography book. Who wrote this book? Who is the book about? See? They are the same person! The author is telling their own story.
Spot the Difference!
So, the big difference is WHO is doing the writing:
- Biography: Written by someone else.
- Autobiography: Written by the person the story is about (themselves!).
Activity Time: All About You!
Now it's your turn to be an author! Let's make a mini-autobiography.
- Take a piece of paper.
- Draw a picture of yourself doing something you love.
- Below your picture, write 2 or 3 sentences about yourself. You could write your name, your age, your favorite thing to do, or where you live. For example: 'My name is ____. I like to ____.'
Wow! Look at that! You just wrote a tiny bit of your own autobiography because YOU wrote about YOURSELF!
Wrap Up
Great job today! Can you tell me again? What's it called when someone else writes the story of a person's life? (Biography!) And what's it called when a person writes their own life story? (Autobiography!) You're a life story expert now!