Teaching a child how to write an autobiography is an important exercise in writing skills and personal and family history. In writing their own autobiography, children get the chance to complete detective work through their parents and family members, find photographs and put a life story together. Use parents to help send photos and important dates to class or gather them with your child so that you have plenty of material to work with.
Step 1
Send a letter home to parents if you are a teacher who is dedicating a class to learning how to write autobiographies. The letter should state the purpose of the class and ask parents if they would scan and send five to 10 important photos to class, along with a few important dates. The children will know their birth dates, but if the parents have dates of first steps, first day of school and other notable dates, ask that they send them on a separate sheet of paper.
Step 2
Prepare your own autobiography as an example to the children. Write it according to the skill and reading level of the kids. Included baby pictures of yourself, and use lots of pictures and words to illustrate your life story. You can complete it as a Power Point presentation to show the children, or you can create it in a small workbook to be passed around.
Step 3
Pass out an outline sheet so that children can write about their important dates. You may want to structure it as a time line at first, so that the dates and photos are in order. The details can be filled in as part of the writing process once the autobiography has been outlined and is ready to be written.
Step 4
Present starter questions that may be able to help the children fill in the details about their life. Consider questions and statements like "What is happening in this photo?", "Why is this date important?", and "I like this photo because...". These starter questions should help the children think more about themselves and to tell a better story about their own lives.
Step 5
Supply work books for the children to write in and glue in their scanned photographs to create their autobiographies. Have the children present their stories in front of the class or just grade them on your own. Look for things like accuracy, detail and a solid life story. Teaching children to write their own biography gives them a chance to see their own progress, even at a young age.
Things You'll Need
- Photos
