Grades 3 - 8

Created by Laura Candler

Bio Poems Made Easy

What are Bio Poems?
A bio poem is a simple poem written about a person, and it follows a predictable pattern. Bio poems generally dont rhyme, and they can be autobiographical or biographical. Its best to have students begin by writing Bio Poems about themselves, but later they can write about famous historical figures or story characters. Pages 3 though 6 in this packet deal specifically with Bio Poems about oneself, but Ive also included planning pages for historical figures and characters. After you introduce the basic Bio Poem format, students should easily be able to create their own poems from those planning pages. Allow students to change the writing prompts as needed according to their selected topics.

Suggested Lesson Sequence

1. 2. 3. Before the lesson, create your own Bio Poem using the example on the next page. Youll share this with your students. Begin the lesson by telling your students that they are going to create simple poems about themselves called Bio Poems. Display and read your example to the class. Distribute the Planning Page with the 8 boxes. Ask students to brainstorm ideas for each box. You might require them to use at least 6 of the 8 categories. As a class, brainstorm a list of positive character traits words that could describe a person. After students have spent 10 to 15 minutes brainstorming, allow them to pair up with a partner and discuss their plans. Next display your example again and show students how to take ideas from their planning page to create a poem. Younger students may need the template, but older students can usually do this on lined paper. Let them arrange the lines in any order they would like. To integrate technology, have students create Wordles of their poems. This strategy was suggested by 5th grade teacher Francie Kugelman, and you can see the example on page 6 that she created from my bio poem. To do this, students type their poems into the create page on Wordle.net at www.wordle.net/create. They can manipulate the size of the words by repeating the important words more than once; the more they repeat a word, the larger it will be in the final Wordle. If you have never created a Wordle yourself, experiment with the techniques yourself first. (Note: please be aware that the public Wordle gallery at www.wordle.net may have inappropriate Wordles, so dont allow your students to search the site.) Provide time for sharing the poems, or create a class book of their work. You can also create a bulletin board using photographs of each student placed next to their poems.

4. 5. 6. 7.

8.

For more poetry lessons and printables by Laura Candler, please visit the Poetry page on Teaching Resources: www.lauracandler.com/filecabinet/literacy/poetry.php or Lauras resources on TeachersPayTeachers.com.
2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com 2

Sample Bio Poem Laura Dedicated, creative, caring Lover of black cats, great books, and warm chocolate chip cookies Who wonders if there is life on other planets Who fears that we may be destroying our own planet Who feels happy and peaceful when shes kayaking the Lumber River Who would like to travel to distant lands and hike far away mountains Who dreams that this year all her students will discover the joy of reading!

2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com

Bio Poem Planning (You)

Adjectives that Describe You

Name ______________________ Lover of . . .

Who feels . . .

Who wonders . . .

Who fears . . .

Who would like to . . .

Who is able to . . .

Who dreams . . .

2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com

Bio Poem Template

First Name ________________

3 Words That Describe You _________________________________

Lover of _________________________________________________

Who is able to ____________________________________________

Who feels ________________________________________________

Who wonders ____________________________________________

Who fears ________________________________________________

2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com

Who would like to ________________________________________

Who dreams _____________________________________________

2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com

Created by Francie Kugelman at Wordle.net

6

Wordle Poem Example

Bio Poem Planning

Adjectives that Describe Person

Name ______________________

Historical Figure ___________________________________________________ Lover of . . .

Who wondered . . .

Who dreamed of . . .

Who learned . . .

Who discovered . . .

Who made a difference by . . .

Who is remembered for . . .

2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com

Bio Poem Planning

Adjectives that Describe Person

Name ______________________

President or Leader _________________________________________________ Lover of . . .

Who wonders . . .

Who knows . . .

Who fears . . .

Who is able to . . .

Who dreams of . . .

Who _____________ . . .

2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com

Bio Poem Planning

Adjectives that Describe Person

Name ______________________

Character _________________________________________________________ Lover of . . .

Who wonders . . .

Who knows . . .

Who fears . . .

Who is able to . . .

Who dreams of . . .

Who _____________ . . .

2013 ~ Created by Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources ~ www.lauracandler.com

I hope you enjoy this freebie from Teaching Resources! I love sharing my teaching resources, and you can find more of them by following me in these locations. Be sure to sign up for my Candlers Classroom Connections newsletter, too! ~ Laura Candler Website: www.lauracandler.com Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/lauracandler Facebook: www.facebook.com/teachingresources TpT Store: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Laura-Candler Corkboard Connections Blog: www.corkboardconnections.com Candlers Classroom Connections: www.lauracandler.com/signup.php

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@2013 Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources

If you enjoyed the materials in this teaching resources pack, you might also enjoy these ebooks and lessons. You can purchase them from my store on TeachersPayTeachers.com by clicking the links below or by visiting my Teaching Resources website: www.lauracandler.com.

Classroom Book Clubs Character Bio Reports Analyzing Character Traits Powerful Poetry Combo Plural Noun Showdown Sentence Go Round Writing Powerful Poetry Customary Measurement Conversions Geometry: Exploring the Basics Math Stations for Middle Grades (3-8) Polygon Explorations Talking Sticks Discussions (CCSS Aligned) Teaching Multiple Intelligence Theory Place Value Spinner Games Fraction Spinner Games Simplify and Snap Fraction Game Order of Operations Bingo

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