Getting to know you

Fifth-grade students in Carol Wylie’s and Laurie Perri’s classes at McVey Elementary School finished up their unit on biography study by writing biographies about kids in another class – Wylie’s students each selected someone they did not know in Perri’s class and vice versa.

After the students paired up with their counterparts in the other class, they and asked a series of questions that covered topics such as the person’s early years, first accomplishments, interesting facts, special events, school years, and hopes and dreams. They took notes, wrote a paragraph, wrote drafts, proofread and edited their work, and then they began the publishing process, which consisted of creating a poster presentation.

The final project was laid out and designed on poster paper, using the subject’s photo, construction paper, clip art, and stickers. The students writing the biographies included an “About the Author,” a mini autobiography of themselves, which was placed on the front of the poster. This project gave students a chance to gain a valuable learning experience, while promoting the opportunity of getting to know someone new.