End of the Year Autobiography

Grades: 2–8

To integrate language arts and community-building, I begin my writing program by having the children write and publish their own autobiographies. The first year that I did this, however, a problem arose when I tried to find a suitable model of an autobiography to read to the class before they began their own writing. My solution – I wrote my own autobiography!

Materials: the implements with which your class generally writes and illustrates; your imagination and facts about yourself – your family, interests, hobbies, childhood, early schooling, etc.

Method:
1. Follow the same writing procedures you ask of your children – writing, editing, having a peer conference with a colleague, revising, illustrating, and designing the cover.
2. Talk to your class about autobiographies – the stories that people write about their own lives and that others read to find out about the author’s life.
3. Read your autobiography to the class as a way of introducing yourself.
4. Kick-off your writing program by having the children begin to write their own autobiographies.

This book becomes a popular one. There are personal benefits as well. Creating a book this way makes you aware of the feelings involved in the actual publishing experience and the risks involved in putting your work out for public scrutiny. In all my years of teaching writing to small children, I think this is the most valuable lesson I have learned about the writing process.