Researching Charles Darwin's life

English

Identifying features of a biography in preparation for writing about Darwin

Researching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution

Planning a biography about Charles Darwin's life and theory of evolution

Writing the first half of a biography about Darwin and his theory of evolution

Writing the second half of a biography about Darwin and his theory of evolution

Presenting information about evolution

In this unit, pupils write a biography based on research about a scientific theory of a famous scientist. In 'Climate Emergency: Journalistic Report Writing', pupils will use a scientific, environmental speech to write a journalistic report from.

In 'Harriet Tubman: Biographical Writing', pupils learnt to research an inspirational figure's life to write a celebratory biography. In this unit, pupils will write a biography based on research about a scientific theory of a famous scientist.

In this unit, pupils research Charles Darwin's life and evolution theory in order to write a biography. The biography is written chronologically, from his early life to university, his trip to the Galapagos and his theory of evolution. Finally, pupils present information about evolution to a group.

Charles Darwin: biographical writing

because we need to form an opinion of the person

because we need to know factual information about the person

because we need inspiration for our imaginative ideas about the story

Why is research important before we write a biography?

The HMS Beagle went around the whole world. 

Darwin was excited to see an active volcano. 

Which of these facts link to the theme of Charles Darwin's visit to the Galapagos? 

Darwin was born in 1809 into a very wealthy family.

Darwin's father sent him to university to study medicine.

Darwin's father was a doctor and his mother had a large family fortune.

Darwin's mother was a doctor and his father had a large family fortune.

What fact is represented by this image from the text map for Charles Darwin's life?

The giant tortoises in the Galapagos love soup.

The crew saw giant tortoises in the Galapagos and they made a soup with them.

The crew refused to make a soup from the giant tortoises.

The Galapagos Islands are known for their giant tortoises.

Which picture represents this fact? 'Darwin was very excited to visit the Galapagos so he could see an active volcano.'

Which of the following might we find in a text map? 

Why could 'The Second World War' not be the subject of a biography? 

Which of these is **not** a linguistic feature of a biography? 

When she began working with chimps, Jane had no formal training. 

Jane had no idea what she was up to at the start. 

You won't believe how unprepared Jane was to start with. 

Which sentence is appropriate for use in a biography? 

Match the types of fronted adverbial to the examples. 

Jane, who always loved animals, longed to go to Africa. 

Jane moved to Tanzania, which is next to Kenya. 

One chimp was very aggressive - Jane wasn't sure which. 

Which sentences contain a relative clause? 

In 1957, Jane moved to Nairobi the (capital of Kenya). 

In 1957, Jane moved to (Nairobi the capital of Kenya). 

In 1957, Jane moved to Nairobi (the capital of Kenya). 

Which sentence has the brackets placed correctly to show the parenthesis? 

Starter Quiz

Why could 'The Second World War' not be the subject of a biography?