Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

It's so nice to see you and welcome.

My name is Ms Van fleet.

Which is a bit of a strange name.

And that's because I am originally from the Netherlands.

But I have lived in five countries and now I live and teach in London.

I am really excited to be in a unique teacher to some of these lessons.

We are going to start this unit by writing a biography.

So I hope you're excited.

I am really excited to be really really good.

So let's get started.

So our learning objective for this lesson is to identify the features of a biography.

Let's get started.

Our agenda for today is that we're going to introduce biography.

We're going to discuss some of the features of biography and then you're going to find some of these features in a biography.

In this lesson, you will need exercise book or paper, pencil, or pen, and of course your brain.

And remember, if you need to go and get this, pause the video now and do that.

Okay.

You might also like to make sure that you're sitting in a nice, quiet space that you can concentrate.

So some key vocabulary for this lesson.

Formal language are my turn your turn, formal language.

Formal language, is language used in serious situations.

And we often use it in a writing.

Or when you are talking to someone formal, someone important, you would use formal language.

Or if you're writing a formal letter, you'd use formal language.

Conjunctions.

Conjunctions are words used to connect words, phrases and clauses.

Civil rights activists.

And a civil rights activist is someone who is dedicated to securing equal opportunity for members of minority groups.

We're going to learn about an important civil rights activist in today's lesson.

Features.

And a feature is the characteristic of something.

So a feature of me would be that I have blonde hair.

And we are going to make it the feature of the biography.

So we're going to look at the characteristics of biography.

So what makes a biography? So, what is a biography? Biography comes from two words.

Bio, which means life, and graphy, which means a formal process of writing and representing.

We say what biography is a non-fiction text written about someone's life.

We're talking about someone's life.

So biography, is a non-fiction texts about someone's life.

Well done.

So you might have had the word auto-biography.

An auto-biography would be if you were to write as about your own life.

So some famous people have written auto-biographies.

They've written about their own life.

And last year, which was an auto-biography, was Michelle Obama's becoming.

And that was written by her about her.

We are not writing an auto-biography.

We're not writing that ourselves.

So we are going to be writing about someone else.

So that makes it a biography.

So what are the features of a biography? Like you to have a think though and pause the video, if you need to, and just have a think about what features do you know already.

What makes it a biography and not a story.

If you're not sure, how to think about these things.

The language, the layout, punctuation and vocabulary choices.

Well done if you have a little think.

If you're not sure, don't worry because I'm going to tell you now.

So fit to the biography.

They are written in the past tense.

They have titles and subheadings.

There written in third person.

They use formal conjunctions, relative clauses using who or which.

Formal language, Facts, Dates, and remember past tense.

It means it's happened.

They've persons he, she, they are formal conjunctions.

We're going to look at in a moment and later clauses as well.

Okay.

What is a formal conjunction? So there are different types of formal of conjunctions.

We're just going to focus on two today.

We're going to focus on the 'And' conjunctions.

So instead of saying 'And' in writing, we can use these formal conjunctions that make our writing even more interesting.

For example, we can use in addition to this, Moreover, Furthermore, As well as.

And do you see, that they all start with a capital letter, is because we can start our sentence with these 'And' conjunctions.

we can start our sentence with them.

Then we've got also got 'But' conjunctions.

So instead of saying 'but' we might say, However, Despite this, On the other hand, and there are formal ways of saying 'But' really.

And you can think of it as a 'and' a 'but' tend and they might help us from them.

So Who/Which relative clauses.

Let's just recap what they are.

So.

Maya Angelou, who was a writer, was also a civil rights activist.

Do you see that comma who was a writer, comma is in a different colour and it's bold.

And that's my relative clause.

I could take that out of my sentence.

And instead I would have Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist.

I have added an extra information using that meditative clause.

It's a clause because it has a thumb clause up.

Okay.

Maya Angelou, I worked for an organisation, which was created by Martin Luther King Jr.

Here it's at the end.

Again, we could take that extra information out and we could just finish a sentence and say, Maya Angelou, worked for an organisation with added in extra information.

Remember who is for people.

I am, which is for places and things.

So we wouldn't say Maya Angelou, which was a writer that doesn't make sense because my , his clauses about Maya Angelou.

She is a person.

So, I need to use the word who.

Okay.

Just checking that you've been listening, which one of these is the feature of biography? Can you point to it on your screen? Is it formal language or informal language? but do you do that in three, two, one of course.

It's formal language Murray, which of these are features of biography, present tense, past tense, 3rd person, or 1st person point to it.

And three, two, one.

Did you do it a day? Pass tense, 3rd person.

Well done.

Okay.

Another one who Which of these are features? Facts, opinions, dates, who would try to clause this? You ID point them in three, two, one facts.

Of course, Dates of course, and way to clauses.

Okay.

Have a look at this.

This is an example of a biography.

I read this biography.

And what do you notice about my layout here? Pause the video.

Have a look then worry.

We don't need to read it yet.

I just want you to look at the overall layout.

Okay.

Here's some things that I noticed.

See a title.

I can see an image.

I can see a subheading and I can see paragraphs.

So our writing needs to be laid out like this when we get to it.

So we need titles, subheadings, paragraphs, and you might even want to add an image to your final is inviting at the end of the unit.

Okay.

We're going to have a look at finding some features of a biography.

So let's read this text together.

I'm going to read it to you.

And I'd like you to read along.

You can use your finger and point to the screen, or you can just read along in your head, but make sure that you're listening and reading along.

Maya Angelou.

Maya Angelou was a writer, Poet, playwright, stage and screen performer director and civil rights activist.

Her first work, which was an autobiography of her life.

I know why the Caged Bird Sing became an instant best-seller and it stayed in the New York Times best-seller list for over two years.

In 2011, it was ranked as one of the most influential, modern times.

Read on to find out more information on this inspirational woman.

Oh, did you see the word autobiography come up? Maya Angelou wrote her own autobiography.

Okay.

Now I'd like you to see if you can spot some of the features that we talked about.

Step, can you find the title and the subheading title? And can you find some examples of dates? Have a look, point to it, or pause the video if you need to.

And did you find it? And now have a look and see if you can find a who/, which relative clauses.

Let's have a look.

Here are my examples.

Maya Angelou is of course, the title 1968 in 2000 level, there are examples of dates and which was an autobiography of a have is an example of a who/which relative clause.

Well done if you found that.

Okay, the next, for the next paragraph, I'd like you to pause the video and read it before I read it to you.

So pause the video now and have a view too on your end.

Okay? I hope you read that paragraph.

I'm not going to read it to you as well.

Early life.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on the April 4th, 1928 in St.

Louis, Missouri in the United States of America.

When Maya was only three years old, she went to live with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas.

Whilst the younger girl was living with her grandmother, her uncle taught her how to read.

From then on, Maya loved books and reading.

When she was only 7 years old, there was a tragedy in her family.

This resulted in Maya becoming so sad that she did not speak for anyone next five years.

So Stems Arkansas.

Arkansas is a state in America.

Okay.

Are you ready to find some pictures? Can you find the subheading point to it? Well done.

Can he find formal language? Well done.

Can you find anything in third person? Good job.

Here are my examples.

So early life is of course subheading.

A formal language might be an example would be this resulted in.

And so third person goes, she and her.

Okay.

Let's look at the next paragraph.

Can you pause and read it fast on your own? Make sure you do it.

Okay.

Let me read it to you now.

Early career.

Maya continued to move around the country and graduated high school in California.

During your final years at school in 1943, Maya, who was 15 at the time applied for a job as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco.

However, her application was rejected due to the colour of her skin.

Rejected means that they should be not allowed to apply.

Despite the setback, Maya did not give up and every day for three weeks, she tried to request a job application.

Eventually the company relented.

Relented means gave up.

And handed her an application.

Maya became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco.

Maya was employed for a term and then decided to return to school.

Okay.

That's quite cool.

She was only 15.

She became the first person to become a streetcar conductor.

You might have seen, you might have seen those in San Francisco.

They have lots of streetcars around.

Are you ready to spot some features? Can you find a who it tried to clause? Well done pointed already remember to always pause the video if you need to.

And did you find any formal conjunctions? There's different ways of saying and or but.

Let's have a look.

Here, we tried to clause.

Here was 15 at the time.

Have you noticed that this time I didn't put comments around them, but I put brackets.

We can use brackets and instead of commas, but we never use commas and brackets.

You need to choose one or the other.

And some examples of formal conjunctions is however and despite this.

Okay, I'm going to read this together.

Civil Rights Activist.

After Maya graduated from high school, she became a civil rights activist.

She worked for SCLC, which was the organisation that was created by Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1957.

This organisation advocated for the rights of African Americans.

Which means they wanted black people to be treated fairly advocated is another way of saying that they contain, they, they try to promote their rights.

In addition to this, she also worked for Malcolm X, who was another famous civil rights activist.

Your ready get a spot, some more features.

Can you find the example of a formal conjunction, an example of past tense.

Point to the screen, find it on the screen, have a look.

Well done.

So formal conjunctions would be in addition to this, and some examples of past tense is graduated, became and worked.

Well done if you found some, there were others, of course, but well, it's going to be felt one or two today.

Okay.

Let's read the next section together.

It's quite a long one.

So I'm going to read it to you, but I'd love for you to read along as well.

Although Maya had a lot of interest in careers, her true love was writing.

Throughout her adult life, Maya worked on and off as a writer.

Then in 1968, she published her first work.

I know why the Caged Bird Sings.

This book tells the story of her life up until the age of 17.

And she wrote about the many struggles she experienced growing up as an African American in the mid-1900s hundreds.

Additionally, she wrote about how she overcame these difficulties through character, books and words.

This piece of work became a huge success and made Maya Angelou international star.

Moreover, I know why the Caged Bird Sing became the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman.

Consequently, she was able to write full time and wrote many more plays, poems and books in later life.

So ready to spot the feature.

Can you find me some formal conjunctions.

Point to it on the screen? Have a look.

Can you find me some facts? Something that was a fact, not an opinion, but a truth fact.

Point to it on the screen, go on to have a look.

And here are my examples of formal conjunctions.

Additionally, moreover, consequently, and to really cool facts there is when she published her first book or her first work, and then, then it became the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman.

That means she was the first African American to have a nonfiction bestseller hadn't happened before her.

Okay.

And then the final part of our writings, is our conclusion.

So, up until her death on May 28th, 2014, Maya Angelou continued to write.

Throughout her career.

She won many prestigious awards, including the highly esteemed 'Presidential Medal of Freedom' from Barack Obama in 2011.

For writing, acting in spoken word.

In addition to this, she was awarded over fifty honorary degrees.

Undoubtedly, she is one of history's most important and influential civil rights activists.

Okay, ready? Final spot the feature.

Can you find me some examples of formal language.

Ready point to it on the screen? And it says highly esteemed or undoubtedly.

Those are words that are very quick formal that we might not use in our day to day conversations.

Well done everyone.

We have had a really big lesson and you have introduced to biography, you've discussed the features of the biography.

And you found some of the features of a bagel biography.

So absolutely super job.

So congratulations.

You've completed this lesson and make sure you're going to talk to a parent or a carer and tell them that you know all about biographies.

See you soon.

Bye.