Skip the typical Harper Lee introduction lecture when you begin To Kill a Mockingbird and empower students to find their own interesting facts about this author’s life with the “Author Bio” print/post-and-teach activity.
This single-page worksheet (includes both PDF & Google Drive versions) is a powerful research organizer that’ll get students digging deep into Lee’s background.
Please note: This download does NOT include a specific article or links to defined articles. It is an organizer tool for students to use as they conduct their own research. In my experience, students take more ownership of the material when they are the ones to research and discover the elements that make a literary figure’s life fascinating. They’ve seen enough of our introductory slideshows; this time, let your kids do the work and discuss/determine what they think is meaningful about this author’s life.
Here are a few suggested uses for this flexible research tool:
1. Book your school’s computer lab or have students access Harper Lee’s biography information on their own devices. Assign students to either work solo or in teams of two. Once the grids are complete, have students share and compare answers in small groups, focusing on the four interesting facts they discovered, the meaningful quote, and the personal/professional obstacle. Then, pull the students into a full-class discussion, having each group present an interesting fact, quote, or obstacle until every team has contributed. No repeats allowed.
This assignment works great as an “into” activity for the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, but it could also be a “through” activity to add variety to your in-class routine as you work through the novel. If you’re using this as an “after” activity, during the discussion I would also ask how any of Lee’s biography elements are reflected in Scout’s story of Maycomb County.
2. Assign the worksheet as a traditional homework assignment. Launch the discussion mentioned in #1 at the beginning of the next class period.
3. Use the grid as the beginning assignment to a larger project where students also read Go Set a Watchman. Later, this author study could be turned into a compare/contrast essay or a speech presentation, if you wish to expand the assignment. (Author Bio sheets on a variety of different writers are available in my shop if you want to vary speech topics within one class.)
4. Use as an emergency sub plan.
I hope you and your students enjoy this activity! If you need an Author Bio worksheet for any author not currently offered in my shop, please send a message to me through the “Ask a Question” tab and I’ll do my best to quickly make that happen.
The image on the student PDF worksheet is slightly ghosted to save printer/copier ink. I encourage students to doodle/shade in that space as they work.
Download includes: 1-page PDF + Google Drive version (uneditable)
Note: This item is included in my budget-priced To Kill a Mockingbird unit bundle that’ll save you 24% on this item and everything else needed to teach the novel. To avoid a double-purchase, please do not buy the item on this page if you also intend to buy the novel unit bundle.
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$1.50
