New
New
Year 6

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

I can write the first half of a biography, using a range of language features.

New
New
Year 6

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

I can write the first half of a biography, using a range of language features.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In a biography, we write using a formal tone in the third person; our writing is mostly, but not all, in the past tense.
  2. We use a range of cohesive devices to connect ideas together.
  3. We orally rehearse our sentences before we write.
  4. We use our notes from our plan to help us write (including the subject-specific vocabulary we planned to use).
  5. We give a title for the biography as a whole and subheadings for each paragraph. Each paragraph is indented.

Common misconception

Pupils may struggle to connect ideas together using cohesive devices.

Provide plenty of time for oral rehearsal using the bank of cohesive devices and model selecting different options for connecting ideas together.

Keywords

  • Formal tone - the effect created by choosing serious, factual language

  • Cohesive devices - language structures that develop text cohesion

  • Subject-specific vocabulary - vocabulary we use when writing about a particular subject

A slide is left intentionally lined for you to complete shared writing of the first paragraph; you may also wish to do this for the second paragraph, depending on your assessment of pupils' confidence. An example of the shared writing can be found in the lesson video.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put the events shown in the text map in the correct order.
An image in a quiz
1 - Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, but he didn't enjoy it.
2 - He was sent to Cambridge to study to be a vicar.
3 - Here, he spent a lot of time collecting insects (his favourite hobby).
4 - In 1831, he joined the voyage of HMS Beagle.
5 - The Beagle spent five years circumnavigating the globe.
Q2.
Match the sections of our Darwin biography to appropriate subheadings we could use for them.
Correct Answer:early life,a privileged childhood

a privileged childhood

Correct Answer:university and the Beagle,an incredible voyage

an incredible voyage

Correct Answer:the Galapagos,an amazing archipelago

an amazing archipelago

Correct Answer:Darwin's theory,a groundbreaking discovery

a groundbreaking discovery

Q3.
Which of the following is an appropriate note for the paragraph about Darwin's early life?
Darwin was born in 1809 into a wealthy family.
Darwin noticed that the birds had different-shaped beaks.
different-shaped beaks
Correct answer: 1809 - wealthy family
Q4.
Match the subject-specific vocabulary words to their meanings.
Correct Answer:specimens,samples of animals or plants

samples of animals or plants

Correct Answer:observations,things a scientist notices

things a scientist notices

Correct Answer:academic studies,what you study at university

what you study at university

Correct Answer:archipelago,a group of islands

a group of islands

Q5.
Match the subject-specific vocabulary words to their meanings.
Correct Answer:contribution,what a person does that is significant or important

what a person does that is significant or important

Correct Answer:endemic species,a species found only in that particular place

a species found only in that particular place

Correct Answer:theory,a set of ideas to explain why something happens

a set of ideas to explain why something happens

Correct Answer:circumnavigate,go all the way around

go all the way around

Q6.
Which of the following are cohesive devices?
Correct answer: semi-colon
Correct answer: parenthesis
Correct answer: fronted adverbials
full stops

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following language features will we find in a biography?
Correct answer: formal tone
informal tone
Correct answer: third person
first person
Q2.
Which of these will form part of the structure of our biography of Darwin?
Correct answer: title
introduction and conclusion
Correct answer: subheadings
Correct answer: paragraphs organised around a theme
Q3.
Which cohesive devices are used in this sentence? 'Although Darwin disliked his academic studies, he enjoyed spending time collecting insects (his favourite hobby).'
colon
compound sentence
Correct answer: complex sentence
Correct answer: parenthesis
Q4.
Which cohesive devices are used in this sentence? 'Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine; however, he did not enjoy the subject.'
Correct answer: formal fronted adverbial
colon
Correct answer: semi-colon
fronted adverbial of time
Q5.
Which subordinating conjunctions could work in the gap in this sentence? ' Darwin had finished university, he joined the voyage of the Beagle.'
Correct answer: When
So that
Correct answer: After
Although
Q6.
Which fronted adverbial could be used as a cohesive device in the gap this sentence? 'Darwin was born into a wealthy family; , he did not always have an easy childhood.'
in addition
due to this
as a result
Correct answer: however

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