Education Technology


NCTE: Autobiography Breakdown

Activity Overview

Students will learn how to structure an autobiography by following an outline presented by the teacher. This will give students a sense of order when writing their autobiography and make it easier for the class to have consistent presentations.

Before the Activity

See the attached Activity PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity.

Print the appropriate pages from the Activity for your class.

Install the LearningCheck(tm) App on the students' graphing calculators following the attached instructions.

Create a transparency of the Teacher Guide, Outline for an Autobiography.

During the Activity

  • Distribute the appropriate pages from the Activity to your class
  • Distribute the LearningCheck(tm) file(s) to your class using TI Connect(tm) and the appropriate TI Connectivity cable
  • Follow the procedures outlined in the Activity


  • Students will:
  • Understand and identify the distinguishing features of the major genres and use them to aid their interpretation and discussion of literature.
  • Recognize different levels of meaning.
  • Read aloud with expression, conveying the meaning and mood of a work.
  • Evaluate literary merit based on an understanding of the genre and the literary elements.
  • Write stories, poems, essays, and plays that observe the conventions of the genre and contain interesting and effective language and voice.
  • After the Activity

    Let the students know that they will elaborate on their short entries in the next activity. Encourage the class to refer to autobiographies that they have read or are familiar with to assist them in writing their own.