Biography Writing | Write a Biography: Marie Maynard Daly Activity (Grades 3-6)

Write A Biography In Less Than A Day! Marie Maynard Daly - A Writing Activity for Grades 3-6

This engaging resource is a writing activity designed to teach students how to construct a short biography essay, focusing on the notable biochemist, Marie Maynard Daly. Recommended for grades 3-6, this activity provides a structured approach to learning essential writing skills.

Through this activity, students will be guided in:

• Researching and finding facts

• Sorting facts into paragraphs

• Transforming facts into complete sentences with a subject and predicate

• Embellishing sentences using word parts like adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions

• Using transition words to smoothly connect sentences and paragraphs

• Writing well-organized paragraphs with a specific focus

Students will begin by using provided facts about Marie Maynard Daly. They also have the option to enhance their biography by conducting their own research to add 2-3 more facts. The activity involves sorting facts into categories such as "Known For", "Education", and "Career". These sorted facts will then be transformed into complete sentences.

Students will use word charts included with the lesson to embellish their sentences and improve their writing. The final biography will be written as paragraphs, using transition words from the word chart to ensure a smooth flow. The biography should have at least three paragraphs, each containing 3-6 sentences. The first paragraph will cover what Ms. Daly is known for, the second her education, and the last her career. Proper paragraph formatting, such as indenting the first sentence, is also covered.

This activity aligns with numerous Common Core Writing Standards for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, including standards related to writing informative/explanatory texts, developing topics with facts and details, using linking words and phrases, providing conclusions, conducting short research projects, and producing clear and coherent writing with guidance and support.

The lesson includes key facts about Marie Maynard Daly, who was a biochemist. She was notably the first African American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Her significant contributions to science involved research into the chemistry of histones, protein synthesis, the relationships between cholesterol and hypertension, and creatine's uptake by muscle cells. The provided facts also cover her educational journey, including attending Hunter High School for girls, graduating from Queens College with a bachelor's in chemistry in 1942, and earning her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1947. Her career path is highlighted, including working as a physical science instructor at Howard University from 1947 to 1948, joining the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in 1955, and retiring from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1986.

This comprehensive activity helps students practice essential writing skills while learning about an important figure in science. Additional lessons on related subjects such as Subjects and Predicates, Conjunctions and Interjections, Pronouns, Adjectives and Adverbs, Paragraph Writing, Nouns, Prepositions, and Sentence Types are also available from the seller.

Teach your students the fundamentals of biography writing with this focused and engaging lesson!