Introduction
Personal narratives are important, they allow students to express themselves in different ways. One way is through an autobiography, where you can speak, write and talk about your life, yourself and your personal experiences. Biographies are similar except it’s an outside person writing about someone else’s life. We want our students to be able to notice how autobiographies and biographies function to capture the facts and details of one person’s life.When someone else is writing about someone’s life things can be altered and changed, even personal narratives can be edited by another before being published. It is important for our students to read both kind of stories and be able to realize all the real facts.
How do biographies and autobiographies function (differently/similarly) to capture the facts and intimate details of a person's life?
Task
Research the life of Anne Frank and explore how her autobiography (her diary) and biography function (differently/similarly) to capture the facts and intimate details of her life.
Process
-List the components of the autobiography and biography.
-1) Read "Taken Seriously as a writer at last?" ( http://www.annefrank.org/en/Anne-Frank/A-diary-as-a-best-friend/At-last-seriously-taken-as-a-writer/) and answer the following questions.
A) Why did Anne originally write her diary?
B) As the war progressed, how did her purpose in writing change over time?
C) How did the prospect of publication change the information she chose to omit or revise?
D) What are the A,B, and C version of the diary? How do they differ?
E) Why do you think Otto Frank omitted certain diary entries?
F) Which version do you think should have been published? Explain your reasoning.
2) Read these selections (http://annefrank.com/about-anne-frank/diary-excerpts/)
from The Diary of Anne Frank and take notes. Specifically keep in mind your previous perception of her, how she wanted to be remembered, and the publication process. Write at least 5 thoughts on the diary excerpts.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
3) Read sections from Famous Biography (http://www.biography.com/people/anne-frank-9300892#synopsis)
A) Do you think Anne would have liked the way they portrayed her in the article? Why or Why not?
B) What information, if any, would you have included in the article?
Evaluation
Task 1: Create a presentation that includes all you learned. Make sure to include the answers to the following questions...
Task 2: Write your own personal narrative.
-First, write your narrative as if no one will read it.
-Then write it as if your father will read it.
-How is this similar to how you present yourself on social media?