Year 11 Autobiographical Recording

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The Year 11 students at Lansdowne School have been looking at the difference between biographies and auto-biographies during recent English lessons. The main learning intention has been to understand the values of each source, and which type of writing can give the reader an accurate view about the subject matter.

Working definitions were then established for both forms of writing. A biography is a book that someone else has written about a person. We learnt that an auto-biography is the life story told by the person that the book is all about.

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This work started with the students being asked which autobiographies they would like to read. Suggestions included Jim Carrey and Orlando Bloom.

We then went on to think about early memories. The students were asked to try and remember some of the formative events in their life. The Year 11 students were asked to think about why these memories still remain strong for them. This is often connected to a powerful emotion or feeling.

Some of these thoughts were then developed as a piece of writing. The pupils were asked to think of a memory and describe what happened, and then comment on how this memory has remained with them. A focus was set on having an awareness of short paragraphs, and how we can make our stories sound exciting for the reader.

These thoughts were then shared amongst other class friends. You can listen to one of the Year 11 students explaining some early memories in the short recording below.