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4th Grade Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan

Jazzy Bio Poems

Integrate reading, writing, and social studies in this lesson about famous jazz musicians! This lesson would fit perfectly in a unit about biographies or Black History Month.
Grades:
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
View aligned standards
L.4.3.a
L.4.4.a
L.4.4.b
RF.4.4.a
RI.4.1
RI.4.2
RI.4.3
RI.4.8
RL.4.1
RL.4.2
RL.4.3
RL.4.4
RL.4.7
SL.4.1.a
SL.4.4
W.4.1.a
W.4.3.d
W.4.4

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to write a bio poem describing a famous jazz musician.

Introduction

(5 minutes)
  • Write the word "biography" on the board.
  • Ask students if they recognize any Greek roots in the word.
  • Circle the root word bio. Explain that bio means life.
  • Circle the root word graph. Explain that graph means to write.
  • Tell students the word biography means a written story about someone's life.
  • Tell students that today they will read a couple of biographies about some famous jazz musicians.
  • Ask students to share what they know about jazz music. What instruments are used in jazz? Where did jazz music become popular?
  • If desired, play a couple of samples of jazz music for students to listen to.