Entry #12- Reflecting on Biographies

Reflecting back to session 12 when we discussed the biography genre, there are a few things about the genre that I am still thinking about. Before reading Tompkins (2012), my idea of the biography genre was limited to simply biographies and autobiographies. I had not considered that personal narratives or memoirs were also considered part of the biography genre. Additionally, prior to reading Tompkins (2012), I found the genre to be very limited and simple. I was eager to see how the Genre Expert Project presenters were going to interact with such a simple genre. However, Tompkins (2012) broadened my knowledge of biographies and helped me better understand the genre has a whole, and specifically why personal narratives and memoirs were also considered biographies. 

I enjoyed the activity that the presenters had us complete with the "Me" quilt. It was interesting because many of the mentor texts were diverse, but we were all able to use the same activity to describe some aspect of a person's life. For example, I chose to do my "Me" quilt with a book about Abby Wambach. This book was presented in a biography format, and simply told facts about her entire life. However, the mentor text that I selected in class, titled All The Way To The Top, described just a snippet of the life of Jennifer Kneelan and was presented like a story, rather than just facts. The "Me" quilts really made me think more about the individual in the text and how the author chose to present their life. I think this is a great tool to use in the classroom, even with my first graders. The fact that using pictures do describe their life are the main focus of the quilt is especially helpful for first graders, since they do not need to do a lot of writing, yet can convey what they learned about the person from the text. Thanks to the biography group for having us do this activity!

There are a few aspects of the genre that I am still pondering. I am still having a difficult time distinguishing the difference between personal narratives and autobiographies. Even Tompkins (2012) herself suggests that it is difficult to distinguish the two. Since they are both written in first person and written by the person they are about, it can be hard to keep the two separate, especially when a personal narrative covers more than just one event in a person's life. However, Tompkins (2012) suggests that "autobiographies are more complete, usually spanning a person's entire life, and the events are presented in chronological order" (p. 233). This helped me clear up some confusion I had about the two forms. Lastly, I am wondering how much "crossover" in genres occurs with the biography genre. For example, how common are biographical poems? Would that be considered more poetry or biography? What aspects from other genres can be incorporated into the biography genre? I am hoping that as I work through my teaching career and teach parts of the biography genre, I will find answers to these questions.