biography reading comprehension a1

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Provide a comprehensive course with our ESL worksheets. Each of our evolving course plans and worksheet series can be followed systematically or you can select lessons to use as supplementary material.

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Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

Level: Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

This collection of lessons offers A2/B1 students an opportunity to practise listening and speaking skills, add to their vocabulary, briefly explore language points and increase their general knowledge. The lessons cover a range of historical figures including famous (and infamous) scientists, explorers and political leaders.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and summarising. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the key word control .

by Stephanie Hirschman

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Julius Caesar, the famous Roman leader. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and regular and irregular past simple forms. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the prefix re- .

In this audio-based worksheet, students will learn about the life of fossil collector Mary Anning and how she contributed to our understanding of prehistory. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and students are introduced to the difference in meaning between a little/a few and little/few . There is also an optional extension pronunciation activity featuring a famous tongue twister.

This audio-aided lesson covers the work of South African freedom fighter and president Nelson Mandela. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and includes a quick look at how infinitives are used to explain purpose. There is also an optional extension activity about adjectives with the - ful suffix.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Marilyn Monroe, a movie star with an iconic image. The lesson focuses on vocabulary including noun + noun combinations , listening comprehension and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on jobs in the film industry.

This video-aided lesson covers the works of the legendary engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking.

By Stephanie Hirschman

In this audio-based lesson, students will learn about the life and many achievements of Leonardo da Vinci. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, word families and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on art equipment and materials.

This audio-aided lesson covers the works of the pioneering Victorian nurse, Florence Nightingale. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension word search activity to consolidate vocabulary.

Students listen to a brief biography of scientist Marie Curie. Activities focus on listening comprehension, vocabulary and speaking.

Students listen to a brief biography of scientist, engineer and inventor, Alexander Graham Bell. Activities focus on listening comprehension, vocabulary and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson covers the work of the scientific pioneer Rosalind Franklin, who played a key role in the discovery of the structure of DNA. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and there is a quick look at how past perfect is used in biographical narratives. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on which verbs some of the vocabulary items can be used with. This lesson is suitable for strong A2 and B1 levels.

In this video and dialogue-aided lesson, students listen to a mini profile about the American civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

Students listen to a mini profile about the American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Harriet Tubman who made a major contribution to the ending of slavery in the United States in the 19th century.  The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, word reordering and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the key word fight . 

This audio-aided lesson covers the life and work of African-American scientist George Washington Carver.  The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. The lesson also includes a vocabulary puzzle which can be used for review as an optional extension or homework activity.

This audio-aided worksheet tells the life story of Pocahontas and how she lived between two worlds in 17th century Virginia. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and the use of would + verb to describe past habits. There is also an optional extension activity which gives extra speaking practice about past habits.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Sacagawea, and how she guided the Lewis and Clark expedition as they explored North America. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and pronunciation and compares the use of articles a/an and the . There is also an optional extension activity relating to a surprising aim of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

This video-aided lesson covers the life and legacy of explorer Christopher Columbus. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension or homework activity at the end, which uses a wordsearch to review vocabulary from the lesson.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Queen Victoria, the famous 19th century British ruler. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and introduces six useful phrasal verbs. There is also an optional extension activity about important inventions from Victoria’s reign.  

This dialogue and video-aided lesson looks at the life and works of William Shakespeare. The worksheet focuses on listening comprehension, discussion and vocabulary development.

This lesson is about the life and achievements of Louis Pasteur. Students practice listening, comprehension, and speaking skills.

Students listen to (or watch) a mini profile about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

Students listen to a mini profile about the American astronaut and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and noun/verb word families. There is also an optional extension activity about space vocabulary.

This audio-aided lesson covers the life of the physicist Stephen Hawking whose work on the beginning and ending of the universe was completed while living with a degenerative neuromuscular disease. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and there is a quick look at the pronunciation of tricky - th- sounds.  There is also an optional extension reading and vocabulary exercise about the Royal Society. 

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

This collection of lessons offers B1/B2 students an opportunity to practise listening and speaking skills, add to their vocabulary, briefly explore language points and increase their general knowledge. The lessons cover a range of famous (and infamous) figures including scientists, political leaders and artists and writers.

Intermediate (B1-B2)

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the legendary physicist Albert Einstein. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and includes a short look at linking words that show contrast. The optional extension task is a mini marketing activity about how the name Einstein can be used to sell products.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking, and includes a short look at " so ... that " cause-and-effect structures. There is also an optional extension activity about the genre steampunk.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the famous 19th-century writer Charles Dickens, who had a huge influence on how we think about Christmas. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, a short review of the passive and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity about vocabulary related to Scrooges, misers, penny-pinchers, etc.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the British statesman Winston Churchill. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and includes a short look at the infinitive of purpose. The optional extension task focuses on two of Churchill’s homes, now tourist destinations.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the pioneering African American mathematician and space scientist Katherine Johnson (1918-2020). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking, and includes a short look at past perfect forms. There is also an optional extension activity about a range of toys that honours women’s achievements.

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FREE Celebrities/Biographies Worksheets

If you have never used celebrities or biographies in your esl classroom, now might be the perfect time to try it out. here we have gathered 257 free worksheets on this topic that are appropriate for different age ranges and ability levels. this celebrity worksheet , for example, contains the biographies of prince william and kate middleton who fascinated people around the world as they prepared for their elaborate wedding. created with intermediate learners in mind, there are no activities included but since the reading material has already been created, this is a good start on a lesson about this famous young couple. if you are not interested in this topic, there are other worksheets available too. since everyone has a favorite celebrity, try to include them in class from time to time. when teaching descriptive words, you can describe famous celebrities and let students guess who you are talking about. you can also give students secret celebrity identities that their partners have to guess based on the answers of yes or no questions. description lessons are just one opportunity that you can use to talk about celebrities but there are many other times you might want to use them too. it is important to use age appropriate people so that students are sure to know who they are. using celebrities that students have never heard of defeats the purpose. this is an opportunity to get students more interested in lesson material so go ahead and find out who they are interested in. read more... ...less.

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Are you a learner at A1 English level (elementary) ? This section offers reading practice to help you understand simple information, words and sentences about known topics. Texts include posters, messages, forms and timetables.

Each lesson has a preparation task, a reading text and two tasks to check your understanding and to practise a variety of reading skills. Make a start today.

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A poster at work

Read an invitation to an office event to practise and improve your reading skills.

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A poster for exam candidates

Read the poster outside an exam room to practise and improve your reading skills.

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A restaurant menu

Read a menu to practise and improve your reading skills. 

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A study timetable

Read a study timetable for a week in summer school in England to practise and improve your reading skills.

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An airport departures board

Read an airport departures board to practise and improve your reading skills. 

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Business cards

Read four business cards to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Dictionary definitions

Read dictionary definitions for academic words and review parts of speech to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Holiday home adverts

Read two adverts for places to stay on holiday to practise and improve your reading skills. 

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Job adverts

Read the four job adverts to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Notes at work

Read some short messages to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Student card application

Read an application form to practise reading official forms.

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Text messages to a friend

Read a text conversation between two friends to practise and improve your reading skills. 

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Biographies

This page contains the Super Teacher Worksheets collection of biographies. These nonfiction articles include reading comprehension activities for elementary-aged students.

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Here is the link to our complete collection of reading comprehension stories, articles, and poems for kids.

Color in black-and-white illustrations of some of history's notable people. View our coloring pages here.

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Frida Kahlo biography

Do you know about Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican artist? Practise your reading in English with this biography.

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the text and do the other exercises.

Preparation

Frida kahlo.

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist. Her full name was Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón. She was born in Coyoacán, near Mexico City, in 1907. Frida grew up in a bright blue house called La Casa Azul with her parents and sisters. When she was six years old she became ill with polio and her leg was permanently damaged.

Starting to paint

Frida spent a lot of her life in and out of hospitals. She had many health problems and she suffered a lot of pain. When she was eighteen, she was in a bus accident. She broke lots of bones and she spent many months recovering. It was at this time that Frida started to paint. Many of her paintings from this time are self-portraits that show her pain and suffering.

Married life and career

In 1929 Frida married Diego Rivera, a Mexican artist who was famous for painting huge murals on walls. Both artists continued their work and became successful at home and abroad. After they got married, Frida started to wear traditional Mexican clothes and became interested in Mexican folk art. This influenced her paintings, which are very bright and colourful, with an original style that is very personal to Frida. However, they continued to show the pain and sadness which she experienced during her life.

Death and legacy

Frida Kahlo died on 13 July 1954, after suffering more and more health problems. Her husband died three years later. Today Frida and Diego's home, La Casa Azul, is a very popular museum, dedicated to Frida's life and work. It displays paintings by Frida and Diego, as well as many objects from their life, to help tell the story of one of the most important artists in the twentieth century.

Who are your favourite artists? Tell us about them!

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