A timeline and a short biography
A biography tells the story of a person’s life. We write it in the third person (she, he) and in the past simple, in date order. A timeline helps us plan: it shows important years in order from left to right. Use linking words such as then, later and now. We can work out someone’s age in a year: age = the year − the year of birth. Here is a timeline of an invented volunteer called Yara Samir. She is not a real person. In 2005 she was born. In 2016 she was 2016 − 2005 = 11 years old. Read the book’s biography on page 84 and its timeline with a grown-up. Do not copy it. Our biography follows our timeline.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Yara was born in Alexandria. |
| 2011 | She started primary school. |
| 2016 | She joined a school clean-up team. |
| 2020 | She started a reading group for younger children. |
| 2024 | She became leader of a youth volunteer group. |
| 2026 | She now runs a weekly book swap. |
Yara Samir was born in Alexandria in 2005. She started primary school in 2011. Later, in 2016, she joined a school clean-up team. Then in 2020 she started a reading group for younger children. In 2024 she became the leader of a youth volunteer group. Now she runs a weekly book swap. Yara believes that small actions can help a whole community.
| Year | Year of birth | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2005 | 2016 − 2005 = 11 |
| 2020 | 2005 | 2020 − 2005 = 15 |
| 2024 | 2005 | 2024 − 2005 = 19 |
Timeline and biography. The child makes a timeline of an imaginary volunteer with five dates in order (or of their own life) and works out two ages. Then the child writes a biography of 60 to 80 words in the past simple and in date order, with then, later and now, and gives it a title.