Tom Daley Wow! Who Is That Figure Twirling Through the Air High Above
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English Tuesday 21st April LO – to write a biography about a real or imagined sports star. Yesterday you worked on a biography reading comprehension about Samuel Johnson. A biography is a written account of someone’s life. It is not written by the person themselves, but somebody else (if it was written by the actual person, it would be called an autobiography). Here is an example. Note the key features identified in the boxes. Tom Daley Wow! Who is that figure twirling through the air high above 1 an introduction the swimming pool, and what is he all about? Read on and that summarises find out… the main events of the person's life Introduction1 British diver Tom Daley has represented his country in many competitions worldwide, including three Olympic Games. He specialises in platform dives - both as a solo athlete and in synchronised events. 2 2 information Family and Early Life 3 about the key Thomas Robert Daley was born in specific facts about events in the 3 person's life in Plymouth on 21st May 1994. His achievements, chronological 4 influences and paragraphs father, Rob, trained as an significant people electrician while his mother (Debbie) was a housewife. Tom is their eldest child: his two brothers, William and Ben, are three and five years younger than him. Tom attended local schools and, despite his education being interrupted by competitions, he still achieved great exam results at his secondary school. Sporting Beginnings2 3 4 Having learned to swim at the age of four , Tom then began 4 verbs written in diving lessons at his local pool aged seven. Although, he was past tense and third person also keen on other sports including judo. He was soon spotted by diving coach Andy Banks, who became4 his trainer when Tom was eight years old. From that age onwards, Tom was part of an increasingly intensive training regime – including regular lessons and training camps in other cities. He has admitted that 5 5 their feelings about different he found being away from home very difficult as a young child, points and and when Tom was placed in a competitive squad and began events in their life travelling to diving events, his father decided he would give up his job and accompany Tom on the road; had he not been there, Tom might not have become so successful. 2 2 information First Signs of a Star about the key events in the Only one month after his tenth birthday, Tom became the person's life in 3 chronological youngest-ever winner of the under-18 platform competition in paragraphs the National Junior Championships. Unfortunately, despite the fact he had met the tough qualification standard for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Tom couldn’t be selected for the England team at that time since he wasn’t4 old enough. However, later in 2005 at the British Championships, he did become the under-18 champion in 10m platform and 3m springboard. Continued Success2 Progress, achievements and awards came4 thick and fast after that for Tom: he was junior 10m champion at the British Championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007; BBC ‘Young Sports Personality of the Year’ award winner three times and by the age of 14, he was Britain’s youngest competitor at the 2008 Beijing 3 4 Olympics. There he reached the final with his dive partner 3 specific Blake Aldridge, as well as competing in the individual 10m facts about achievements, event. At 16, he was a double-gold winner at the Commonwealth influences and Games. significant people Poster Boy2 In the lead-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Tom was one of the British athletes promoting the Games around the country.3 He 5 their feelings won a bronze medal in the about different individual 10m dive (which he points and 4 events in their life dedicated to his late father) but unfortunately finished 4th in the synchronised event After the success of the 2012 Games, Tom returned to training 3 specific and school, studying hard for his exams. He became a celebrity facts about 3 achievements, supporter of ChildLine , a children's helpline run by the NSPCC, influences and and revealed that he had been bullied4 earlier in his schooldays. significant people Because of this, Tom’s parents moved him to a new school; he was much happier there5. Competition success continued meanwhile, and in 2016, Tom 4 5 was selected for the Rio Olympics. He was hugely disappointed 4 verbs written in past tense and not to win a medal in the individual event but that was partly third person forgotten when he and partner Daniel Goodfellow won bronze3 in the synchronised 10m dive. Dedicated Sportsman Even at that point, aged only 22, Tom was already regarded as a ‘veteran’ athlete, and is seen as an inspiration for young sports fans across the United Kingdom. His determination and willingness to train incredibly hard make him an excellent role model. As Tom says, “Oh, you have to want it more than anything. It has to be the biggest thing in your life – otherwise why would you do it?” ------------------------------------------------------------- Your task this morning is to write out a biography of a famous sports person. It can be a real person (you may need to use Google to research some key facts). Or, it can be an imaginary sportsperson you made up. Below is another example biography about Usain Bolt. Feel free to magpie ideas from these biographies to help you write your own. Don’t forget the following key features – Chronological order with dates Facts on why they are famous Past tense and past progressive tense Passive voice Biographical expressions Used cohesive devices to make the writing flow (conjunctions, fronted adverbials, extenders etc.) Used a range of punctuation ( , . ? ! ‘ - : ; ) Used a range of sentence types (complex, compound, simple, relative clauses etc.) Used third person pronouns. Have fun! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Usain Bolt – A biography Usain Saint Leo Bolt was born on the 21st of August 1986 in Sherwood Content, a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica. He is a World and Olympic champion sprinter and many people believe he is the fastest person ever, which has earned him the nickname ‘Lightning Bolt’! Usain Bolt grew up with his parents, Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt, his brother Sadiki and his sister Sherine. His parents ran the local grocery store. Bolt’s family attended the local Catholic church and even today he still makes the sign of the cross before all of his major events. As a boy all of Bolt’s free time was spent playing cricket and football in the street with his brother. He was sports mad! As a child, Bolt attended Waldensia Primary, where he first began to show his sprinting potential, running in the annual, national primary- schools' meeting for his area. By the age of twelve, Bolt had become the school's fastest runner over 100 metres. Usain’s father, Wellesley put his speed down to ‘Yam Power’! (Yams are an important part of the Jamaican diet.) Bolt went William Knibb Memorial High School, where he still enjoyed playing team sports, but he was such a fast sprinter his teachers encouraged him to try track and field events. The school had a history of success in athletics with past students, so he was in good hands, winning his first medal, silver, in the high school championships in 2001. Bolt was so good that a former Olympic sprinter, Pablo McNeil decided to train him. (This meant he would become his coach.) Bolt usually trained hard but Pablo was sometimes annoyed by Bolt's practical jokes! At the age of 15, Bolt took part in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, where he won the 200-metre race. This made him the youngest world-junior gold medallist ever. In 2005 Bolt got a new coach, Glenn Mills. This was the year he also reached the world Top 5 rankings. However he was prevented from further success by a recurring hamstring injury. Then, in 2007 Bolt got his big chance. He broke the Jamaican 200- metre record and earned two silver medals at the World Championship in Osaka, Japan. Bolt decided he really could achieve success as a sprinter and began to take his career more seriously. He qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and went on to win gold in both the 100 and 200 metre events - even breaking a world record in the 100metre final, winning in 9.69 seconds! Bolt achieved a third gold medal in Beijing as part of the Jamaican relay team. Usain Bolt went on to defend all of his Olympic gold medals during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. This included beating his own record for the 100metres, running it this time, in 9.63 seconds! Bolt is the first man to win both the 100 and 200 metres in consecutive Olympic Games. He is also the first man in history to set three world records in a single Olympic Games competition! Despite his dedication to running, Bolt still enjoys cricket and football and sometimes talks about taking up one of these sports when he retires from running. He is a big fan of Manchester United. Bolt’s other interests include music, especially reggae – once acting as a DJ to a large party in Paris. He also enjoys video games. His particular favourite is Call of Duty which he plays online. Whatever the future holds for Usain Bolt, you can bet it won’t be boring. He is, in his own words, ‘a living legend’ and with him anything could happen! .