Author studies

Your children may have been coming home with talks of studying various authors.  This year I introduced 5 well-known children's authors to the group.  Some of the stories they knew of already, but we looked at them with different eyes.  The goal was to learn more about each author's body of work.  What did they like to write about?  What do you think their purpose was?  How do their illustrations connect to their words?  Who is their audience?  

Each day we read a book and discussed multiple questions to help understand the author more.  We found connections between stories, hidden characters, and new ideas.  

I then asked each student to choose their favorite out of the 5 we had studied.  It was their turn to become an author.  They now had the chance to teach others what they had learned.  I talked about this blog and said they would get a chance to contribute.  

Once they decided on an author, they wrote down their ideas.  They edited their work, and started typing this week!