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AUTHOR STUDIES Lara Sims & Shannon Scott Springfield Public Schools ______

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______GETTING STARTED  Please sit according to your grade level. ______

 Create a name tag and write your full name on a slip of paper.

 Please take a green sticker and place it in the ______appropriate category on the consensogram.

 Get to know your table mates. ______

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______SESSION OBJECTIVES  To understand the purpose of an ______author study

 Know the steps in creating an author study ______

 Have a plan to teach these skills in your classroom ______

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INTRODUCTION TO AUTHOR STUDIES ______Let’s do Jot Thought!

Take 3 slips of paper and take turns answering the following question: ______

What can you do with an author study? ______

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“For young children to understand ______what it means for them to be writers, they first need to understand what a writer is and ______what a writer does.”

-Katie Wood Ray & Matt Glover ______

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______WHY AUTHOR STUDIES? Reading books by the same author “helps children understand that writing isn’t a one- ______time event; people continue to write over time.” ______“Reading multiple books by the same authors and illustrators helps children imagine new possibilities for themselves as writers.” ______-Katie Wood Ray & Matt Glover

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______WHAT IS AN AUTHOR STUDY? “An author study is a unit lesson ______that gives students the opportunity to delve deeply into an author’s life and body ______of work.” -Reading Rockets ______

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______It gives students a chance to:

 Critically evaluate an author’s ______theme, characters, and writing style  Make connections between the author’s life and work ______ Make personal connections between their own experiences and those of the author and their characters ______-Reading Rocket

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______WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? Steps to an author study: ______ Choose an author.

 Gather texts and read them. ______

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______WHAT DO I WANT TO TEACH? Select 3-4 ideas you want to focus your study around. ______

Mo Willems:  Reflected Pictures ______ Speech Bubbles  Big and Little Words  Funny! ______

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Make sure to ______select books that support these ideas. ______

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______STEPS TO AN AUTHOR STUDY

 Read the texts aloud to your students. ______

 Involve students in an inquiry discussion of the texts and create ______an anchor chart.

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______MODEL, MODEL, MODEL

 Model for students how to write like this ______author.

 Create a shared writing with the ______students

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ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO ______CREATE THEIR OWN TEXTS

Don’t Let the Pigeon Ride Don’t Let the Pigeon the Bike Skateboard ______

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Lets explore more ______about the authors ______

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______PROCESS TIME Take a sticky note and answer the ______following questions:

What authors could you study? ______What skills would you teach? What do you still want to know? ______*If you still have questions, use the parking lot.

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______MAKING FOLDERS ______

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“Seeing oneself as like another person is so critical to reading like a writer, children need to see authors and illustrators as more that just names printed on ______books.” -Katy Wood Ray

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Look through the books on your ______table. What do they have in common? ______What skills would you teach? ______

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______NOW YOU KNOW…. The purpose of an author study ______

The steps in creating an author study ______How to teach these skills in your classroom ______

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What questions ______

do you still have? ______

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______IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, EMAIL US! Shannon Scott Lara Sims [email protected] [email protected]

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RESOURCES

 Ray, K.W. (2007). In Pictures and In Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. ______ Ray, K.W. & Glover, M. (2008). Already Ready. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  “The Author Study Toolkit”. (2011). Retrieved from www.readingrockets.org. ______ Folders inspired by Mrs. Tabb. Retrieved from http://anotherdayinfirstgrade.blogspot.com ______

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K-2 Author Study Schedule Kindergarten Author Studies Mo Willems www.mowillems.com David Shannon No personal website Eric Carle www.eric-carle.com Robert Munsch www.robertmunsch.com Lois Ehlert No personal website ------First Grade Author Studies Laura Numeroff www.lauranumeroff.com Jan Brett www.janbrett.com Kevin Henkes www.kevinhenkes.com Doreen Cronin www.doreencroning.com Gail Gibbons www.gailgibbons.com Dr. Seuss No personal website ------Second Grade Author Studies Leo Lionni No personal website Tomie dePaola www.tomie.com Eve Bunting No personal website Patricia Polacco www.patriciapolacco.com Cynthia Rylant No personal website

David Shannon

David

Shannon

This is David Shannon. He grew up in Washington, D.C. He started writing when he was 5 years old. David liked to draw pictures of himself doing things he wasn’t supposed to do. He turned his

drawings into the book No David! Some of his other books are Alice the Fairy and A Bad Case of Stripes. David and his wife, Heidi, now live in Los Angeles, California with their daughter Emma. They also have a dog named Fergus.

Here are some books by David.

David’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Robert Munsch

Robert

Munsch

This is Robert Munsch. He grew up in Pennsylvania with 8 brothers and sisters. When he was in school, his favorite thing to write was poems. As an adult, he liked to tell stories and decided to write them

down. Robert enjoys writing stories

about people he meets, especially kids. Robert has written the books Love You Forever and The Paper Bag Princess. He now lives in Canada and is working on writing more books!

Here are some books by Robert.

Robert’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Eric Carle

Eric

Carle

This is Eric Carle. He wrote the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Lady Bug. Eric was born in New York but when he was six, his family moved to Germany. When he was a child,

his favorite thing to do was walk in the woods and look for animals. These walks inspired many of his books. He returned to America when he was 23 and began working as an illustrator. Eric now lives in Florida with his wife Bobbie.

Here are some books by Eric.

Eric’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Mo Willems

Mo Willems

Mo

Willems

s

This is Mo Willems. He likes to write

funny books that will make kids laugh.

He is best known for his characters Knuffle Bunny, The Pigeon, and Elephant and Piggie. He has also earned lots of awards for his books. Not only does Mo like to write books, he is also an artist. He likes to paint, draw and create

sculptures. Mo lives with his family in

Massachusetts.

Here are some books by Mo.

Mo’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Doreen

Cronin

Doreen

Cronin

This is Doreen Cronin. She lives in New

York with family. She began her adult

career as a lawyer but after publishing her first book in 2000 she decided to be an author fulltime. She is known for her many books involving barnyard animals. She writes many stories that make her

readers laugh. She has authored Click

Clack Moo: Cows That Type, Giggle,

Giggle Quack, and Diary of a Worm.

Here are some books by Doreen.

Doreen’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Gail

Gibbons

Gail

Gibbons

This is Gail Gibbons. Ever since she was

a kid she has enjoyed putting books together. Gail remembers using yarn to bind her books together when she was little. She enjoys painting and drawing. Gail is big into doing research and all the books she writes are non-fiction. She

gets to travel a lot with her research

which she loves.

Here are some books by Gail.

Gail’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Jan

Brett

Jan

Brett

This is Jan Brett. As a kid, she

remembers wanting to be an illustrator.

She spent much of her time reading and drawing. She works hard on her illustrations to create a feeling that the imaginary places in her drawings really exist. Jan travels a lot and uses the places she goes to inspire her writing and

illustrating. Jan is most widely known

for her detailed illustrations that help

guide her stories.

Here are some books by Jan

Jan’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

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Laura

Numeroff

Laura

Numeroff

This is Laura Numeroff. She grew up in

Brooklyn, New York but now lives in Los

Angeles, California. She grew a love for books early on and began writing and drawing pictures for her stories. She wasn’t always sure she wanted to be a writer but couldn’t stay away from

writing. She has authored many books

but is best known for If You Give a

Mouse a Cookie and other If You books.

Here are some books by Laura.

Laura’s books have….

 ______

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 ______

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Kevin

Henkes

Kevin

Henkes

This is Kevin Henkes. He has been

writing and illustrating books for thirty

years. He always makes the very best books for kids because he knows that books are children’s first look at art. He not only writes books for children but also writes novels for young adults. He is

best known for his mice books and

characters.

Here are some books by Kevin.

Kevin’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

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Cynthia

Rylant

Cynthia

Rylant

This is Cynthia Rylant. She has authored more than 100 books for children and young adults. She is well known for her series; Henry and Mudge and Mr. Putter

and Tabby. Cynthia has 2 dogs and 2

cats.

Here are some books by Cynthia.

Cynthia’s books have….

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 ______

 ______

Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss

This is Dr. Seuss. His real name is

Theador Seuss Geisel. He began his career as a cartoonist. His first children’s book was And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street. Many of his books contain beginning reader words making it fun and easier for children to read.

Another famous book Green Eggs and

Ham contains just 50 words. Seuss is

well known for his rhythm, rhyme, and

fun illustrations in his books.

Here are some books by Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss books have…

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Patricia

Polacco

Patricia

Polacco

This is Patricia Polacco. She came from a

family who did a lot of storytelling rather than watching T.V. She also had two sets of very loving grandparents and because of this many of her books are written about small children interacting with the elderly. Patricia didn’t learn to read until she was 14 years old and didn’t write her

first book until she was 41. Patricia

writes and illustrates her books.

Here are some books by Patricia.

Patricia’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Eve Bunting

Eve

Bunting

This is Eve Bunting. She was born in Ireland. She moved to California in 1958 with her husband and three kids. In California, she went back to college and studied writing. Eve has written over 100

books and enjoys writing many kinds of

books like novels and nonfiction. Her favorite kind of book to create is picture books. She loves when her books make kids want to ask questions. When Eve isn’t writing, she enjoys reading and

playing golf.

Here are some books by Eve.

Eve’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Leo Lionni

Leo

Lionni

This is Leo Lionni. He was born in Holland in 1910. He taught himself to draw by trying to copy famous pieces of art that he saw in museums. He moved to

the United States when he was 20 with

his wife and two sons. He worked as an artist for many years before becoming an author. He wrote the books It’s Mine, Fish is Fish and Frederick. Leo wrote 30 books and he won four Caldecott awards.

Here are some books by Leo.

Leo’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

 ______

Tomie dePaola

Tomie

dePaola

This is Tomie dePaola. He grew up in Connecticut. Tomie said at the age of 4, all he wanted to do was be a writer and artist. After college, he taught art to

elementary school students before he

became a writer. As an author, he has written over 200 books. Tomie has also

won many awards including the Newberry Honor and Caldecott awards. Tomie now lives in New Hampshire with his dog Bronte.

Here are some books by Tomie.

Tomie’s books have….

 ______

 ______

 ______

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