We have been working tirelessly to collect a variety of ideas and topics that we can use for inspiration as writers! One of the ways we do this is through studying the work of other authors and taking the time to learn about what inspires them to write their stories. We read several of their books including the dedication and "About the Author" and we also visited the websites of the authors to investigate and see if we could find out more about them. After doing this, we created posters with short snippets of information we learned about what inspires each author. Here are the finished posters for the first three authors we have studied:
The students also had a graphic organizer to document the same snippets of information:
They all glued this once we finished inside of their "Writer's Notebooks" in their "idea" section along with all of the other idea envoking activities we have accomplished!
I also give the students the option, if they would like, to reread the stories we have read by these authors in class and/or select new ones to read during their idependent reading time. They always get so excited about the stories, once we begin to dive into learning about these authors and recognizing patterns in their stories! Here is how I work to set out some of the books for easy access for them:
Love my magnetic walls and shelving!
I also love the cheapo frame holders from Walmart- perfect for books!
Finally, if you are interested here are the websites for the authors we studied (seriously...these are such a great tool for learning more about them!):
Patricia Polacco: http://www.patriciapolacco.com/
Marc Brown: marcbrownstudios.com
Kevin Henkes: http://www.kevinhenkes.com/
I love author studies! I am a first year teacher and have been wanting to introduce different authors' styles to my kids, but wasn't quite sure how. I have a "favorite author" wall in my classroom and they seem very interested in it.. you have inspired me to actually teach writing through children's literature! I love Patricia Polacco!!
ReplyDeleteSo glad that the idea was useful for you! Kids truly do love Author Study's and you will be amazed with how much they take from the study and apply to their own writing!
DeleteYour posters are great:) We've been studying authors and illustrators this week too
ReplyDeleteThank you! It is so much fun, isn't it?
DeleteI love author studies! Patricia Polacco is a new favorite of mine. She has so many great books. I especially love the ones from her life growing up, showing her struggles.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it is so great for the kids to hear those texts too to see that not all author's were fantastic writer's from the get go, they had to work at it too!
DeleteLove Thank You, Mr. Faulkner! Such a great book.
ReplyDeleteWhat i have learned
I agree! Such a good read for the students to hear as well!
DeleteYour anchor charts are perfect!! Love them!
ReplyDeleteWe're having a pretty sweet giveaway. We hope you'll stop by and enter!
Halle and Jenna
Across the Hall in 2nd Grade
Thank you! And I am all entered in your giveaway! Thank you for letting me know about it!
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