Author, who?

Authors.  Who are they, anyways?  When I was growing up, I feel that most of the time, the author was just the man/woman who wrote the book, and that was about as far as it went.  Sometimes, I'd recognize names of authors who wrote several books that I like, such as Eric Carle or Roald Dahl.  As an adult, it's sad to think that I didn't know more - or even care to know more - about the people who were creative to write some of my favorite books.

 

But did I know who they really were?  No.  Did I know what other accomplishments they had made?  No.  Could I tell you anything interesting about them?  No.

 

That's where I've decided to change my lack of knowledge and not only look into authors myself, but create an opportunity for my students to experience researching authors as well.  So, I decided to develop an Author Study Graphic Organizer for my kiddos.  Here's a glimpse of part of it:

As you can see, I went a bit out of my way to make it more interesting.  Research can be boring, but I've found that students like when it is "fun" and you can color/draw as well.    I've done author studies before, and it was just a whole bunch of writing or typing in an arbitrary manor.  All of the information needed for an effective author study is included in my graphic organizer, but a little more exciting.

**To purchase it, check out my TeachersPayTeachers store:

 www.http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ms-Rothering. 

It is listed as "Fun Author Study Graphic Organizer" **

 

For this particular assignment, I presented it to my students as a project option for our end-of-the-novel assessment project.  It could also be used as a class activity (if computers are accessible), a homework assignment, extension activity, or extra credit.  For this particular occasion, I used it with fourth graders.  However, I believe you could use it with a range of students.  All of the information required to complete this can be accessed fairly easily, or even with the help of an adult.

 

I've been noticing that I'm starting to reflect a lot on my childhood and my experiences as a student myself.  It's scary - I'm starting to feel older and older each day!  But, as "they" say a lot - and I mean a lot! - it's important to be reflective as a teacher and to use your experiences to enhance opportunities for your own kiddos.

 

If anything, this is my attempt to make research a little more fun.  Not all students like to do it, but hopefully having it a bit more fun can help encourage them.  A little enticement never hurt, did it?

 

Emily  :)