Our Favorite Authors: Implementing Author Studies in the Classroom

Did you ever run through the library to see if your favorite book was on the shelf? Have you ever said, "Preorder? Yes, please!" to your computer screen? Then, chances are you have had a favorite author. Your students are no exception to this rule. Which books do they rush to grab from the book baskets or bookshelf during Read to Self time? You know which ones! That is why you stock up on those books when they are the $1 book in the Scholastic flyer or in a collection pack at Sam's Club. 

Would your students like to be introduced to more books by their favorite authors or even learn more about the life of the author? Maybe an author spotlight is a feature that you want to add to your classroom next year. It can be very easy to set up and maintain. Here is a quick example I created about Kevin Henkes with labeled instructions for implementing this idea in your room, too. 

Sorry this picture isn't cheerier. It is summer and this was taken in my home office. I refuse to step foot into the school building until August! :)

1. The chart paper I had at home isn't lined. So, I improvised by adding some printed words and clip art (Thanks, Melonheadz!)

2. I found a picture of Kevin Henkes through Google images and printed it out.

3. I added his biography from my new Authors in the Spotlight pack.

4. I scanned some of my book covers and printed them out.

5. I placed all of the books by Kevin Henkes that I had here at home in a basket. 

6. I added a touch of whimsy with a stuffed character. I ordered this Penny doll this week because my RtI students are starting out the year reading Penny and Her Song.

7. Kids love choices! So, each red folder contains a different activity from my new pack. Students can choose how they want to respond to what they read. Find out more below! 

I just added this set of biographies and activities to my TPT store. The activities included are completely generic and can be used for any author study. Right now, the pack features biographies (color and b/w) for Jan Brett, Eric Carle, Doreen Cronin, Roald Dahl, Theodor Seuss Geisel, Kevin Henkes, Ezra Jack Keats, Ruth Krauss, Beatrix Potter, David Shannon, Mo Willems, and Margaret Wise-Brown. If you are interested in this pack, you may want to purchase it soon. I will be adding more biographies to the set when the artist is finished creating more images and the price will increase. If you buy it now, you can download any updated versions for free!

Here is a sneak peek at one of the activities in this set! Many thanks to my sweet soon to be second grader for his help on this one! It is summer after all, but he was a good sport about it! I did let him dictate his sentences though. ;)

Which author's books are a must have in your classroom library? I know that my room couldn't function without the works of so many talented authors! It is hard to choose a favorite!

Author's Purpose with a Freebie

Sadly, Peppermint Patty reminds me of some readers I have taught over the years! These kiddos often think that if they read a nonfiction book about caterpillars and enjoyed it, then the author's purpose must have been to entertain them. Persuasive text is often entertaining to read. Sometimes entertaining text has a few facts thrown in.  What is a young reader to do?

I recently posted a new product in my store that covers author's purpose. This is a quick snapshot of one of my favorite activities from that set. Students find the three strips with matching pictures. Take a peek at the ones with the cupcakes. One sentence is persuasive and could be from an advertisement. Another tells information about cupcakes. Then, there is one with some dialogue that sounds like realistic fiction. The kids have to sort the author's purpose for each sample sentence. (I think Peppermint Patty's teacher might want to assign her this task during literacy centers next week.)

You can check out the full pack by clicking HERE. 

I am ALL about integrating writing whenever I can. So, I whipped up a FREEBIE to share with you!

The Magic Tree House series is just one example of the kind of text that can be confusing when teaching author's purpose.  I mean HELLO they are very entertaining AND they contain lots of cool facts! So, I say use it to your advantage!  Have your kids vote for the author's purpose on an anchor chart like this one. (I included the pics of Jack and Annie in the freebie link if you want to use them.) 

Now that they have shared their opinion and have invested in the dialogue, have them do a quick opinion piece to justify their vote. You can grab this FREE organizer and the Jack and Annie images by clicking HERE. 

Good luck ridding your room of Peppermint Patty style thinking!  I would love to hear your ideas for teaching this concept! 

Cause and Effect: anchor chart, mentor texts, and a freebie!

Cause and effect can be such a difficult concept for young readers. I think this is true for a few reasons.
1. Kids can be egocentric. They often respond with what they think the effect would be for them.
2. Evaluating cause and effect takes some real thinking! You have to analyze text in some complex ways.
Therefore, kids who can often answer literal who, what, when, and where questions may struggle when comprehension requires more thinking like determining cause and effect.

So, what's a teacher to do? I think modeling and interactive activities can certainly help.

Here is an anchor chart that I made. Using characters from a series helps students really have a good feel for how the characters react in different situations. On the chart, the characters are sharing an experience or a cause, but due to their character traits the effects will different for each of  them. This one features Junie B. Jones, Crybaby William, and Lucille.

Mentor texts are another wonderful teaching tool. Here are a few of my all time faves!

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash is a wonderful example of  tracing the effects back to their causes.

The entire If You Give series is perfect for If/Then cause and effect statement modeling!

This book is an awesome example of multiple causes leading to one effect: a terrible, horrible, no good,
very bad day!

My kiddos always loved being surprised by the unexpected chain of causes and effects in this book!

In this sweet story, the animals find out that the farmer has bought a kangaroo. They spend the rest of the day pondering the possible effects of the farmer's new purchase.

This story does a wonderful job of demonstrating a circular chain of cause and effect. Murdley Gurdson gets an egg dropped on his head. How could it possibly be his fault? Kids love tracing the action back to him.


You may be interested in my latest product on Cause and Effect. It has anchor charts/presentation, a center, guiding activities, and reading comprehension activities. You can check it out by clicking here! Scroll down to grab a FREE copy of a sample page from this unit!

Here's your Freebie!  The clip art is by the talented Kari Bolt. Click here to download your copy! Enjoy!

What have you found helpful when teaching cause and effect? I would love to hear your ideas!

Tessa @ Tales from Outside the Classroom is having a fun anchor chart linky. Check it out {HERE}!