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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.
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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.”
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-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 onetime 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.”
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-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.
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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
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Read the texts aloud
to your students.
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Involve students in an
inquiry discussion of
the texts and create
an anchor chart.
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MODEL, MODEL, MODEL
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Model for students
how to write like this
author.
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Create a shared
writing with the
students
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ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO
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CREATE THEIR OWN TEXTS
Don’t Let the Pigeon Ride
the Bike
Don’t Let the Pigeon
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?
skills would you teach?
 What do you still want to know?
 What
*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
[email protected]
Lara Sims
[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
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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
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Second Grade Author Studies
Leo Lionni
Tomie dePaola
Eve Bunting
Patricia Polacco
Cynthia Rylant
No personal website
www.tomie.com
No personal website
www.patriciapolacco.com
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….
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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….
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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….
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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….
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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….
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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….
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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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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…
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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….
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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….
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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….
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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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