Author Study Project
Assignment:
Concepts Taught: Students will research and explore the life and works of one author.
Students focus their attention on the study of one author’s works – not just one book, but a variety of works written by
the same author – to discover what themes and/or other commonalities might run throughout the body of one person’s
writings.
Possible Author Choices:
Joan Aiken
Eve Bunting
Michael Crichton
Tommy dePaola
Patrician Reilly Giff
Karen Hesse
C.S. Lewis
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Richard Peck
Louis Sachar
William Steig
J.R.R. Tolkien
Henry Winkler
Louisa May Alcott
Beverly Cleary
Sharon Creech
Lois Duncan
Nikki Giovanni
S.E. Hinton
Lois Lowry
Scott O’Dell
Robert Newton Peck
Seymour Simon
John Steinbeck
Mark Twain
Laurence Yep
Maya Angelou
Andrew Clements
Karen Cushman
Nancy Farmer
John Grisham
Alice Hoffman
Sharon Bell Mathis
Katherine Paterson
J.K. Rowling
Gary Soto
Amy Tan
Cynthia Voigt
Jane Yolan
Avi
Robert Cormier
Roald Dahl
Jack Gantos
Mary Downing Hahn
Madeleine L’Engle
Walter Dean Myers
Gary Paulsen
Cynthia Rylant
Jerry Spinelli
Mildred Taylor
E.B. White
Laura Ingalls Wilder
*Other authors may be chosen if student conferences with teacher for permission.
Create a multi-media presentation discussing the following points:
- Research your author (Where and when was your author born? Does he or she have any brothers, sister, pets, or
other important relatives? What hobbies or interests does your author have (besides writing books)? What other
interesting facts have you learned about your author? What is your author’s style of writing? What do they typically
write about?)
Possible Sources for Author Information
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http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/ - interviews of authors
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/kid-reporter-author-interview-videos
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/kid-reporter-author-interviews
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/authors.asp
http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/writers-speak-to-kids
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2010/03/28/50-famous-author-interviews-that-shouldnt-be-missed/
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Summaries of the two or more books
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Talk about 1or 2 themes that author presented in his/her books (i.e. friendship, cross cultural relationships, etc).
Remember, theme is a general lesson in a story that can be applied to multiple situations! How does the author’s
approach to theme differ in each of the books? How is it the same? Use a Venn Diagram to show this relationship.
Does the author tend to have a common theme among his/her works?
Tell us how you connected with the books, what you liked or did not like about them, something about the author
you were surprised to learn, how you saw the author's life reflected in their books, etc.
Compare/contrast the characters, settings, and problem/solution in the books. How were they similar? How were
they different?
Would you recommend this author to others? Why or why not? Must give solid reasons for your decision.
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Find information about the author’s life using at least three sources. List sources used.
PowerPoint or Prezi Presentation
Create a dynamic PowerPoint presentation of your author study including all of the information above.
Slide 1: Introduction Slide
Slide 2: Background Information
 Where/when was this person born?
 Childhood
Slide 3: Becoming Famous
 What did this person do for a living?
 What qualities or traits do you believe made this person famous?
 What did this person do to become famous?
Slide 4: Impact on Others
 How has this person made an impact on others’ lives?
 In what ways was his/her life remarkable, admirable, or even despicable?
 Was this person a hero? Why or why not?
Slide 5: Decisions/Lessons
 Did this person make any major mistakes or bad decisions?
 What are some important lessons you or any other person might learn from the way this person lived?
Slide 6: Quotes
 Famous quotes from this person
 What do the quotes mean to you?
Slide 7: Other/Your choice
Slide 8: Sources
1. You must have pictures ON EACH SLIDE! Pictures must be clear and appropriate. They must
add to the purpose and design of the slides.
2. Slides should be clear, easy to read, and well balanced.
3. Correct spelling/grammar
Author Study Project Rubric
Grade
Level 4
Follows all project requirements for Level 3; includes well-written paragraphs and goes above
and beyond expectations for the project, including digging deeper into the text to discover
themes and comparisons between the novels
Level 3
Project showed research about the author and included interesting facts; Presented 1 theme
that was in each book and explained how that theme was used by the author in both books;
Explained what they liked/disliked about the books and explained their recommendations;
presents to class with confidence and demonstrates knowledge of the author’s style of writing
Level 2
Project attempted to show most aspects of the assignment but was not detailed; Project was
inconsistent in demonstrating the themes and comparisons of the author’s books;
Level 1
Project not attempted or completed; Did not demonstrate knowledge of author’s craft.
Standards:
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, drama and poetry, in the grades 4-5 complexity band
independently and proficiently
Compare and contrast stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics
Conduct research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Will draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflections, and research. Apply grade 5 Reading standards to
literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.