Author+Studies


 * Website Exploration/Author Study Glog:**



Glogster EDU recently (February 2018) began charging a fee. Let's try something NEW: https://piktochart.com/

Helpful Piktochart tutorial: (free version has 20 free image uploads) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBZwPyaG37Y

Successful author studies require some preparation on the part of the teacher but the rewards are numerous! Look at the list below for tips for successful author studies! //(Written by Noel O' Brien, Manhasset Public Schools and published in The Role of Literature in Language Arts Learning and Teaching-// adapted slightly by Dr. Spalding) > http://tre.emv3.com/HS?a=ENX7CkT4dsDF8SA9MOO26TznGHxKQY3tJPcStGb5lw8W0bBhOG5mpqVsje_HheEdjV3c
 * collect numerous books the author has written (ask your media specialist, use your local library or your classroom library)
 * Place the books in a basket labeled with the authors name or on a special table in your classroom
 * Locate audio and video resources (look online for free author book talks or video interviews)
 * Locate information about your author on the internet (use the author study handouts you'll receive) For example: Lights, Camera, Authors! Free curriculum-based author videos for your classroom with Classroom Cast.
 * Gather material from the author's publisher (often times, publishers provide free materials to teachers and have excellent lesson plan ideas etc. on their websites)

Author Studies can be implemented in a variety of ways. The following are just some suggestions for implementation suggested by Renee Pomerantz and Phoebe Chang of New York University:
 * read aloud as many of the author's books as possible
 * have students survey their favorites and create a graph of the results
 * write to the author via snail mail or email (Below are responses from authors to recent UCF students:)
 * write reviews of the books (bring in book reviews from the newspaper as examples)
 * have older students create readers theater scripts for their favorite books; create RT scripts for younger students to read
 * create K-W-H-L charts for the author
 * use literature circle procedures for select books by the author
 * discuss the author's writing style; create text innovations based on their style
 * conduct writing mini lessons based on the author's style and encourage students to incorporate this style into their own writing

Letters from authors to UCF Students:

March 20, 2012 Dear Ms. Schrader, Thanks so much for your kind letter. I'm so glad you enjoyed Out of my Mind. That book is very special to me. I tried very hard to capture the essence of what it means to be different. Melody is a song to me that will forever sing. I gave a speech recently to an auditorium full of seventh graders. One young man, named Billy, sat right down front. He was severely involved physically, but his mind was a fountain untapped. He cheered at every passage I read to the kids, right on cue at the pungent places. At the end of my presentation, I let the kids ask questions. One girl wanted to know why I wrote the book. I told her, "I wrote it for Billy, and everybody like him. I wrote it to give a voice to those who don't have the opportunity to share their feelings. Now all of you give Billy a round of applause, because he REALLY gets it!" They cheered. Billy kicked and screeched and grinned. I have never seen a bigger smile. Never in his life had he been singled out for praise in front of the whole school. He didn't stop smiling all day. It was a great day.

Blessings to you and your future students. They will be lucky to have you. Sincerely, Sharon M. Draper

March 18, 2012 Dear Kristin, Thank you so much for your e-mail. I'm glad you liked The City of Ember, and I hope your students will enjoy it as well. As for why reading is important--there are so many reasons I can hardly begin! Learning to form pictures in the mind, expanding the realm of knowledge, learning new words, feeling empathy for people in different circumstances...on and on. Surely you know these, too, or you wouldn't be preparing for the career you've chosen. I wish you the best-- Jeanne DuPrau

Dear Katherine, Thank you for your great email! It makes me feel so good to know how much you enjoy my stories and illustrations. Making picture books is one of the nicest things I can think of to do, especially if it brings joy to girls and boys around the world. Children write me and ask all sorts of questions and I thought you would be interested in some of the same information. I began writing and illustrating books in 1966. Since that time I have published over 200 books. Most of my books are about things that happened to me when I was a little kid. Now I'm a big kid and I write about things that happen now, especially with my own children. They always help remind me of what it was like. My first two books, There's A Nightmare In My Closet and A Boy, A Dog and A Frog, were really all about me. When I was little, I was afraid of the closet at night, so I wrote the nightmare book to tell other kids how to deal with spooky nightmares in their closets. My frog books were all about me chasing frogs in the Arkansas swamps. Pretty neat, huh? My favorite book to write was Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp. I was born in Arkansas, December 1943. Boy, was that a long time ago! By the way, Little Critter's birthday is December 30th also. It's real fun to be an old kid. Then my parents moved to Hawaii when I was thirteen years old. After High School, I went to the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Then I moved to New York City and went to the Art Students' League. Now I live in the Northeast. My wife and I sometimes write stories together. I have five children, a cat named Tickles, a dog named Belle, a hamster named Jimmy and a gerbil named Isis. Best Wishes, Mercer Mayer

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION! http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

This is the website that discusses the idea of "fair use." One of the examples of something that is "ok" is as follows: "reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson." "Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair: The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes. The nature of the copyrighted work. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work."