AUTHOR STUDY READING PROJECT
Due: Friday, May 28th
We are launching our last unit of study for the year: an author study! For
the next six weeks, you will read books written by one author in order to
become an expert on that author’s life and on several of the books they’ve
written. For this project, you’ll need to:
1. read at least 3 just-right chapter books OR 2 just-right chapter books
and 3 picture books by that author
2. read at least 1 nonfiction text about that author’s life (i.e. an
excerpt from a nonfiction book, a magazine article, or an online
article, perhaps from their own website)
AND
3. take a Renaissance Place test on all of the texts you choose (the
average of which will count as a test grade).
You’ll need to gather and synthesize what you learn about your author and
from reading their books. Remember that when a reader synthesizes, they
put pieces of information together and come up with new ideas and
breakthroughs. So, you’ll need to do more than just record what your books
are about; you’ll need to do some serious noticing, thinking, comparing,
and discovering along the way! Get ready!
As you read, decide which elements you notice most and find most
interesting to compare across books. Think about the following elements to
help you:
- the main character and their conflict
- the main character and their personality traits (positive and
negative)
- how the main character changes from beginning to end
- the setting in which the story takes place (time and location)
- the theme, or big life lesson, the main character or reader learns at
the end
the kind of symbolism the author uses (color, weather, animals,
sounds, objects)
- connections to issues going on in the world
- connections to the author’s actual life (for example: people they’ve
known, places they’ve been, issues they’ve faced)
-
interesting writing craft that the author uses a lot throughout the
back (for example: similes, onomatopoeia, playing with time, incredible
description of a character, object, or setting, slow motion writing, short
and long sentences for power)
Important Note: Remember that when readers choose an author to study, they
are looking to read and compare lots of different texts by that author.
So, look for writers that have a variety of texts you can read; be careful
with authors that have only written one series (like J.K. Rowling or Lemony
Snicket).
As you research and decide on an author to study, here are some suggestions
to get you started (remember to make sure that the author you choose writes
books that are just right for you!):
Authors that write within one genre
Historical
Fiction
Taylor, Mildred
Yolen, Jane
O’Dell, Scott
Yep, Laurence
Myers, Walter Dean
Curtis, Christopher
Paul
Karr, Kathleen
Action/
Adventure
Haddix, Mary
Peterson
Paulsen, Gary
Seymour, Simon
George, Jean
Craighead
Realistic
Fiction
Blume, Judy
Cleary, Beverly
Christopher, Matt
Spinelli, Jerry
Danziger, Paula
Paterson, Katherine
MacLachlan,
Patricia
Giff, Patricia
Reilly
Creech, Sharon
Fantasy
Dahl, Roald
Funke, Cornelia?
Coville, Bruce
Humor
Sachar, Louis
Clements, Andrew
Authors that write across different genres
Fleishman, Paul
Woodson, Jacqueline
Soto, Gary
Rylant, Cynthia
Konigsburg, E.L.
Avi
Mazer, Norma Fox
Don’t see anything that you like?
For a long list of authors that you can research before making a decision,
visit
http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/ab/biolist.htm. You can learn about
them and even get a list of the books they’ve written, with summaries and
recommended grade levels.
Reading Workshop:
D. Román, Grade 5
AUTHOR STUDY
Name ___________________________________________
Author:
______________________________
What I think I know about my author
BEFORE
my research and reading
What I know about my author AFTER
my research and reading
Reading Workshop:
D. Román, Grade 5
AUTHOR STUDY
Name ___________________________________________
Author:
______________________________
What I think I know about my author’s
books BEFORE my research and reading
What I know about my author’s books
AFTER my research and reading
Reading Workshop:
D. Román, Grade 5
AUTHOR STUDY
Name ___________________________________________
Author:
______________________________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
One big/interesting thing I learned about my author was…
Before I started my author study, I thought…
However, after reading nonfiction information about his/her life, I now
think…
I think this because…
Reading Workshop:
D. Román, Grade 5
AUTHOR STUDY
ABOUT THE BOOKS I READ
One big/interesting thing I noticed about the books I read was…
At first, I thought…
However, after reading several books, I now think…
I think because…
Please attach your books chart and a copy of the nonfiction text you used
to research your author.
Reading Workshop:
D. Román, Grade 5
AUTHOR STUDY
ABOUT THE TEXTS
Title:
Element:
Element:
Element:
Element:
Title:
Title:
Element:
Element:
Element:
Element:
Title:
Title:
Title:
ABOUT THE TEXTS
Title:
Title:
Reading Workshop:
D. Román, Grade 5
AUTHOR STUDY