Author Study You are the Expert! Grades 7-8 Penny Murphy-Potter 505 Multimedia/Internet Educators Professor Harrison Yang

Introduction  Have you ever wondered what it is like to be an author?  Have you ever wondered where the author found their ideas for their books?  Have you ever wondered if an author has a favorite author?  We can become better readers when we know what we like to read and are able to find books that match our interests.  How do we learn about an author and how do we find out what our reading interests are?  We are going to figure out what the answers to these questions are by learning as much as we can about authors. Welcome to the Author Studies WebQuest where you learn about authors and become the Author EXPERT!

Task  You will work in student pairs.  You will research an author and become an expert on this author.  I would like you to select an author that is NOT your favorite.  You will use the following guidelines to gather and present your Expert Report. Guidelines: 1)Research author (author’s website, news paper reviews, books ECT.) from list of authors provided and gather as many facts about the author’s life as you can. 2)Locate a picture of the author, print out picture, save picture on computer for possible later use. 3)Provide a list of books by the author. 4)Provide upcoming book signing dates and locations. 5)Provide any awards and/or metals the author has won or been nominated for. (Steps 1-6 information will be incorporated into a Power Point Presentation.) 6)Read at least one book by the author (of your choosing!) 7)Present a book talk about the book that you read (can be videoed or done in person!) 8)Design a cover for the book that you read.

Author Resources You may choose an author from the list below. If an author that your team would like to research and use for you Expert Report is not on the list; please talk to me and if the author’s books are appropriate, you may add him/her to the Author Resources list. Neil GaimanSharon FlakeChristopher Paolini Patricia PolaccoCynthia Leitch SmithBruce Hale J.K. RowlingSherman AlexieMary Pope Osborne AviEoin ColferJacqueline Woodson Gary Paulsen Suzanne CollinsLouis Sachar Sharon CreechLaurie Halse AndersonJane Yolen Allen SayBruce Coville Stephenie Meyer Marcus ZusakPhilip PullmanLibba Bray Lemony SnicketJames HoweWalter Dean Myers E.B. WhiteR.L. StineAngela Johnson

Process Step 1 You and your partner will follow guidelines 1-5; gathering as much Information about the author as you can. You will take this information and create a Power Point Presentation and present your Expert Report to the class. This presentation will be 3-5 minutes in length, giving each student an opportunity to speak and allowing time for all groups to present. Guidelines: 1)Research author (author’s website, news paper reviews, books ECT.) from list of authors provided and gather as many facts about the author’s life as you can. 2)Locate a picture of the author, print out picture, save picture on computer for possible later use. 3)Provide a list of books by the author. 4)Provide upcoming book signing dates and locations. (if any, can provide past events that author attended if you cannot find any current ones.) 5)Provide any awards and/or metals the author has won or been nominated for. (Steps 1-5 information will be incorporated into a Power Point Presentation.)

Process Step 2  Choose the book you will read.  Use the form provided to take notes. Author Analysis FormAuthor Analysis Form  Use these notes to create a Book Talk presentation. (A Book Talk is a summary of the book, giving just enough detail about the book to get readers interested in reading the book without giving away too much!  The following link will take you to an example of what a Book Talk “looks like.” The Graveyard Book- Book TalkThe Graveyard Book- Book Talk  Present your book talk to the class (this may be done via video or in person). **If you choose to video your book talk, we will need to get the video camera from the Librarian

Process Step 3 After you have read your book, take a look at the cover. Do you think this cover fits the book? If so, how? If not, how would you change the cover to fit the book? After answering these questions on a sheet of paper. Then, you are to design your own Book Cover for this book. You may use creative materials that I have provided within the classroom (paper, markers, glue, ECT) OR you may design a Book Cover using Power Point (Clip Art, Word Art, ECT). After you have competed the questions and designed your Book Cover you will hand them in for grading.

Evaluation As you complete the process you will be assessed in two ways, Self Evaluation/Team Evaluation and Teacher Evaluation. You will fill out the Self Evaluation/Team Evaluation Form on your own and then you will have a conference with me to discuss my assessment and to receive your final grade. Four extra credit points will be given for answering the questions on Process Step 3. The maximum amount of points for this project can be 50, including the additional extra credit points. Self Evaluation/Team Evaluation Rubric Teacher Evaluation Rubric

Conclusion I would like to congratulate you on the completion of your Author Study and becoming an Author Expert. You should now have a better understanding about authors, what authors write, why they write, how they get their ideas and most importantly; what author and genre you like the best! You also have sharpened your Research skills, Power Point skills, Book Talk Skills and Book Design skills! Way to go!

Teacher Page I would like to thank all the authors that participated in this Author Study for providing such great information, books and pictures. This WebQuest was created by Penny Murphy-Potter for the class 505 Multimedia/Internet Educators call taught by Professor Harrison Yang.

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