Who´s Your Favorite Author?
Description:
You love reading his/her books...he/she always seems to write about topics or feelings that you want to read about. Don't you ever wonder what these writers are about? How their lives influenced their writing? This is your chance to research an author and create a scrapbook about that person.
Goals & Objectives:
Students will learn to use the Twayne Author Database and the Discovering Collection Database.
Students will learn at least 15 new facts about the author they are researching.
Students will create a scrapbook about their author.
Students will orally present their scrapbook to their classmates.
Motivational Objectives:
Students will want to read at least one book written by the author they are researching.
Students will feel more confident about giving oral presentations.
Materials & Sources:
The Twayne Author Series-Twayne World Database, English and US Authors: Search full text of 200 frequently used books for a total of 600 individual full-text titles.
The Discovering Collection Author Database is a Gale Infotrack database used for biographies, multimedia and timelines - full text titles.
Over 200 assorted biographies and autobiographies from a select group of authors pertaining to 7th grade reading level.
Procedures:
Day One: LMS and 7th grade English teachers will present the unit to students. They will distribute all supporting worksheets and handouts pertaining to work unit and answer any questions students might have about the upcoming project. They will also have students pick an author to research from a pre-selected list of authors. Students will have the remaining part of the period to peruse the biographies available on their author.
Day Two: LMS will take 20 minutes out of the 40 minute period to review note-taking skills with students. For the second half of the period, students will begin to read from their print sources and jot down important facts about their author.
Day Three: Students will have the entire period to work on their print sources.
Day Four: LMS will introduce students to both databases: Twaynes and Discovering Collection. Students will be given remote access codes to use at home as well as on-site codes. Teachers will help students get accustomed to the databases where needed.
Day Five: Students will have the entire period to use the databases and collect their research.
Day Six: Seventh grade students had an earlier assignment to create both sides of a fictional interview in English class. English teacher will have students recall what should be included in creating an interview (one of the pages to be included in the scrapbook).
Day Seven through Ten: Students will work on their scrapbooks and be given help and guidance from teachers as needed.
Days Eleven through Fifteen: Students will orally present their scrapbooks to the class.
Assessment:
Students will be asked to evaluate the project as part of their oral presentation: what did they like about it, what didn't they like. What did they learn? Students will also be charged with asking the presenters questions about their author after each presentation. Also, a rubric will be used.
Collaborators:
Jane McCauliffe, English Teacher at Granville Jr/Sr High and Laura LaPan, English Teacher at Granville Jr/Sr High in Granville, New York
Sources:
