Author Study

Grace Lin is coming to visit my school next Monday!  Very exciting!  In preparation for her visit, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders have been doing an author study.  We have read many of Grace Lin's books, such as Lissy's Friends, Dim Sum for Everyone, Olvina Swims.

We have been documenting our learning on a collaborative poster: 

After we read books, I asked students what characters we met or if they noticed anything we should add to the poster.  I wrote their ideas on sticky notes and added them to the poster.  Students could add anything they wanted to the poster on their own - questions, comments, characters, drawings, origami, facts we learned.  I think the kids did a great job!  Here are some examples of their sticky notes: 

To add to the display, I put out books from our library (I supplemented my collection with books borrowed from a colleague and my public library).  I also created an author showcase (Pinterest inspired, originally from here).  I used pictures and a short biography from Grace Lin's press kit.

In the weeks leading up to Grace Lin's visit we have had special Grace Lin centers: 

Grace Lin's Books Center- Students can read and look at Grace Lin's books.  I put pencils and sticky notes at this table for students to add characters, books, and other information to our Grace Lin poster.

Grace Lin Coloring Center- Grace Lin has TONS of printables on her website, from coloring pages to activities like mazes.  I put them all in a folder for students to choose from.  Students added a few of their pictures to the poster.

Grace Lin Origami Center-  One of the first books we read was Lissy's Friends where a young girl makes friends out of origami when she is the new girl at school and doesn't have anyone to eat with at lunch.  I printed a few easy origami instructions from here and put out any origami books I have.  Students made dogs, cats, and foxes using the printed instructions.  Some talented students knew how to make cranes, boats, and other fun things on their own!

Grace Lin's Website Center- Students could explore Grace Lin's website and find facts to add to our poster and watch book trailers like this one: 

What fun projects have you done with an author study?  Any recommendations for authors to study?

PS - The kids are thrilled with the Truffula trees and they have really brightened up the library :) I'll be back later this week with pictures of the Truffula Trees in the library.  Yesterday my camera battery died and today I left the memory card in my laptop but tomorrow I should have my act together and be able to take pics!