Grades 1-5 Sample Author/Illustrator/Genre Study

Unit Focus and Direction

As students read stories, poems, and information books, they become curious about the people who write and illustrate books. Units that focus on particular authors or illustrators will further this interest and promote an understanding that such resources are written and illustrated by real people.

There are several different approaches to author studies, including:

studies focusing on one genre, or on two or more authors or illustrators from the same genre
studies relating to a particular place and/or time in history, such as the study of current Saskatchewan authors or illustrators
studies of a trilogy or a series by one author or illustrator
studies focusing on in-depth exploration of one selection or book, followed by a comparative study of other selections or books by the same author or illustrator.

Author studies have several purposes, including:

to introduce authors and illustrators as people who continue to develop and explore their craft and subject matter
to encourage students to recognize and appreciate the style of a particular author or illustrator
to develop critical reading, viewing, listening, and thinking skills as selections are examined and characteristics are recognized
to introduce students to the processes of writing, representing, book making, and publishing
to provide a sense of importance or direction for students' writings and illustrations
to increase students' awareness of their potential as writers and illustrators.

The suggested activities and approaches in this unit serve as a model for author studies. The authors and illustrators selected for in-depth studies should be chosen collaboratively with students and colleagues. The approach and purpose for the study will also guide the selection of the author or illustrator as well as the activities.

The duration of the unit will be determined by the students' interest and enthusiasm.

Suggested Authors and Illustrators

There are numerous authors and illustrators that could be the focus of a unit of study. Suggested authors and illustrators for study include:

Kindergarten to Grade 2
Sue Ann Alderson
Paulette Bourgeois
Marc Brown
Eric Carle
Penny Condon
Beth Cuthand
Peter Eyvindson
Paul Galdone
Marie-Louise Gay
Pat Hutchins
Ezra Jack Keats
Steven Kellogg
Dayal Kaur Khalsa
Michael Kusugak
Dennis Lee
Robert Munsch
Lois Simmie
Ted Staunton
Kathi Stinson
Patti Stren
Judith Viorst
Bernelda Wheeler
Jordan Wheeler
Margaret Wise-Brown
Tim Wynne-Jones

Grades 3 to 5
Byrd Baylor
Judy Blume
Joseph Bruchac
Betsy Byars
Beverly Cleary
Elizabeth Cleaver
Roald Dahl
Sherry Farrell Racette
Sheree Fitch
Paul Goble
Martyn Godfrey
Bernice Thurman Hunter
Gordon Korman
Jean Little
Katerine Paterson
Robert Newton Peck
Jack Prelutsky
Shel Silverstein
Barbara Smucker
Chris Van Allsburg
Ian Wallace
E.B. White

Author study is appropriate at every grade level. The objectives for the unit will be determined by the students' needs at each grade level. Objectives such as the following could be the focus of author studies. These objectives were selected from the Learning Objectives section in this curriculum guide.

Grade One
Students will:

participate in individual, small group, and whole class reading of emergent and beginning texts
participate in shared and guided viewing experiences including illustrated books
read to and with others
share feelings evoked by particular texts
enjoy reading texts independently.

Grade Two
Students will:

read a range of grade-appropriate texts for enjoyment and information, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays
engage in shared, guided, and independent viewing experiences with a variety of texts including illustrated texts and adaptations of written texts
discuss and compare authors and illustrators
express preferences for a variety of oral, print, and other media texts.

Grade Three
Students will:

read grade-appropriate texts orally and silently and with increasing confidence, fluency, and accuracy
participate in a range of guided and independent viewing experiences from a variety of cultural traditions (e.g., illustrated texts)
select appropriate books independently and consider books recommended by others
respond to various experiences in text in a variety of ways.

Grade Four
Students will:

read grade-appropriate texts orally and silently with increasing confidence, fluency, and accuracy
participate in a variety of guided and independent viewing experiences from a variety of cultural traditions
respond to and discuss meanings, ideas, and effects in a range of texts
identify similarities and differences among texts and various forms/genres.

Grade Five Students will:

orally and silently, read a range of contemporary and classical grade-appropriate texts for enjoyment and information (e.g., novels, historical fiction, and nonfiction)
participate in a variety of guided and independent viewing experiences from a variety of cultural traditions (e.g., historical fiction and biographies)
discuss meanings, ideas, and language in texts, relating their understanding to personal experiences, purposes, and other texts
acknowledge differing responses to common experiences.

Evaluating the Unit

Evaluation is a continuous and co-operative process involving teachers and students. Throughout this unit, a variety of evaluation techniques should be utilized to measure growth and progress toward achieving the objectives. These include observation, self-evaluation, peer evaluation, conferences, checklists, anecdotal records, and samples of written and oral language.

Unit Preparation

This unit should be planned collaboratively by the teacher and the students. The students' interests and abilities, as well as the availability of resources, will determine the unit direction and the focus of particular lessons. Strategies that facilitate teacher-student planning include:

listing authors or illustrators to study and brainstorming the projects that could result
categorizing or webbing what is known about suggested authors or illustrators
discussing students' interests and knowledge about authors or illustrators
developing questions about what students would like to find out about authors or illustrators
planning group activities and projects that facilitate the growth of specific language abilities. (Strategies may include literature study, reading logs, story mapping, making books, letter writing, and researching).

Students should have opportunities to choose and/or plan the projects and activities that will be completed throughout the unit.

Teachers should:

arrange the loan of films or kits about the selected author/illustrator and his or her works
make available, through loan or purchase, copies of the author's/illustrator's books
create a classroom display of resources by and about the author/illustrator to stimulate interest and discussion. Resources could include trade books, book reviews, newspaper or magazine articles, pictures, biographies, and autobiographies. Students should be encouraged to contribute to the display
mount a large map on the class bulletin board. Photos of the author/illustrator and the titles of the books could be attached to the map to indicate the author's/illustrator's place of residence and the setting of each selection
arrange for the author/illustrator to visit the classroom, if possible.

Suggested Activities

The following activities and projects can be adapted to meet students' interests and abilities. These activities serve as a guide for planning individual lessons and the direction of the unit.

Introduce biographical information about the author/illustrator. Videos, films, or kits may be available for use. Students could create pictures and accompanying text to highlight events in the author's/illustrator's personal and professional life.
Have students compare the author's/illustrator's books in the following areas: theme, setting, characters, plot, style, illustrations, and intended audience.
Use the literature circle strategy to have groups of students examine selected titles by the author/illustrator. Each group could share its learning with the class through drama, puppetry, illustrations, choral reading, reader's theatre, or another way. After the sharing, the class could do a comparative study of the books. Common elements of the books could be webbed.
Have students compare the author's/illustrator's works to other selections with the same theme or to selections in the same genre.
Have students determine which of the author's/ illustrator's selections are their favourites and give reasons for their choices.
Have students compare and contrast an author's/illustrator's earlier works to his or her later works.
Have students make a timeline of the author's/ illustrator's personal and professional life. Discuss how personal experiences are reflected in the author's/illustrator's work.
Have students write stories or poems using the author's/illustrator's style, pattern, or themes.
Have students illustrate a favourite part of a poem, story, or novel using the same technique as that used by the illustrator. The illustrator could also be studied (if the illustrator is not the author).
Have students write reviews about the author's/illustrator's book(s) and compile these into a class book or newspaper. Familiarize students with the format of a book review.
Have students write letters to the author/ illustrator. Letters could include the students' reasons for liking a particular story or book, requests for additional biographical information, or questions and comments about the style, the choice of characters, the setting, etc.
Have students research Canadian awards presented for outstanding children's books.
Have the author/illustrator visit the classroom. Prepare for the visit by brainstorming questions to ask. The visit could be recorded with photographs and students could compose accompanying text. Class newspaper articles and thank you notes could be written after the visit. If the author/illustrator is unavailable, perhaps a children's librarian could visit to talk about the author/illustrator.
Work with the teacher-librarian in arranging a library display of the author's/illustrator's books, as well as the students' completed projects.
Have students compare two or more books written by one author/illustrator. Have students determine how the books are alike, how they are different, and which book they prefer and why.
Have the students display or present their group projects to students in other grades on a "Meet the Author/Illustrator Day".

Concluding the Unit

Organize a "reading" where students choose their favourite pieces of personal writing, edit and polish the pieces, practise reading the selections, and then share them orally with a small group of students. Listeners are invited to comment positively about others' selections before taking their turn reading to the group. The purpose of this activity is to have students view themselves as authors because authors are real people! In addition, students can share their illustrations.