Grade: all

#795. I Am An Author

Reading/Writing, level: all
Posted Sat Jan 9 14:47:04 PST 1999 by Debra Lee (megondeb@alaweb.com).
Elba Elementary School, Elba, Alabama, USA
Materials Required: book bag, miscellaneous art supplies, immagination
Activity Time: about 20 to 30 minutes each week
Concepts Taught: family involvement/language arts

The teacher fills a bag with miscellaneous art supplies. She also adds a three ring binder that includes the following: a letter about your project that explains the project and includes a timeline , a book containing bookmaking ideas.

I explain to the students that we are going to become authors. Each child will be given a chance to be the guest author of the week. I put all of the children's names in a box and draw them out. I assign each child a week of the school year. (I cheat a little by picking a name of a student that I am sure will probably do a good job for the beginning author.)

A three ring binder that contains a letter about the project explaining that the child bringing this bag home has been chosen to be author of the week. With his family and not alone, he or she is to write a book. It can be about anything the family choses to write about. Include in the bag a book on bookmaking and a list of different kinds of books, mystery, fantasy, real life, how to, ABC, touch books, scent books, shape books and any others you can think of to list. Tell in you letter that the child will keep the bag for one week ( I send them home on Thursday and they return the bag on Thursday.) I also tell the parents that if they have supplies to contribute to the
I collect wallpaper samples and invite parents to add any supplies they wish to the bag if they wish to do so. On Friday of each week the student shares his or her book by reading the book to the class. Depending on the age level, the students could write response letters or just have a discussion of the book. The book is added to the classroom library and spends the week as book of the week. At the end of the year, we have an author's party to celebrate our journey into the world of writing.