Author Studies

Throughout the year, I love to incorporate author studies during my guided reading block. In my classroom, I try and implement an author study at least once a nine-weeks. It takes a lot of planning and collecting of resources, but it is so worthwhile! The students are very curious and motivated to learn about the author's lives and their reasons for writing about specifics topics. Here are some recommended authors that fit perfectly with this curriculum: Jan Brett, Cynthia Rylant, Robert Munsch, Mo Willems, Kevin Henkes, Patricia Polacco, David Shannon, Tomie De Paola, Dav Pilkey, Laura Numeroff, and James Marshall. Again, these are just a few of the amazing children's authors out there. 

One of the most rewarding aspects is seeing the children seek out these authors on their own, and excitedly check out books they actually WANT to read. I often will hear "Look Mrs. Phillips .... I'm reading a book by ____ !" 

Click HERE for a handout with tips and tricks on implementing an authors study in your classroom !

When studying the author, my students complete an "Author's Portfolio" full of activities. This will be graded with a rubric and counted as a major reading grade. The work is done both independently and collaboratively (with reading buddies).

Click HERE for an example of a cover sheet and HERE for a grading rubric.

Partner Reading

We are comparing texts, looking for connections, and 

searching for the author's purpose.

Plenty of Cynthia Rylant books to expose to students!

When planning an author's study, there are many great teaching resources out there. Below are links to just a few:

http://www.teachersclubhouse.com/authorstudies.htm

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Favorite-Author-Posters

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jan-Brett-Books-Activities-and-Ideas

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Henry-and-Mudge-Reading-Trifolds-and-Response-Sheets-for-20-books

Polar Express Day 2012

On the last day before Christmas break, our school celebrates the holidays by proclaiming it Polar Express Day! Everyone wears pajamas, we have a dance, read the book and watch the movie, and most importantly have a classroom party ! Here are pictures from that fun day. Happy Holidays from Room 244 !

Opening our stockings from Mrs.Phillips

What could it be ???

We love our stockings !

Drinking hot chocolate in our pajamas

Yum !

Do you like your hot chocolate plain, with marshmallows, or with whip cream?

We graphed the data.

More students in our class like their hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Getting our groove on at the dance !

DJ Philly (principal)

Our principal knows how to let loose and have fun !

Goodbye Miss. Neds !

On Wednesday, December 12th we said goodbye to our amazing student teacher Miss. Neds ! She will be finishing her studies at Bob Jones University and will graduate in May with a degree in Education. The students will miss her terribly, but we look forward to her visits !

'Thank you for being a gift to our class. We will miss you Miss. Neds! "

Students wrote persuasive letters to convince her to stay !

The crazy crew

Miss. Ned's reading her letters.

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

November Authors Tea

                                                       
Author's Tea is an event to celebrate the amazing student writers we have at Welcome Elementary. Students are chosen from each classroom and invited to share their selected piece in front of an audience. This is a video of Hailey sharing her fiction piece about a boy and his pet turtle! We are so proud of you Hailey !

Presidential Election and Book Character Day !

November has been a very busy month for our 2nd graders ! We learned about the presidential election and the two candidates who were campaigning. We held a mock election and graphed our class data.

The ballot box filled with votes !

 I read the book "Vote for Me" and we discussed the two presidential candidates and the different political parties they represented. 

Each student received an "I VOTED" sticker once they submitted their ballot.

Students submitting their secret ballots.

Our data collection

We also celebrated BOOK CHARACTER Day by dressing up as our favorite book characters! There was even a parade at school !

The upstairs 2nd grade team members were the 5 Little Monkeys !

Miss. Neds and Mrs. Phillips - Monkeys 2 and 3 !

Canned Food Drive

Our school does a yearly canned food drive to benefit the Drew Fowler Food Pantry here in our community. Donations are accepted for one week, and the class that donates the most cans wins a pizza party. Our class donated 145 cans and won the party! It felt so good to give back to our community. Thank you to everyone who donated and helped us earn this fun privilege!