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Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Houghton Mifflin: The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Explore this informative teachers' guide for the book, "The Garden of Abdul Gasazi," by Chris Van Allsburg. Students and teachers will enjoy this comprehensive source.
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Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Houghton Mifflin Books: Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
This comprehensive teacher's guide for the book "Zathura" by Chris Van Allsburg provides us with an opportunity to examine how writers blend scientific information with a fictional story.
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Lesson Plan
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum

The Trumpet Club: Welcome Comfort Classroom Activities

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students and teachers will benefit from this educational resource. Check out this site for some activity ideas to go along with Patricia Polacco's book Welcome Comfort.
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Rubric
Daily Teaching Tools

Daily Teaching Tools: Independent Author Study Evaluation

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This Daily Teaching Tools resource provides an author study evaluation rubric. Students will be assessed on oral communication skills, author information, and a Venn Diagram.
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Rubric
Daily Teaching Tools

Daily Teaching Tools: Author Study: Book Cover Rubric

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This Daily Teaching Tools resource provides an author study reproducible. A rubric is provided to help assess an author study project.
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Activity
University of Calgary

The Children's Literature Web Guide

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This resource is a children's literature web guide.
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Unit Plan
TES Global

Blendspace: John Steinbeck and the Red Pony

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This twenty-six part blendspace is a scavenger hunt that will lead students to learn about the author John Steinbeck, the setting of The Red Pony, and why he wrote The Red Pony. Writing assignments, rubrics, primary sources, video...
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Website
Other

Carol Polsgrove on Writers' Lives: George Ella Lyon on Books for the Young

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site shares an interview with George Ella Lyon, author and Kentucky Poet Laureate. Lyon provides advice on selecting books for children and young adults. She also shares her personal experiences with having her own books banned...
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Website
Books in the Classroom

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: The Keeping Quilt

For Students Pre-K - 1st Standards
A review of "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco, a story about a Russian immigrant mother and family as well as other resources for teaching young readers.
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Website
Books in the Classroom

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: Eric Carle

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
What do you know about Eric Carle, the author? This Carol Hurst site highlights some interesting facts about this author's life and refers to some of his books.
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Lesson Plan
Teachers.net

Teachers.net: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
This site features a lesson plan for William Steig's "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble." Come and check out this creative activity.
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Lesson Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Units: Teaching Units

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Complete teaching units (12) by grade level. CommonLit units are crafted to be both engaging and rigorous, featuring a variety of literary and informational texts from diverse sources. Reading, writing, and discussion are prioritized in...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: An Author Study: Christopher Paul Curtis

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
This five-day instructional activity will introduce the students to the author of the novel as the beginning of a unit. The students will conduct research to obtain biographical information about the author and read/analyze summaries and...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Top Ten Books

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
During this lesson students review their favorite books from the present school year. They navigate the Internet to locate information about the author of their favorite book and write a summary. Students compile their information in a...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Author Study

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
During this lesson, students will learn more about their favorite authors by researching them on the Internet and presenting to the class, school, and community. Students will see that authors are real people thereby developing an...
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Lesson Plan
Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets: The Author Study Toolkit

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Explains the benefits of doing an author study and how to do one with a class. Includes lists of resources and ideas for culminating projects.
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Lesson Plan
Austin Independent School District

Austin Indep. School District: Using Book Floods to Take a Closer Look [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
An inquiry-based lesson plan designed to introduce students to genre or to a specific author. Possible questions and graphic organizers help students refine thier thinking and discover connections. Requires Adobe Reader. [PDF]
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Article
The Book Report

Kids reads.com: Pam Munoz Ryan

For Students 4th - 8th
This includes a brief biography of the author Pam Munoz Ryan. A transcript of an interview is also included on the site, as well as an annotated list of her books.
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Graphic
Daily Teaching Tools

Daily Teaching Tools: Sample Author Study

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This Daily Teaching Tools resource provides an exemplar of the expectations for an independent class project. Each student must study an author and meet the criteria listed on the page.
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Activity
Daily Teaching Tools

Daily Teaching Tools: Formal Letter for Author Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th
This Daily Teaching Tools lesson explains how to write a business letter to an author. It also provides a rubric.
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Activity
Daily Teaching Tools

Daily Teaching Tools: Using a Jigsaw for an Author Study

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This Daily Teaching Tools resource provides a structure for an author study. Students will work in a jigsaw activity during a 9-week author study. Downloadable graphic organizers accompany this author's study.
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Unit Plan
TES Global

Blendspace: 7th Grade Literature Circle Author Research

For Students 6th - 8th
A seventeen-part learning module with links to images and information about adolescent authors Sharon Draper, Christopher Crowe, Joseph Bruchac, Susan Campbell Bartole, Jerry Spinelli, and Seymour Reit.
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Henkes Literature Study

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson's goal is to increase vocabulary to reflect a growing range of interests and knowledge using an author study. Students will also focus on classifying and categorizing words into sets and...
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Lesson Plan
Daily Teaching Tools

Daily Teaching Tools: Author Study Motivates Kids to Learn and Grow as Readers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A teaching resource with a lesson on completing an author study with students. Includes links to free downloadable samples, requirements, rubrics, and more to use along with this unit.