My+Favorite+Author+Project

= My Favorite Author Project = Language Arts/Grade 7

This project is a smorgasbord of language arts and creative media activities! I guarantee there is something for everyone here. First, you must do a little personal reflection. Think about your favorite books. Are some written by the same author? Now choose the very top book and it’s author. You are going to research that author, learn about their lives, their work, and design and illustrate their biography in cartoon form, making sure to cover different aspects of their lives so that we will all learn something about her/him. Then take that favorite book of yours and condense it down into just a few words. These must be key words that convey the plot, the theme, the characters, the setting, the action, the tone, etc. You will create a slideshow to share this “book report” with the class. Finally, you will be thinking about your first bestseller (because of course, every student in this class will be a writer!) and your favorite author who inspired you. You will invent a story, design it’s book cover, and generate a thank you note of sorts to your favorite author that you will include on the cover for the world to read.
 * Introduction **

The objectives of this project are for you to research the lives of your favorite authors in order to learn something about them, and what they bring to the book you so love. Pick out the key information you learned about them and apply it to a biographical cartoon. You will also have to analyze your favorite book, examine its structure and story and be able to organize and interpret it for the rest of us so that we can understand what it’s all about from a condensed version. You then must consider how that author and his/her writing has influenced you, using your imagination to think up a story you will eventually (hopefully) write, while also concluding, by thanking that author, the many ways you have been affected by his/her stories.

You will have three weeks to work on this in class, with all the computer access you need and my help too. Get to it! Here’s how:

Imagine that you will have the chance to interview your favorite author via Facetime, Skype, etc. What do you want to know? What kinds of questions would you ask. Use this Bubbl.us template to start. This is very basic. Write out your questions here. Add bubbles. Add as much as you wish. The more questions you have, the easier your research will be. Here is the link: [|__https://bubbl.us/?h=21040f/4313ad/21pQQBvU4Hdtw&r=1167419408__]
 * #1 Bio Brainstorm **

Now that you have interviewed the author in your imagination. Find the answers to your questions. Research online, or find a book in the library about the author. Sometimes the author’s own book jackets are a good start. Once you have your answers, create a Google Doc that you can share with me. On it, list the questions you brainstormed and the answers you found. Please remember to cite your sources so that I know you did the research! Then create a cartoon biography in Pixton of the author. Try to make the image as accurate as possible (hair color, etc) and include some of the facts you have learned. Try to include at least one quote from the author. Your cartoon should be made in the “sunday comic” template or longer. Here is a sample. My author is fictional since I didn’t want to use any of your favorites! [|__http://Pixton.com/ic:b4vh5mnd__]
 * #2 Author’s Cartoon Life **

This is your chance to let us (and the author) know why you like his/her book. Think of your favorite book. Now the tricky part: condense it (shorten) the book down to FIFTEEN to TWENTY words! As I mentioned above, these must be keywords that convey the plot, the theme, the characters, the setting, the action, the tone, etc. Then, design and create a slideshow using Google Presentation. Here is my sample. Don’t laugh. Favorite books last a lifetime. Be creative! [|__https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15W6rkoU1Iq4XXcSSz0n-p9RXPs9pGdqaoUfUnf_u3OE/edit?usp=sharing__]
 * #3 Fave Book Report **

You have been inspired by your favorite author to write a book! (Don’t panic! You don’t have to write it now!) Think of all you have learned about your author, what you know about your favorite book and other books that you have read by her/him. Now create a poster in Glogster of your book cover. You know, design a cover for the book you will eventually write inspired by the books by your favorite author! Will it be the same genre as your favorite writes? Will it have similar subject matter? Who will be your audience? Why will you choose certain images, colors, designs? Does the cover hint to the content? Think of these questions as guides. I will also be asking you for answers when you share your book cover, so be prepared! As a part of your cover, you need to write a brief note of appreciation to the author who inspired you. Please write this in a Google Doc and share it with me so that I can help you with it. It should be at least one paragraph long. Make sure to insert this paragraph into your Glogster. Here is a link to my sample: [|__http://curvysoul.edu.glogster.com/sample-book-cover__]
 * #4 Bestseller Book Cover **

When you are finished with your project: > > > > please post them on our class website. Here is a link: [|__http://scerbinsseventhgradeclass.weebly.com/__]
 * #5 Share **
 * Bio Brainstorm
 * Author’s Cartoon Life
 * Fave Book Report
 * Bestseller Book Cover

Once we have shared them with each other, our next step will be to write a letter to our favorite authors (using snail mail) to practice our handwriting and letter writing skills. Don’t get too excited about that!

Are they thorough? Have I touched on many topics? Have I looked at his/her feelings about writing? || My questions are limited to a narrow range of topics. || My questions are thorough and involve many aspects of the author’s life worthy of attention. || My questions are thorough and involve many aspects of author’s life worthy of attention. I also dug deeper to find out more about his/her feelings about writing. || Did I look for answers to all of my questions the best I could? Did I cite my sources? || I researched the answers to a few of my questions, but did not provide proper citation of the sources. || I researched the answers to most of the questions that could be answered, and provided citation of most of the sources. || I researched the answers to all of my questions that could be answered, and provided detailed citation of the sources. || Did I include key and relevant information? Is it organized? Does it flow? Did I include a quote? || My cartoon contains some key information about the author. || My cartoon flows and contains key and relevant details of the author’s life. || My cartoon flows in an organized way, contains key and relevant details of the author’s life and quotes of the author’s own words. || Is my cartoon visually organized? Did I include detail? || My cartoon has some organization, but can be confusing. || My cartoon is visually organized. || My cartoon is visually organized and detailed. || Did I use eloquent and precise vocabulary to summarize the book? Was my summary accurate? || I used a limited vocabulary to describe the story. || I used accurate words to describe the story. || I used eloquent and accurate words to describe the story. || Is my slideshow visually organized? Does it flow as the book does? Did I include relevant details about the story? || My slide show is somewhat organized, but does not flow smoothly. || My slide show is visually organized and flows. || My slide show is visually organized, flows, and has relevant visual details. || Does my story idea specifically reference one of the author’s books? Did I creatively use my own idea too? || My story idea is similar to the subject of the author’s books. || My story idea indicates specific reference to the author’s books. || My story idea indicates specific reference to the author’s books, and creatively weaves in an original idea. || Is my book cover visually connected to my story idea? Is it visually pleasing, organized and detailed? || My book cover is visually pleasing but does not connect to my story idea. || My book cover visually connects to my story idea. || My book cover visually connects to my story idea, is detailed and organized. || Does my author not tell why he/she is my favorite? Does it tell how I have been influenced? Do I include details? || My note states that the author is my favorite. || My note explains why the author is my favorite and that he/she have influenced me. || My note explains in detail why the author is my favorite and how I have been influenced by her/him. || Total points possible: 27
 * Rubric **
 * CHARACTERISTIC || 1 || 2 || 3 ||
 * Author Interview Questions:
 * Author Research
 * Cartoon Biographical Information
 * Cartoon Presentation
 * Analysis of Book
 * Interpretation of Book in Slide Show
 * Original Story Idea
 * Book Cover
 * Author Note