The Task

Your writing club has decided that the best way to approach this task is to research the life and writings of your chosen author to determine how his or her life influenced prior writings. Based on what you learn about the author, each member of your group will need to write the summary for a new story. Individually, you will need to decide what the new book will be about. You will include the characters, plot (conflicts and resolutions), setting, and theme. 

Your group will organize the research information in the form of a display board. The board will include:

• an essay that includes amazing facts about the author
• a biography that includes rich details about the author's life
• a list of the award-winning books that the author has written
• a list of the author's books by genre and include the dates they were published.
• a graph that shows third, fourth, and fifth graders' favorite books by your author
• a timeline of the author's life, including all important events
• a portrait of the author
• a collection of book covers with award-winners clearly labeled.

After the research is complete and organized, each member of your writing club will write and then share a summary of the new manuscript. Each member will also display an illustration of the new book's cover.

(See Independent Activity)