This is just a very simple idea I wanted to share about making author posters for your classroom. During the book study recently, some of us were talking about author studies. Author studies can be very, very simple, especially in Pre-K. I think some teachers feel intimidated when they think of doing an author study because they think it has to involve activities for every book the author wrote and activities related to the author’s life, and it has to be this big, elaborate thing (at least, that’s how I used to feel).
You can “study” authors in a very simple way in Pre-K by simply reading a collection of books by the same author. You can very briefly tell something interesting about that author’s life and show the children a photo of the author. It’s a great idea to print out multiple copies of an author’s photo to stick on the inside cover of all of the books that author wrote to help the children make the connection. (That is an idea shared in the book, Already Ready, by Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover.)
Another way to help children make connections with the author and the books written by the author is to make author posters. I recommend making them with the children, rather making them in advance because it will be more meaningful. To make these, put the author’s name at the top and a very short biography of things prekinder children might find interesting about the author. (I used cardstock paper for my posters.) This can be handwritten or made using Word or PowerPoint or a similar program. I use PowerPoint because it allows me to move images around more easily. Then print out small images of the book covers. Pictures of authors and book covers can be found through Google Images. I’m not able to share my files with you, unfortunately, because all pictures of book covers are copyrighted.
As you read a book to the children, add that book to the author’s poster. The next book you read to the children, add that book to the poster. For some authors, you may need an extra piece of card stock to make more room. If you have plenty of space on your walls, you could leave these posters up all year. If space is limited, post one author on the wall at a time. When you take an author down, add that poster to a presentation book (a book with clear page protectors bound inside), and you will have an author book!
Author Study Suggestions for Pre-K:
- Mo Willems
- Eric Carle
- Denise Fleming
- Laura Numeroff
- Jan Brett
- Jez Alborough
- Jonathan London