Becoming Authors

Today was such a special day because we launched writing workshop! To introduce the students to writing, we talked about what it means to be an author and illustrator. I explained to students how this year, we will all become authors and illustrators. In fact, for many writers it was around this first-grade-age that they discovered their love for books, writing, and story-telling.

Because I am a very "learn-by-doing" kind of learner (and I think most little ones are as well) I believe in giving students many many opportunities to go through the creative process of constructing their very own stories in books - from beginning to end. I explained to students how every author is still learning and growing and one person who helps them to do that is their editor. We decided that as long as they are in first grade, I am happy to be each student's personal book "editor." To make this happen I structure our writing time into the following:
- A mini-lesson (to get students motivated and point out a particular strength/skill of great authors)
- A time for authors to work on their books while I hold "meetings" with students one-on-one to make notes about their progress and for us to edit their book together before publishing (more on that later).

To launch our very first writing workshop, I could think of no better way than to introduce my class to one of the most beloved authors of all time - a man behind some of the most recognizable books in our classroom library: Eric Carl. Here is a peak into his story... the children enjoyed it so much and I hope you do too. =)