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Tell them and they will forget. Show them and they will learn.
Inspire them and they will shine like the stars in the Heavens.
The Young Authors
An Author Inspired Site for Literary Enhancement
About Us
What is The Young Authors? Let's see...
It's a club, a place where kids learn about writing and share their ideas with other students. It's a show! Fun, unique author videos full of music, mystery, instruction and activities! It's a world of creativity, imagination and laughter. It's a world of kindness.
It all started with a caveman. Click on him for more.
For Teachers
Welcome to a space designed for teachers to help engage, teach and motivate their students. The Young Authors site uses literature, art and music to develop critical thinking, stimulate imagination and foster creativity. Here, learning standards are not merely boxes to be checked, they are the language woven into every lesson. For more information, click on the apple.
For the Tater Tots
(Six Author Videos: Designed for students in grades K-2 and higher.)
Although designed for students in grades K-2, these fun, interactive videos provide an excellent jumping-off point for higher-grade teachers to reinforce lessons to their students as well. Each book in this learning series is featured as a 'Now Playing' attraction at a movie theater. Simply click on the 'Book' you want to watch, the Author does the rest. Craft and Structure. Author's Purpose. Poetry. Problems. Solutions.
It's all there and much more based on each particular lesson. Now why does the Author refer to the students in Kindergarten through second grade as Tater Tots? Well, he has a unique sense of humor. It's his way of recognizing, in his own endearing way, children of the different age groups he visits in schools. He calls it Potato Theory 101. To enter the Tater Tot program, click on Big Fella.
For the French Fries
(Seven Author Videos: Designed for students in grades 3-5 or higher.)
Bigger words, more advanced concepts and more exciting adventures. The students are growing and we're right there with them. Now, instead of saying 'Problems and Solutions', we say 'Conflict and Resolution'. Yep, they're big kids now. Instead of going to a movie theater, they're going to a Drive-In Theater! It's bigger and cooler and much more awesome! The Author decided to step up the Author Videos as well. The stories are more complex, the meanings are deeper and the implications are more relatable to their own lives. Of course we cover Conflict and Resolution as well as Author's Purpose. But now, other writing considerations emerge. Conventions of Writing, Poetic License, Emotion, Allusion are explored as we learn to use writing tools wisely as well as responsibly.
Each lesson is then reinforced by the introduction of a fun activity to bring it all home. It's fun, it's thorough and did we say fun? Asimile. Point of View. Emotion. Compare and Contrast. So much more. To enter the French Fry program, click on Ooga Looga. He looks familiar.
Writing Olympics!
What is the Writing Olympics? Only the most fun you can have in school! The Author created this program as a way, a really fun way, to demonstrate the story telling process as well as the illustration process to students. Rather than telling them how to write or draw, he worked with them to write their own classroom stories and draw their own pictures. Their team story and illustrations would then compete with the stories and illustrations from other classrooms in front of judges. The excitement of this exercise is off the charts and it hits just about every standard in the book. Collaboration. Interaction. Connection. Higher level thinking and effort, but so fun the kids don't even know they're learning. To enter the Writing Olympics arena, click on the Olympic kids where we're going to share some of the very best stories told over the years.
Click on the box to enter.
Three Day Literacy Program!
This one's for the adventurers! It's a 3-Day classroom odyssey featuring the almost world famous Peppy the Pig Writing Workshop, a castle based Escape Room (it's crazy!) and an inspiring and hilarious Author's Journey. Lesson's galore, vocabulary and music...lots of music! An instant classic designed to leave your students excited about reading, writing and hopefully about life. It's crazy fun and educational!
Author Podcasts
Kids love story time! Read alouds by the teacher are a wonderful way to bring a story to life. But, sharing a story and its pictures with an entire classroom can be challenging. To assist the teachers, the Author created Video Podcasts where he reads the first book in the Aidan of Oren trilogy. What was intended as a favor to his teacher friends is now a big hit with students and teachers alike.
15 sessions, each about 20 minutes in length, allow the students to begin The Journey.
Here's a sample of the podcasts.
They are free for anyone to use.
Novel Study Units
It is not uncommon for teachers to use the Author's Aidan of Oren series for teaching purposes. But one teacher from Illinois took it a big step further. She created complete Study Units for each of the three books in the series, which are recommended for students in 4th - 6th Grades.
There's a lot in here, click on any book for details and list of standards we've covered.
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