Explore the idea of a 'significant author' by researching information about the author you are reading in class. Pose questions for research, for example: What do we enjoy about this author's books? How popular are they in this class/school? How long have they written for and how many books have they written? Have they won book awards or written best-sellers? What do the experts say? Discuss ways to find the information, for example surveys, letters to publishers or the Internet.
Plan a group activity researching other authors and making a presentation about what makes them 'significant'. Children are responsible for assigning roles within the group, planning how to carry out the research and negotiating problems. They report back to the class about favourite books and a range of background information about the author.
Groups discuss and reflect on the group task, identifying what went well and things that they would do differently.
Ask children to reflect on their own reading habits and preferences after listening to the presentation. Challenge them to try reading a book by at least one author that they have not read before.
Learning outcome:
Children can work effectively as part of a group to research a significant author and make a presentation to the class.
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