We Are Authors!

Prior Knowledge: Ask students to define the word "important" and identify things that they feel are important. Ask what makes those things important.

Warm Up: Use student suggestion to create a Bubble Map on the board that tells what makes various classroom objects important and useful. Students will then have the opportunity to complete the task independently using a personal white board.

TEKS: 2.5 Reading/Vocabulary Development, 2.16 Reading/Media Literacy, 2.17 Writing/Writing Processes, 2.21 Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions, 2.23 Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling

Teach/Model: Read "The Important Book" by Margaret Wise Brown to students. Have them participate in coming up with new attributes that make the objects mentioned important as the book is read. Once story is finished, have them reflect on attributes that make them important. Students should create bubble map on personal white board that depicts those attributes. Allow students to share their ideas.

Once students have shared, inform them they will be creating their own book entitled, "Important." On personal white board, allow students to list objects they want to mention in their book. Give each student a computer from the mobile lab and instruct them to open Microsoft Word from the desktop icon. Inform students that like the book we just read, each page of their book will focus on one object. The last page will focus on what makes them important. Using the teacher computer and classroom television or SmartBoard, show students how to create a Cover, Dedication Page, Title Page, and page in book.

Instruct them to use proper keyboarding skills, as learned in their school computer class. Show students that they may type their words at the top of bottom of the page, and the clip art can go above or below the text. Show them how they can transfer the clip art from the Clip Art Station to their book. Remind students that the clip art is the illustration of the book and should match the text on each page. Allow students to use the list they create on the personal white board as a guide to the writing of their book. Encourage students to create scenes using the Clip Art Station.

Have class complete the text on the Cover, Dedication Page, and Title page as a whole group. Once that is complete, students may individually return to project to add clip art from the Clip Art Station and begin writing of book. Monitor student progress by checking student by student as they work. Once students have written about approximately seven objects and theirself, teacher should check overall product and allow students to print book. Check to ensure that the book is properly illustrated using the Clip Art Station.

Once book is printed, allow students to use three whole punch to create holes in side of book. Then, students may use yarn or ribbon to connect pages of book. Finally, books should be placed on display at school.

Modifications: For Special Education or Learning Disability students, adjust number of pages in book to a lower number. For Gifted and Talented students, allow students to write as many pages as they so desire.