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As I read this chapter, I realized that I honestly don't dedicate a significant amount of time presenting author's bio. A couple of years ago, the district provided us with slides of several authors and a short bio.  This chapter made me realize that I need to be more informed about the authors before introducing it to the students.  This will allow students to realize that authors are real people like us.
I also like the resources listed on page 43.

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I love the idea of the students getting to know the authors and illustrators behind a book.  Showing them their picture or reading about them, gives them the knowledge that they are a real person, just like them.  It helps them make more of a connection with them and their books.  Plus, they get a better understanding of why they write or illustrate the books that they do.  I’ve been really trying to show them the author of books we read, especially if they are series books or ones I will be using as a future mentor.  I need to start reading the dedications in each book, so they get the feeling of why the author/illustrator made it or who inspired them.

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My next project is going to be… printing pictures of authors and putting it inside all of my hundreds of books! I like how she said to print also print and stick pictures of authors in books that the students read independently. We’re going to need a lot of ink. I feel like there’s a lot of good information about the author that I don’t normally share with the students because that’s not something that I look at myself when I’m reading or selecting a book to read personally. I was starting to feel overwhelmed about what kind of information I should share with the students when Lisa came to the rescue. I liked how she gave a few ideas on what to look for: personal information that students will find interesting or connect with and how writers and illustrators go about their work. Oh wait, now I have to find and print pictures of the illustrators too!

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Picture of Hector and Sara spending 2 hours outside playing with Legos.

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I have to admit that I'm not very consistent about reading the authors' bio. I would say I'm even a little biased because I only do that with my favorite authors. There are certain authors I don't care much for that they like and I tend not to make a big deal about that author or their books. I do display authors as we focus on them as lessons come up. I like how it mentioned how Donald Crews often takes photos of the things he will illustrate so he can study them. This is something I've been doing. I show them one of my small moments of something in a photo or short video from my phone. I feel like I can explain my story better before putting it on paper. (Hector and Sara are always like"let me guess...you're recording to show it to your kids for writing workshop!") The funny thing is, after seeing so many pictures and videos of my family, they feel like they know them! I want them to feel like they know the author too!!

Here's an example of a picture I would show them and write about:

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As I read chapter 2 I am amazing at how little modeling she is doing as the teacher. I love the idea of students having the freedom to write any book they want, but when I think of the STAAR test and the restrictions they have I become concerned. I am hoping that Lisa Cleveland address the issues including grammar, punctuation, editing, sentence structure... etc. This year I want to take the time as a class to get to know the mentor authors. On page 43 she gave some wonderful resources. Also, I want to take the time to discuss the biography and dedication included in the books. I think we will receive wonderful inspiration when we understand the background of each book!

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Ideas I want to try:
1. Taping pictures of the author in the book so kids know that someone wrote the book.
2. Posting pictures of authors with books they wrote around the room.
3. Always pull up bios online or read the bios in the book to the kids! This lets them know where the author got their ideas from or it could give them ideas for books!
4. Always read the extra notes from the author. (I never do this OOPS!!)
5. Visit the authors website.
6. Use real photographs to help you add details to your illustrations.

PS: I'm going to start putting pictures of authors in Ellie's lunch box!