WELCOME
TO THE RESOURCES & DOWNLOAD PAGE!
"I asked the kids what their favorite part was and hands down, they said voting!”
- S. Frazier,
First Grade Teacher
"I love Susie’s enthusiasm and ability to engage students. She had my students hooked from the beginning. Every. Single. Student. Participated!”
- H. Amundson,
Kindergarten Teacher
“We are thrilled to be a part of this. The kids want to be part of something bigger than the walls of the classroom. They were inspired and excited about each part of this and the next book can’t come fast enough for them!”
- S. Hammond,
Third Grade Teacher
Free Classroom Writing Prompt
Good news! We even created 4 versions to accommodate all writing levels.
Fun fact: This is the actual writing prompt pictured in the opening scene of the book!
Download here!
Kids are involved in the making of a children's book, from the rough draft to a published book on Amazon! They will cast votes on a variety of decisions such as characters, setting, cover design, and other aspects of book production. They will have the opportunity to see behind-the-scenes on HOW a book is created and published.
Kids are involved in the making of a children's book, from the rough draft to a published book on Amazon! They will cast votes on a variety of decisions such as characters, setting, cover design, and other aspects of book production. They will have the opportunity to see behind-the-scenes on HOW a book is created and published.
Susie's answer:
The quick version: Any/all grades TK-6th! Since I'm a SLP and am used to working with grade-level standards, I adjust the content to reflect what age I'm meeting with. All worksheets/ printable materials are provided as different versions for different grade levels.
With TK-2nd, I keep things fun and fairly fast-paced with a focus on students feeling included in the process of making the book. This promotes a sense of ownership and excitement with books and the writing process. Based on last year's program, which developed during distance learning, even just a little glimpse into the behind-the-scenes prior to publishing created a noticeable shift for kids. I also have TK-2 worksheets that go along with each page of the book, so those can be fun writing prompts to get kids further engaged! Totally optional though.
With 3rd-6th, it's more about the book publishing process and developing an appreciation of books. Students love seeing the specifics of how rough sketches develop over time, the decisions that go into a cover design, etc. Until I dove into the whole publishing world, I had no idea how complex it was. It turns out, it's incredibly fascinating so I include them in the real-life version of it all. I show them that editing is "real" and all the versions I wrote and revised. My hope is that connecting writing standards with a real life book project that helps people will be a natural way to promote engagement in writing this year!
Here's a video from the author explaining the project and inviting your child to join us!
In this program, they mean basically the same thing! Voting is optional. And better yet, you don't need to decide ahead of time! Just jump in and start following along!
You'll get an email when a new vote posts. If your child is involved in the book, have him/her cast their vote! And if you miss a day, no biggie.
This is an opportunity to be involved in the making of a book and you get to decide how much or how little you'd like to participate along the way!
The author sends a weekly newsletter to teachers, which includes a video message for students, allowing kids to feel included in all aspects of book production and see behind the scenes of the book publishing process. The author also visits a number of schools throughout the semester and is dedicated to visit the top 5 participating schools, no matter the location.
This is a literacy-based literary program that also provides social-emotional learning benefits, leadership skills, and community and philanthropic benefits. All themes and materials are designed to strengthen positive character traits, create a unique bond with literacy, and build student involvement in the community.
In this program, they mean basically the same thing! Voting is optional. And better yet, you don't need to decide ahead of time! Just jump in and start following along!
You'll get an email when a new vote posts. If your child is involved in the book, have him/her cast their vote! And if you miss a day, no biggie.
This is an opportunity to be involved in the making of a book and you get to decide how much or how little you'd like to participate along the way!
While Authorable was created to increase student engagement in reading and writing and build a forever bond with literacy, it goes far beyond a traditional literacy program. There are numerous social-emotional learning benefits that come with the program as well. The communal voting process allows students’ voices to be heard while also re-establishing a sense of community within a school after being separated for so long. Kids can rally around this, get excited, and celebrate their efforts by doing something helpful in their local community.
Students can learn a variety of skills including collaboration, leadership, the importance of voting and being informed, respectful listening, the value of project completion, the rewarding feeling of using your skills to do something helpful in your community, healthy coping/healing strategies, entrepreneurship, compassion, taking time to help others, social-emotional learning skills, and philanthropy through the Authorable program.
ALL kids/students are encouraged to be involved (ages 1-18)! We currently have kids from across the US and in countries such as France, Ireland, Ethiopia, and India who are all participating!
Don't have children? No problem. Adults can follow along! Or even better, involve a niece/nephew, grandchild, or family friend. Chat with them at the end of the week about which one they'd like to vote on and you can submit their vote for them!
The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. Here are a few testimonials from principals and teachers:
“As a teacher, I appreciate Susie’s enthusiasm and student engagement. She had the students hooked from the beginning and EVERYONE participated in voting! That rarely happens on Zoom, and I’m so glad to be a part of this.” —kindergarten teacher, Irvine, CA
"Kids don’t get opportunities to make many decisions right now. This gives children the chance to be in charge of something, to feel heard, and be a part of something that helps other kids. That’s powerful.”—Principal, Fresno, CA
"This could be a game changer to develop emerging-readers into students who love books." —Superintendent, Fremont Unified, CA
“I loved the results shown as bar graphs! After we submitted our votes, it automatically showed us that visual, so I turned that into a small math lesson with reading bar graphs!”—First Grade Teacher, Clovis, CA
"After our class activity with Miss Susie, I asked my class about their favorite part. Hands down, they said, “Voting!"—2nd Grade Teacher, Illinois
“We are ALL just thrilled to be a part of this! The kids want to be a part of something bigger than the walls of home and classroom... and I think all kids do! They're already asking when we get to do another one!"—3rd Grade Teacher, Fresno, CA
Nope! Because Authorable was developed as a way to offset challenges during distance learning, all visits are through Zoom. For schools who are registered, the extra “behind-the-scene” videos are available through the teacher portal to access at each teacher’s convenience. We have videos from the author about the writing process, tips from the editors, ask the author forums, and much more! Many teachers report using these videos as their quick introduction and "hook" for writing lessons. If your school isn't registered and you want a better idea of what the video library has available, contact us at info@authorable.com.
Of the classroom nominations each week, up to 5 classrooms across the country are chosen to receive a surprise "Author Visit"! Although most of our classroom recipients are nominated by their school administrator, we also accept nominations from parents, community members, and teachers! Nominate a classroom by emailing the teacher's name and grade to info@authorable.com.
ALL kids/students are encouraged to be involved (ages 1-18)! We currently have kids from across the US and in countries such as France, Ireland, Ethiopia, and India who are all participating!
Don't have children? No problem. Adults can follow along! Or even better, involve a niece/nephew, grandchild, or family friend. Chat with them at the end of the week about which one they'd like to vote on and you can submit their vote for them!
While the framework supports various grade-level ELA standards and has a variety of social-emotional learning topics built in, teachers are finding that it fits best as a writing activity. With many students showing below grade-level writing after a year of distance learning, this offers a way to get students truly involved in something meaningful and fun (while including and encouraging writing along the way).
Bonus: It requires as few as 15 minutes a week.
Good question! In our current children's book (to be published this December), our main character, Ava, is on a quest that leads her into a series of problem-solution situations along a mountain trail. Her obstacles (in a child-friendly way) represent some of the SEL topics educators ar seeing right now as they navigate all the COVID-related challenges (i.e., adjusting to change, a sense of unknown, creating a renewed sense of hope, etc). Our conversations within the story focus on being solution-oriented and using creative problem solving (with a growth mindset backdrop). And of course, there are fun and unexpected things embedded throughout the story to keep kids engaged and smiling. :)
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What it is: A 20-25 min virtual classroom author visit. Your students exprience a behind-the-scenes tour with Susie through the current children's book being made (to be published in December)! They even have the chance to help Susie make a few decisions for the book!
Where: Zoom (I'll include the link in a calendar invite once we decide on a time).
How to let your kids know: You can say something as simple as, "Guess what everyone?! I just got a message from a best-selling children's book author! She's making a new book and wants our help! She said she has a few questions for us?!" (acting excited and curious) "We get to meet her next week and see what her questions are!"
What to expect: I keep things fun and fairly fast-paced. When I have them help make a decision, they'll vote via hand raises, if you can help me count the totals. Other than that, you don't need to prep/do anything!
Why: It's an exhausting year for all of us in education. This project is my way of supporting teachers and getting kids engaged and excited about writing/reading, amidst all the pressures related to learning loss.
This fall's children's book: Ava (our main character) is on a quest that leads her into a series of obstacles along a mountain trail. Conversation prompts within the story focus on being solution oriented. And of course, there are fun and unexpected things embedded within the story to keep kids engaged and smiling.
This is actually why we’re here! No specific “writing level” required. Since I'm a SLP and am used to working with grade-level standards and it’s easy to adjust the content to reflect each grade/classroom. We’re here to help make writing fun this year so your students can make as much (enthusiastic) progress as possible. You can have your students track along with the book process simply by showing them the 5-min video update each week. If you choose to use the writing materials, there are versions available for grades TK-6 so you can scan and find something for the level you need.
We welcome our youngest readers and early writers! With TK and Kindergarten classrooms, we keep our discussions quick and fun. They are excited to be working on a book with the *real author* and enjoy the process of helping make choices. We have the opportunity to discuss story elements and build in predicting and inferencing prompts. TK and Kindergarten students *love* the writing prompts that track along with the story because it feels like they're helping to write our story. Pro tip: Prep a separate folder (AKA "Portfolio") for all of their writing and artwork related to the book so they can save it alongside their physical copy of the hardcover book once it's printed. It's a great snaphot of their writing journey as a young writer.
Not at all! 4th-6th grade students are consistently some of the most involved kids we have! Because we get to dive into the specifics of book publishing, students get to see how they’re current writing standards are used in real life. We even have our national team of editors available for questions and they provide “expert tips” for our established writers.