Featured Sites Week of: Feb 8, 2026 - All about Authors
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Rick Riordan - Teacher's Guides - Rick Riordan
Grades
4 to 8
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The Rick Riordan website's Teachers' Guides section offers a variety of free resources designed to help educators incorporate Riordan's popular books into their classrooms. These guides...more
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The Rick Riordan website's Teachers' Guides section offers a variety of free resources designed to help educators incorporate Riordan's popular books into their classrooms. These guides include discussion questions, reading comprehension activities, lesson plans tailored to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase, and more. The materials are aligned with Common Core standards and support subjects like English Language Arts, history, mythology, and cultural studies. Teachers can use these guides to inspire critical thinking, foster creativity, and deepen students' engagement with the stories. The resources are ideal for sparking interest in mythology and diverse cultures through engaging, student-centered activities.
tag(s): authors (116), critical thinking (199), greek (46), myths and legends (44), reading comprehension (147), student-centered (8)
In the Classroom
Create a mythology-themed trivia game where students answer questions about Greek, Roman, Norse, or Egyptian myths featured in Riordan's books. Make an online quiz using Blooket, reviewed here or Wayground (formerly Quizizz), reviewed here. Have students design a demigod character, including a parent from mythology. They can write a short character profile, including strengths, weaknesses, and a unique quest. Transform the classroom into Camp Half-Blood for a day! Create stations where students complete challenges (ex, solving riddles, crafting "weapons," or navigating a "labyrinth"). Using the hero's journey structure (as seen in Percy Jackson), have students outline and write a short adventure story. Encourage them to incorporate mythological elements and share their stories with the class.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Learning From Experts: Author Studies in the Classroom - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 8
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This article from TeachersFirst Help! I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series, reviewed here shares the educational advantages of conducting author...more
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This article from TeachersFirst Help! I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series, reviewed here shares the educational advantages of conducting author studies and provides activities, resources, and learning extensions to incorporate into any classroom. Suggested activities include video interviews of authors recommended for younger and older students, technology incorporation ideas, and suggestions for virtual author visits. Information includes correlation to ISTE and AASL standards.
tag(s): authors (116), book lists (167), help article (63)
In the Classroom
Add this article to your list of resources for author studies in your classroom. Use Wakelet, reviewed here to organize and curate your collection of resources. Share author websites, video interviews, and book lists with students using 3X3 Links, reviewed here. 3X3 Links is a bookmarking site that is easy for you and your students to use when sharing websites. After watching author interviews and learning about authors, conduct author interviews with student authors in your classroom. Use Padlet, reviewed here for this and allow class peers to ask questions of the author being interviewed. This is a link to Padlet's Help section for posting video or an image.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Author's Websites - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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Introduce your students to some of their favorite authors (and some new ones). Learn and explore information about a variety of authors. Engage your students in learning about the life...more
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Introduce your students to some of their favorite authors (and some new ones). Learn and explore information about a variety of authors. Engage your students in learning about the life and works of authors and participate in the activities available on the websites. Share these resources with your students, families, and colleagues. Remember, our "In the Classroom" suggestions give you ideas about using these resources in your classroom.
tag(s): authors (116)
In the Classroom
Share these resources with your students to use to learn about many authors. Share a link to this collection on your school web page and in your school newsletter (or email). Find resources to incorporate into your lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Josh Funk Books - Stuff for Kids - Josh Funk
Grades
K to 3
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Author Josh Funk's Page for Kids offers several activities and resources for his young readers to accompany his entertaining books. Discover new books by viewing book trailers, learn...more
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Author Josh Funk's Page for Kids offers several activities and resources for his young readers to accompany his entertaining books. Discover new books by viewing book trailers, learn about characters with the character cards, or play songs from books such as Mission Defrostable and Pirasaurs!. In addition, this site includes downloadable coloring pages and activity kits for many of his books.
tag(s): authors (116), preK (347), printables (35), songs (51)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many resources shared on Josh Funk's site to introduce young readers to his books using these engaging activities. Consider sharing this site on your interactive whiteboard with students before sharing the link, as navigation might be difficult for some students. Make it easy for students to find the different activities using Symbaloo, reviewed here, to add links to the different features. Take your Symbaloo a step further, using color backgrounds to help students easily find items by the type of activity. For example, use a yellow background for all video links and a blue background for songs. Extend student learning after reading Josh Funk's books by asking them to write book reviews. Search Read Write Think, reviewed here, to find age-appropriate templates and printables for student use. Extend learning further by asking students to create digital books using WriteReader, reviewed here. WriteReader is ideal for use with young students due to the many supportive features built-in, including audio recording, safe image search, and areas for student writing with an area for adding conventional spelling below.
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Book Club for Kids - Kitty Felde
Grades
5 to 9
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Book Club for Kids is a free, weekly 20-minute podcast for middle school students. Each podcast includes a discussion of a favorite book along with an author interview and celebrity...more
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Book Club for Kids is a free, weekly 20-minute podcast for middle school students. Each podcast includes a discussion of a favorite book along with an author interview and celebrity reading. In addition to the podcasts, this site offers a variety of information for students, educators, and parents. Scroll over the title to select the link for librarians, teachers, and parents to find curriculum guides for several books. Choose the sections with "Writers on Writing" to discover in-depth conversations with several authors. Podcasts are available on most popular podcasting sites.
tag(s): authors (116), book lists (167), book reports (26), literature (214), podcasts (185)
In the Classroom
This tremendous resource is a must-have for every middle school classroom and library! Share the podcasts with students not only to learn about the latest books, but also to improve public speaking skills, learn the author's techniques and tips, and discover how to share informative book reports. Subscribe to the podcast and have students listen to weekly presentations during center times or as a class. Share the "Books We Love" portion of the site on your class webpage for students to use when looking for reading material. Ask your school librarian to share these podcasts in the media center, and consider ordering books of interest to your students. As students learn from these podcasts, ask them to use what they learned to create their podcasts to share with classmates and your school. Have students use organizers found on ReadWriteThink, reviewed here to organize and plan for their podcasts and book reviews. Help students visualize their written work by creating word clouds with WordSift, reviewed here to focus on commonly used terms within their text and evaluate their usefulness. As a final project, help your students create and produce ongoing podcasts sharing their book reviews with peers. Buzzsprout, reviewed here and Spotify for Podcasters, reviewed here both provide free podcasting tools.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Maya Angelou - Official Website of Dr.Maya Angelou
Grades
8 to 12
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Dr. Maya Angelou's Official Website is dedicated to the remarkable accomplishments, news, biography, photos and videos, music, and descriptions of books and films of this remarkable...more
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Dr. Maya Angelou's Official Website is dedicated to the remarkable accomplishments, news, biography, photos and videos, music, and descriptions of books and films of this remarkable best-selling author, playwright, and civil rights activist. Dr. Maya Angelou, one of the great voices of contemporary literature, continues to spread her legendary wisdom and captivate audiences through the unique power of words' beauty to help readers cross the lines of race, religion, and culture.
tag(s): authors (116)
In the Classroom
Explore the Biography section to project photos that span Maya Angelou's lifetime of 86 years, and feature short videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard to inspire students with interviews about her work and vision, and moments that have punctuated and reveal the grace, dignity, and eloquence that are the hallmarks of her incredible work and life journey.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Judy Moody Official Website - Candlewick Press
Grades
3 to 5
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Being moody is totally RARE, if you're Judy Moody! If you teach 3rd -5th grade, you know how quickly girls devour these books. Find activity suggestions and more Judy Moody ...more
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Being moody is totally RARE, if you're Judy Moody! If you teach 3rd -5th grade, you know how quickly girls devour these books. Find activity suggestions and more Judy Moody information in the Teacher's Guide section. The Clubhouse link includes several printable "not-boring" activities.
tag(s): authors (116), book lists (167), printables (35)
In the Classroom
Plan a Judy Moody Day by using the 'rare' ideas in the Teacher's Guide section. Don't leave the boys out--plan a joint Stink Day as well. (Stink is Judy Moody's brother, and more information about Stink can be found at www.stinkmoody.com.) For writing fun, write a 'moody' scene to expand a Judy Moody or Stink book. Create a Judy Moody comic strip (or one in your own style, perhaps using one of the comic tools found in /content/edge.cfm "TeachersFirst Edge. Have your school's art teacher teach your class how to draw the perfectly temperamental Judy Moody or develop their own characters. (There is also a link at the Clubhouse showing how to draw Judy Moody.)
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The World of Beverly Cleary - Beverly Cleary
Grades
1 to 7
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Ramona fans will celebrate when they visit this site. Watch the Today video on Beverly Cleary Turning 100. Look for oodles of background information for the Beverly Cleary's books on...more
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Ramona fans will celebrate when they visit this site. Watch the Today video on Beverly Cleary Turning 100. Look for oodles of background information for the Beverly Cleary's books on your shelf. Take quizzes on how well you know the characters: access author info and character studies with a click. There is even a link for Fun and Games. Bring your Cleary unit to life with this site. There are printable "Reading Guides" and"Teaching Guides" that require Adobe Acrobat.
tag(s): authors (116)
In the Classroom
Your class may want to send Ms. Cleary an old-fashioned letter by snail mail, using the address at the bottom of her biography page. Instructions on how to have a successful Ramona party are at the bottom of the Fun and Games page. Have your students choose famous Cleary characters and compete by answering the Trivia questions also found at Fun and Games. Include this page as a link from your teacher's web page for students to access outside of class or when writing book reports.
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David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page - David Perdue
Grades
8 to 12
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This is a very complete, though cluttered site on the life and works of Charles Dickens. It is full of extras and contains everything from timelines of both his life ...more
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This is a very complete, though cluttered site on the life and works of Charles Dickens. It is full of extras and contains everything from timelines of both his life and his works through "sketches by Boz," Dickens" on stage," and a very detailed list of characters from Dickens' books. If you teach Dickens, this is a must site for your list. Clicking on one of the novels such as Great Expectations will take you to a page that gives a summary of the plot and two lists at the bottom of the page-- one for characters and one for other links on the web regarding that book. The character links will take you to a different page in the site where that character is discussed. The links include such sites as Sparknotes, the Victorian Web page, and a variety of different articles by reputable academics. There is a map below that that shows Pip's journey through England and an excerpt from the book.
A caution: Some of the links (easily identified) will take you to Amazon to buy the books or the videos. So be specific in where you want students to go on this site.
tag(s): dickens (10), literature (214)
In the Classroom
You can have your choice of activities from this site for students. Have students work in teams to research various sections of this website. Then, have the groups create a multimedia presentation to share with the class on an interactive whiteboard or projector.
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Mem Fox: Teaching, Learning, Living - Mem Fox
Grades
K to 7
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This author page offers plenty of ideas for helping kids enjoy reading and includes many stories. Hear Mem Fox reading her own stories. She advises on how to read ...more
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This author page offers plenty of ideas for helping kids enjoy reading and includes many stories. Hear Mem Fox reading her own stories. She advises on how to read to children and gives excellent examples. This author page has many good suggestions for promoting literacy and love of reading. There is also a section of advice on writing your own picture book for children.
In the Classroom
Create a shortcut to Mem reading aloud on your classroom computer for a center activity for primary grades, and place a copy of Mem's book there for students to follow along. Print Mem's suggestions for reading aloud to give to parents at conferences, or share this site on your teacher home page so parents and students can access it from home. For older students, this site is an excellent resource for planning cross-grade reading activities for Read Across America or other special times, including having middle school students write picture books for young students, then share them at an in-person visit or on a podcast recording using Buzzsprout, reviewed here. Use PowerPoint Online, Microsoft PowerPoint Online, reviewed here since slides are an easy way to "create" and share large-format picture books electronically.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Jack London Online - Roy Tennant and Dr. Clarice Stasz
Grades
8 to 12
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This is an official website about Jack London and his works, maintained by Sonoma State University. It is really an exhaustive site including a biography of Jack London, Frequently...more
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This is an official website about Jack London and his works, maintained by Sonoma State University. It is really an exhaustive site including a biography of Jack London, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ and their answers, of course!), documents including
letters, postcards, telegrams, etc. relating to his life and work, a list of his novels, biographies, bibliographies about key people in his life, photographs, a collection of his works including all kinds of research aids, lesson plans, and MORE, plus links to other information (although why you would need more boggles the mind!).
tag(s): authors (116)
In the Classroom
If you teach Jack London or any related literature (Service poetry, etc.), this is a GREAT source to take students. Again, it is a safe and reliable source with a variety of areas to expand upon. I do like that it reminds students to cite their sources and shows them how to do it!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion - Annette Whipple
Grades
K to 6
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The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion, created by Annette Whipple, is a richly detailed blog that explores the pioneer world behind the beloved Little House books. In its popular "Live...more
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The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion, created by Annette Whipple, is a richly detailed blog that explores the pioneer world behind the beloved Little House books. In its popular "Live Like Laura" section, visitors can find hands-on activities, period recipes, crafts, and pioneer-living tips rooted in Wilder's life. The site also offers free printables, trivia, book discussions, guides to Little House homesites and museums, and resources to complement a chapter-by-chapter study of Wilder's works, making it a wonderful tool for educators and fans alike.
In the Classroom
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to introduce your students to the lovely Laura Ingalls Wilder. After introducing the site, ask students to read parts of the blog in pairs or small groups. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students replace pen and paper and create their own blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Weebly, reviewed here. If you are teaching younger students and looking for an easy way to integrate technology and check for understanding, challenge your students to replace pencil and paper and create a blog using Seesaw, reviewed here. Take this a step further with older students and enhance student learning by asking them to use their blog entries to create an interactive timeline of Laura's life using Knightlab's multimedia timeline creator, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Dancing Minds and Shouting Smiles - ReadWriteThink
Grades
3 to 5
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Using the works of Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and Langston Hughes, this lesson plan introduces students to figurative language and encourages them to create poetry using personification....more
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Using the works of Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and Langston Hughes, this lesson plan introduces students to figurative language and encourages them to create poetry using personification. After learning about the characteristics of personification and identifying examples, students discuss how figurative language affects the reader, collectively form a word list, and independently compose an original work. A peer-editing worksheet is included. Aligned to National Standards.
tag(s): figurative language (20), poetry (196)
In the Classroom
Use this lesson in conjunction with TeachersFirst Figurative Language lesson, which has a PowerPoint presentation and other activities pertaining to personification.
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National Steinbeck Center
Grades
6 to 12
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This beautiful and creative site offers information about the new National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California. The museum was built in tribute to Steinbeck, who believed that the...more
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This beautiful and creative site offers information about the new National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California. The museum was built in tribute to Steinbeck, who believed that the arts should be enriching to the community. The site offers chat rooms, info on the museum and on the Steinbeck Festival to be held in August of 1999.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): literature (214), museums (58)
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