Author's Message

Teach author's message with this anchor poster.  

Higher level thinking analysis.

I made this poster with bubble letters from the computer and colored it with crayon. When teaching author's message I refer to the anchor poster above. I tell the students that the author's message, is a message that they can apply to their own lives. The author's message is the big idea of the story.  Even though a book may have animals as characters in the book, the message from the book can be applied to their lives.  To figure out the author's message, the students need to think about what the characters in the story did right and what they did wrong.   When teaching the author's message, practice it by reading several short stories.  It will take practice.  There can be several answers for each story and students may think of a message that the teacher did not (that's exciting).  When teaching author's message, you are teaching higher level thinking skills!
Examples of books and author's  message:
The Little Red Hen: To obtain things in life, you need to work hard ex. if you work hard in school you will obtain a great education ; the golden rule
The Farmer by Mark Ludy : Persevere when something is difficult and you will get through it; be kind to others even when they are not kind to you; hard work pays off; help others; be kind to people and animals; be thankful to God for what you have; pray in good times and bad times
Swimmy by Leo Lionni:  When you have a problem try to solve it; enjoy nature; teamwork
Little House On The Prairie by Laura Ingals Wilder:  Don't judge a whole group of people by the actions of some; persevere; you can get enjoyment out of the simple things in life