Author Inquiries — Our Primary Library’s (Not So) Secret Weapon to Nurture Readers and Inquirers
BY TANJA GALETTI
Over the past three years, “author inquiry” has become the buzzword in our Primary School Library. By “author inquiry” we mean engaging authors directly and asking them questions about how and why they write. Author inquiry is our most powerful (not so) secret weapon in nurturing our budding readers, writers and inquirers. These inquiries introduce our students to authors and illustrators from around the world and spark interest in authors’ creative works, in words and/ or pictures. They also allow our students to develop and practice inquiry skills — the skills that help them put into words their questions and wonderings, to search in reliable sources for the information to answer these questions, and then ultimately to use the information to share their learnings with others and take action in various ways.
Some of the outcomes we have seen are an increase in interest in particular authors and their books, in reading and writing in general, in student engagement in learning, and in knowledge about the writing and inquiry process. The author inquiries have also given us exciting opportunities for global collaboration. HKA participated in the Global Read Aloud and conducted a Peter H. Reynolds author inquiry in collaboration with schools in Indonesia, India and the United States. Our students also had a chance to learn about writing from the experts, communicating with authors such as Niki Daly and Lenore Look through their blogs and enjoying author visits with Lenore Look (in person) and Grace Lin (via Skype).
So what are some of the things you can hear and see when you visit the library while students are engaged in author inquiries? Students listening to read-alouds; students having conversations about the stories, words and pictures; students reading and exploring an author’s creations and sharing what they notice; students expressing their wonderings and questions about the author/illustrator and his/her books; students searching for answers to their questions in books, online sources or by talking to an expert; students preparing to contact an author by writing letters, blog posts or creating a video message; students sharing their learning in various ways; students interviewing each other to record and reflect on their learning about an author.
And what is the role of the librarian in all of this? Depending on the grade-level, we model and guide students through the inquiry process, become co-learners or are ultimately mere learning facilitators as we gradually relinquish the responsibility for the learning, handing over control to our students. The best part however is observing and experiencing the students’ enthusiasm and learning with and from them, about authors, their works, and the joy reading and learning can bring.
G2 STUDENTS “The questions are always so interesting.”
“I like when we try to find the answers ourselves on the author’s blog.”
G4 STUDENTS: “I get to learn things about the authors and it’s fascinating, especially how they write their books.”
“The personal things I learn about the authors makes me want to read their books.”
“I like finding out about the author’s life because if they say something interesting you want to learn more about them and then read their books.”
“You want to continue to learn about the authors.”
“Sometimes we get to Skype the authors. That is cool because they tell you things (about themselves and about writing) you can’t find on any website.”
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