Author Trading Cards

(A Web Quest)

Don Mayhew National University

Language arts content standards (grades 9-10): Writing Applications 2.1 (Write biographical or autobiographical narratives or short stories) Writing Strategies 1.3 (Use clear research questions and suitable research methods) Writing Strategies 1.5 (Synthesize information from multiple sources and identify complexities and discrepancies in the information)

Introduction
Author Trading Card Web Quest Trading cards (or collectible cards) are a multimillion dollar industry in the United States. Some rare cards are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Although most cards are related to sports (particularly baseball), cards featuring cartoons, comic book characters, television and rock stars have proven popular.

Task
Sadly, authors have not been treated so kindly by the makers of trading cards. Few have had cards dedicated to their accomplishments. Your task is to rectify this situation by: 1. choosing an author 2. searching on the Internet for an image of the author and details about his or her life 3. creating a trading card that celebrates his or her career highlights.

Evaluation
Various elements of your Web Quest will be evaluated. As you work, refer to the rubric often to make sure you are on target for the best possible grade. You will be graded in the following areas: 1. Research 2. Grammatical conventions 3. Card construction 4. Presentation
Up to 100 points can be earned through this project.

Rubric
Beginning 10 Research
Little or no research reflected in card.

Developing 15
Shows emerging knowledge of author's work.

Accomplished 20
Demonstrates applicable knowledge of the author's work.

Exemplary 25
Demonstrates an analysis of author's work and place in history.

Score

Grammatical Many errors in conventions spelling,

punctuation, or grammar.

Noticeable errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar.

Has flaws but captures the basics of author's importance. Student can discuss merits of author while referring often to trading card.

Few errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar.

Clean and inviting, emphasizing author's place in literary history. Student can discuss merits of author while referring to trading card a few times.

No errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar.

Clean and matches tone of the author's place in literary history. Student can discuss merits of author without referring much to trading card.

Construction is Card construction sloppy and distracting.

Presentation Student cannot

discuss merits of author without a lot of prompting and reading card.

Process (research)
1. Choose an author from your literary textbook. 2. Find a photograph or painting of the author on the Internet. Save it somewhere you can retrieve it later. 3. Research the author's life and writing on the Internet. 4. As you do, use the worksheet to organize your thoughts and information.

Process (construction)
1. Rather than statistics on the back of the card, you will include the pertinent information about your author. 2. Type the most essential information into the Word template. 3. Paste the image into the Word template. 4. Print the results, trim them with scissors, and glue them to the cardboard provided in class. 5. Share your card with the rest of the class during a brief oral presentation. Remember that you will be asked to elaborate on what you've learned and not simply repeat what's already on the card.

An example
Here is a trading card for Dr. Seuss, with the front on the left and the back on the right.
Dr. Seuss Children's author/illustrator
Born: March 2, 1904 Died: Sept. 24, 1991 Birthplace: Springfield, Mass. Best-known books Green Eggs and Ham (1960) The Cat in the Hat (1957) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957) Fox in Sox (1965) Horton Hears a Who! (1954) If I Ran the Circus (1956) If I Ran the Zoo (1950) Awards Pulitzer Prize (1984), lifetime achievement in children's literature Academy Award (1951), Gerald McBoing-Boing Emmy Award (1977), Halloween is Grinch Night Emmy Award (1982), The Grinch Grinches the Cat Peabody (1971), How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears a Who!

Dr. Seuss Author of children's books

Did you know? Dr. Seuss's real name was Theodore Seuss Geisel.

Conclusion
Consider these questions: 1. What was the most interesting thing you learned about your author? 2. Was there a subject that he or she wrote about time and again? 3. What surprised you? 4. If your author were a current baseball player or actor, who would he or she be?