✏️ WritingLevel 1Lesson 37
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Creating a Family Book

Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).

Learning Objectives

  • 1Identify the key features of a book — a title, an author name, organized pages, and illustrations and plan
  • 2Create a simple four-page mini-book with one clear idea per page
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Mini Lesson

Today is a very special day — you are going to become a published author! Every book you have ever read was written by someone just like you. Today you will plan and create your very own mini-book.

What every book needs

  • A title — the name of the book, written on the front cover.
  • An author — the person who wrote it. That is YOU! Write "By [Your Name]" on the cover.
  • Pages — each page has one clear idea, one or two sentences, and a picture.
  • An illustrator — the person who draws the pictures. You can be both the author and the illustrator!

How to plan your book

  • Choose a topic you know and love — your pet, your family, your favorite food, or a made-up adventure.
  • Plan four pages. Write one idea for each page on paper first.
  • Example topic: My Dog
  • Page 1: My dog is called Rex. Page 2: Rex loves to run. Page 3: Rex is very fluffy. Page 4: I love Rex!

Make it beautiful

  • Draw a picture on every page to match your sentence.
  • Use color on the cover to make it eye-catching.
  • Read each page aloud before moving on to check it sounds right.
A family book with pages from many authorsA big open family book with a title page reading Our Family Book and four inside pages, each signed by a different family member with a small illustration.Our Family BookOur FamilyBookBy Our FamilyBy JakeMy dog RexBy MiaMy familyBy SamMy houseBy AvaMy gardenEveryone adds one page.
A family book — one title page, many authors.
Four steps to build a family bookFour numbered panels showing the book-creation workflow: pick a topic, write a page, illustrate it, then combine pages into a book.How to Make It1Pick topic2Write page3Illustrate4CombineEach page = one idea + one pictureKeep it simple, clear, and easy to read.Read each page aloud before you finish.Four steps to a finished book.
Pick a topic, write, illustrate, then combine.
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Ask yourself: "Does my book have a title, my name, four pages, and a picture on each page?"

Vocabulary
Author
The person who wrote the booke.g. when you write a book, you are the author
Illustrator
The person who draws the pictures in a booke.g. you can be both author and illustrator
Title
The name of the book, written on the front covere.g. My Dog Rex is a title
Cover
The front of a book that shows the title and the author's namee.g. the cover is what a reader sees first
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