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Joan Bauer

In this activity, you will get some background information about Joan Bauer, the author of Backwater, the next book we will be reading. Go to each of these websites and answer the questions listed for each one.

Joan Bauer’s Official Website

This is Joan Bauer’s official site. There are four different sections: Biography, Books, Articles, Home. You will find the answers to the questions below by looking through the Biography and Books sections. You don’t need to go to the other two.

  1. When was Joan Bauer born?
  2. Where did she grow up?
  3. Who was her biggest creative influence? Why?
  4. When was Backwater written?

 

Joan Bauer’s Author Profile

This a profile of Joan Bauer. It contains her likes / dislikes and other information.

  1. Fill in the information listed below by looking at the information on the website.
    • eye color
    • way of marking a place in a book
    • favorite time of day
    • bedtime
    • working too she would least like to do without
  2. Look through the rest of the list. Do you have anything in common with her? If so, what?
  3. List any two of her favorites. Now, list your favorites in those same categories.

 

An Interview with Joan Bauer

This is an interview with Joan Bauer about her writing. Scroll down to question 11 to answer the following questions.

  1. The author mentions that she knows someone who wants to be a historian. Who is it?
  2. What is it that history helps us discover? (Hint: the answer is one word)
  3. Ms. Bauer states that she “ wanted to explore that in a story; wanted to show how the energy of that passion could pit a committed non-adventurer against the elements to find the truth.” What does this mean? Explain in your own words.

 

Joan Bauer's Writing

On this website, Ms. Bauer discusses her writing style and preferences.

  1. Scroll down to the interview section. Summarize the answer Ms. Bauer gives when asked about why humor is so vital to her writing.
  2. Scroll down to the questions about a typical day in the office for her. Why does Ms. Bauer read her work aloud? What is she checking for?

 

This activity was created as part of the coursework for the Utah Academy of Teachers, Summer 2002.
The graphic for this site was taken from www.discoveryschool.com.

Author: Amy Geilman - Email amy.geilman@jordan.k12.ut.us