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 Women Authors

Women Authors
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.45

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    best-written, Henshaw, immortality, teens, diversity, literature, novels, writing, lifetime, non-fiction, novelist, poetry, shakespeare, reading, environment, selection
     content words:    United States, Louisa May Alcott, Civil War, Little Women, Emily Dickinson, Judy Blume, New Jersey, Freckle Juice, Fourth Grade Nothing, Betsy Byar

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Women Authors
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     Not too long ago, students didn't learn about many women authors in school. In elementary school, kids read "readers," books made just for practicing reading. They didn't read many good novels or picture books. In high school, everyone read the same "classics," books by a few of the most famous authors. Shakespeare was the most famous. Nearly all of these authors were white men from either the United States or England.
 
2     Today, students read a variety of literature. Elementary, middle, and high school students read many novels, short stories, poems, plays, biographies, and essays. Teachers and students have a wide selection of books from which to choose. As a result, students are exposed to a diversity of authors and writing styles. Students get to read books by authors from different countries and cultures. They also have opportunities to read some of the great works by women authors.
 
3     Women have been writing for a long time, and they have written all types of works for adults and children. Maybe you have read some children's or teen's books by these women authors.
 
4     Louisa May Alcott wrote novels for girls and young women back in the 1800's. Before becoming an author, she had been a Civil War nurse, a servant, and a seamstress. Her novel, Little Women, written in 1868, earned her both money and fame. It has been a popular novel ever since. The novel is about four sisters. One of them, Jo, wants to become a writer.
 
5     Emily Dickinson also wrote in the 1800's. She was a quiet person who spent much of her adult life inside her own home. Only a few of her poems were published during her lifetime. After her death, over 1,000 wonderful poems were discovered in her house. Today, many school libraries carry books of Emily Dickinson's poetry. She wrote love poems and poems about nature. She also wrote poems about immortality, which means living or being remembered forever.

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