Wonder Teacher

May 14, 2013

Author Visits Inspire Young Writers

Photo Credit: Mosman Library via Flickr, CCL 2013

I am going to say something bold:

Every school should host a significant author visit at least once every year.

In the same way that engaging children in the publishing process (and celebrating their accomplishments) is like a shot of B-12 for writing achievement, having a “real” author visit your school is just as powerful.

Professional authors are fascinating people who have learned to mine their own lives for stories worth telling. They are experts in the craft of writing and have much wisdom to impart. They bring firsthand knowledge of the writing (and publishing) process and offer an authentic, “real world” message to our students.

When I was teaching at Ashley River, we used to select a “big time” nationally known children’s book author or illustrator to visit our school each year. It was HUGE. Those days spent with folks like Jerry Pallotta, Chris Soentpiet, and Shelley Gill were some of the best days of my career. The atmosphere was electric. The children were riveted. The teachers were inspired. My students would leave the author’s assembly and beg to be allowed to write for the rest of the day. It was always magical.

Our celebrations were so awesome that one of our visiting authors even dedicated her next picture book to our students! (Shelley Gill: Big Blue)

While I am a big supporter of inviting local authors to visit our schools, it’s very important to sometimes bring in a “big name.” Why? Local authors usually only have a few published books to their credit and often they aren’t yet well known. Of course, all authors started this way and there is no shame in it! It’s just that when we bring in a nationally known figure with a catalog of books that can be found on the shelves of libraries around the country, it’s akin to bringing in a celebrity! If you wanted to pump up your school’s basketball team, who would you want to get? The local boy who played in college or a player from the NBA? Both will bring a valuable message but the NBA player has star power. So bring both at different points in the year.

The same is true for authors. Invite local authors whenever you can! They are “real” writers too and have a lot of knowledge about the writing/ publishing process. It’s also a great way to engage with the community. However, don’t neglect to bring in an author with some “star power.” Yes, they cost more, but it’s money well spent!

What to know the secret for an epically successful author visit? The key is preparation.

Here are my tips:

1- Read all of the author’s books with your children. (Assuming they are developmentally appropriate.) Learn everything you can about his/her life. (Most authors have excellent websites and some will send pre-visit materials.) Embed the books into your reading lessons. Why not use the visiting author’s books for your Shared Reading lessons or as a mentor text for Writing Workshop? Doing so makes the books seem even more “important” to the children.

2- Decorate the school for the visit. In the same way that reading the author’s books will whip up excitement about the visit, decorating the school in the theme of the author’s books elevates the visit from a mundane event to something special with a celebratory vibe! Options include wall displays, banners, student work done in the style of the author, etc. Door displays are nice too- just make sure that they can be seen.

3- Engage the children in writing projects that mimic the author’s style. Are you hosting Jerry Pallotta? Write alphabet books. Hosting Shelley Gill? Write adventure stories. Hosting Dan Gutman? Write “wacky school” stories. And if an author has a wide range of work, let the children vote on which book they want to use as a mentor text. Choice is a powerful motivator.

On the day of the author’s visit, display the student work on the walls or in the media center. That way the author can see it and affirm the children’s work when he speaks with them.

4- Make sure the parents know what is happening. Send messages home about the upcoming author visit and provide a list of his/her book titles. Usually, schools invite families to pre-order books to be autographed during the author’s visit. These become cherished books in home libraries because the child has a personal connection to the text and the author as a result of the visit.

5- Get the kids PUMPED UP about meeting the author. How do you do that? It’s very easy. Treat the author’s visit like a visit from a major celebrity. Post a school-wide countdown until his/her arrival. Excitement is contagious, so make sure you act excited yourself, “I can’t believe we get to meet Jerry Palotta! He is a famous writer! Look at all these awesome books. I can’t wait!” Talk about it on the school news show. Have students present a “fact of the day” about the author or give short book reviews. The more build up the better.

In my next post I’ll share some fun ideas for making the visit day extra special and exciting. Oh- and Jerry Pallotta is visiting my own children’s school next week. I’ll be posting some of the teachers’ wonderful preparations here- you’ll love them!

PS- Author Dan Gutman has a great page on his website titled “The Perfect Author Visit.” Check it out for more tips.

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Filed Under: Authentic Learning, Author Study, literacy · Tagged: Author Study, community, literacy

May 9, 2013

End the School Year with a Thank You Parade

By Susan · 2 Comments

Photo Credit: Lori via Flickr, CCL 2013

I’ve been on a roll sharing meaningful ideas to use at the end of the school year. If you missed the other posts in the series, check these out:

End the Year with Intensity

End the Year with a Palooza

End the Year with a Meaningful Celebration (with a freebie awards printable set!)

Today’s idea is about giving children the opportunity to gain closure on the school year by showing their gratitude to people in the school who supported them in a variety of ways. Usually, the end of the year flies by so quickly that thank-yous to anyone besides the classroom teacher fall by the wayside. I speak from parental experience! Though I’m always grateful to all the special area teachers, administrators, front office staff, custodians, lunchroom workers, etc. I never find the time to thank them all! In fact, those last days feel so hectic that I usually have to take my children back to school the day after students are dismissed so we can give our homeroom teachers a proper gift.

That’s why this makes a great “in-school” activity. It’s a slower, more intentional way to help children reflect on all the people who have cared for them and helped them have a successful year. It develops intentional gratitude. And it’s meaningful because it’s not a mysterious wrapped gift that Mom stuffed in the book bag but is a genuine expression of thanks from the children. (It’s also a nice authentic purpose for letter writing.)

Begin by brainstorming with the children. “Who were the adults in our school who helped us learn and enjoy school this year?” List all the names on a piece of chart paper. (Administrators, Front Office Staff, Nurse, Media Specialist, Special Area Teachers, Custodians, PTA leaders, etc.)

Next tell the children that they are going to sign up to write a thank you letter from the class to one of those people. It’s important to model this step, demonstrating letter structure, crafting a strong opening sentence, supporting a general “thank you” statement with specific examples/ memories, and writing a concluding sentence.

After modeling, have the children engage in guided practice by turning and talking with a neighbor about a letter they might write. “Boys and girls, let’s pretend that we are all writing a thank you letter to the principal. Turn and talk with your neighbor and come up with a strong opening sentence. Go!”

After a few moments, share some examples and then say, “Now let’s imagine that we want to give him some specific examples of things he did that we’re thankful for. Turn and talk about those with your partner. Go!”

You get the idea.

Finally, let the children sign up to write to someone on the list. If there are more students than adults, two children can sign up for the same staff member.

Here comes the best part! Once the letters are complete, take the class on a “Thank-You Parade.” It’s an extra-nice touch if you have a small gift to give with the letters, such as a flower, chocolate bar, balloon, original artwork, etc. Each student will take a turn presenting the staff member with the thank you note while the rest of the class observes and perhaps does a quick cheer at the end.

“2-4-6-8-

Who do we appreciate?

Mrs. Smith! Mrs. Smith! Yay!”

Doesn’t that sounds like a fun and meaningful activity for the last week of school? It will mean so much to those hard-working staff members who are rarely thanked. You and your students will spread a lot of love if you go on a Thank You Parade!

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Filed Under: Classroom Community, End of the Year · Tagged: community

May 3, 2013

End the Year with a Meaningful Celebration

By Susan · 4 Comments

Photo Credit: Tanakawho via Flickr, CCL 2013

End-of-the-year parties are typically full of pizza, abundant energy, and fun activities like water games and dancing. And I’m not knocking them! I absolutely believe that we should celebrate all the hard work that has gone into a school year and have some fun!

However, a year-end celebration can be so much more! It is a great opportunity to celebrate accomplishments, deepen community, and provide your students with healthy closure.

I realized this need after my second or third year teaching. It was the last day of school and the time had slipped past so quickly! I remember that the children were enjoying our party (eating pizza and snacks and dancing on the rug) when I realized that we only had 20 minutes left in our day. I still needed to pass out a few remaining papers, the kids needed to pack their bags, and I still had their gifts (wrapped books) sitting in a tub on my desk.

That last 20 minutes was a frantic flurry. Papers were flying, children were running around the room, and I found myself raising my voice to be heard over the mayhem. “Darron, come get your gift!!”

The bell rang, they ran out with rushed goodbyes, and I found myself chasing them down the hall for one final hug. It wasn’t the warm, peaceful closing moment I had imagined.

I realized that I needed a new plan. It was time to approach the end of my year much more intentionally. Here are a few tips I have used and several I have picked up from other teachers:

1- Don’t wait until the last moment for the party. Parties are chaotic and fun but usually don’t lend themselves to quiet reflection or warm goodbyes. If you must have the party during the final hour of the last day, make sure that everything else has been accomplished prior to that time: bags packed, papers distributed, gifts given, etc. That way the party can be a relaxed affair with nothing left on the “to do” list.

2- Make your gift-giving meaningful. I always like to give my students a book to read over the summer. At one time I just picked a title from the Scholastic book orders (a cheap one!) and gave the same book to everyone. Later I got more intentional and started “shopping” for books in the March/April/May book orders. I used my points (and sometimes a little money) to purchase a book for each child that matched their interests and abilities. It’s so lovely to sit the children down and present the books! Before handing out each wrapped book, call the child up to stand next to you and say a few words about who that child has become as a reader (their growth, their interests, funny stories or happy memories from the year as related to reading, etc.) Then tell the child that you selected a special book just for him because “it’s one of his favorite authors” or “he read this book over and over during free choice and you want him to have his own copy.” The child unwraps the book in front of the other children and everyone exclaims over the selection. It’s a special way to recognize your students and help them to know you really see them as readers while also giving a gift. *If you teach young children, you might want to give out 4 or 5 titles at a time over the course of two or three days.

3- Plan for a light-hearted awards ceremony. I need to make a confession: I am not a big fan of serious school-wide awards ceremonies in elementary school. In my experience, they tend to bring recognition to children who already receive a lot of recognition OR we end up trying to give every child an award (when sometimes they haven’t really earned one.) I prefer to hold an in-class awards ceremony and present a wide range of awards, from light-hearted fun awards – “Most Likely to Read every Magic Treehouse Book in the Series” or “Future CEO”- to more serious awards such as a “Perseverance Award” for a child who has worked especially hard or the “Peacemaker” award for a child who is good at resolving conflict.

To come up with these awards, just think about the child and something special or noteworthy that has happened during the year. Of course, if you are shooting for funny, make sure that the child will think it’s funny too- the intent isn’t to make fun of the child but to acknowledge something special or memorable about him/her.

If you need an award template, check out my new product on Teachers Pay Teachers. And it’s FREE!!!

This packet contains 5 different award templates in 2 different patterns for a total of 10 awards. Also included is a simple planning form for recording and printing templates.

Giving these kinds of awards is a good activity to do at the beginning of the party when parents might be present.

4- Involve the children in planning the final party. It’s so much more meaningful when the children plan their own party theme, games, and food. You can suggest themes (water day, ice cream social, etc.) and let them share their ideas too. Then they can brainstorm ideas for each kind of party, ultimately voting on the theme and signing up for committees to make it happen. See this post sharing a creative End of Year Celebration at Lesson Plans SOS to see what I mean. There are some creative ideas there!