Author Visits
Children’s books have always been part of my life. The author of 106 books, I wrote my first book when I was eleven. When I started teaching elementary school in 1977 (K,1,5,6) I was teaching my young students to write, so I wrote for them and they wrote for me.
Now I teach writing at elementary schools as a visiting author. I talk to the students about how a book is made and I guide them as they write. I focus on the six traits of writing because that’s how I have written for years.
I offer three types of author visit programs:
- large group assemblies
- classroom writing workshops
- virtual visits
Large group assemblies usually take place in the library. Now that I offer 6 sessions a day I am able to meet with one grade at a time. I share my books, talk about the six traits of writing, and answer student’s questions.
Classroom writing workshops take place in the classroom. I write with one class at a time (30 students maximum). My specialty is helping students overcome writer’s block!
Virtual visits take place in cyberspace! I send a powerpoint for teachers to show in their classroom before they read the Wired book. We’ll have questions and answers on a school blog for a week. (During this week, classes can also write blog posts about their science experiments and other learning activities.)
