Category Archives: discipline

This is related to crowd control and handling students in large groups.

Help! What Do I Do with an Antsy Audience?

SchoolAssembly_ChoosingVolunteers_sm2Kids get squirmy. Adults chat. What do you do when their behaviors distract during your presentation?

Head ‘Em Off at the Pass:  Understand that squirms and chattiness usually happen when 1) some event in school has them buzzing, or 2) the audience isn’t engaged. Engagement is key. Plan for this in the body of your presentation. About every ten minutes, change direction or involve the audience in an activity, ask a question, invite a volunteer to help on stage, or reveal a cool prop. Also, when you begin, be sure you’ve established a “quiet” down sign. Either use the school’s system (for example, some have a pattern of claps) or one of your own. (I hold my arms at an angle, palms forward.)  Then wait. Don’t begin until they’ve settled. Waiting is essential. If you talk over a half-settled audience, the volume will rise and you’ll have a very hard time getting them back.

The Looky-Loo Effect:  Whatever you look at, the kids will look at. This is great when you want them to focus on a prop or an important slide in your presentation. It’s not so great when a kid barfs in the middle of your assembly. (It happened to me! And I hope it wasn’t a commentary on the content of my program . . .) If there’s a disturbance in the room that’s out of your control, know that if you focus on it, the kids will too, and it can be challenge to get their attention back. Take the small stuff in stride so that the focus stays on your program.

Silence is Golden: Are two faculty members chatting together? Walk closer to them as you continue your presentation. Make eye contact. If they continue to chat, you might cover the mike and quietly ask, “Did you have a question?”

Are We There Yet? Have you ever been in a presentation and groaned, “When is this ever going to end?” I have. Audiences want to know in advance what your presentation is going to address. And they want to know when it’s going to end. At the opening of my assemblies for kids, I quickly give them an outline of what they’re going to learn and tell them that we’ll be acting out a story at the end. This way, they know the whole presentation arc will be covered and that you’re not just going to ramble then end when the time runs out.

Do you have any “antsy audience” questions? Or do you have a technique that work well for you? Share!

Podcast: Evergreen School Visit Advice

Brain Burps About Books - LogoGrab your earbuds and turn up your speakers for some “evergreen” school visit advice. This is an interview that the one-and-only Katie Davis did with me on her podcast, Brain Burps About Books.  Katie is a writer, an illustrator, and a video marketing maven (her description — and it’s true!) Her podcasts include interviews with publishing industry leaders on the creation, promotion and writing of children’s books.

This interview is an hour long. In case your time is short and you want to jump to the bits that are of greatest interest to you, I’ve provided a list of topics we discussed and approximate times in the podcast they appear (minutes & seconds).
Episode #31: School Visit Questions with Expert Alexis O’Neill

00:00  General announcements
05:54 Introduction of Alexis O’Neill, SchoolVisitExperts.com
08:00 Importance of authors being compensated for work
09:01 Surprising world of school visits following publication
09:30 Selling vs giving. Expertise & intent
13:54 AUDIENCE QUESTION: What’s the best way to get school visits?
17:48 Fees & discounts
28:53 AUDIENCE QUESTION: Crowd control. How do you deal with loud, noisy assemblies? How do you get their attention and respect in a humorous way?
35:45 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How can I connect with schools? Mailings fall flat. Other suggestions?
42:18 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How can I develop a program to create an on-going relationship with a school?
46:26 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How do you get in front of the decision-makers – teachers & librarians?
52.10 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How can we promote to schools and keep “green”? Who’s the first contact at a school?
57.22 AUDIENCE QUESTION: I donated a school visit. Media will be coming. What I should I be prepared for?
01:02:05 AUDIENCE QUESTION: How do you know what to charge for the different events? Do you think it’s important to include kids in the presentation or is it okay just to do a PowerPoint to the kids?
01:09:21 END of Podcast

4 Ways to Make Librarians Love Your School Visit: Advice from Toni Buzzeo

BUZZEO_TerrificConnectionsCoverToni Buzzeo, award-winning author, librarian and educator, has been giving great advice to authors and illustrators even long before the publication of her book, Terrific Connections with Authors, Illustrators and Storytellers: Real Space and Virtual Links, co-authored with Jane Kurtz, in 1999. Read on to find out her expert suggestions for making terrific school visit connections with librarians.

+ + + 

I come to the topic of school visits wearing two stylish, but completely different, hats. As a children’s author, I have visited hundreds of schools across this country and around the world. And as a school librarian, I played host at Longfellow Elementary School in Portland, Maine to at least two authors every year for eleven years. As a result, I’ve gained a deep understanding of what it takes, as an author, to wow a librarian host. And I’d like to share my ideas with you.

1. Be clear, be prompt, be honest, and be gracious in your communications. Every school visit begins with a conversation, either in person, by phone, or through e-mail or snail mail. Whether the librarian is the one to reach out to you, or you are the first to establish contact, the impression you make in your first and ongoing communications will set the tone of the visit. Be clear about your needs. Hedging in order to land a visit and then suffering under unsuitable arrangements or honoraria will not serve your interests well and may ultimately alienate your host. Always respond promptly and honestly about arrangements as you plan. And above all, be gracious even when you feel put off by something that is suggested. It well may be that what appears to be a verbal or written mis-step was unintended. Leave room to discover this and smooth the waters.

2. Know and understand developmental ages and stages. Librarians, and all educatorsBUZZEO-JustLikeMyPapacover in the schools you visit, will appreciate your thorough understanding of the variety of developmental ages and stages within the groups of students that you meet. While some hosts may ask you to address a combined group of kindergarteners and fourth graders, or eighth graders and seniors, this is the perfect time to be clear and gracious. Explain that each of your presentations is designed with specific developmental learning stages in mind, making it necessary to avoid the combination of such disparate grades. It is essential that you do create presentations that are suitable for each age/grade range in the school, changing not only your content but also your method of delivery to suit the developmental needs and understanding of each group.

3. Understand and design presentations to respond to local curriculum. Your first reaction to this advice may be, “But I’m not a teacher!” Actually, that isn’t true. When you are in a school, you are temporarily in the position of an educator. Because every school hour is BUZZEO-StayCloseToMamaCover-Largeprecious in this age of standards-driven education, and because in all but five states (see map),  those standards are national (entitled the Common Core State Standards), it is easier now, than ever before, to become comfortable with the standards that govern educational goals and incorporate them into your presentations. Start here  and then solicit help from teachers you know to refine your presentations.

4. Learn and practice appropriate “behavior management” techniques. If you have taught school or led Scouts or other youth groups, you already have experience in guiding children or teens to appropriate behaviors. If not, however, learning intervention techniques will benefit you by making you comfortable in dealing with students and make you a valuable visitor, readily handling disruptive students and situations yourself and moving quickly back to your presentation. Seek out avenues for learning successful interventions such as observing veteran teachers and librarians, discussing options with educator friends, and reading articles online or in educational journals.

 BUZZEO-ToniHeadShotTrimmedAbout Toni Buzzeo: Working both from her colonial farmhouse in Buxton, Maine and her sunny winter nest in Sarasota, Florida, New York Times bestselling children’s author Toni Buzzeo has published 19 picture books so far, including the 2013 Caldecott Honor winning One Cool Friend. She also wears the hat of a seasoned educator. A former college and high school English teacher, Toni then became a practicing Library Media Specialist and was named the 1999 Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year. In that hat, she writes many professional books and articles, Common Core curriculum based on children’s literature, as well as teaching and promotional guides for children’s books. Learn more at www.tonibuzzeo.com

How I Got Back Into the School Visit Game

Guest Post by Joanne Rocklin

  “While I’d been gone . . . kids had been born who’d actually never seen an old-fashioned slide projector! I was riddled with anxiety.”

 Cover_Orangestreet_Joanne_RocklinI hadn’t published for a few years, but if you love writing and it’s one of the few things you do well, eventually you go back to it. The good news is, I did sell three novels. The bad news is, I had to completely revamp my school presentations to include my new work.

While I’d been gone, school visits, it seemed to me, had morphed into productions involving a great deal of new technical wizardry. Kids had been born who’d actually never seen an old-fashioned slide projector! I was riddled with anxiety. So I spent one happy afternoon reading old posts on the SchoolVisitExperts.com site (an activity I highly recommend) and I began to feel much more confident.  Certain posts and topics were especially important to me:

Tips on Crowd Control

For some reason I’d forgotten that I’d spent a large part of my life as a school teacher, clinical psychologist and parent. Reading old posts, I was reminded that kids themselves haven’t changed. Crowd control is just a matter of knowing the right tricks –humor, a well-placed pause, signals, and some clever, pointed questions to chatty kids help a lot.

Ideas for Great Beginnings

I went straight to the “Great Beginnings” post in the archives–it’s terrific. It was a reminder to Mitzie_Zoe_Puppets_Oaklandme that openings set the mood and the stage. The beginning of the presentation should be engaging, and most importantly, show that you yourself are glad to be there. Some authors begin with a song, some with humor, some with visuals, or costumes, some with intriguing questions. What this post made me realize was that I already had a great beginning – why was I throwing the baby out with the bath water? Or in this case, the silly cat puppet who had problems with his own writer’s block, a puppet that kids have always loved, no matter what their ages.

Lessons on “Shaping the Presentation”

Cover_ZOOK_HC_Joanne_RocklinHere was the post written just for me, and all other authors who are invited to visit schools but need to be reminded why. Why do we do school visits?  Because we are authors! We have lots to say about our books, about our day, about our desks, our pets, our childhoods and about those secrets we’re really excited to share. And here’s the phrase I needed to read: “. . .if you’re not a wizard at PowerPoint”…(Yes! Yes! That’s me!) and then the article goes on to enumerate all the other ways to make my presentation exciting without fancy-schmancy technology: use props, interact with the kids, think of the presentation itself as a story with a great beginning, an interesting middle, and a definite ending. I could do that!

Then a funny thing happened on the way to my school visits. I outlined everything I wanted to do and say. I streamlined my old school presentation and shaped it all like a story. I yak about how my pets have helped improved my writing, interspersed with student participation and the use of props and my trusty cat puppet. 

Relieved of the burden of “having” to use the new technology, I decided to trot over to the Apple store to learn how to fool around with the new Keynote software. Just, well, just because. Just because it didn’t matter as much anymore. And, just for fun. And it was! I fell in love. I am now an official Geek, the proud possessor of a presentation with a certain amount of bells and whistles and music and, yes, piped-in cat yowls.  I may have overdone it, but as I said, it was fun.  And hopefully, if I’m having fun, so will the kids.

Thanks, Alexis!

Disclaimer: Let me assure you that Alexis O’Neill did not pay me to say wonderful things about this site. I did offer to mail her a brisket pot roast but she refused; that’s how much integrity she has.  Or maybe she’s a vegetarian…

Joanne_Rocklin_aug_2010-330JOANNE ROCKLIN is the author of middle grade novels and early readers. Her novel The Five Lives Of Our Cat Zook won the 2013 SCBWI Golden Kite for Fiction, and her novel, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street won numerous awards including the FOCAL Award from the Los Angeles Public Library and the California Library Association Beatty Award. Joanne has a doctorate in psychology and is a former elementary school teacher. For several years she taught a popular class in writing children’s books at UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. She gives presentations to schools, libraries, bookstores and other organizations. http://www.joannerocklin.com/

 

Choosing Volunteers

 

So, you’re facing 250 kids in an assembly.  You’ve asked a question.  Or you’ve invited volunteers to join you on-stage.  What’s the best way to choose respondents or participants?

 Kids are all about fairness.  They want you to be equitable in your choices. So I try to make sure that I choose kids from a variety of grade levels and classes.

 Here’s how I do it.

 LARGE GROUPS:  When I’m warming kids up at the start. I say, “Raise your hand if you’re a kindergartener,” and they raise their hands.  I go all the way up the grade levels, noting where each group is sitting. Later, when I call on volunteers, I do my best to choose kids from each grade level and a variety of classes within that level. I’ve found that one kid becomes the hero for that grade, making everyone feel as if they had participated themselves because they know the person who was chosen.

 SMALL GROUPS: When I’m in a small group, I say, “I have only one rule.  When I say , ‘Any questions?’ you can raise your hand.  When I call on a kid, all the other hands must go down so that you can listen to the question and the answer.  When I’m done answering, I’ll say, ‘Next Question?’ so you’ll know when to raise your hand again.”  It’s important to choose kids from all sides of the room.  Most speakers favor right or left, front or back, so be aware of where you tend to look to make your choices and be more equitable. 

 AUDITIONNING: For my book THE RECESS QUEEN, I “audition” kids for the main role.  As I stand in front of the assembly of kids, I make a mean face, stamp my feet and say, “I need a girl who can do this.”  Kids immediately mock my facial expressions, and I quickly choose the first girl who mirrors this energetically.

 READERS’ THEATER: When my assembly focused on my book, LOUD EMILY, I had kids volunteer to do Readers’ Theater.  This made teachers nervous because not all of the kids I chose were great readers. But this worked out fine because, as the narrator, I stood behind each actor when it was his or her turn to speak, and helped them with words they weren’t sure of.  I can’t tell you how many times I chose kids with really limited language abilities (by accident!), but they really shone in front of the whole assembly. For my picture books, I prefer this to having teachers choosing the “best” readers. But, I do think that texts for middle grade or YA Readers’ Theater might benefit from readers with a good command of language.

 Kids love to be on stage.  They love to ask questions.  And if they feel that you are being fair in the way that you choose volunteers, they’ll relax and enjoy the experience.

 

 

6 Mistakes Authors Make in Assemblies

Mistake #1. Opening weakly

Solution: Get attention! Invite the audience in immediately with a startling statement or image, a communal action (singing, chanting, clapping in rhythm) – anything that commands attention and shows the kids that the program is in your capable hands.

 

Mistake #2. Being unaware of audience reaction

Solution: Learn to “read” the room.  Are kids getting restless? Beginning to chat? Turning away from your presentation?  Time to switch up the content or pace and get them refocused.

 

 

 

Mistake #3. Speaking too softly, quickly or monotonously

Solution: Practice breathing, projecting, slowing the pace and speaking with lots of expression. Even if you think you have a voice like a foghorn, it will sound strained to those in the back of the multipurpose room.  Be sure to use a microphone. And don’t talk to the screen or easel – face your audience.

 

Mistake #4. Using visuals or props that are hard to see

Solution: Aim for the kids in the back of the room.  Make props oversize. Be sure everyone has a clear view of your props and the screen

 

Mistake #5: Going overtime

Solution: Appoint a timekeeper to give you warnings at 10 minutes, 5 minutes and the end. Keep your eye on the clock so that you can adjust your pacing.

 

Mistake #6. Failing to create an ending with impact or with a call to action

Solution: If you like to incorporate a Q & A into your assembly, don’t end with it – place it just before the ending. Wrap up by sending the group out with one last anecdote, a summary of the points you made in your presentation or an appeal for them to do something (Be sure to read! Write! Start a book club!)

Crowd Control: Special Issues

Crowd Control_Kids_Huntington_Beach_Jan_2007Let’s say you got the kids to settle down and your program started off with a bang. And then something happens.

  • A kid throws up.
  • A kid keeps talking with a classmate.
  • A kid shouts out.
  • Adults carry on conversations.

 What do you do?

I’ll give you some tips — but first, here’s a Very Important Rule:

Never Ever Embarrass a Kid or Teacher

Presume innocence. Kids and adults usually don’t realize they’re doing something annoying. Or consider that the child might have special needs (autism, Tourettes, etc.).

So, here are some strategies that might help.

A kid throws up.: This happened to me once. But the teachers and custodian were on the problem so fast, the kid was off to the nurse’s office and the spot cleaned up with barely a stir. It’s okay to acknowledge the problem and call for assistance if no one sees it happening. However, if you dwell on it, so will the kids.  Show sympathy and keep on going.

 A kid keeps talking with a classmate. If a kid keep chatting with a neighbor, first I stand near them and catch their eye. If that doesn’t work and they talk through my “criss-cross applesauce – hands folded on your lap” directions, I cover the microphone, bend down toward the kids and ask quietly, “Is everything okay?” This usually gets them to focus. If it doesn’t, and the chatting persists, I may quietly ask one of them to sit by their teacher.

 A kid shouts out. Before I ask a question to the larger group, I’ll say, “Raise your hand if you know the answer . . .” so they know what behavior I expect.  When I’m calling on volunteers to come to the stage, I say, “I need volunteers – but I’m only going to call on kids who are polite. That means, you’re sitting down, your hand is raised and your face shows me that you really, really want to be called on without calling out my name or saying ‘Oooo! Oooo!’”  Showing the behavior you expect from your audience can head problems off at the pass.

Adults carry on conversations. This is going to happen. Teachers are with kids all day. When they see other adults, it’s catch-up time! They’ll usually stop chatting when you begin your presentation, but if they don’t, move close to them, as you do with the kids, and catch their eye. If they persist, you can cover the microphone and ask in a very sincere voice, “Did you have a question you wanted to ask me?”  This usually works.

Finally, here’s a note about room set-up and crowd control –

In elementary schools, kids are used to sitting on the floor of the multipurpose room. I have them sit with an aisle up the middle so I can get close to as many kids as possible quickly. In middle schools and high schools however, students generally sit in an auditorium with folding seats, and organizers place speakers at a podium on the stage, far away and above the audience.  But if you can break that distance and present from the floor, closer to the kids, you’ll have a much better chance of creating a bond with the audience and keeping things moving along without disruption.

Crowd Control: Starting Your Program

Google - Angry Mob - Cartoon2

There’s a buzz in the room.  Kids are excited to see you – to see each other – to be out of the classroom for something special. The kindergarteners are twisting around to talk with each other – some are stretched out on the floor. 

Your time is limited, the classes have come late and you have a lot to accomplish in your assembly or workshop. Is it really necessary to get them totally quiet and focused before you begin your program? 

Yes. It’s really necessary.

Do not begin until the audience is quiet and focused — even if it takes you all day (and it won’t). Why? If you show kids at the start that you are in control, you’ll be able to rein them in more easily during your assembly if things get a little chatty. They’ll appreciate it (kids do love rules and order, believe it or not) – and the teachers will love you (they want to have fun in your assembly, too, and not be disciplinarians).

The worst thing you can do is attempt to talk over the chaos. No one will hear you. And once kids know that you don’t mean it when you call for quiet, they’ll continue to ignore your requests. 

Here are some tips for getting – and maintaining – crowd control. 

Greet the kids & teachers as they come into the room. I stand by the multipurpose room door, saying hello to kids as they walk by and shaking teachers’ hands.  This is a subtle way of showing them that they are guests in “my” space and that I know that they exist. As classes are getting seated, I also circulate and ask the older kids, “What books are you reading now.”  This extra eye contact forges a stronger bond with them before the program begins.

Have a “quiet down” signal. Most schools have a physical symbol that means “Quiet down right now.” Ask your host what it is and use it when you need to.

Don’t be afraid to wait. For particularly chatty groups, it may take a bit of time to have the quiet spread, but it will. Don’t give up too soon.

Say, “Criss-cross applesauce.” I do mostly elementary assemblies where kids are seated on the floor. During the interactive parts of my program, kids get excited and a bit wound-up.  But to bring them back, I say, “Criss-cross applesauce” which gets them back to the “listening” position.  If that alone doesn’t work, I’ll add, “Hands on laps,” and demonstrate it.  And. Wait. Until. They’re. Ready. For. The. Next. Part. Of. The. Program.

A last resort. If you’ve tried everything and there are still too many distractions to begin, you can always say, “Teachers? Can you lend a hand?” and they’ll jump in.

Everyone in the school is excited to have you there. When they know that you’re “in charge,” they can relax and have a good time. They’ll know that, even if things get a bit wild, you can lead them back to civilization where great experiences await!