Based on a nation-wide survey of over 600 teachers, librarians, administrators and parents who had hosted author visits, the following information about author visits was gleaned. (Note that “Author” includes children’s authors, author/illustrators or illustrators)

Top benefits of an author visit:

1. Motivates students to read more (91%)
2. Inspires creativity and expression (75%)
3. Motivates students to write more (70%)

Top obstacles to hosting an author visit:

1. Money (88%)
2. Time to organize a visit (45%)
3. Time taken away from classroom instruction (26%)

Roles of those who have hosted author visits:

1. Librarian – school (49%)
2. Teacher (27%)
3. Librarian – public (7%)
4. Parent – program planner (6%)
5. Administrator (3%)
6. Other (16%)

Over 200 respondents also commented on the specific impact author visits have had on their school, library, or individual students.

1) Students and faculty have many types of strong, positive social/emotional reactions to the author visit.

• Inspiration
• Empowerment
• Students and faculty create long-lasting memories of the author visit
• Feeling of meeting a celebrity; feeling special
• Connecting with students and teachers on a personal level (one student invited the author to her birthday party)
• Connection with students who are different:
  • Reluctant readers
  • Students with special needs
  • Ethnic and Language minorities
  • Students learn about persistence

2) Teachers have been able to find direct connections between the visit and the school curriculum.

3) Author visits encourage reading among students in several ways:

• Librarians see increased circulation of books, especially by author who visited.
• Reluctant readers read more.
• Students read outside of their comfort zone – (i.e., reading more challenging books)

4) Author visits encourage writing at school in several ways:

• More writing in the classroom: students as authors
• Students understand the need for revision.
• Students learn that even published authors have to revise and struggle with writing.
• Students learn about persistence in writing.
• Students understand what a book is and the process of writing a book.

5) Initial author visits have led to other larger literacy events (i.e. book fairs, projects, and students publishing books) many of which engaged the wider community outside of the school in literature-related activities.

For a PDF of this information, go here

As part of my school visit program, I enjoy doing writing workshops with kids. One of my workshops is called, “Research Is the Writer’s Edge: Finding Evidence, Finding Stories.” This workshop helps students generate a research plan, develop observational skills, practice finding evidence to back up statements that they make, and create a work based on information they have researched. It relates to the many projects they do in their classroom. Here’s how I do it:

 

1. I have students make a list of “wonder words” — i.e. “I wonder WHO . . ., I wonder WHAT (etc.)
2. Next, I project an image related to research I’m doing or have done and give students a minute to write down as many wonder questions about it as they can. For this, it’s best to use images that they are not familiar with, such as unusual animals or historical scenes with kids in them.
3. In the next step, students share their wonder questions either in small groups or with the whole class. A recorder writes the wonder question on the board or chart paper. 
4. In the discussion that follows, I have students try to answer wonder questions using the image itself, So, if the question were, “I wonder where it lives?” they use clues in the image to make an educated guess.
5. When students make a guess about the image, I always, say, “What do you see that makes you say that?” Students soon figure out that a question such as, “I wonder what the animal is thinking” is not answerable, but could be explored in fiction.
6. The session ends by giving students a chance to turn the information they’ve gathered into a short work to share in small groups.
7. The follow-up would be to encourage students find answers to their own questions generated in the class.

The overarching “lesson” is that all writing begins with information gleaned from research. And information can come from personal experiences (what a wooden floor looks like vs a carpeted floor) or from outside sources (interviews, books, primary sources, art, etc.) Also, once you know something about an animal, person object or event, you can use that information to create a nonfiction article, a fictional story, a poem and more.

Because my published books are fiction, it surprises kids to find out that I’ve also written nonfiction for magazines. My research always begins with wondering — and chasing down answers to my own questions is fun. . My goal is to help students catch the research bug!

What kind of writing workshop do you do?

Next week, the SCBWI Summer Conference will be underway in Los Angeles. Published authors and illustrators will be giving keynotes, workshops and intensives over the course of four days. It’s the perfect lab for you to study their presentation techniques and see what you might borrow to put in your own presentation toolbox.

Many of us keep a notebook in hand to record quotable quotes or inspirations. But consider devoting a special part of your notebook to record what’s working (or not) in a presenter’s delivery.

Here are some things to look for:

• Opening: What were the first words out of the presenter’s mouth? Was the opening memorable? (Many speakers take 2 or more minutes of “throat clearing” before launching into their presentation, losing precious time!)
• Voice: Was it clear? Understandable? At a pace and range (high/low) that was easy to listen to? (My ears can’t listen fast enough to some rapid-fire speakers!! And some voices are pitched so high, only dogs can hear them.)
• Gestures: Were they appropriate and not distracting? (Ever been in a room with a speaker who’s a pocket change rattler?)
• Visuals: Were they easy to read? Did they amplify the talk or were they extraneous? (Slide after slide composed of tiny text is coma-inducing.)
• Demeanor: Did the speaker relate to the audience through humor or personal stories? (We’re wired for stories. And we love speakers who “get” us.)
• Content: Was it practical? Inspirational? Meaty? (Will you remember what this person said 5 minutes afterwards? 10 minutes? A day later?)
• Closing: Was it solid or did it drift off at the end? (And I should add, “on time.”)

When all is said and done, what was the biggest take-away this presenter had for you?

What did you learn (either positive or negative) that might be applicable to your own presentations?

At the SCBWI Summer Conference, there will be 14 Keynotes, 2 Editor/Agent Panels, 83 Workshops and Golden Kite Luncheon Speakers. If you keep your antennae up, you’ll come home with a toolbox bursting with fabulous presentation ideas.

 Share some insights with us here when you return!

If you conduct workshops with students, here’s a bit of research that can help you take your questioning techniques to a higher level.

Research by Mary Budd Rowe at Columbia University found that the average amount of time a teacher waits between asking a question and calling on a student to answer is one second. When wait-time is very short like this, students have little time to think about their response.  They tend to give short answers or are prone to say, “I don’t know.”  However, when “wait-time” or “think-time” (teachers waiting while students think) is extended to between three and five seconds, the student outcomes are remarkable:

• The length of students’ responses increase.
• The number of students’ “I don’t know” and no answer responses decreases.
• The number of volunteered, appropriate answers by larger numbers of students greatly increases.

There are actually two crucial periods for wait-time/think-time. The first is after you pose a question. The second is after a student responds to your question. The first wait-time interval is important to allow students to consider a question and formulate a response. The second wait-time interval is crucial to encouraging that student to continue his/her response or for another student to extend the idea.

Suggestion: the next time you do a workshop, record it. When you play it back, document the questions you asked and how long you waited for a response from the students.  How’d you do on “wait-time”?  Do you need to give students more time to think?