Making the Most of Author Classroom Visits

The first Author-Educator talk of the 2013-2014 school year is happening on September 28th at 11:00 am when Tanya Lee Stone talks about the research that goes into her nonfiction books and how facts become a compelling story. Here is a sneak preview of the second talk, happening October 26th with the Voelkels, authors of the Jaguar Stones series. 

Jon and Pamela Voelkel put a lot of planning into their school presentations about Maya culture, research, and their popular Jaguar Stones books. They've got an action packed, fast paced approach that is designed to align with Common Core Standards for Science and Social Sciences in grades 6-8. And when we say action packed, that includes adventure tales from their time traveling through the rainforests of Central America, multimedia visuals, theater, and fried meal worms (if you're curious, the worm snacks are sold here).

On their website http://www.jaguarstones.com the Voelkels also have lesson plans, guides to classroom projects, and suggested resources for studying the cultures and history discussed in their presentation.

In short, this writing team has worked hard to become expert in making the most out of every minute they spend in schools. Along the way, they've learned a lot about how teachers can make the most out of any author visit, not just theirs. On Saturday, October 26th, at 11:00 am the Voelkels are coming to Bear Pond Books to share their tips and insights.

Join us on October 26th to talk about getting students engaged in author presentations, connecting these presentations to Common Core Standards, preparing for a visit, following up a visit with classroom lessons and activities, questions to ask authors and information to provide for them. . . and any other questions you might have about using author visits in your school.

See also the follow-up post on Author Adventures