Last week was an absolutely exhilarating experience at Bardonia Elementary School. From the moment I stepped through the doors at the school I was welcomed with open arms. The administrative staff, teachers, and students made it for a most pleasant week of author workshops. Each workshop was curtailed to the specific grade level to ensure the best level of interest and participation. A sample of each workshop:
Workshop – K-1: Meet the author, where story ideas come from, and Q&A - The session began with a brief introduction and showing of The Golden Pathway book trailer followed by reading The Golden Pathway with student participation of holding up poster sized illustrations correlating to each page. The youngsters enjoyed taking part in displaying the illustrations and the chat after reading the book was indeed a lively discussion. The students asked intriguing questions and I in turn engaged the students in asking them questions about their lives.
Workshop – Grade 2: Meet the Author, Language Arts, and Q&A - The session began with a brief introduction and showing of The Golden Pathway book trailer followed by reading The Golden Pathway with student participation of holding up poster sized illustrations correlating to each page. We continued with a discussion on the different code words utilized to run the Underground Railroad and why the code words were necessary. The second graders concluded the session with the Underground Railroad Word Search puzzle and questions.
Workshop – Grade 3: Meet the Author, What Happens Next, and Q&A - The session began with a brief introduction, showing of The Golden Pathway book trailer, and the students took turns reading The Golden Pathway. The students then participating in group breakout sessions to brainstorm and develop a new ending or what happens next in The Golden Pathway. After about 10 minutes each group shared their “new ending” or “what happened next” with the class.
The students from kindergarten through third grade received a certificate of participation and The Golden Pathwaybookmark.
WORKSHOP – Grade 4 & 5: Meet the Author, Journal Writing, and Q&A - The session began with a brief introduction and showing of The Golden Pathway book trailer followed by reading an excerpt and discussion as to what the students know about the Underground Railroad. Each student was then presented with a pocket journal and pen and was asked to write a journal entry from the point of view of a runaway slave. Such as:
· Why did slaves run away?
· How hard was the escape?
· What dangers did the slaves face?
· Where do they hope to go?
The students then shared their journal entry with the class. The students will keep their new pocket journals and pens. Each journal entry was astounding.
The week flew by! The schedule worked seamlessly and the interaction and engagement from the youngest students through the 5th grade provided me with wonderful insights to the creative minds of our young muses.
If you are a teacher or school representative interested in discussing a school visit, please contact me at donna@donnamcdine.com. Knowing the tight budget constraints school operate under each school visit fee is negotiated to the specific school budget.
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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval Recipient and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
