A Conversation with Young Writers

One of my favorite parts about school author visits is that I get to meet young readers and encourage young writers. Sometimes a "school visit" begins as an email Q & A with students. Other times, an in-person visit is the launching-off point for an ongoing conversation. Here is a sampling from a recent email exchange I had with an English Language Development teacher and some of her students (I've removed names to maintain privacy):

Hello Dawn: I have some students who would like to share some comments about their favorite parts of your books.

Image Credit: Abdo Publishing Group

"N' liked THE BEST DAY IN ROOM A

"I LIKED THE PART IN THE MIDDLE WHEN THE WERE KIDS BOUNCING BALLS." 

Thank you so much for your nice note. I like the bouncing balls page in the THE BEST DAY IN ROOM A, too! I like playing "I Spy" to find all of the balls on that page.

"A" liked FAMOUS FENTON...

Image Credit: Abdo Publishing Group

"I  LIKED THE PART AT THE START ABOUT THE GOATS IN A BOAT."

I'm glad you liked the goats in a boat page in FAMOUS FENTON HAS A FARM. That book has some tricky tongue twisters! Try reading it as fast as you can and watch your tongue get tangled!

Image Credit: Abdo Publishing Group

"K" liked THE BIG BLUE BOWL

"I LIKED THE PART WHEN THE CHICKEN PUTS FOOD IN THE BOWL."

Did you notice that the illustration on the cover of THE BIG BLUE BOWL is the same illustration that's on the page of the book where the hen is putting corn in the bowl? For each book, my editor chose an illustration she liked best, then she put that illustration on the cover of the book.

"R" liked SEE THE COLOR

Image Credit: Abdo Publishing Group

"I LIKED THE PART IN THE MIDDLE WHEN THE YELLOW ROSE."

I'm so glad you liked SEE THE COLORS. That story started as a song to my daughter back when she was a baby. She's 14 now! Did you know you could "sing" that story to the tune of "Oh My Darlin' Clementine?" Try it out! (Let your teachers know that this web page has lots of activity ideas to go along with this book).

Image Credit: Abdo Publishing Group

"J" liked THE NEST WHERE  I LIKE BEST

I LIKED THE PART WHERE THE EGGS HATCHED AND THE CHICKS WERE CUTE."

I agree that the chicks in THE NEST WHERE I LIKE TO REST are really cute . . . the only problem is that they don't look very tired, so poor Mama hen is not going to get ANY rest! That is one of my most popular books. A lot of people buy it as a gift when someone they know has a new baby.

Image Credit: Abdo Publishing Group

"B" liked TRICK OR TREAT"

"I LIKED THE PART WHEN ONE TRICK OR TREAT GROUP WAS THE CATS."

Thanks for reading ONE TRICK FOR ONE TREAT! When I first wrote that book, the title was, ONE WARTY WITCH. My editor didn't like that title, so she changed it to ONE TRICK FOR ONE TREAT. Which title do you like better?

They really loved all your books and were fascinated with the sign language! They also enjoyed your visit to their classes.

THANK YOU,

L. F., English Language Development Teacher 

Thanks for reading my books and thanks for writing to me. I enjoyed visiting your school!

And . . . I hope I get to visit YOUR school some day! For more information about school visits, click here. 

Enrich Your Learning Environment with Sign Language: Post #5

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One of the benefits of using sign language in your learning environment is that it engages multiple senses. I envision taking in new information as a process of dropping little nuggets of knowledge into different bins in our brain. I picture these bins looking a lot like old-style card catalog drawers. When we need to call upon our stored knowledge, I imagine little critters rifling through the file drawers in our brain until they find what we are looking for. I realize that's a crazy image, but that's how I see it! Suffice it to say, sign language gives young learners the opportunity to drop their little nuggets of knowledge into more than one file bin.

Image Credit: ABDO Publishing Group 

Think about the letters b, d, and p. They are all similar in shape and sound, but they are very different signs. When you teach a child to see, say and sign the letter "b," they can clearly distinguish it from the letter "d," and they can store that knowledge in the visual, auditory and kinesthetic bins in their brain.

Those of us who are trained as teachers and/or adult educators are familiar with Kolb's Experiential Learning Model and the importance of designing instructional activities that reach learners with different learning styles. Sign language stimulates multiple senses. When we incorporate signing into classroom routines, we can reach our visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners.

Auditory learners are just fine with all of our blah-blah-blahing, but our visual and kinesthetic learners need their other senses stimulated! That's why we usual visual aides and give our learners opportunities to touch, feel and practice. Signing incorporates all of these elements.

This past week I visited a local preschool as part of their annual Dr. Seuss Celebration. One of the stories I read was "Wear a Silly Hat."



Children made hats prior to my visit.


They heard me talk about hats.


They saw me model different hats.

They listened to me read my story about hats. And they learned and practiced the sign for hat. 

  

During the story time, I read, said, and signed the word hat, multiple times. Children heard the word and the melody (because we sang parts of the story), they saw the object, the word and the sign, and they could move their bodies to make the signs themselves. Multiple senses were engaged, and learning occurred. (Oh, and P.S. It was FUN!)

I'm working on getting video footage from this most recent school visit posted up to YouTube, but in the meantime, here is a clip from a previous school visit.  I'll post new video footage here as soon as it's ready.

And, for those of you who would like to lead your own silly hat story time, here are my "Start to Finish Story Time" notes for "Wear a Silly Hat." Happy Signing!