May 1, 2013 by plemmonsa

Same, Same but Different: Skyping with Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

What an exciting day! Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Ramseyer’s class had the chance to Skype with incredible author/illustrator Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw. She was simply amazing! Today’s Skype came about because a few months ago, Shannon Miller and I began a blogging project with our second graders. The whole project was started with the book Same, Same but Different. Our classes skyped with one another and began writing blog posts about our world to share with one another. Shannon and I both shared this work on our blogs and shared the project on Jenny Sue’s Facebook page. Jenny Sue reached out to us and wanted to connect with our students to share her work and talk about their work. We had a few email exchanges and test call to prepare for today’s session.

For today’s skype, students wrote some questions in advance. I went through and selected about 10 of them to have ready for today, but I let the students know that I would remove any questions that she answered during her talk. Students in both classes also drew pictures of “their world” just like Kailash and Elliot do in the book. They added a sentence to describe what was in the picture just like in the book. The teachers and I selected about 10 of these for students to share during the Skype.

We also took time to look at a Google map to see how far it was to Taos, New Mexico from Athens, GA. (1,491 miles & 22 hours 47 minutes in a car)

Our session started with Jenny Sue sharing her process for making Same, Same but Different. We heard about her travels to Nepal. She reached over and pulled out her journals to show the kids how she collected ideas, sketches, and research in her journals. After collecting all of these thoughts and sketches, she started working on the story. She said she probably made at least a hundred different versions of the story before she had the idea that she really wanted. Jenny Sue showed the students the book with the rough sketches of the illustrations as well as how those rough sketches changed in the final book. She even pulled out an original painting from the book and shared it with us. I loved how we felt like we were sitting in Jenny Sue’s living room and every time she thought of something to share with us she could just reach right out and get it. I also loved that she was sitting on a bouncy ball while she Skyped! We learned how her publisher didn’t really like the ending of the book that she sent to them and how she tweaked it just a bit to satisfy what they wanted in the book. She shared that even the smallest change can make a world of difference.

Next was one of my favorite parts, students came up to the rocking chair that my dad made and shared their own art with Jenny Sue. I loved how she took time to look at each piece of art, considering what it had to offer and what story it told. She gave each student an acknowledgement of their hard work and pointed out a special quality of each piece. She even took pictures of some of the artwork to remember.

We used a similar format for students to come up and ask questions. I really liked having students sit in the rocking chair right in front of the camera so that they could be seen and heard. It felt like they were having a 1 on 1 conversation, even though 2 whole classes were watching.

This will be a day I will cherish. Same, Same but Different has become a book that I love to use when connecting with other schools and in my lessons about culture. I am so grateful to Jenny Sue for taking time out of her day and busy writing life and family life to share the love of reading, writing, and illustrating with our students. If you haven’t read this book, please take some time to check it out from your library or better yet, purchase several copies from your local book stores! You won’t be disappointed.

Listen to a snippet of our visit!

April 2, 2013 by plemmonsa

Skyping with Anne Marie Pace

Back on March 6th, we celebrated World Read Aloud Day with Skype sessions with authors and schools around the country. On that very same day, a major winter storm was making its way across the country creating chaos, power outages, and librarians frantically rescheduling connections. Anne Marie Pace was scheduled to Skype with Ms. Wright’s and Ms. Yawn’s 2nd grade classes. We had read Vamperina Ballerina and written several questions to ask her about writing and the book. However, the snowstorm knocked out Anne Marie’s power. Fortunately, we were able to find a time to reconnect and the students were so excited to finally meet her on Skype today.

We did a brief “hello” and then Anne Marie read us Never Ever Talk to Strangers. She had the book on a presentation so that the kids could easily see the pages as she read. After that, the students begged to hear Vamperina again. Because our schedule wasn’t so rushed today, we had time, and Anne Marie graciously gave the kids a 2nd reading of Vamperina Ballerina.

We printed all of the students’ questions from a Google Doc so that they were prepared to quickly ask their questions. Here’s a look at our questions:

Natalie: Who is your publisher?

George: Why did you make Vamperina Ballerina?

Tykeria: Why did she turn into a bat in the story?

Lucy: Is it a long process to make a book or does it depend on the book?

Nikolas: Do you only write picture books?

Olonix: Do vampires change into anything else?

Grace: How did you come up with the details?

Myles: Why did you put the vampire into the spotlight?

Sam B: What are your other books?

Sam G: Why did you put a vampire in a ballerina class?

Miles: Do you make chapter books or comic books?

Mr. Plemmons: Do you feel like the illustrator drew what you were thinking when you wrote your words?

Ms. Wright: Did you have to write multiple drafts of the book?

Harper: How do you know so much about vampires?
Danny: Do you ever have writer’s block?

Repp: Have you ever messed up on a published piece?

Eddie: Do you have more books than 3?

Jeremiah: Why do you like books so much?

Diana: Who inspired you to write books?

Ty’Najia: How long does it take to make a book?

Tom: How did you come up with these book ideas?

Xander: If you do have chapter books, how many do you have?

Mrs. Yawn: How young were you when you first started writing?

This year we have been so fortunate to make so many connections through Skype. I can’t wait to incorporate it even more next year. The students left this session energized about reading and writing. I just know this will translate into what they do in the classroom. Thank you, Anne Marie Pace, for making our day so special! We can’t wait to read the Vamperina sequel!

November 7, 2012 by plemmonsa

Suzanne Bloom Author/Illustrator Visit

We were thrilled today to host author/illustrator Suzanne Bloom thanks to the community connections of Avid Bookshop and the generous publisher, Boyds Mills Press. What a great time to have an author visit during National Picture Book Month! This visit was exclusive to our 1st and 3rd grades. We began planning the visit a few weeks ago, when Avid Bookshop emailed me to see if I was willing to host a visit. I’m seldom one to turn down the support of a published author/illustrator because I know the kind of impact it can have on student enthusiasm and productivity in reading and writing.

All 1st-3rd grade classes came individually to the library for an introduction to Suzanne Bloom’s books. We visited her website and learned a bit about her life. One of the things that sparked the most conversation was how she wasn’t allowed to play with blocks and trucks when she was in Kindergarten just because she was a girl. This led to other books in our library that break away from gender profiles. Students were also curious about her messy desk and talked about how how messy writing and illustrating can be sometimes. We laughed together as we read the Bear and Goose books and made connections to Mo Willems’s Elephant and Piggie Series.

Today during her visit, Suzanne shared some of her earliest drawings from when she was in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 4th grade. For the students, it was validating that Suzanne’s work didn’t start out as the polished drawings that we see in her books today. She had to practice, practice, practice in order to develop her skills. Students also heard how each of her books has a bit of truth in them such as how Piggy Monday is really about her son’s Kindergarten class and how A Splendid Friend, Indeed came from a conversation she had with her dad while working on her writing. Suzanne also took time to read aloud to students and do a quick sketch. She immediately molded into our participatory culture by having students select the crayons from the box that she used and having students give details and topics for her illustrations. All along the way, she encouraged participation through sounds, comments, questions, and more. She honored every student’s voice and tried to make as many connections to her audience as possible.

I was also impressed with the conversations I had with her outside of the presentations. I learned how she overwrites her stories and then cuts away at the words to find the very best language. She looks for language that feels and sounds right while it is read aloud. What seems like a very simple text, actually has a tremendous amount of thought poured into it to create just the right effect in readers. I even learned that she was a contributing author/illustrator to the Picture Book Month celebration which started last year!

Suzanne Bloom was a delight. Many thanks to Avid and Boyds Mills Press for allowing this visit to be possible. I know our students’ writing and illustrating lives are enriched because of her generosity of love for sharing her words and illustrations.

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March 22, 2012 by plemmonsa

A Visit with Meghan McCarthy

We had a wonderful day in the Barrow Media Center learning from author and illustrator, Meghan McCarthy. She is the award-winning author/illustrator of books such as Pop the Invention of Bubble Gum, The Aliens Are Coming, and The Incredible Life of Balto. She shared with every grade level during 3 sessions. Her talk included a close look at her early writing as a child. The students loved seeing that she made lots of spelling errors as a child and drew drawings that looked very much like things that they draw in school. She showed them how her writing and illustrating evolved through High School and College. We learned about her family stories and interests, which inspired many of her books. She showed students how a book is published and walked them through what each step looked like in pictures and videos. I loved seeing how her research impacted both her writing and her illustrations, like making sure the bathing suits were from the right time period in one of her books. Finally, she showed students how to draw the dogs, horses, aliens, and birds in her books. She included her signature “big eyes” in each illustration.

After today, Meghan will speak at the Georgia Conference on Children’s Literature in Athens, where I will also be presenting on Techno Poetry.

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January 27, 2012 by plemmonsa

Community Connection: An Author Visit with Donna Jo Napoli

I was recently reminded of how many opportunities for our students are probably hiding in our communities. A parent reached out to our Kindergarten teachers and asked if they would be interested in an author visit with Donna Jo Napoli. The teachers asked me about it, and I immediately jumped on board because author visits don’t just pop up everyday, epsecially with outstanding authors such as this one. Donna Jo Napoli just happened to be in Athens to speak at UGA, and a parent at our school used to live down the street from her. This parent said that she was willing to come in and speak to a class or the whole grade level.

I occasionally ask parents to share their talents and connections with us in the media center so that we can connect them to opportunities, but this made me think that maybe I should ask more often or that I should highlight ways people are supporting our students with exciting opportunities.

Donna Jo Napoli read her book Rocky the Cat who Barks. She shared the process that it takes to get a book printed in physical form. Students were also able to ask questions. Many shared stories of their own pets or how they also wrote a book. Along the way, we also learned about how much research and reading go into books such as Mama Miti. Donna Jo spoke with passion about how she learned how much an ordinary person can make big changes in the world. She encouraged the students to think about what they could do to change the world. She also shared her thoughts about revision. Her thought is that instead of writing one story over and over, you should write many stories. Each time you write, share that story with a friend and have them tell you what they like and what they don’t like. Learn from that, and use what you learned to write something new. After you get several stories, pick one that speaks to you and spend more time making it better.

We also learned that she is doing a collaboration with author David Wiesner on a graphic novel. We can’t wait to see how that develops!

What an amazing day for our Kindergartens. Thank you parents and community members who reach out to schools and libraries to provide opportunities, and thank you Donna Jo Napoli for your amazing gift of story to our students today!

September 27, 2011 by plemmonsa

Shadra Strickland Illustrator Visit

We had a wonderful day hearing Shadra Strickland talk about her illustrating process. She read White Water to grades PreK-3rd, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen to grades 2-3, and Bird to grades 4-5. We saw thumbnail sketches and how those sketches move to larger versions that are transferred onto tracing paper before they finally make it to the paper that will be painted. She shared several of her techniques with students including using saran wrap to create the ripples of the flood water in the large painting of New Orleans in A Place Where Hurricanes Happen.

As usual, I was amazed by the insight that students had into the stories. They asked questions both about the content of the stories and about the process of illustrating. Shadra entertained all questions, even ones about how much an illustrator makes.

A few students were fortunate enough to have a quick portrait sketched of themselves by Shadra. Even though she gets nervous drawing in front of a whole group, Shadra willingly put herself out there and showcased her talent for drawing the human form.

Today was the culmination of many read-alouds, lessons expanding upon the stories, and discussions and comparisons of multiple pieces of art on exhibit for the past month. We are very grateful to Shadra for her visit. We are also grateful to the Auburn Avenue Research Library for supporting this traveling exhibit and illustrator visit.

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August 23, 2011 by plemmonsa

Honoring Student Voices in the Library

Last year, I held the first Barrow Media Center Poetry Contest and was amazed by the response from students. So many talented young writers entered their poetry into the contest that it was impossible to choose just two winners from each grade level. Instead, multiple students were honored in a variety of categories. One poem continues to stand out in my mind, and I copied it and held onto it for that very reason.

Hurricane Katrina

By David

One boy experienced a

bad moment in this state. you could

hear yelling from everywhere, crying

from babies, shooting every five

seconds, police saying “stop”!

You could feel rain going into

your face like cats and dogs, wind

throwing down trees and light poles.

no electricity.

You see stealing, boats, buses,

bike, cars, tires, you feel sharks

in the water.

no food, drowning, people passing

out. you are waiting to be saved

at the Super Dome.

I can’t read that poem without getting chills down my spine. I shared it with a group of educators this summer and we started a conversation about the importance of honoring student interests and voices as well as allowing students to write about the things that matter to them rather than assigning topics and requiring certain graphic organizers. When David wrote this poem, he was very frustrated because he was supposed to be writing a poem about nature from a photograph that he took at school. In my conferencing with him, I sensed his frustration at the graphic organizer in front of him and the topic he had to write about, so I flipped the organizer over and asked him to think about what mattered the most to him.

Because I know him so well from his media center visits, I know that he has a deep interest in hurricanes because of his experiences with Hurricane Katrina. I suggested that he think about that. His writing mood immediately changed and he proceeded to talk to me about everything he remembered about the storm. While he talked, I made a list of his descriptions and handed them to him. That was his organizer: a brainstorm list. With further conferences with his teacher, he crafted the poem above.

I’ve held onto that poem wondering if there was another way that his work could be honored, so I was so thrilled when our school was selected as the first stop of the Ashley Bryan Traveling Exhibit of Illustrated Africana Children’s Literature featuring the work of Shadra Strickland. In the book A Place Where Hurricanes Happen written by Renee Watson and illustrated by Shadra Strickland, Watson shows the bond of 4 friends growing up in New Orleans and the stress and devastation that Hurricane Katrina put on their hometown and friendships. The art exhibit on display in our media center through September 27 features 3 of Shadra’s illustrations from the book. One depicts Adrienne and her Granny as they load into the car to head out of New Orleans. Another shows the flooded streets of New Orleans with landmarks such as the Super Dome in the background. Another features the joys of living in New Orleans and fixing jambalaya with family. As I put the artwork on display, I thought, ‘This is the perfect spot for David’s poem’. I pulled it out, rushed to his classroom to ask his permission, and had it on display by the end of the day for my first lesson using the exhibit. It was so much fun to see the students flock to David’s poem at the end of the lesson when they toured the display.

This morning, David came up to the library to checkout books, but he also wanted to see his poem sitting on the shelf next to Shadra’s illustrations. “She does really good work”, he said. I could tell how proud he was of seeing his poem on display.

I want to continue to seek opportunities for students to display their work in authentic, meaningful ways in the media center. This seemed so simple and easy to do, but it meant the world to this student.

August 19, 2011 by plemmonsa

Ashley Bryan Traveling Exhibit of Illustrated Africana Children’s Literature featuring Shadra Strickland

Images on display through September 27th

The Ashley Bryan Traveling Exhibit of Illustrated Africana Children’s Literature is now in our library! This exhibit is provided through a collaboration between the Auburn Avenue Research Library and the National Black Arts Festival. The display is on the tops of the shelves and features 8 works of art by Shadra Strickland, award-winning children’s illustrator. The exhibit will be with us until September 27^th when Shadra Strickland will visit our school. To support the exhibit, we have copies of six books that accompany the exhibit, a curriculum guide to inspire lessons using the texts and artwork, and a school-wide subscription to Literacyhead.

From the accompanying curriculum guide:

Ashley Bryan

“A renowned author and illustrator, Ashley Bryan is perhaps best known for his work celebrating the African American experience. In 1962, he was the first African American to be published as both the author and illustrator of a children’s book. Since that time, his work has expanded the catalogue of children’s literature by African Americans and has led the way for other African American authors and illustrators. Born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx by Jamaican immigrant parents, Bryan always harbored a love of books, art, and music. He recalls writing his first book in kindergarten and never gave up writing and illustrating books until he was finally published at the age of 40. Bryan was a talented and dedicated student, graduating from high school at 16 and attending Cooper Union Art School on a scholarship. After serving in World War II, Bryan attended Columbia University and studied in Europe as a Fulbright Scholar.

Ashley Bryan’s children’s books have won several awards including the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration, six Coretta Scott King Honors, and the Arbuthnot Prize. Bryan’s work is heavily influenced by African American poetry and storytelling. His retellings of African folktales such as Beautiful Blackbird and Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum have successfully exposed a wider audience of children to the African oral tradition.”

Shadra Strickland

“Shadra Strickland studied design, illustration, and writing at Syracuse University before earning her MFA at New York’s School of Visual Arts. Her illustrations have received numerous awards including the American Library Association’s John Steptoe Award for New Talent and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award as well as an NAACP Image Award and the Ashley Bryan Children’s Literature Award.

Strickland’s illustrations start with real-life images. For her work on Bird, Strickland spent time walking the streets of New York, and her research for A Place Where Hurricanes Happen involved time in New Orleans. Yet, her illustrations, while based in reality, also manage to capture the imaginative worlds that children create.

When not at home in Baltimore where she teaches illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Strickland can be found conducting workshops across the country with children, teachers, and librarians.”

Throughout the next month, students will be coming to the library to view the exhibit and participate in a variety of lessons exploring the illustrations and text.

Some possible lessons that students may experience:

1. Where I’m From: Read aloud one of Shadra’s books. Discuss how the words and images help us learn more about the characters in the story. Examine one piece of artwork from the exhibit that is from the picture book and use the picture to think about what the character might write in a “Where I’m From” poem. At the end, students can either craft a poem from the character’s perspective as a class using Poll Everywhere in the computer lab or students can write individual poems

2. Connections: Students will examine two pieces of artwork from Shadra’s exhibit and compare and contrast the two images using a venn diagram on the smart board. Following this, we will read aloud one of her books and continue looking at how the images have connections to one another. At the end, students will have time to examine all the pieces in the exhibit and write a response on an index card about connections they saw between the artwork.

3. Text to Self Connections: Examine a piece of art from the exhibit. Have a conversation around a series of questions as a whole group and with partners that build connection between the art and the students. Read aloud one of Shadra’s books and continue the conversation of connections. View the remainder of the exhibit and see if any of the other paintings have a connection to you. At the end, students write a response on an index card about a connection they had to the artwork.

4. Response to Literature: Read aloud one of Shadra’s books and examine the artwork from that book. Ask a guiding question that would build student response about the book. For example, in the book Bird, how is Bird like a bird? Students write a response in relation to the question. This could also be done as a more open response to the book in a book review format. In the computer lab, students could type their response into Tagxedo and print a visual interpretation of their response.

5. Read Alouds:

a. White Water: Inspired by the author’s own childhood experiences, White Water tells the story of Michael,a little boy growing up under Jim Crow laws. He and his grandmother must give up their seats on the bus for a white family and must drink from the “colored” water fountain.Michael begins to dream about the “white” water, and devises a plan to get a taste of it, but Michael soon learns that many things he has been lead to believe are simply untrue.

b. Bird: Mekhai, nicknamed Bird, is struggling to deal with the changes in his life. He grandfather has recently passed away and his older brother has been lost to drug addiction. Fortunately for Bird, he has the love and support of his grandfather’s friend, Uncle Son, and a passion for drawing that help him to make sense of the world in this difficult time.

c. A Place Where Hurricanes Happen: Adrienne, Keesha, Michael, and Tommy all live in New Orleans prior to the arrival of Hurricane Katrina. This story follows the events of Katrina as seen through the eyes of the four children, all of whom experience the tragedy of the hurricane in different ways. Ultimately, the book is a hopeful reminder that even in the face of devastation and loss, the human spirit is resilient.

d. Our Children Can Soar: Each spread highlights key figures in African American history including George Washington Carver, Jesse Owens, Hattie McDaniel, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Barack Obama.

If you are in the Athens area during the next month, we invite you to stop in and see the exhibit. For more information or to let us know you’re coming by, email Mr. Plemmons at plemmonsa@clarke.k12.ga.us

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March 13, 2011 by plemmonsa

Author Donny Bailey Seagraves Young Writers Workshop & Book Signing

Author Donny Bailey Seagraves Young Writers Workshop & Book Signing.

February 24, 2011 by plemmonsa

Author Visit with Laurel Snyder

Today, Barrow students were honored with a visit from talented author, Laurel Snyder. We’ve been planning this visit since the beginning of the school year and building the anticipation of her arrival. Before she came, students in Prek-1st grade heard about all of her chapter books and read Baxter the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher. Students in 2nd & 3rd grade read Inside the Slidy Diner and Baxter the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher. Students in 5th grade read Inside the Slidy Diner and part of Any Which Wall. I also surveyed teachers in all grades about what they would like their students to gain from an author visit. All of these details were sent to Laurel before the visit, and after hours of work to prepare, she magically wove these elements in her talk.

Prek-1st grade students walked through a PDF version of Baxter the Pig and saw how the words and illustrations had been revised from the original version. They also read Inside the Slidy Diner and began writing their own version of the story called Inside the Leaky Library. Students thought very carefully about the words that they chose so that the words painted the best picture they could for the reader. Many classes continued working on this story when they got back to their classrooms. Finally, students were able to walk through the pages of Laurel’s newest book, which isn’t going to come out until next spring! She had to get special permission to be able to show it to us…..so shhhhhhhh!

Students in 4th and 5th grade heard a story about Laurel’s life as a writer from the time she was in 4th grade until now. Along the way, they saw how Laurel’s writing has come full circle to the kinds of things she wrote about as a child and how her writing is developing into things that are more personal from her life. Students saw how Laurel’s first novel, Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains, took 8 years to write and had multiple rejections and revisions before it was finally taken into the publishing process. Finally, these students worked with Laurel to brainstorm the beginnings of a book and looked a the story arc of where the book needed to go by the end. Students were encouraged to continue working on this brainstorm and share the finished stories with Laurel and the media center.

Students in 2nd and 3rd grade had a similar program as 4th and 5th grade, but they also had the opportunity to listen to Laurel read Baxter the Pig and worked on their own version of Slidy Diner.

Today was an incredible day, and the energy that the kids had about Laurel’s books and writing was electric. They had so many ideas stirring in their minds. I can’t wait to see the stories that students create after this inspiring day. Thank you, Laurel!

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