Visiting Authors

How to Prepare Yourself as the Guest Author

by Marian Brovero, special to NEA.org

Who can afford a true author, much less several over a school year? Not many school districts. Guess what? You can fill that gap between the have and have-nots by posing as an author yourself. We teachers wear a multitude of hats (and well, by the way). What style would an author prefer? Pick something pleasing. Glasses might be an added affect. Several marble-type notebooks add a dash of taste and are recognized by all kids as a journal. Part one of your preparation for an in-class workshop is almost set. Your principal will congratulate your ingenuity and frugally creative manner.

Prepare for your performance as the "guest author"!

• Announce yourself. Prepare "Workshop in Session" signs and dates of the coming attraction to build up interest.
• Search for samples of writings (i.e. several poems by Aileen Fischer or the first page of a Joanna Cole book). The theme of your "author's visit" determines the examples that would be most helpful. Please have multiple copies available.
• Add some of your personal writings. Awe your class when you share what you have written.
• Find art work with which to decorate your work area. Book covers are the simplest, or you can write the American Library Association for large posters. Book companies, at times, will generously mail you a few for the asking.
• Plan all activities that will compliment your theme. After your first "visit," you'll be amazed at all the projects that will compliment the curriculum.
• Set an arbitrary amount of time, from one period to an entire week. Choose Language Arts or English as an appropriate place to begin.
• Say you decide on repeating this style of presentation every other month; imagine all the genres you will explore with the class. You would want a similar folder for each (and a few more disguises!).

What Shall We Write?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We will "borrow" some writing styles on the way to developing our own. Here are several trains of writing thought for you to follow:

• Use Eric Carle and any one of his wonderful books as a perfect start for writing for young children. Audience is a major skill for your class to understand. Mr. Carle permits the student to think in terms of a younger sibling while writing and drawing a story filled with the trials of a small creature. Have paints ready to tie the writings together. As throughout this project, allow ample time for sharing story lines, especially the finished product.
• Get silly with Dr. Seuss. Read a few of his earlier works, like Gertrude McFuzz. Rhymes appeal to children as an easy form of poetry. Teachers wish to break that stereotype. Using rhyming as prose may be the answer.
• Gail Gibbons is the master of non-fiction for children. Her books are readable and informative. Notice the excellent opportunity to turn this workshop into a social studies/science report without the yawns. Note taking and extrapolating facts are two difficult skills the "author" approach should firm up.
• How-to authors simply follow directions. What better place for your students to clearly present sequential order or summarization under the guise of writing their own book? You an present a how-to of any craft idea -- or How to Make Friends, How to Pass A Spelling Test, etc. See! Exciting, isn't it? Kids think they are being authors. We see them as learners of more skills than any worksheet permits.
  
  Sadly, Ruth Heller recently passed on but her legacy of beautiful books on words is just what the writing doctor ordered. Adjectives, as covered in Many Luscious Lollipops, make it the most enviable part of speech. A book of all language parts and usage could be an addition to the library that even the librarian would love.

Please remember you are saving all this growing collection for the grand finale before school ends. Invite parents and grandparents. You'll be #1 on the List of Fine Teachers.

Finally, my favorite . . . poetry . . . and a sample. Have a helper video your performance or use a digital camera to capture the best moments. Are you Ready? Make sure the class is calm, slip out of the room and reenter with a flourish!

About the Author
Marian Brovero, retired from her NJ teaching life to FL, where children who know the pains of life after hurricanes can find happiness in a good book.