Welcome to Kid’s Corner where we display your writing and art, talk about class visits, and answer questions about the writing process.
Author Visit at Glenn L. Downs Elementary
It was my great pleasure to spend time with two third grade classes at Glenn L. Downs in Phoenix, Arizona. One classroom was working on composing their own stories. We talked about the writing process and how to use life events to make stories interesting. I read some of the students’ work. There is definitely good work happening in the classroom–beautiful writing.
The other classroom uses The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon: New Beginnings as part of their language arts program. These student have a thorough understanding of the story and had many thoughtful questions for me.
Here is a presentation they have worked on. Enjoy!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5DJb9hxMvThdm9lemZEQzIydWc/view?usp=drive_web
Student reviews
Jose says, “I gave this book 5 stars because it’s funny. I love the characters and the pictures.”
Alejandro says, “I give it 5 stars because I will read it every day.”
Juan says, “If Frankie was not in this book, it would not be fun.”
Cielo says, “My favorite part of the story is when Frankie blew bubbles out of his mouth. It was my favorite part because fish don’t blow bubbles out of their mouth and it’s funny.”
Jesus says, “My favorite part is the one that Charlie and Gary Gecko went to his room and there was a spaceship and it is my favorite because I like spaceships.”
Isaac says, “My favorite part is when Frankie burps and says, ‘I need my beauty sleep’ and the weird thing is fish don’t have eyelids so how does he sleep? It’s so strange.”
More comments to come!
Author Visit at the Arizona Charter Academy
The morning spent with the third grade students of Arizona Charter Academy in Surprise, Arizona was great fun! Three third grade classrooms gathered together in one room to spend time with me and ask many interesting questions. Some of the inquiries were about writing, putting a book together from idea to finished product, character development, and why would I chose to write this kind of book. From the quality of the questions, I could tell the students thought carefully about what they’d asked.
A vote taken by show of hands decided which chapter I’d read. Most everyone wanted chapter three, where Charlie Chameleon and his pet fish Frankie meet Boris Bunny, the local bully, and Gary Gecko who becomes Charlie’s new best friend.
Charlie and Frankie also meet Grandma Gecko in that chapter. Grandma is funny!
I was invited to speak further with Mrs. Soto’s class about ways to improve writing skills.
We talked about the importance of eating healthy foods and getting enough sleep. It is difficult to write well unless we can think clearly, which requires plenty of sleep. After our discussion I demonstrated Yoga Brain Breathing, sometimes called Super Brain Yoga. This form of yoga energizes the brain, making it easier to think. Here’s the YouTube link: Super Brain Yoga