There's no substitute for an "expert" in your classroom.
It's one thing to tell your students that this or that thing is important. It's entirely another to bring a person in from the real, outside world, someone who actually does the thing, and can talk about it.
This is more than "how to," more than facts. If you bring in a writer, an artist, a welder, a musician ... people who really do the things you're talking about in class, everything changes.
A visitor to your classroom brings energy, confidence, excitement and the real-world authority that comes from having successfully accomplished a thing. And those qualities shine a guiding light for your students who are coming to believe they want to travel that same path.
How to find one?
Start by asking. Is there a budget for bringing in speakers? Money is always a good thing. But not essential. Ever since I first started selling stories to CRICKET Magazine, way back in the '80s, I've been visiting classrooms. And its still something I enjoy doing.
In the Eugene OR area, I'm local and free. Elsewhere, I'll travel for expenses or ... can we Skype? You bet.
I particularly enjoy visiting classrooms from grades five to eight, the approximate reading level of my Cheechako series (covers above). Volume 1 in that series, "Cheechako," is highly rated and well-reviewed for reluctant readers. Reading specialists tell me it's the kind of book a kid (who normally doesn't want to read anything) cheats and reads ahead on.
The other two, "Float Monkeys," and "Musher!" are also exciting Alaska tales of adventure, and all are great for reading out loud, too.
Please share this blog!
If you have teachers on your mailing list or "friends" list, please share this post. I've made my living as a writer for thirty years. Writing is on a short list of things I'm really good at and enjoy talking about. And if I can really make a difference for young writers, it's really what I want to do.
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