One Book, One School: My Visit to John Winthrop Middle School
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, School Visits | No Comments »Trying something new today -- typing on my iPad from a hotel in Newberry, South Carolina, about my visit a few weeks back to Deep River, Connecticut. First, an article that gives you all the info you need, plus some snaps. ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #127 (Writing Advice)
Friday, October 28th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Fan Mail, School Visits, the writing process | 4 Comments »Certainly by this point, faithful readers of jamespreller.com have realized that for me, "Wednesday" is a mystical proposition rather than, say, an actual day. Fan Mail Wednesday happens when I get around to it, basically, and these days it's been ...
Photo Dump: Three Days in Williamstown
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 Posted in In the Classroom, School Visits | No Comments »I recently enjoyed a three-day visit to Williamstown, Massachusetts. I visited three schools: Lanesborough Elementary (where we forgot to take photos), Mount Greylock (grades 7-8), and Williamstown Elementary. It was particularly fun to interact with such a large range of ...
Arrrr: Photos, Videos, Fun Stuff from a School Visit!
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, School Visits | No Comments »I'm very sorry that I cannot for the life of me remember which school gave me this wonderful material. I know that Ms. Harmon, the media specialist, was the driving force behind much of it. Authors are so lucky when a ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #124 (School Visits 101, Travel Required)
Thursday, September 15th, 2011 Posted in Along Came Spider, Fan Mail, School Visits | 1 Comment »This isn't the sort of letter I normally share, but boy is it ever relevant to my life lately. This is the time of year when I field many inquiries about my availability for school visits. For educators who'd like help ...
Author Skype Visits: Three Perspectives
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 Posted in In the Classroom, School Visits, bullying | No Comments »Last week I posted about doing a couple of Skype visits, complete with follow-up comments from a teacher-librarian. Because Skyping is a relatively new (and powerful, and affordable) educational tool, I thought I'd recap my experiences in more detail. To that end, ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #113: Skype & Teaching in the 21st Century
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, School Visits | No Comments »Preamble: My friend, talented author/illustrator Matt McElligott, is a frequent presenter at schools. I saw him when he came to my local elementary school and he was spectacular. A total pro, funny, informative, and kind. For info on his author ...
The Note Pressed Into My Hand
Thursday, May 19th, 2011 Posted in School Visits | No Comments »When you do school visits, there are many pleasures -- a few quiet moments spent in conversation with a librarian, the roaring laughter of a large group of kids, the student artwork in the hallways, a teacher who says something ...
Justin Fisher . . . Illustrated
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 Posted in Justin Fisher Declares War!, School Visits | 3 Comments »The huge success of The Wimpy Kid series was soon followed by a spate of copycat publishing. This kind of "borrowed idea" publishing happens after every bestseller and it's pointless to complain. But with Wimpy Kid, some publishers seem to ...
Too Much Awesome: Posters, Student Writing, etc.
Monday, April 4th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, School Visits, bullying | 5 Comments »I know, Dear Reader, I know. You are getting tired of my slipshod approach, the endless excuses about how busy I am. But! Yesterday I coached two baseball practices, for two different teams. Threw batting practice to twenty-two different boys who are at ...