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From: MARVYPIG at aol.com <MARVYPIG>
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 10:40:16 -0400
My 6th grade class had been reading once a week at a nursery school located next to our school, and wanted to try writing and illustrating some stories for that age group. Several went with me to a Saturday conference FOR children to hear Vera Williams speak about writing for children. They were completely taken with her, as she spoke to them as fellow writers, or potential colleagues. She used her latest, "A Chair for My Mother", to discuss how important it was to have characters and illustrations that reflect the reader's life. "How many of you have mothers that serve you bacon and eggs and toast in high heels, makeup, and pearls before you go to school?" brought laughter from parents as well as the students, as we talked of "Leave It To Beaver", "Happy Days", or "Brady Bunch" reruns on after-school tv that were supposedly reflecting typical American family lives. Her "Write about what you know" advice made me smile as I recalled the "novel" I wrote the summer before I went to junior high, a 10 page opus in which two 16 year old girls run away to spend a summer on a dude ranch in Arizona, and of course find romance. Not yet a teenager, never having traveled outside Connecticut, and not being old enough to date were serious impediments to realistic writing for my chosen plot! Anyway, my 6th graders said that hearing Williams speak would not only make them better writers, but they felt they would be more critical readers now. They shared the discussion with their classmates when we all got back to school Monday, and felt their stories for the nursery school were better for meeting Williams. Feedback from the parents was also positive: they thought they would be more sensitive to stereotypes in the books and tv shows they chose for their families. Vera Williams was, in person, as big a hit as her books.
**** Marvera Murphy, former teacher, current mother, and soon to be grandmother; Sarasota, FL.
Received on Mon 08 Apr 1996 09:40:16 AM CDT
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 10:40:16 -0400
My 6th grade class had been reading once a week at a nursery school located next to our school, and wanted to try writing and illustrating some stories for that age group. Several went with me to a Saturday conference FOR children to hear Vera Williams speak about writing for children. They were completely taken with her, as she spoke to them as fellow writers, or potential colleagues. She used her latest, "A Chair for My Mother", to discuss how important it was to have characters and illustrations that reflect the reader's life. "How many of you have mothers that serve you bacon and eggs and toast in high heels, makeup, and pearls before you go to school?" brought laughter from parents as well as the students, as we talked of "Leave It To Beaver", "Happy Days", or "Brady Bunch" reruns on after-school tv that were supposedly reflecting typical American family lives. Her "Write about what you know" advice made me smile as I recalled the "novel" I wrote the summer before I went to junior high, a 10 page opus in which two 16 year old girls run away to spend a summer on a dude ranch in Arizona, and of course find romance. Not yet a teenager, never having traveled outside Connecticut, and not being old enough to date were serious impediments to realistic writing for my chosen plot! Anyway, my 6th graders said that hearing Williams speak would not only make them better writers, but they felt they would be more critical readers now. They shared the discussion with their classmates when we all got back to school Monday, and felt their stories for the nursery school were better for meeting Williams. Feedback from the parents was also positive: they thought they would be more sensitive to stereotypes in the books and tv shows they chose for their families. Vera Williams was, in person, as big a hit as her books.
**** Marvera Murphy, former teacher, current mother, and soon to be grandmother; Sarasota, FL.
Received on Mon 08 Apr 1996 09:40:16 AM CDT
