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Videos of real time School visits?

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I am getting ready to start offering elementary school visits for Race Car Dreams but I actually have no idea as far as what to cover with Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. And I have no clue as to what would be expected of me during these visits. Does anyone know if there is a place online where I could see actual presentations for this age range? Like live video?  Somewhere that I can sort of get a firsthand feel for what I need to do.

Thanks!
#1 - October 18, 2016, 03:11 AM
« Last Edit: October 18, 2016, 03:13 AM by Schriscoe »
Vehicle Dreams Series-RPKids '16 -'18
(Fire Truck, Bulldozer, Race Car)
Rainy Day Picnic-Read Your Story '18
The Sparrow and The Trees- Arbordale '15

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There are threads here, but most writers don't allow filming of their visits.
#2 - October 18, 2016, 06:18 AM
Learning to Swear in America (Bloomsbury, July 2016)
What Goes Up (Bloomsbury, 2017)
The Constitution Decoded (Workman, 2020)
Twitter: KatieWritesBks

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I was wondering about that. Dang, sure would be handy though for someone learning. Thanks Katie!
#3 - October 18, 2016, 06:49 AM
Vehicle Dreams Series-RPKids '16 -'18
(Fire Truck, Bulldozer, Race Car)
Rainy Day Picnic-Read Your Story '18
The Sparrow and The Trees- Arbordale '15

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I was wondering about that. Dang, sure would be handy though for someone learning. Thanks Katie!

Although I totally understand not wanting to be filmed, wouldn't it be great if videos like this did exist?
#4 - October 18, 2016, 07:27 AM

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It's not necessarily about not wanting to be filmed.  Among other things, it's about schools not hiring people because they can just show a video instead.  There's a lot that happens in a school visit that won't carry over into a filmed version, unless the filmed version is done professionally, and kids watching that miss out.  Also the author misses out on income.

There are great threads on the board about working with young children in school visits.  Those will help a lot.
#5 - October 18, 2016, 08:05 AM
VAMPIRINA BALLERINA series (Disney-Hyperion)
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I don't think it's the writers who don't allow video recording; it's probably the school. It's my understanding that teachers would have to get a release from each parent/guardian allowing the student to be filmed.

Part of the reason is privacy, which is less about abstract privacy issues and more about protecting children from having their images exploited online or their location disclosed when parents are involved in nasty custody cases or have stalkers.

The other reason is that the video could easily be used for promotional purposes, and using the child's/children to advertise your book without compensation and a specific release raises all sorts of issues.
#6 - October 18, 2016, 08:21 AM

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One thing I did when I was planning my school visit presentations was search "author school visit" on YouTube. Among others, I came across a video of a visit from Jarrett Krosoczka, which was helpful to see. I think he has quite a few videos, actually: https://www.youtube.com/user/studiojjk/videos  I also came across a video of Dan Santat talking at a school, and Laurie Keller at a festival, and others that were helpful both for seeing what people talked about, and also how they carried themselves in the presentation. You can also visit specific author websites--some of them might have promotional videos posted for their school visits. Another great resource if you haven't already checked it out is School Visit Experts http://schoolvisitexperts.com/.

When I first started planning a school visit presentation, I worried a lot that I would be boring. I know some authors have a theater background or can play the ukelele or have other skill sets that they can bring to the live presentation format, but I don't. Watching a lot of different authors/illustrators' videos online, I soon realized that's it's quite interesting to see them just as they are--zany or quiet or somewhere in between--and hearing about how they work. When I went on a school visit tour through my publisher last spring, I heard lots of stories about different authors and illustrators who came to the school. In particular, I remember hearing about a very well-known author/illustrator who surprised the librarian by being very quiet/shy. This person talked about how they like to arrange their space when they work, and the different places they go to generate inspiration, and then they just drew quietly in front of the kids. It sounded like it was fascinating because it gave an honest window into who this person was and how they worked. To me, that's a wonderful takeaway for a school visit to have. It seems obvious to us that books are made by people, but I remember as a kid very clearly being surprised--even shocked--at the realization that there was a person behind the book I loved. Even though I had been writing down the author/title for my school reading logs since first grade, it didn't quite sink in that "author" was a real live person. I took for granted that all the books in my library were just THERE, and it was a bit of a revelation to realize what had to happen first in order for those books to exist. And it was especially exciting to me as a kid because I started to realize that what authors did was something I did all the time: make up stories while I was playing.

The advice I've heard with presenting for the younger set is to keep it shorter--20 minutes, I think? Reading aloud is great (and if you can scan your pages so they will be projected behind you as you read, that's helpful for everyone to see better). Kids love hearing about your pets if you have them, seeing pictures of you when you were young. Save a time at the end for questions, because kids LOVE to ask questions, but be prepared with younger ones to get questions that are really statements, like "my favorite color is orange" or "once my brother stuck a penny up his nose."  Or they will ask questions that have absolutely nothing to do with anything you talked about. One of my favorites was a third grader who raised his hand very politely and asked if it was scary to fly on a plane, because he was taking his first plane trip that summer and he was nervous about it. :)
#7 - October 18, 2016, 10:20 AM
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OMGosh! J-Bert! You hit the nail on the head for what I am feeling and wondering!! Thank you SO much for those links! I will be studying them for sure. And ha! I love the penny up my nose and airplane comments! I hope to get one of those. When I was doing my reading at B&N, a little boy climbed on the stage, crawled around and made faces at me. It was so fun and really eased me a lot!! I just had to laugh, I mean who wouldn't when a 5 year old is looking cross-eyed at you. lol

Thank you all so much for your super helpful comments! I am betting you guys are all right. About authors protecting themselves and teachers protecting the kids.

It would be pretty cool if there was a private online forum for just authors to share their videos (and it could even be zeroed in on just the author so no kids would be viewable) as a teaching tool for new authors to study. It could even be protected with a password and account so that these videos wouldn't make it online unless the author themselves put it on there.

#8 - October 18, 2016, 10:35 AM
Vehicle Dreams Series-RPKids '16 -'18
(Fire Truck, Bulldozer, Race Car)
Rainy Day Picnic-Read Your Story '18
The Sparrow and The Trees- Arbordale '15

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It would be pretty cool if there was a private online forum for just authors to share their videos (and it could even be zeroed in on just the author so no kids would be viewable) as a teaching tool for new authors to study. It could even be protected with a password and account so that these videos wouldn't make it online unless the author themselves put it on there.

This is such a great idea! I would find that so helpful. Even though I've done several school visits now, I definitely feel far from an expert and feel like I have so much to learn and practice. Maybe a private/secret Facebook group would be a good place for something like that? Although I think people can download media from FB, but maybe that would be in the group rules that nothing is to be shared outside the group without the permission of the author/illustrator.

#9 - October 18, 2016, 10:44 AM
BOOK SCAVENGER, Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt 
THE UNBREAKABLE CODE, April 2017
UNLOCK THE ROCK, 2018
jenniferchamblissbertman.com

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It would be so helpful, wouldn't it!

I don't have FB, so I have no clues as to how it works, but I do remember that Tumblr used to have a password protected feature so only those that have the password could view it.

 
#10 - October 19, 2016, 01:07 AM
Vehicle Dreams Series-RPKids '16 -'18
(Fire Truck, Bulldozer, Race Car)
Rainy Day Picnic-Read Your Story '18
The Sparrow and The Trees- Arbordale '15

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I found this super awesome school presentation from Jeff Kinney and wanted to share on this thread. I love the photos of him 'working' and his wife wanting him to take out the trash.  :lol4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayGkyArn7G4

PS J-Bert --- googling author school visits and you tube together hadn't crossed my mind. I had just been googling author school visits alone and was coming up empty handed.  :thankyou

Anyone else find a favorite you tube video of a author's school visit? If so, maybe we can post the links here so it's easy for all of our BBers to find. This type of hands on learning for preparing a presentation is invaluable. So happy some authors have uploaded to You Tube!! :goldstar
#11 - October 19, 2016, 01:26 AM
Vehicle Dreams Series-RPKids '16 -'18
(Fire Truck, Bulldozer, Race Car)
Rainy Day Picnic-Read Your Story '18
The Sparrow and The Trees- Arbordale '15

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I did this kind of search on Youtube when I started doing school visits. VERY helpful to watch a bunch before putting a talk together! The author that sticks in my memory is Kate Dicamillo. So inspiring!

 :goodthread
#12 - October 19, 2016, 05:36 AM
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Great advice already, Sharon. You could have the kids analyze the front cover. What do you think this book is about? How is the race car feeling? Then as you read, have the kids do actions with her hands that mimic the verbs or sounds in the text. You can point out things about the illustrations as you go along, similarly to what I suggested about about analyzing the cover.

There's all kinds of little ways you can keep little ones engaged. Be sure to use dramatic voices as you read. You'll do great!
#13 - October 19, 2016, 05:39 AM
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Also, you might check your local library's upcoming presentation list. Maybe a children's author will be doing a visit you can attend.

And your publisher can send you a digital copy of the book for you to use in presentations. I've done that a lot.
#14 - October 19, 2016, 05:43 AM
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Sharon, this has become a very useful thread. I think you have your own natural style you will bring to school visits and with the written resources you should be well-prepared. You can also do some *practice* visits with your local kinders or daycare with an eye to observing what keeps their attention, what kind of help you will need managing a bunch of squirmy little ones, etc. Maybe you can ask to visit a school that already has a visit planned so you can observe first hand. I also like the idea of compiling a list of videos we can find here on this thread.

You will do great! You have a natural exuberance.
#15 - October 19, 2016, 06:22 AM
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You are getting such great advice here! I too did a Youtube search when starting out and found it to be very helpful. Kim Norman also has a great free resource called "Planning Your School Visit," which you can find online at coolschoolvisits.com. It gives you an idea of how long assemblies should be for each age, and the types of activities you might include. I found it very helpful.

Kirsten
#16 - October 19, 2016, 07:45 AM
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Oh yay! I'll google Kate with hers!! I can't wait to see her in action.

Jody! That's genius!! Your suggestions are awesome! I am hoping to get a preschool scheduled within the next couple of weeks and I will most definitely give use that!  :thankyou :yourock

Sadly, I don't think my local library has any children's authors scheduled. Authors are pretty scarce in my area. :(

Thanks for your confidence in me V.!
Sharon, this has become a very useful thread.

It has! and this makes me sooo happy!  :running

Thanks for the awesome link Kirsten!! Kim rocks the school events for sure!



#17 - October 19, 2016, 08:12 AM
Vehicle Dreams Series-RPKids '16 -'18
(Fire Truck, Bulldozer, Race Car)
Rainy Day Picnic-Read Your Story '18
The Sparrow and The Trees- Arbordale '15

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Oh and so does Kelly Milner Halls. She also makes videos so there might be something on her website. :goodluck
#18 - October 19, 2016, 10:01 AM
Little Thief! Max & Midnight, Bound, Ten Easter Eggs & 100+ bks/mags
https://vijayabodach.blogspot.com https://bodachbooks.blogspot.com

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