Early this month I had the pleasure of visiting Roth Middle School in Henrietta, N.Y., outside Rochester, where every student in all three grades — six, seven and eight — was taking part in a schoolwide reading and discussion project with my young-adult novel The Revealers. On the day of my visit, as each grade filed into the auditorium for its hourlong talk with me, a very cool slide show was projecting onto a big screen up on stage. The slides were photos of Roth students and teachers, taken during the classroom readings of my book. As each image flicked onto the screen, it was accompanied by Michael Jackson’s funky and inspiring song “Man in the Mirror,” with its lyrics:
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
The idea, as principal Denise Zeh discussed with each grade when she introduced me, was to challenge every student, in reading and thinking and talking about this novel that portrays middle-school bullying and social pressures, to take a clear look at themselves and the role they’re playing in the school community. I think the kids got it. (They liked the song, too.)
What we had together was a powerful and memorable day — and along with the slideshow and this personal focus, one creative and quite effective aspect of the program was the school’s selection of two dozen “author ambassadors.” I met these students first, spending time with them at the beginning and end of the day; during the hours in between, they were very active in helping me connect with their fellow students.
I was so impressed with the author-ambassador idea that afterward I asked Sheryl Diana, the librarian at Roth who led the organizing of The Revealers project, to write a brief description of how this part of the project had been put together and how it worked. Below is what Sheryl kindly wrote in response. To learn more, contact her at Sdiana@rhnet.org.
Roth has posted its slide show of The Revealers “schoolwide read” online, together with photos of my visit — in particular, of my interactions with the author ambassadors. To view those great photos, click here.
Roth Middle School’s “Author Ambassadors”
by Sheryl Diana
Roth Middle School was proud to have Author Ambassadors to welcome and assist Mr. Wilhelm during his visit. We spent the month of September reading The Revealers aloud in homerooms. As librarian, I have always tried to include as many students as possible in an author visit. For Doug’s visit our teachers had the challenge of recommending one student per team, using the criteria that the student should be an avid reader or writer, or have demonstrated a special interest in The Revealers.
I received 24 recommendations (not the ten I had expected), and was able to include them all. I met with the students briefly the day before Doug’s visit and gave them general instructions.
On the morning of the visit, the ambassadors met with Doug during our 20-minute homeroom time. He asked each of them to give their name, and one interesting thing about themselves. They were delighted! At each of our three grade-level assemblies, the ambassadors from that grade met Doug in the auditorium before the rest of the students arrived. They were able to chat with Doug, and had front-row seats. A few of them chose to help introduce him.
At each grade-level lunch, the ambassadors ate at the table where Doug was signing books. They were able to talk to fellow students and to Doug during that time. The conversations were as varied as the students. At the end of the day, the ambassadors gathered in the library for an informal chat with Doug about what he’s writing now. They enjoyed every minute of his visit. One of our teachers created certificates for the ambassadors, which Doug graciously signed and distributed. They each left with a signature, even if they had been unable to purchase a book.
Thanks to Doug’s flexibility, and remarkable memory for names, every student in the school felt important and listened to that day, none more than the wonderful ambassadors!
<
Leave a Reply