The author, in costume and with props, presenting "The Journey of the Little Red Boat" to a Kindergarten class

Author George Smith has conducted author visits to more than 60 elementary schools in New Jersey, Staten Island and eastern Pennsylvania. He has also conducted writing workshops for young authors and spoken to various groups about his experiences as an author and about the benefits of reading.

Author Visit Programs

I prefer to be in a classroom or library, with doubled up classes, rather than an auditorium. I usually come for the entire day for as many days as it takes to present to every class. My programs fit a 40 minute period, except that creative writing requires two periods.

Reading Program #1 for Grades K to 3

In this program, I read my book "The Journey of the Little Red Boat" to the students. But I do more than just read the book. Because the story takes place in Maine, I show them how to catch a lobster, introduce the three main characters, and show them where Maine is on a map.

I foster interaction with the children through questions built into the story supplemented by frequent interactions of my own, which hold the children's attention throughout the story. After reading the book, I show the students paste-ups of pictures I sent to the illustrator so they can compare them with the illustrations, and I answer their questions.

Reading and Discussion Program #1 for Grades 3 to 6

In this program, I partner with one student per class, who is an excellent reader, to "perform" the all dialogue text of Chapter One of my second book "Spike, The Amazing Chicken."

It takes about 20 minutes to perform. Then I interact with the students to answer their questions about my books or about writing and publishing in general.

Discussion topics include: the 6 kinds of talents that are needed to produce my children's books, which parts of the stories are fiction, nonfiction and fantasy, the sources of my story ideas, how long it took to write and publish my books, and how drafting, rewriting and editing improved my stories. I also show how the photographs were edited and improved using computer graphics software.

Lobster Science for Grades 3 to 12

This is a one period program that presents facts about the North American lobster, including its body parts and organs and the functions they perform, how to catch it, and conservation rules and regulations that protect the lobster and prevent overfishing. An optional CD with full color illustrations accompanies the lecture. The content in the presenter's notebook includes the same full color illustrations as are on the CD, and many questions to stimulate students to think about the reasons for many behavioral characteristics of the lobster, and about conservation measures. The content is modified to suit the grade level of the students.

Creative Writing for Grades 3 to 6

The purpose of this program is to introduce the tools and techniques needed to elevate students' writing skills to a level above the journal or sequential narrative style.
Grade 3: Approximately 7 techniques for organizing a story, such as Personification and Circular Text, and 5 techniques for creatively using words, sentences and paragraphs, such as Alliteration, Simile and Onomatopoeia, are described in a handout to each student and teacher.
Grades 4,5,6: The students and teachers are given a handout that includes techniques for expanding a story idea into a story, 13 techniques for structuring a story (examples are Flashback, Story Within a Story, Personification) and 10 techniques for using words and sentences creatively (examples are Onomatopoeia, Close Echoes, Intentional Misspelling, and Alliteration). Each technique is described with examples of its use. The material is based on the book "Wondrous Words" by Katie Wood Ray and published by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Each creative writing program is introduced during one period per class, in which many of the techniques are covered. Students use the information in the handout as a reference when writing their stories. Following the introductory meeting, the teachers or librarian work with the students as they write short stories using these techniques. When they finish their stories, I pick them up from the school, read them, and note what techniques they used. After a few days, I return to the school to meet one on one with the students to discuss their stories. The stories are returned to the teacher.

Workshop #1 : Putting it all together (plot, characters and settings)
The class is divided into working groups of 4 or 5. Each group selects a story idea to work with from a list of four brief story ideas. Each group will have about 20 minutes to work together to add events to the plot, add characters and physical and emotional descriptions of those characters, and add descriptions of physical and mental settings. Each group will list its ideas, not write a detailed, actual story. Hints are provided for each story line for linking plots, characters and settings. When its list is completed, each group presents its ideas to the other participants.

Workshop #2: Describing the emotions of a character for Grades 4 to 7

The class is divided into groups of 4 or 5, and each group is given a different emotion that they must use to describe the behavior and actions of a character they make up. The challenge is that they cannot use the typical one word descriptor to describe the emotion. For example, they cannot use the words angry, mad or furious to describe a character who is angry. They must describe the character(s) and their actions in a more creative way using techniques which I outline for them. Each group then presents what it has written, and the other groups try to guess the emotion. We also discuss what clues were given that enabled them to guess the emotion.

Workshop #3: How to use the setting to enhance a story for Grades 4 to 7

The class is divided into groups of 4 or 5, and each group is given a description of an event. Their challenge is to describe a setting that complements and enhances the event that was described. Each group then presents what it has written, and the other groups critique it as to its effectiveness.

Program Costs: I charge $250 per full day for the reading and discussion programs. For the Creative Writing Program, the fee is $250 for four classes plus the cost of making handout copies.