An Elementary Introduction of Authors, Illustrators and Songwriters
In correlation with the Minnesota reading and Media Literacy Standards, the students and staff of Sacred Heart Elementary School in Waseca, Hartley Elementary School in Waseca, and Waseca Public Library community were introduced to Author/Song Writer Douglas Wood on January 11, 2010. Wood did presentations at all three venues and was well received during his varied presentations. Wood related very well with each audience. The students were able to be an integral part of Woods’ presentation and he captivated students and adults with his stories, songs, and ability to tie the importance of reading in with personal goals.
Second guest was Mike Wohnoutka, who visited the school and public library on March 1, 2010, and students and adults were guided through the process of conception to publication of illustrations. Wohnoutka worked with the students and discussed styles of art, displaying his artistic works, as well as allowing the students to dream and create several illustrations of their own.
Event Dates and Locations:
January 11, 2010 Douglas Woods at Hartley Elementary School, Waseca, MN
Douglas Woods at Sacred Heart Elementary, Waseca, MN
Douglas Woods at Waseca Public Library, Waseca, MN
March 1, 2010 Mike Wohnoutka at Hartley Elementary School, Waseca, MN
Mike Wohnoutka at Sacred Heart Elementary, Waseca, MN
Mike Wohnoutka at Waseca Public Library, Waseca, MN
Partner Organization(s):
Douglas Woods
Mike Wohnoutka
Hartley Elementary School, Waseca, MN
Sacred Heart Elementary School, Waseca, MN
Waseca Public Library, Waseca, MN
Partner Organization(s) Contribution/Role in the Program:
Douglas Woods – author/ song writer
Mike Wohnoutka - illustrator
Hartley Elementary School, Waseca, MN – venue, promotion, technical and custodial assistance
Sacred Heart Elementary School, Waseca, MN - venue, promotion, technical and custodial assistance
Waseca Public Library, Waseca, MN - venue, promotion, technical and custodial assistance and Childrens’ resources Coordinator time for assisting with school visits and promotion
Prairie Lakes Arts Council - $250.00 grant
Five programs each from two artists for a total of 10 programs
1,200 attended the Doug Wood’s programs
1,050 attended the Mike Wohnoutka programs
Students learned how to retell a story in correct sequence and demonstrated this by creating a series of illustrations to match their own story’s theme.
Students learned various illustration styles and how they enhanced text to go with the illustrations.
Students created a multimedia production using skills of the authors/illustrators/song-writer.
This end product included text and illustrations that students were able to share with not only their families and friends, but also with author/song-writer Douglas Wood.
Measurable Outcomes may be collected by survey, anecdotal responses, pre-test/post-test, observations; End user change in Behavior, Attitude, Skills, Knowledge, Condition and/or Status
The school programs were attended by elementary students from grades K – 6th and the public library programs were attended by a gathering of generations from the very young to many over 70 years of age.Listed below are a few outcomes/observations/anecdotal responses from audience participants. * The evening, program, opened to the public was a happy-to-be alive time of children and “big people”who enjoy reading.* Wood is a dynamic presenter and has a wonderful message to share with the students and staff.* This was an awesome opportunity for our Hartley students and their families.* Sacred Heart’s 3rd grade class – “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet author Doug Wood. We really enjoyed his visit.”* Sacred Hearts’ 2nd grade class – “Thank you for including Sacred Heart School in the opportunity to hear and see Mr. Douglas Wood in person. We really enjoyed learning about his work, hearing a story told by him, and singing along to his music. This was a very enriching experience for us.”* It was so awesome to get to meet a real author. Thank you for all that you did to make it happen!* We really enjoyed the author and illustrator you brought o our school. I t was fun to sing the songs and to ask questions. We are now really excited to read some of the books the author wrote. Our teacher even got her book autographed. How cool is that?! Many other outcomes are on file.