Confession: Reading aloud is one of my favorite things in the world. When I was a kid, I was the one forever waving my hand to volunteer to read to the class, and still, I’ll pretty much read to anyone who will listen.
For the past couple years, I’ve helped out with LitWorld’s World Read Aloud Day by pulling together a list of author volunteers who would like to spend part of the day Skyping with classrooms around the world to share the joy of reading aloud. World Read Aloud Day 2013 is March 6th, and I’d love to do this again, to help interested authors, teachers, and librarians connect.
A suggested World Read Aloud Day Skype visit goes like this…
- 1-2 minutes: Author introduces himself or herself and talks a little about his or her books.
- 3-5 minutes: Author reads aloud a short picture book, or a short excerpt from a chapter book/novel
- 5-10 minutes: Author answers some questions from students about reading/writing
- 1-2 minutes: Author book-talks a couple books he or she loves (but didn’t write!) as recommendations for the kids
Sound like fun? If you’re the author of a traditionally published* book and you’d like to volunteer to do some 10-15 minute Skype visits with classes on March 6, 2013, please send me an email via the contact form on my website (you can get there by clicking on the little envelope on the right side of the screen). Deadline: February 1st, please, so people can plan.
- Put WORLD READ ALOUD DAY VOLUNTEER in the subject line
- Include the following information in the body of your email:
- Your name
- Your publisher
- What ages your books fit best (Elementary, Middle School, or High School)
- What time zone you live in (EST, CST, etc. This is important for scheduling!)
- Hours you’ll be available for Skype visits on March 6, 2013 (10am-2pm EST, for example)
- Your website (and email if your website doesn’t have contact information)
So a sample email from an author volunteer will look like this:
Kate Messner Scholastic Elementary/Middle School EST 11am-2pm EST www.katemessner.comPlease use this exact format; it will make it easy for me to copy & paste your entry to the blog post, and then I will love you forever.
I’ll pull all the author volunteer information together in a blog post for early February and share with teachers & librarians who want to Skype with read-aloud authors on March 6th. Teachers & librarians will contact authors directly to request visits. If you’re on the list for a while and then realize your schedule for the day is full, it will be helpful if you email me to let me know that so that I can cross you off and you don’t keep getting requests.
*Yes…I’m limiting this volunteer round-up to traditionally published authors who write children’s and YA books. That’s not because I have anything against self-publishing or ebooks — it’s simply to limit the scope of the project so it doesn’t overwhelm me. If someone else would like to create a similar list of self-published and/or ebook author volunteers, I’ll happily link to it here. Thanks for understanding!
Kate, thanks for doing this! I\’ve loved being a part of this fun day the past two years. And just FYI, your contact form doesn\’t have a subject line. 🙂
Ah…thanks, Lisa – and thanks for doing this again!
I\’ve already got one visit booked – the librarian looked at last year\’s post!
Oh, great!
Kate,
Thanks so much for doing this every year. I\’ve met such wonderful, dedicated teachers and librarians through this virtual event. And interacting with students this way is such fun!
With appreciation,
Donna
Thank YOU for participating! It’s fun, isn’t it?
Hi Kate!
How do I as a librarian \”book\” one of these Skype visits?
BTW…my students are still craving the Marty Mcguire books from your visit to our school this past October. Had a second grader asking today and all of our copies were checked out! And Capture the Flag has a long holds list. 🙂
Thank you,
Natalie Watts
So happy to hear that your kids are so excited about reading, Natalie! I’ll be posting the list of WRAD author volunteers on my blog in early February, and then you can use the links to authors’ websites to contact them directly!
We had such fun last year skyping with someone. I would love to do it again this year. How can I apply to do it again?
I’ll be posting the list of author volunteers on my blog in early February, and then you can use the links to authors’ websites to contact them directly!
Thanks for sharing this… I’ll pass it on! Read Aloud is one of my non-negotiables.
Love this – I think read-aloud should be non-negotiable, too.
I am also wanting to know how to register my classroom for a Skype discussion with an author. What a great idea and thanks for your work!
I’ll be posting the list of author volunteers on my blog in early February, Cheryl, and then you can use the links to authors’ websites to contact them directly!
Hi Kate,
Our 5th graders just loved our Skype session with you this past week. Just wonderful. We participated in World Read Aloud Day last year and can’t wait for this March!
Thank you so much for making this SO easy.
Oh, thanks! I loved Skyping with your students, too!