Enjoy!
And if you teach and would like to start a project with us, feel free to comment on the post!
07 octobre 2016
OIB parents' meeting slides
If you would like to learn more about the international section projects for this school year, feel free to read this post!
Enjoy!
And if you teach and would like to start a project with us, feel free to comment on the post!
Enjoy!
And if you teach and would like to start a project with us, feel free to comment on the post!
30 septembre 2016
New guest writer: Katie L. Caroll, author of Elixir Bound
It is a great honor to welcome to Katie L. Caroll who is one of the 8 authors who accepted to write a guest post on my blog.
She will soon share her thoughts with the 10th grade American OIB class at Lycée International Nelson Mandela (on Skype).
Here are slides to prepare the students for the Skype Interview!
And her post!
I often say that my journey as a writer began at a very sad time in my life, shortly after my 16-year-old sister, Kylene, unexpectedly passed away. Then I always amend that statement to say my journey as an author began when she passed away—my definition of writer being someone who writes and my definition of author being someone who writes for their career. The truth is I’ve always been a writer. Before I started school, my family and I wrote stories about a flying billy goat named Sam. In middle school, I began writing for the school newspaper, and I continued writing and editing for my school’s paper up through college.
I was a writer, but it wasn’t my intended career. That is until I was 19 and Kylene passed away. That was when I re-evaluated my life and decided that writing novels was a passion I had to pursue, and then it was only a matter of time before I figured out I wanted to write for teens and kids. As a reader, my wheelhouse has always been young adult literature, so it was a natural fit for my first novel, ELIXIR BOUND. It ended up being fantasy because, on the advice of my father, I wrote my first novel to give Kylene, who loved the Harry Potters books (though she only lived to read the first four), a fantasy adventure of her own.
My editing career began because I needed something to help pay the bills once I graduated from college. I landed a job as a puzzle magazine editor and worked there for eight years. After landing a publishing contract for ELIXIR BOUND, I started doing freelance work for them as a book editor. I’ve loved helping other authors bring new books into the world. I’ve cut back on my editing work since having kids and focus more on my writing now. I’m currently working on a second Elixir book called ELIXIR SAVED and pursuing publication on a young adult thriller called BLACK BUTTERFLY.
One of my favorite things about being an author is working with kids and teens on their writing. I’ve done a bunch of in-person school visits in Connecticut (my home state) in conjunction with a project I worked on called THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPER. Each chapter of this middle grade mystery was written by a different author and illustrated by a different illustrator, and all 24 contributors have close ties to Connecticut. Eric Price, who did a big project with the International school last year with his book UNVEILING THE WIZARDS’ SHROUD (a book I edited), contacted me earlier this year and said the school was looking for more authors to connect with. It seemed a natural fit for me to join the project. Talking about my work with students and having them talk about their own writings is very inspirational on both ends. For more about me and my work, you can check out my website at http://www.katielcarroll.com.
Thank you Katie for sharing your thoughts!
She will soon share her thoughts with the 10th grade American OIB class at Lycée International Nelson Mandela (on Skype).
Here are slides to prepare the students for the Skype Interview!
And her post!
I often say that my journey as a writer began at a very sad time in my life, shortly after my 16-year-old sister, Kylene, unexpectedly passed away. Then I always amend that statement to say my journey as an author began when she passed away—my definition of writer being someone who writes and my definition of author being someone who writes for their career. The truth is I’ve always been a writer. Before I started school, my family and I wrote stories about a flying billy goat named Sam. In middle school, I began writing for the school newspaper, and I continued writing and editing for my school’s paper up through college.
I was a writer, but it wasn’t my intended career. That is until I was 19 and Kylene passed away. That was when I re-evaluated my life and decided that writing novels was a passion I had to pursue, and then it was only a matter of time before I figured out I wanted to write for teens and kids. As a reader, my wheelhouse has always been young adult literature, so it was a natural fit for my first novel, ELIXIR BOUND. It ended up being fantasy because, on the advice of my father, I wrote my first novel to give Kylene, who loved the Harry Potters books (though she only lived to read the first four), a fantasy adventure of her own.
My editing career began because I needed something to help pay the bills once I graduated from college. I landed a job as a puzzle magazine editor and worked there for eight years. After landing a publishing contract for ELIXIR BOUND, I started doing freelance work for them as a book editor. I’ve loved helping other authors bring new books into the world. I’ve cut back on my editing work since having kids and focus more on my writing now. I’m currently working on a second Elixir book called ELIXIR SAVED and pursuing publication on a young adult thriller called BLACK BUTTERFLY.
One of my favorite things about being an author is working with kids and teens on their writing. I’ve done a bunch of in-person school visits in Connecticut (my home state) in conjunction with a project I worked on called THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPER. Each chapter of this middle grade mystery was written by a different author and illustrated by a different illustrator, and all 24 contributors have close ties to Connecticut. Eric Price, who did a big project with the International school last year with his book UNVEILING THE WIZARDS’ SHROUD (a book I edited), contacted me earlier this year and said the school was looking for more authors to connect with. It seemed a natural fit for me to join the project. Talking about my work with students and having them talk about their own writings is very inspirational on both ends. For more about me and my work, you can check out my website at http://www.katielcarroll.com.
Thank you Katie for sharing your thoughts!
27 septembre 2016
Kai Strand: Guest Writer.... and first Guest Speaker in the 10th grade Skype interview project!
I am honored to welcome Kai on my Blog!
She will be the first guest speaker and author to discuss her work with my students on October 13, 2016, at Lycée International Nelson Mandela, Nantes, France.
Here are the Project Padlet and the presentation slides I will use to study the excerpt from her novella.
Her post:
Hello! My name is Kai Strand. I write fiction for kids and teens. The main reason I choose to write for a younger audience is because they tend to be such passionate readers. When they connect with a character, they make him or her into a real live person! They cheer for a favorite character, and are devastated if they fail. Teenagers fall in love right alongside the main character. Are there passionate adult readers out there? Absolutely, and I love them too. However, those young readers with their lively imaginations take reading (and the interpretation of the text) to a higher level.
I write both contemporary and fantasy. There are so many stories to be told and they shape themselves differently inside my head. Who am I to ignore the structure that pleads to be built? For example, one morning I woke up and asked myself, “Who trains the bad guys?” I sat down that day and started writing King of Bad, Super Villain Academy, book 1. Yes, there are fun superpowers and snarky teens throughout the series, but overall it explores the importance of good vs bad and the need for both in our world. On another day it became important for me to tell the story of homeless teens. But there was one problem. I knew nothing about their situations. So I visited a local organization that provides transitional housing to teens that want to integrate back into the mainstream. I learned so much about the plight and vulnerabilities of underage homelessness and I worked hard to make my Worth the Effort series respect and portray their circumstances. So whether it’s a wish granting gnome-elf or an eighth grade inventor, I’ve written it and there is one thing I hope all my books have in common. Good storytelling.
I live in Oregon, a beautiful state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. My town, Bend, is directly in the middle of the state on the east side of the Cascade Mountain range. It has views of snowcapped mountains, a river running through it, and miles and miles of groomed hiking and mountain biking trails. With world class snowboarding, fly fishing, and cycling, it’s a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts.
Thanks to modern technology, I’m very excited about my upcoming visit with Marie-Hélène and her students—right in their classroom in Nantes, France. The students will have an opportunity to read and analyze an excerpt from one of my young adult books, Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story. I can’t wait to hear their thoughts on the snippet. Find out what stands out to them, what piques their interest, if they can relate to the character. I was thrilled to receive and accept Marie-Hélène’s invitation to visit with her students. Nothing is more inspiring for an author than talking with readers.
For a list of my books and all of my online haunts, visit my website: www.kaistrand.com.
She will be the first guest speaker and author to discuss her work with my students on October 13, 2016, at Lycée International Nelson Mandela, Nantes, France.
Here are the Project Padlet and the presentation slides I will use to study the excerpt from her novella.
Her post:
Hello! My name is Kai Strand. I write fiction for kids and teens. The main reason I choose to write for a younger audience is because they tend to be such passionate readers. When they connect with a character, they make him or her into a real live person! They cheer for a favorite character, and are devastated if they fail. Teenagers fall in love right alongside the main character. Are there passionate adult readers out there? Absolutely, and I love them too. However, those young readers with their lively imaginations take reading (and the interpretation of the text) to a higher level.
I write both contemporary and fantasy. There are so many stories to be told and they shape themselves differently inside my head. Who am I to ignore the structure that pleads to be built? For example, one morning I woke up and asked myself, “Who trains the bad guys?” I sat down that day and started writing King of Bad, Super Villain Academy, book 1. Yes, there are fun superpowers and snarky teens throughout the series, but overall it explores the importance of good vs bad and the need for both in our world. On another day it became important for me to tell the story of homeless teens. But there was one problem. I knew nothing about their situations. So I visited a local organization that provides transitional housing to teens that want to integrate back into the mainstream. I learned so much about the plight and vulnerabilities of underage homelessness and I worked hard to make my Worth the Effort series respect and portray their circumstances. So whether it’s a wish granting gnome-elf or an eighth grade inventor, I’ve written it and there is one thing I hope all my books have in common. Good storytelling.
I live in Oregon, a beautiful state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. My town, Bend, is directly in the middle of the state on the east side of the Cascade Mountain range. It has views of snowcapped mountains, a river running through it, and miles and miles of groomed hiking and mountain biking trails. With world class snowboarding, fly fishing, and cycling, it’s a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts.
Thanks to modern technology, I’m very excited about my upcoming visit with Marie-Hélène and her students—right in their classroom in Nantes, France. The students will have an opportunity to read and analyze an excerpt from one of my young adult books, Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story. I can’t wait to hear their thoughts on the snippet. Find out what stands out to them, what piques their interest, if they can relate to the character. I was thrilled to receive and accept Marie-Hélène’s invitation to visit with her students. Nothing is more inspiring for an author than talking with readers.
For a list of my books and all of my online haunts, visit my website: www.kaistrand.com.
01 septembre 2016
31 mai 2016
2016 Paper Planes Creative Writing Competition
I am very proud of you!
Here is her poem:
Devour the pages
Fly through the words
Such as the most graceful of birds
Devour the pages
Pursuing the path of all sages
Immerse in a different universe
Beware, it can be diverse
From utopian to perverse
Dispel any type of limit
The spectacle of a race of dreams
Glorious and wild like the fiercest of
streams Convoluted schemes, reaching the extremes
Following a fluke, they split!
Hands matted in a silky mane
At a dreadful speed, with no pain
Lulled by the pace of the saddle
Towards infinity you travel
A burst of feelings mixed together.
A storm of ideas. The thunderbolt of love.
Face the fantastic flavor of this frightening fever
And guzzle a flow of knowledge, like trying on a velvet glove
Charlotte S
Lycée International Nelson Mandela
Paper Planes Competition.
08 février 2016
Free webinar about literature and IT
Here are the slides I will be using on September 5, 2016 for my webinar.
I'll publish the link to join soon.
07 février 2016
Cheryl Ann Bolden, Artist and Precious Cargo curator's workshop
On Friday February 5, Mrs. Bolden gave workshops at my school for the American international section and the STMG stduents who are preparing a slavery project together.
The main aims of this visit were to share about slavery but also to be able to study primary sources, artefacts and grasp the concept of slavery in a different way, thus get a more personal and deep understanding of the history of the USA.
A link to her excellent website: http://www.museumpreciouscargo.org/preciouscargo/lang/en
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