One of the last special events taking place in the library this year was a visit from
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, an accomplished author and poet. I had met Amy years ago and was captivated by her enthusiasm for writing, teaching, and learning. Her visit to Iroquois proved to be an exciting and enriching event for the students involved.
Although we would have loved to host sessions with Amy for the entire middle school community, we unfortunately had to share her between the other buildings in the Iroquois district. We were limited to the afternoon of June 6th, which lent itself well to hosting two writing workshops. Sixth grade students visited with Amy during period seven, while our seventh and eighth graders attended a session during period eight. ELA, RtI, and AIS teachers helped me to identify the students that would especially enjoy and benefit from a session with Amy. These students received a special invitation to attend the visit.
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| The invitation students received for the author visit. |
Students were very excited to meet with Amy. As I had mentioned before, the students invited to attend were those that displayed a keen interest in everything related to reading and writing. In order to prepare for her visit, sixth grade students decorated the area where Amy would be presenting.
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| Students left welcoming messages and illustrations for Amy. |
Amy's visit did not disappoint! During each of the sessions, Amy shared her insights into writing and publishing. She answered questions that students had about being a professional author. Amy also had the students try out two different strategies for beginning to write when facing writer's block. These ideas were a creative way to delve into writing, even when it seemed difficult to get started.
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Amy Ludwig VanDerwater shares her passion for writing
with Iroquois Middle School students. |
The best part of Amy's visit was the inspirational message she shared with the students. She explained to the students that everyone has the ability to be a writer. The only aspect that separates writers from the non-writers is the effort they put in. Sometimes ideas don't easily flow, but writers persevere and continue to put pen to paper. It was great to hear that you don't always have to start with your "best" work--instead, writers develop their ideas through persistent effort and revisions. Like anything else, writing is a process that requires attention and reflection.
After the scheduled visits were over, Amy graciously stayed after school ended in order to answer more questions from Iroquois' budding authors. I would highly recommend an author visit or writing workshop with Amy. She left our Iroquois students energized and inspired to begin their own writing projects!
