Authors virtually visit Crooked Billet classrooms

Authors Lindsay Currie, Kate Messner and Traci Sorell virtually visited Crooked Billet Elementary School classrooms.

Currie, an author of spooky middle-grade novels, has published “Scritch Scratch” and “The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street.” After seeing on Twitter that Currie was offering free virtual visits, Rachael Brookins, a fourth grade teacher at Crooked Billet Elementary, reached out to her. “I thought this would be great for our students who would not be able to engage in any sort of in-person visits this year,” said Brookins.

Currie talked about the research, writing and editing process when working on her newest book “Scritch Scratch.” Taking place in Chicago, Currie virtually walked students through some Chicago cemeteries and shared unique parts that were used as inspiration in her book. “We learned some history of Chicago hauntings and cemeteries, and of course, the students were thrilled about that,” said Brookins.

Currie’s visit also tied well into the class’s lessons and students asked Currie questions about her writing process. “We had just begun to revise our first piece that week and many of the students were having a tough time looking back at their own work and changing it,” said Brookins. “It was great for them to hear and see how long and hard it is for a published author to revise.”

Revision is a topic fourth graders have been spending a lot of time on and will continue to work on all year. “Seeing real authors and hearing their story creates such a strong interest for kids and builds their appreciation for the writing process,” said Brookins. “Kids always come away from these visits feeling so jazzed about the potential they can see in their own writing!”

In Melissa Pierce’s fifth grade class, students heard from authors Messner and Sorell during a virtual Zoom presentation called “Rethinking Thanksgiving: History, Holidays and Gratitude.” In addition to Pierce’s class, classrooms from all over the country and Canada tuned into this Zoom event.

Pierce heard about the event on Twitter and had already used some of the authors’ books in social studies class this year. She used Messner’s book “History Smashers: The Mayflower” to debunk common misconceptions about the first colonists and their Thanksgiving Feast. Additionally, Sorell is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and writes stories of her ancestors.

“What I appreciated the most as a teacher was the personal touch that the authors brought to my classroom,” said Pierce.

During the virtual session, Messner and Sorell took turns talking to the students about the myths of the first Thanksgiving as well as traditions of the Cherokee people. They engaged students with questions in the form of polls, which Pierce said amazed students in her class. “My students were thrilled to be a part of this visit. I loved hearing their gasps of surprise when they learned the answers to some of the polls.”

Messner and Sorell showed pictures from their books and also celebrated other authors who have written picture books that celebrate the history and traditions of their tribes. Students were also very excited to learn about future releases from the author. “They were frantically trying to write down the new titles and research their release dates,” said Pierce.