What a better way to get an insight on the writing process, than asking a published author himself? Our wonderful librarian arranged Chris Barton's visit to our school. He was going to do a short presentation and then we would have a traditional Q&A. She asked our students to submit questions, and then we had an idea! Why not have our students interview him?
The day of the visit, prior to his presentation, two of our students interviewed him while our cameraman filmed. The interviewers were excited and a bit nervous. When the students saw the video, they were surprised to hear some of their questions addressed on the video. It was a great experience for the students, and it served as motivation for their own writing. Cheers for a great librarian that is always there to collaborate and make meaningful learning experiences for our students.
These kind of experiences are particularly important for my students, bilingual students - English Language Learners, having relevant opportunities to practice oral expression with a real purpose and audience is great motivator.