East Central Middle School Students Enjoy Virtual Visit from Author Sharon Draper

Draper is the author of "Out of My Mind".

Photo provided.

(St. Leon, Ind.) - Christie Andres is a sixth grade Language Arts teacher at East Central Middle School.

Andres writes, “Having a heart for children at a very young age and a love of learning played a major role in my choice of teaching as a career. Upon my graduation from Ball State University in 1993, I began my career at Sunman-Dearborn School Corporation tutoring and supporting At-Risk students. My 31-year career at Sunman-Dearborn has remained a constant; however, my teaching positions have been filled with a variety of grade levels: 2nd and 4th grade at North Dearborn Elementary, 5th and 6th grade at Sunman-Dearborn Intermediate School and currently 6th grade Language Arts at East Central Middle School. I have found my teaching ‘home’ at ECMS as I am very happy sharing with 6th graders the joys of reading and writing.”

Andres reported, “On Wednesday, October 2, the author of Out of My Mind, Mrs. Sharon Draper, virtually visited the 6th grade class at East Central Middle School. There were two sessions (about 50 minutes long) to accommodate the size of the class. This allowed for a more intimate gathering with almost all questions getting answered that the students had for Mrs. Draper. They prepared prior to their session and had thoughtful questions written down ready for the Q&A portion of the visit. Mrs. Draper stated several times how impressed she was by the questions being asked. The students completed this book on Monday of this week, and they had many questions about the characters and how Mrs. Draper developed the conflicts and resolutions throughout.”

“In addition to the Q&A portion of the visit, Mrs. Draper shared how she works through the Writing Process when writing a book. It was a shock to all of us to hear that it can take her 6 months or longer to research (pre-write) for a book, and she can have up to 200 drafts and 500 revisions! She also explained how the process of getting her books published and how she has an assigned editor, AKA "teacher", to help her throughout. My favorite part was when Mrs. Draper pointed out that readers are writers and writers are readers. This is my exact mantra I say in my classroom--a lot! The students were quick to recognize this, too. Mrs. Draper emphasized the power of reading in becoming a writer and the fact that writing takes time and patience. I was thrilled that she mentioned these important facets to the students.”

“In the end, Mrs. Draper surprised the students with the announcement that Disney has taken this book, Out of My Mind, and produced a movie. The movie will be out around Thanksgiving. The students erupted in excitement! I will for sure have to work on having the students watch this movie before our Christmas break. As a bonus, this will make for a wonderful opportunity for the students to compare and contrast the book to the movie and develop an essay expressing their ideas.”

After the visit, one of Andres’s students wrote “the virtual visit with Mrs. Draper inspired me a lot. It inspired me to write more and to maybe try to make my own book in the future. The visit with Mrs. Draper also let me learn how publishing a book is done. Mrs. Draper also made me realize that not all writers write for the awards and praise. She showed me that some writers write for pleasure and to make other people happy. I loved how she was very bright and happy. It puts me in a better mood. I’m just so happy that I met her. She inspired me and taught a lot of things that could help me be a better writer.”

With gratitude, Andres wrote, “I thank you for your grant contribution towards this project. It was a dream come true for me as an educator. Mrs. Draper is my favorite children's author and for me to be able to successfully have her visit-even if it was virtual-was an incredible moment! Your dedication to education is making an impact, and it is greatly appreciated.”