Don Long, award-winning children's writer & editor
Feet First interview with Don Long, September 2011
Transcript
Today, I am speaking with Don Long, an award-winning children's book writer and editor. Don takes part in the Writers in Schools Programme, Book Talks, and the Book Council’s Creative Coaching initiative for schools. He worked with the winners of the previous two Feet First picture book competitions to turn their stories into published work.
Don, tell me about the students you have worked with through the Feet First picture book competition.
It has been intriguing that the previous two winning classes – Room 2 at Otonga School in Rotorua – and Room 22 at Green Bay Primary School in Auckland – were year 2 and 3 classes. That was fantastic to see.
What types of literacy learning did students develop through this experience?
Using a set of underpinning processes and strategies, which are on the Feet First website, the students developed knowledge, skills and understanding related to: text purpose and audience, ideas within a language context, language features that enhance text, and the structure and organisation of a text.
Now, if that sounds almost like a quote from The New Zealand Curriculum, that isn’t accidental. Working out how a picture book ticks – and then creating one – perfectly aligns with achievement outcomes in the curriculum.
Students usually work collaboratively on their Feet First entries. How does this help them excel?
Well, consider the five competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum. All these come into play when a group of students write, edit, design, and illustrate a picture book together.
Don, what other literacy practices are supported by the competition?
The Reading and Writing Standards for Years 1–8 explains that the aim of writing instruction is to build students' accuracy, their fluency, and their ability to create meaningful text. Teachers are then directed to Chapter 4 in the two Effective Literacy Practice handbooks, where the features of shared writing are explicated. Room 2’s teacher and Room 22's teacher both used the shared writing approach – with fantastic results.
What's the value for literacy lessons in getting students to explore a familiar and important context such as safe active travel?
It focuses the learning experience on a specific outcome. The students aren’t just writing any picture book. They have a specific purpose – to come up with an engaging “you just can't put it down” picture book about safe active travel. In other words, a real “page turner”.
And this is exactly how professional picture book writers work, too. When I sit down to work on the text for a picture book, I always start with a clear idea of what I want to say – and how I want to emotionally engage the reader. This is purposeful writing.
Finally, do you think the chance of having their work published is an incentive to students?
I’m reminded of something that Room 22’s teacher, Kathy Chandler, told me afterwards. Reflecting on the whole experience, she noticed that creating a love of books, reading, and writing was the key to her students’ success. The whole act of creating a fantastic picture book made them passionate about writing. They gained a huge sense of what’s possible.
At the launch of their book, the brother of one students proudly told me, “My brother’s an author!” Well, how cool is that.
The Feet First Picture Book Competition is proving to be a terrific way to incentivise young writers. And it’s fun! That makes all the difference with young writers. Actually, it makes quite a bit of difference with us older writers, too!