Today we have a full day of ASK programs with Janie Panagopoulos, author of many books about Michigan history, among other things. E.P. Clarke Elementary, St. Joseph is hosting, the Berrien County ISD is bridging, and TWICE is sponsoring the cost for member schools participating.

Janie’s stories are so interesting and funny. She has so many interesting stories to answer the students’ questions. Here are some of the questions I enjoyed today:

• In the book the two boys argue all the time. How is it that two people who didn’t get along ended up working together? Have you ever worked with someone you didn’t get along with?
• Why did you choose boys as the main characters?
• Of all the food in the book, which do you like the best?
• One student started his question with, “I like Michigan history a lot better than I did before I read this book.”
• In the book the Indians paddled without lifting their paddle from the water as a silent paddle. I think I know what you mean, but can you explain it for me?
• How did the turtle rock get to the big tree in the forest?
• We both loved your book. In our class we had to rename the chapters. How did you decide on the chapter titles?
• Do you think people will ever be able to travel in time? And what time period would you travel to?
• How do you write to meet the needs of your audience?

The questions today showed clear evidence that the teachers had worked hard with the students on writing good questions, thinking about the writing process, and understanding the Michigan history content.

Today I’m bridging a set of ASK programs for TWICE with author Margaret Willey on her book Clever Beatrice, a fairy tale set in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan.

We have two of my local classes participating, Three Oaks Elementary and Hollywood Elementary, as well as several classes across Michigan and one from Texas.

Ms. Willey’s husband is French Canadian from Ottawa Canada, which explains her interest in the lumberjacks in both Michigan and Canada.

As usual, the students’ questions are very fun to hear, as well as the answers to them! Here is a sampling of the questions:

• Do you think the giant will ever realize that Beatrice tricked him?
• We noticed at the beginning of the story the giant is rich but he doesn’t seem to work very hard. Do you think it’s important to know how he got rich?
• It didn’t seem like Mr. Giant had family with him. Why did he live alone?
• Do you think Beatrice’s mother wanted her to go to the giant?
• What will Beatrice do when she grows up?
• How long did it take to get Clever Beatrice published?
• Where do you sit or where you go to start writing a book?

ASK programs always amaze me. The quality of student’s questions is incredible. Clearly they have thought carefully about their reading. Ms. Willey commented that she appreciated the students’ questions too.

Today students from Niles High School are interviewing Deborah Ellis, a Canadian author writing about tough international issues such as AIDS, poverty and war. The students read the book The Breadwinner, and followed the ASK process to prepare questions for the videoconference. Other books include: Parvana’s Journey, Mud City, Looking for X, The Heaven Shop, Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak, A Company of Fools.

Ms. Ellis shared with the students what Afghan food is like, what it’s like to live in an orphanage, and stories of her experiences in Afghanistan & how they were built into the story.

Some intriguing questions:

• Did you ever want to give up on writing and what did you do?
• Why does her father call her by a nickname?
• Did you ever meet someone in Afghanistan who was beaten?
• Why did you choose not to have Parvana and the window woman meet?
• If you were to sum up your writing experience in one sentence, what would it be?
• If you could go back, are there any parts to the book you’d change?
• Has writing this book impacted you in any way?
• What would have happened if Parvana’s dad died?
• What was the most interesting job you saw in Afghanistan?
• Is Afghanistan really like we see on TV?

A powerful learning experience for our students! It was sobering to hear the plight of women in Afghanistan. Ms. Ellis is a passionate spokesperson for their experiences and I’m sure our students have a broader understanding of the world and a greater compassion for others.

[On a sidenote, sometimes you just have to suffer through announcements and ringing bells in a videoconference. I can’t think of a good solution for that.]

Another set of ASK programs today. These sessions are hosted by Muskegon ISD, coordinated by Diane Zoellmer. Today we had two fourth grade classes from E. P. Clarke Elementary, St. Joseph participate in two sessions with Author Janie Panagopolous, focusing on the book Traders in Time. Tomorrow Three Oaks is focusing on the book Train to Midnight and New Buffalo in the afternoon on Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp.

Here is a sample of the students’ questions:

*In chapter one, how come you picked two boys for the main characters instead of two girls?
*Why did Maggie live in the middle of nowhere in the midst of the woods?
*Why do Indians get married so young?
*In chapter one, why did you choose a warrior turtle for the rock?
*Does bear grease really help you stop from getting blisters?
*How did you come up with the title, Traders in Time?
*Do you get some of your ideas for characters from real people, or are the characters made up? If so, which characters in Traders in Time are real people?
*In chapter one, why does Chris call Nick a wimp?
*How does LeClaire know that when the water level rises the sun is going to come up?
*Who is your favorite character and why?
I love Janie’s answer to this question. She impersonates McDougall and tells how he comes to her in her dreams threatening her about getting the book done!

Students learned about the writing process, Michigan history, the process of historical research in preparation for writing historical fiction, and the publishing process.

Today we had three sessions of ASK videoconferences with local experts in homelessness and domestic violence. Macomb ISD has pioneered the ASK process, and Jim Wenzloff and Arnie Comer have helped us get our own ASK programs going here in the Berrien County.

ASK: Monkey Island
This was our second year of talking with a panel of local professionals providing services to homeless people within our county, arranged and coordinated by Buzz Calvert,Career Education Consultant and McKinney-Vento Homeless Project Coordinator here at the Berrien County ISD. Buzz brought in three panelists for students to interview:

• What is the worst situation you’ve seen with a homeless child?
• How do you help someone back on track with their life?
• How did you get started helping the homeless?
• Do people at the homeless shelter get along with each other?
• Do the people at the homeless shelter have to do chores?
• How do homeless shelters take care of education for the homeless?
• Not using any names, describe the saddest situation you have experienced.
• Why do we treat homeless so badly?
• If Clay’s mom found his dad, how do you think Clay and his dad would do?
• What’s the most rewarding experience for you in your job?

Congratulations to Niles High School and Hull Middle School for careful preparation and great questions shared during the videoconference. Our presenters were impressed with your hard work.

Buzz Calvert commented, “This process is really about getting the students engaged in reading the book.” And Susan Struwin believes, “This is a good way for students to learn about services available for homeless & all residents in Berrien County.”

ASK: Cracker Jackson
After two sessions of Monkey Island, and a bit of lunch, we had another ASK session with Becky Carter, Program Manager, Safe Shelter, Inc., our local women’s shelter. Students from Upton Middle School & Lighthouse Education Center read the book, Cracker Jackson, and prepared good questions. Here’s a sample of their questions: