Bio
Nancy Kelly Allen proudly calls eastern Kentucky home, a place where the Appalachian accent resonates and the trees whisper with the wind. She earned her master's degrees in Elementary Education and Library and Information Science from Morehead State University and the University of Kentucky, respectively. Her diverse experience as a social worker, elementary school teacher, and librarian inspires her passion for writing children's books. She has penned fifty-three and enjoys sharing them with young readers and working with aspiring writers of all ages.
Potential Residency Project
Strategies to engage students in the creative process during the residency:
I meet the students as they enter a room with a welcoming smile and a hello.
Sharing a personal writing experience is an effective bonding method. I discuss how I created the idea for the book I'm presenting. This helps students connect with me and connect their own ideas with stories.
Engaging students in interactive play is fun for them and me. When participating in the telling of a story, such as The Legend of the Rain stick, students dangle rubber snakes, croak wooden frogs, and shake rain sticks to replicate the jungle. They finish an incomplete story by acting it out or retelling a story by dividing it into the beginning, middle, and ending. Students raise their hands to volunteer. I always allow and encourage every student to participate.
I never read a book aloud without discussing the content or asking questions as we journey from page to page. Children can easily lose interest if the activity isn't interactive. I move around the room, so all children have an opportunity to see the illustrations. This allows me to make eye contact with the students, a benefit in holding their attention and creating a greater impact. My goal is to make students feel safe and supported. Student-participation activities involve both movement and speaking. I use hand signals to control the volume and speed of their answers and movements. This seems to work well especially with primary grades. We discuss simple hand gestures, practice following them, and then use them throughout the program.
Students and teachers are interested in the process of publishing a book. In this activity they roleplay the people involved: author, editor, art director, illustrator, marketing, publicity, printing, etc. They learn the progression from the inception of the idea to the published book. Also, in Q and A sessions, students learn about authors, publishing, and how to develop an idea into a story.
When teaching writing techniques, I use my books as mentor text to highlight how literary devices blend into the text. Examples: Action verbs, specific nouns, alliteration, opposites, similes, etc. We also make a plot line, which is to a story what a road map is to a network of highways. The plot line outlines the story from start to finish.
My books represent diverse cultures (Appalachian, Hispanic, Cherokee, German, Black) either in text or language. Books that open windows to other cultures and mirror students' cultures foster interest and engagement.
Strategies to help teachers prepare students for residencies:
I have two major approaches.
1. Collaborate with the teacher or school representative who contacts me to determine the teachers' expectations. I plan accordingly and modify my program to meet their needs. I have books and activities to meet any school age group. I follow the conversation with a written quote that specifies the activities that we discussed and I will be conducting with each class.
2. I encourage teachers to utilize my website, www.nancykellyallen.com. Many of the books have classroom activities that span grade levels and subject areas. These are free to download. Teachers often check my website before contacting me. The website familiarizes the students with my work and personal life, building enthusiasm for the visit.
Strategies to engage teachers:
If I'm teaching a particular writing technique (opening hooks, literary devices) I email a checklist guide to have copies printed for the students. This is a handy tool for students and keeps the program running smoothly without them franticly taking notes. Teachers can add literary devices the students haven't used or those they want reemphasized. I also include story ideas that students can choose to use, or not.
The teachers and I clearly define the goals: what we want students to gain from the visit and how it aligns with the curriculum.
Prior to each class, I consult teachers about students with learning and physical differences, such as vision, hearing, or other issues. The teachers and I work together for the students' maximum benefit. If a child is using a wheelchair or other mechanism for assisted movement, we place them in an area with ample space. Special microphones and other devices for those with impairments are welcome. Presenting information in multiple ways—reading, discussing, and performing—has a positive impact on engaging the student and learning outcomes. In writing, if a student can define a particular literary device, create a text using it, and recognize it when heard or read, they have mastered the concept. My goal is to serve all students from the beginning of the program to the end. Students have different learning styles, so presenting in ways that incorporate listening, movement, and speaking addresses those differences.
I encourage extended activities following my visit. With writing, each student receives a checklist of literary devices that reflect the academic standards of their grade level. This list works with all types of writing in the classroom.
Students work on book-related activities, including making a hand puppet and learning how to manipulate it, in class. Due to time constraints, they decorate their puppets as a follow-up activity. My website has follow-up activities designed to use with specific books.
Strategies to measure the impact of the residency:
After reading my books, which include science, math, Appalachian, and social studies topics told in fun and humorous text, I review the material with students. They respond with information gleaned from my prior reading and discussion. This activity parallels the students' understanding of the material as well as reinforcing literary concepts and writing techniques.
During family engagement events, I discuss specific opportunities in which family members can support and reinforce reading skills: recipes, advertisements, games, storytelling, illustrating, finishing stories by adding their own endings, etc. Providing real-world context to the development of literacy skills in everyday life is a powerful force. These are fun for the family and take reading skills beyond a book. Reading twenty minutes a day exposes a child to a million words per year, so I emphasize reading books and utilizing the public library. The activities expand vocabulary, listening, and concentration skills. Parents have thanked me for presenting these ideas. Feedback is always welcome. I use it to modify and improve my programs.
Midway through and following classroom programs, I ask teachers if this is the type of program they were expecting. Sometimes, teachers have a particular request, such as discuss transitions or the difference between mood and tone. If they have suggestions, I include their request in the activities. Following each program, I ask if they have any questions or suggestions about the presentation. Discussing the program prior to my visit creates a common focal point we both expect. A discussion after the program is effective in determining if I met those goals or need to make adjustments.
One of my favorite ways to determine the impact of an author visit is a meet-and-greet or Q and Q opportunity with students following a session. Students often stop to chat briefly and say “Thanks" as they exit. The opportunity to talk with and share literary ideas is a dream come true for me. I've met parents who tell me that their child was so excited that I visited their classroom. The impact is not always immediately evident. Sometimes, years pass, and a person will thank me for a particular program I presented or remind me of something I said.
Eastern Kentucky, where I conduct the majority of my author visits, is economically disadvantaged. Meeting an author connects students with professional writing. They gain insight into their own writing goals and often ask how they can get their work published. I provide, to the teacher, a list of potential publishers for young writers including the website addresses. Every publisher has specific guidelines, so I stress the importance of researching a publisher's guideline submissions to determine if the student's writing fits the needs of the publication. Author encounters encourage and inspire students to continue writing, but without grants such as those with the Kentucky Arts Council, author visits would seldom happen in eastern Kentucky schools.
Sometimes, teachers or librarians tell me that they have a significant increase in the number of books checked out following a presentation. An elevated interest in reading is another positive indicator.
An invitation to return to a school, year after year, is one of the best indicators of well-received program.