Anne Spencer

Readings

Anne Spencer gives a series of readings and workshops tailored to suit classroom themes, age levels and teacher's requests. Readings can be accompanied by overhead transparencies or slides of book illustrations. Anne offers reading/workshop sessions for each of her three children's books.

For Grades 3 – 6: The Memory Book is a fictional diary account written from the perspective of two 10 year old girls - a mother and daughter's accounts of life at different times in the same seaport town. The diaries are packed with true historical events, folklore and fancy and are peppered with superstitions, folk sayings, and the girls' drawings.

For Grades 4 – 6: Song of the Sea is filled with pirate stories and facts, and tales of mermaids, monster and gods. The book features nautical rhymes, sayings, chanteys and superstitions. Tales come from all shores - the icy Arctic and the sunny Mediterranean.

For Grades 4 – 6: And Round Me Rings is a collection of bell tales and folklore. Stories come from centuries of history where bells were melted down into cannons in times of war and then recast as bells in times on peace. The focus is on how bells in every culture mark the important moments of our lives, warning us of disasters and pealing joyously for our celebrations. Many stories are perfect for medieval study units.

Special Equipment:

Overhead projector.

Book Sales:

Copies of books can be brought to be sold and autographed, if requested.

Workshops

Anne Spencer gives a series of readings and workshops tailored to suit classroom themes, age levels and teacher's requests. Readings can be accompanied by overhead transparencies or slides of book illustrations. Anne offers reading/workshop sessions for each of her three children's books.

THE MEMORY BOOK (For Grades 3 – 6): Workshop themes include: recording history, how to make your own memory book, and the importance of journaling.

SONG OF THE SEA (For Grades 4 – 6): Workshop themes include: looking at the basic themes that run through all world mythology and sea stories, tales of pirates, mermaids and monsters of the deep, myths and reported sightings. Anne is also a singer and can perform some of the chanteys and sea songs.

AND ROUND ME RINGS (For Grades 4 – 6): A great accompaniment for medieval study units. Workshop themes include the role bells played in medieval life in feudal towns and monasteries, superstitions and bell lore about bells warding off everything from vampires to thunderstorms, and war and peace (stories of bells and cannons). All workshops can include sound recordings and overhead transparencies or slides.

JOURNALING: How to Keep a Journal (For Grades 4 - 6): A journal is a book in which you record the daily happenings of your life. But a journal is not only a place to record the mundane facts of life and weather, it can also become a tool for self-discovery, a safe place to express feelings and vent difficult emotions, and a place to confide your ideas and dreams. A journal can also serve as an ideal training ground for budding writers. Anne Spencer shares techniques, tips and exercises which deepen the experience of journal writing and help develop a commitment to keeping a personal record of your life.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING: A how-to approach to researching and bringing life to a subject for biography.

Special Equipment:

Overhead projector.

Book Sales:

Copies of books can be brought to be sold and autographed, if requested.

Biography

Anne Spencer is the author of 4 books. Her biography, Alone at Sea: The Adventures of Joshua Slocum published by Doubleday was shortlisted for the Evelyn Richardson Memorial Literary Prize. Her young adult fiction, And Round Me Rings published by Tundra Books was named a Notable Book by the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award in the intermediate fiction category. It was also included in the 2004 Best Children’s Books for the Year, selected by the Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education in New York. Anne’s other writing has been for the Barnes and Noble Classics book series and for Canadian Living Magazine where she developed and wrote the Kids Culture feature on children’s products and concerns of parenting.

She is an elementary school music and drama teacher and also teaches workshops in playwrighting, biography, memoir and journal writing, musical theatre and Shakespeare for children.

Anne Spencer has worked as a nationally syndicated columnist with CBC Radio for the past 15 years with her columns Kidstuff and Healthy Living. Anne has contributed full feature documentaries on health issues for Ideas, The World This Weekend, and Maritime Magazine in Halifax. Her documentary Walking the Labyrinth (produced for The World This Weekend) was a finalist for the 2004 CAJ (Canadian Association of Journalists) Award in the Faith and Spirituality category.

Anne has been a Juno Judge, an organizer for Storyfest, Fredericton’s first storytelling festival, and the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival in her hometown of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Anne is the mother of two teenage boys who are active in the arts. She enjoys cooking, singing, swimming and loves film.

OTHER PRESENTATIONS:
OTHER PRESENTATIONS:
Professional development day sessions for teachers and librarians.

COLLECTING FAMILY/ COMMUNITY STORIES: A workshop with ideas on helping children collect family and community stories. Anne gives ideas on how to interview family members, record those memories and then assemble memory books including photographs, photocopied memorabilia, family recipes, and special occasions.

PLAY OR BOOK PRESENTATION: In-depth presentation of a book or play intended for class study or as preparation for a class trip to a play performance. The workshop gives ideas on ways to enrich the study with drama games, writing exercises, and behind-the-scenes and historical looks at the work complete with props, pictures, and relevant music and film scenes.

LIFE STORIES: An Autobiography/ Memoir Writing Workshop: Life Stories is a workshop which gives participants ideas, guidance and the writing tips needed to record their life stories. Anne Spencer helps participants capture past moments with the intention of writing them out. Inspiration for writing may come from photographs, family traditions and recipes, and keepsakes. The process is one of remembering those meaningful moments. For some people they may be moments of laughter and joy; others may want to record hard or sad life experiences. Anne Spencer helps people build in the details of each story. These specifics create a strong sense of the setting and time.

Life stories/ memoirs can become wonderful ways to share and preserve important moments from the past. They may serve as personal, family, church and community histories.

JOURNALING: How to Keep a Journal: A journal is a book in which you record the daily happenings of your life. But a journal is not only a place to record the mundane facts of life and weather, it can also become a tool for self-discovery, a safe place to express feelings and vent difficult emotions, and a place to confide your ideas and dreams. A journal can also serve as an ideal training ground for budding writers. Anne Spencer shares techniques, tips and exercises which deepen the experience of journal writing and help develop a commitment to keeping a personal record of your life.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING: A how-to approach to researching and bringing life to a subject for biography.