S.M.A.R.T New Author Visits Our School

 Author Adam Glendon Sidwell  visited our school on Wednesday, September 27th.  He immediately got our attention by showing us some of the films he and his brother helped make.  He was involved in the animation for such films as Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron, Toy Story 3, Spiderman, The Incredibles, Night at the Museum,  Avitar, and King Kong!!    What a fantastic way to earn a living.

                Mr. Sidwell gave our young writers some very "SMART" advice.  Using the letters from "SMART" he listed 5 elements to include in every story:

Structure:  Have a good beginning, then build the action or conflict and finally resolve the conflict in the end.  

Moral Choice:  The characters in the story should have to make a choice.

Aim to Finish:  Don't forget to revise the story.  Ask your friends and family to read it and give you feedback.

Real Life:  Give the characters meaningful dialogue that moves the plot along.  Think of using your real life experiences for inspiration.

Theme:  Find a central idea.  Think about who your audience is.

                Students were encouraged to  share stories with friends, create comics, write scripts and make movies.  

                A winner was drawn from the students at the school and given an autographed copy of Mr. Sidwell's book,  Evertaster.  Paden Kunz was the lucky student.  Paden has already read the book and reports that he really enjoyed it.