Books can be about many things, big and small.  Let's take a look at three of Keith Baker’s books that look at small things--string, peas and snowflakes.  Is a string just a string, or can it be many other things?  What if there were 'p's' and 'peas' in the alphabet?  What would all those little peas do for the other letters?  Are there ever two snowflakes that are alike?  Join Keith for arts, crafts and a book chat. He’ll talk about writing, show your students how to make a six-sided snowflake and share a little trick for drawing faces that will make their characters come to life.

Videoconference Outline

• Welcome/Introductions (5 minutes)
  Each site will have 30 seconds to introduce themselves. Please be ready to share the name of your school, where you are located and what you hope to learn from today's event!
• Welcome and Opening Remarks from Author and Illustrator, Keith Baker (5 minutes)
• Let's Draw! (10 minutes)
  Students will jump right into activity with these easy drawing exercises that explore characters and expressions.
• Strings and Things (5 minutes)
  Using his book How Long Can a String Be? as a backdrop, Keith will explore strings and their uses with your students.
• LMNOPeas Presentations (15 minutes)
  During this time, students will have an opportunity to share their LMNOPeas pre-videoconference activity. Each school will have 60 seconds to share! Be creative in your presentation and please be sure to stick to the time limit. We want to be able to hear from each site!
• Question and Answer Session (10 minutes)
  What do you want to know about Keith? Being an author or illustrator? Writing in general? Each school will have an opportunity to ask one question -- so brainstorm ahead of time and come up with your top five. (You want a back-up question in case another school asks a similar question before you!). We'll call on schools in alphabetical order.
• Making Snowflakes (5 minutes)
  Are any two snowflakes alike? We bet you've made 4-sided snowflakes out of paper before, but Keith is going to show your students the super-secret method of creating a six-sided frozen wonder! A great way to end a fabulous program where art and writing intersect!

Pre-Videoconference Activities

• Create Your Introduction!
  At the beginning of the videoconference, each site will have 30 seconds to introduce themselves. Please be ready
  to share the name of your school, where you are located and what you
  hope to learn from today's event!
• LMNO Peas Activity
  Share Keith's book LMNO Peas with your students. You'll notice that in the book, your students will meet the alphabet peas and learn about all the different occupations the alphabet peas can do. As individuals or as a class, select a letter. Illustrate the alphabet peas 'in action' -- choose an occupation/activity that begins with that letter and create a picture or image that showcases the alphabet peas doing that activity. You'll have an opportunity to present your creation for 60 seconds during the videoconference. Be creative in your presentations - - we can't wait to see what your peas can do!
• Generate Questions
  What do you want to know about Keith? Being an author or illustrator?
  Writing in general? Each school will have an opportunity to ask one
  question -- so brainstorm ahead of time and come up with your top five.
  (You want a back-up question in case another school asks a similar
  question before you!). We'll call on schools in alphabetical order.

Materials Needed for this Videoconference

During this videoconference, your students will each need two (2) sheets of white paper, a pencil, and a pair of scissors. One sheet will be used for the drawing activity, and the other will be used for the snowflake activity.

About Keith Baker

Keith Baker grew up in Oregon and graduated from Eastern Oregon State College. After seven years of teaching elementary school, he returned to study illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Keith's honors and awards include Parents Choice awards for illustration for The Dove's Letter and Who is the Beast?, a Golden Kite award for Big Fat Hen, a School Library Journal award for best book of the year for The Magic Fan, and a UNICEF-Ezra Jack Keats international award for excellence in children's book illustration. He is six-feet, three inches tall and lives in Seattle, Washington (from Keith Baker's website).