Have you ever wanted to interview a published children’s book author? Would you like to connect your own students to such interview experiences? Are you looking for ways to help your students connect with the content they read at deeper levels to acquire layers of meaning?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the ASK Program is for you. The Authors, Specialists, Knowledge (ASK) Program is conducted in schools nationwide. Using distance learning, children follow certain steps to interview an author or specialist after reading a fiction or nonfiction chapter or picture book. The ASK Program puts students in the driver’s seat, different from many author visits, as they lead the interaction with the author or specialist.
Dr. Ray Kettel created the ASK program at the University of Michigan – Dearborn in 1994 to empower children to not only enjoy reading a book but to also connect with the book’s author or an expert of the book’s content.
Two Way Interactive Connections in Education (nationally) and the Macomb Intermediate School District in Michigan (MISD) provide teachers myriad opportunities with ASK programs. TWICE requires members to pay a $40.00 fee or non-members to pay an $80.00 fee to help pay for the authors’ or specialists’ honoraria. MISD provides the programs for free to their teachers. Denise Jobe is a technician and coordinator of distance learning at the MISD; she also facilitates the connections with TWICE, nationally.
I have experienced many ASK Programs, including the programs I have had my preservice teachers complete in my children’s literature course. This past December, Parwin Anwar shared her experiences as an Afghan Refugee in response to Deborah Ellis’ The Breadwinner; this ASK Program is available through the MISD. I have also had former students share their experiences as children or parents involved in the foster care system after reading Patricia Reilly Giff’s Pictures of Hollis Woods. A couple years ago, Diane Bradley responded to students’ interview questions about her Wilder Series. Prior to that year, Matt Faulkner shared his experiences in writing Gaijin: American Prisoner of War.
The ASK Program creates so many connections between authors, specialists, students, and teachers.