Jacqueline Guest

This forty-five minute presentation is geared for a younger audience with a shorter attention span. 

Because the Division One visit is usually accompanied by the Historical Presentation for an older grade level, I appear in costume and come with many strange artifacts which I explain to the students in terms and time they can handle.  Several diverse aspects are covered in simple, easy to understand terms- what an author is, who the Métis people are and how they fit into Canadian history.  A student from the audience is dressed as a Voyageur from early Canada and helps demonstrate the Red River Cart, a beaver pelt, a powder horn and a Métis Sash as well as many other early artifacts.

We then move on to the Interactive Story Component, where in the students listen to a tale of a boy who can’t seem to keep his belongings safe and who loses an important dinosaur egg.  The ending of the story sees the egg hatch, (of course!), and the lead character left with the dilemma whether to keep the dinosaur or send it to the zoo.  Students then assess and discuss what would be the good and bad aspects of having the world’s only dinosaur.  They then have to make a wise choice and vote on it!  Whichever camp wins, go or stay, has that theoretical story ending read.

A discussion of scientific facts such as when dinosaurs lived, were there humans here, and were dinosaurs descended from birds gives youngsters a few facts to discuss with mom and dad, opening the way for communication.

I bring an actual hadrasaur egg for the children to experience as well as casts of eggs, posters and models of dinosaurs to show size relation.

The students are given a picture to colour and admonished that since there is a connection between birds and dinosaurs, and birds come in all colours and there was no one around then to say just what colour a dinosaur really was…  Well, they can colour their Triceratops any colour they want!

Conclusion:

Children are encouraged to hold fast to their dreams and assured they can come true. An emphasis on the importance of reading is impressed on students. Students are encouraged to go to their teachers and librarians, parents and siblings, to help them with their reading skills.

Reading is likened to a magic key, which will open doors for them for the rest of their lives.

Teachers and students are thanked for sharing their time with me by teaching them the Native word for thank you, which is Meegwetch.

The entire presentation takes 45 minutes. The pace is fast and the interest level high. The children absorb a little Canadian history and, hopefully, an appreciation for the diversity of our combined cultures in addition to some basic scientific facts about a favourite topic- DINOSAURS!

Click here to see pictures of previous presentations!

For more information, or to arrange a talk or visit from Jacqueline, please e-mail Jacqueline at writer@jacquelineguest.com.

  ©2007 Jacqueline Guest - Updated 2007-03-14