Draper Day

On December 14, 2000, Sharon M. Draper graced the halls of Harrison Junior School for the entire school day. Mrs. Draper was the National Teacher of the year in 1997 and has written several award-winning young adult novels. Two of the books Ms. Draper has written, which students at HJS read in their Language Art classes are Forged by Fire and Tears of a Tiger.

During the day, each student had the chance to hear Draper speak about her life and how she became a writer. They were also given the chance to purchase one of her books and get it autographed.

There were small group activities where students were led in various writing activities by Mrs. Draper. Poetry was the focus in each of these workshops, but Draper connected the task at hand to other forms of writing. She advised the kids to "think outside of the box."

Teachers also benefited from the day. There were special breakfast and lunch plans that allowed the teachers to talk with Draper about teaching, writing, and anything else that came to mind.

The day ended with several students presenting their work to Draper. Two skits based on Draper’s book Forged by Fire were performed, and original poems and reports were read. Mrs. Draper was then presented with a basket filled with Harrison items and scripts for her book that were written by HJS students.

Sharon enjoys some dessert and conversation with the students.

Sharon giving some writing guidance to some of the Junior High students.

Miss Van Sickle and Mrs. Draper. Thanks to Miss Van Sickle and Dr. Marcia Rowley for coordinating this event.

Want to know more about Sharon and her work? Visit www.sharondraper.com .

Thanks to everyone that participated.

Questions? sams_t@hccanet.org or eevs@excite.com