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Shields students chat with author Bruce Coville

December 1, 2019

Shields Elementary fifth-graders had the opportunity Nov. 12 to interact virtually with popular children’s author Bruce Coville.

The American Reading Company Literacy Labs includes one of Coville’s books, “My Teacher is an Alien.”  

Over the last several weeks, students participated in classroom lessons surrounding the book, and they concluded the lab with a teleconference question-and-answer session with Coville. Students could ask questions about the book’s theme and characters, and also ask general questions, such as “How long does it take to write a book?” and “Who inspired you to become a writer?” Coville spent nearly an hour answering questions.

“The students really enjoyed the book,” said Erin Gannon, fifth-grade teacher at Shields. “They had a lot of questions revolving around the book’s theme and the character development, so the fact that they were able to ask some of those questions to the author was really exciting.”

“My Teacher is an Alien” is the first book in a four-book series by Coville. It revolves around a few students who discover their teacher, Mr. Smith, is actually an orange-eyed green alien named Broxholm, who seems to be planning to abduct five students in the class. Through humorous twists and turns, the students put together a plan to publicly reveal who Mr. Smith really is. 

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