literacy
phone-free education
mental wellness
Bring Sigmund Brouwer — award-winning author of over 100 titles of fiction and non-fiction — into your school for a fun and engaging assembly-style presentation that encourages mental wellness through literacy and the benefits of phone-free education.
literacy
“The staff have been raving about your visit today and the students are still on an absolute high. Thank you for providing such an outstanding, exciting and inspiring event. These are ideas that the students will take with them forever, and their teachers too. One of my teachers who has been here for ten years told me that yours was the best he has ever seen at our school!”
— Gina (Brohm) Brown, OCT Teacher-Librarian, Angus Morrison E.S.
mental wellness
“Young people who enjoy reading very much, who read daily, who think of themselves as very good readers and who hold positive reading attitudes report higher life satisfaction, better coping skills and higher self-belief than their peers who don’t enjoy reading at all, who never or rarely read, who think of themselves as below-average readers and who hold negative attitudes towards reading. The same holds true for writing.”
phone-free education
“Can anyone doubt that a school full of students using or thinking about their phones almost all the time—texting each other, scrolling through social media, and playing mobile games during class and lunchtime—is going to be a school with less learning, more drama, and a weaker sense of community and belonging?”
— Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation
Harness the power of story to hooks readers
Time in a book is time away from scrolling through social media and the resulting anxiety, helping students gain literacy skills and positive habits for mental wellness.
With a story-driven presentation that appeals to both keen and not-so-keen readers, your students will be inspired to read for fun at school and at home, especially with Sigmund Brouwer’s fast-paced ultra-readable books written at high-interest levels with accessible vocabulary — stories that grab developing readers without losing appeal for skilled readers.
Along with a positive message about the privilege of phone-free education, the presentation includes a follow-up virtual classroom with resources for teachers to ease the transition to current cell phone policies, along with writing activities for curriculum outcomes.
And to keep the buzz going, use the presentation to kick off an optional classroom or school-wide read-a-thon, all materials supplied to minimize teacher prep time and maximize reading.
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There is an assembly-style presentation for either upper elementary or middle school or high school levels.
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That makes it even more fun! You can include the younger students in the presentation, and they leave about half-way through, during one of the movement breaks. Or Sigmund can do two separate presentations.
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Absolutely. The presentation incorporates dancing and singing during song videos (which also serve some crucial teaching points). Students are engaged from beginning to end.
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Studies show that higher literacy skills are linked to healthier mental wellness.
The engaging and fun presentation from a well-known author draws on the power of story to motivate students to read more and write more.
Combined with a phone-free learning environment, more time spent in reading and writing can reduce student anxiety in school and at home.
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The presentation combines a focus on voluntary reading with the benefits and privileges of phone-free education to encourage student and parent support of current cell phone policies in school.
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Following the presentation, teachers access a virtual classroom with discussion questions for school and at home.
There are also language arts material that tie into cell phone use for curriculum outcomes in:
- persuasive writing
- essay writing
- report writing
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Absolutely. Cell phone polices are far more effective with parent support.
You will also be able to send out a PDF to parents that highlight the benefits of phone-free education and address many questions that parents current cell phone policies in school.
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Not at all!
Included in the Read-A-Thon material are suggested titles written specifically for developing readers, including those with English as a second language.
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Please email us by clicking here, and Kayli will respond right away with answers to any and all of your questions!
With over 5 million books in print in multiple languages, Sigmund Brouwer writes for both children and adults, and has published over 150 books in fiction and non-fiction. He has won the American Christy Book of the Year and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Young-Adult Mystery in Canada, as well as being a finalist twice in the prestigious TD Children's Literature Awards.
Over the last three decades, he has delivered presentations to more than a million students at schools across North America, with a focus on story to encourage reading and writing.
