February 21, 2013 VG Teaching Resources Vocab & ELA Res, VG Author Interviews 6-12, VG Author Interviews K-5, Vocab Gal, ELA K-5, ELA 6-8, ELA Resources - Activities, ELA 9-12, ELA Focus - Vocabulary
By: Vocab Gal
In honor of President’s Day earlier this week, I’d like to say that I have interviewed President Obama. Unfortunately, he is a bit hard to reach, but I do have three awesome author interviews that directly connect me with to our current president…almost like I interviewed him myself!
My Close Encounters With President Obama
1. John Green Interview
After his State of the Union address last Thursday, President Obama participated in a “Google Fireside Hangout.” Which YA author was included among the five Americans asked to “hang out” with President Obama? You guessed it-Vlog Brothers and Nerdfighter co-founder John Green. You can watch his last question with Obama here.
I think the whole Nerdfighter community was awed when Obama himself paraphrased the Nerdfighter motto “Keep calm and don’t forget to be awesome.”
Since I interviewed John Green and John Green interviewed the President, it’s almost just like I interviewed the president-right?
2. Deborah Hopkinson Interview
Deborah Hopkinson has written a children’s book about President Obama’s favorite president-Lincoln – and has written a children’s biography about President Obama’s wife Michelle. She loves research and ideas, just like President Obama, and she sees words as tools to craft her message-just as Obama does in his speeches.
It’s almost like when I interviewed Deborah Hopkinson, she was channeling the thoughts and ideas of President Obama.
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3. Matt de la Peña Interview
This year, Reader’s Digest asked President Obama what his favorite word is—and it turns out his favorite word is the same as Matt de la Peña’s (and their reasons are even similar). Read the excerpt below and compare it with Matt de la Peña’s answer...
RD: We also have a popular column called Word Power. Many people around the world say they improve their vocabulary reading it. So what’s your favorite word in any language?
Obama: Grace. I love the word grace because I think it captures what we strive for in life. It’s not just an individual thing. It’s not just a matter of excellence or something you’ve achieved. It’s something internal to you, but it’s also something that’s given to you. It’s not just individual, but it has to do with your relationships with others. You know, those moments of grace that we have—grace notes that we have in our lives.
From “RD Interview: President Barack Obama.” N.p. 2012.
Read the entire Reader’s Digest interview here.
In Summary
Do remember that when you watch author videos with your students, you can ask them to respond with their favorite part of the video-perhaps using vocabulary in their response. See my post about doing so for further ideas: Chart ‘Em and Write.