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Author helps teens learn to enjoy books
By RACHEL BROWN HACKNEY Executive Editor
What do 70,000-pound prehistoric sharks and a literacy program geared to teenagers have in common? Best-selling author Steve Alten of Palm Beach, Fla., who divides his time between writing and inspiring young people to read.
Students in a number of counties in Eastern North Carolina -- including Pitt -- have become well acquainted with Alten's novels about the "Megs" -- carcharodon Megalodons -- through Alten's Adopt-An-Author program. His latest book, "Meg: Primal Waters," which was released on July 1, is expected to follow the original "Meg" and "The Trench" into classrooms.
Alten also has written novels with archaeology as their focus -- "Domain" and "Goliath." Students are reading them, as well.
The literacy program, Alten said in a telephone interview, evolved out of the tremendous response he received from young people after "Meg" was published in July 1997.
Many of them, he added, sent him e-mails saying they hated to read until they opened his book. "'Meg' made reading fun," he said.
To top that off, he continued, he learned that "teachers were using my books in the classrooms. ... That sort of caught me off-guard."
Alten's conclusion was, "I really needed to become part of it."
To that end, he created the nonprofit Adopt-An-Author program and established two Web sites -- one for students and one for teachers. The latter, he said, "includes everything a teacher needs to create a unit" on one of his books -- from vocabulary primers to quizzes.
The materials are inexpensive -- about $5 or $6, he pointed out.
As he became more involved with the program, Alten continued, he became more dismayed with the poor quality of resources many teachers have to utilize. Some, he pointed out, "are using books that have been used for the last 50 years. ... That sort of blew my mind."
The success of the books among students is "so profound," Alten said, "it just energizes (teachers) to continue working" with the program.
Alten's involvement goes beyond the writing and the Web sites. He exchanges e-mail with classes, sends them newsletters and conducts conference calls with them to discuss the books. And he travels to schools to meet personally with students and teachers. He says he's been to "mostly public, inner-city" schools, though he has visited all types -- from the finest private facilities to the poorest.
No matter where the schools are located, he pointed out, "the book works."
A native of the Philadelphia suburbs, Alten takes two trips back to that area every year, making stops at numerous schools.
"That's the rewarding part for me," he said.
At last count, he noted, more than 3,000 schools were participating in the program. About three or four new ones sign up every day, he said.
In addition to schools in Pitt County, other Eastern North Carolina classrooms engaged in the program are located in Warren, Pender and Cumberland counties, Alten noted. Most of the students are in the ninth through 12th grades, he said, though some seventh- and eighth-graders are among his readers.
More and more science teachers are becoming involved in the program, Alten pointed out. In fact, he said, he had a meeting scheduled late last week with Palm Beach science teachers to talk about implementing the program in the local schools. Their interest has been sparked, he continued, by a new federal drive through the No Child Left Behind program to raise standardized science test scores.
The books are characterized by fast pace and plenty of nerve-tightening encounters between the "monsters," as the Megs are referred to, and the humans. Still, Alten weaves in a good share of geology, geography, history and ichthyology -- the study of fishes, as the student readers no doubt learn -- as he relates the journeys of the sharks in their never-ending hunt for food.
"I try not to weigh it down too much" with the scientific material, Alten says of his book. "Action is what keeps the students turning pages."
And learning to love to read.
For details about Steve Alten's national literacy effort, go to www.stevealten.com and click on 'Adopt-an-Author.'
Students in a number of counties in Eastern North Carolina -- including Pitt -- have become well acquainted with Alten's novels about the "Megs" -- carcharodon Megalodons -- through Alten's Adopt-An-Author program. His latest book, "Meg: Primal Waters," which was released on July 1, is expected to follow the original "Meg" and "The Trench" into classrooms.
Alten also has written novels with archaeology as their focus -- "Domain" and "Goliath." Students are reading them, as well.
The literacy program, Alten said in a telephone interview, evolved out of the tremendous response he received from young people after "Meg" was published in July 1997.
Many of them, he added, sent him e-mails saying they hated to read until they opened his book. "'Meg' made reading fun," he said.
To top that off, he continued, he learned that "teachers were using my books in the classrooms. ... That sort of caught me off-guard."
Alten's conclusion was, "I really needed to become part of it."
To that end, he created the nonprofit Adopt-An-Author program and established two Web sites -- one for students and one for teachers. The latter, he said, "includes everything a teacher needs to create a unit" on one of his books -- from vocabulary primers to quizzes.
The materials are inexpensive -- about $5 or $6, he pointed out.
As he became more involved with the program, Alten continued, he became more dismayed with the poor quality of resources many teachers have to utilize. Some, he pointed out, "are using books that have been used for the last 50 years. ... That sort of blew my mind."
The success of the books among students is "so profound," Alten said, "it just energizes (teachers) to continue working" with the program.
Alten's involvement goes beyond the writing and the Web sites. He exchanges e-mail with classes, sends them newsletters and conducts conference calls with them to discuss the books. And he travels to schools to meet personally with students and teachers. He says he's been to "mostly public, inner-city" schools, though he has visited all types -- from the finest private facilities to the poorest.
No matter where the schools are located, he pointed out, "the book works."
A native of the Philadelphia suburbs, Alten takes two trips back to that area every year, making stops at numerous schools.
"That's the rewarding part for me," he said.
At last count, he noted, more than 3,000 schools were participating in the program. About three or four new ones sign up every day, he said.
In addition to schools in Pitt County, other Eastern North Carolina classrooms engaged in the program are located in Warren, Pender and Cumberland counties, Alten noted. Most of the students are in the ninth through 12th grades, he said, though some seventh- and eighth-graders are among his readers.
More and more science teachers are becoming involved in the program, Alten pointed out. In fact, he said, he had a meeting scheduled late last week with Palm Beach science teachers to talk about implementing the program in the local schools. Their interest has been sparked, he continued, by a new federal drive through the No Child Left Behind program to raise standardized science test scores.
The books are characterized by fast pace and plenty of nerve-tightening encounters between the "monsters," as the Megs are referred to, and the humans. Still, Alten weaves in a good share of geology, geography, history and ichthyology -- the study of fishes, as the student readers no doubt learn -- as he relates the journeys of the sharks in their never-ending hunt for food.
"I try not to weigh it down too much" with the scientific material, Alten says of his book. "Action is what keeps the students turning pages."
And learning to love to read.
For details about Steve Alten's national literacy effort, go to www.stevealten.com and click on 'Adopt-an-Author.'
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