Workshop Topics

Making Books Around the World and Across the Curriculum

Explore the ways cultures preserve their stories as you learn how to make scrolls from Africa, slat books from ancient China, palm leaf books from Southeast Asia, and accordion books from Mexico and use them across the curriculum. The session begins with a viewing of Susan's collection of authentic books from around the world and ends with hands-on activities. This is Susan's most popular workshop.

Making Books for Ancient Civilizations

Learn how ancient civilizations preserved their knowledge. Make books based on traditional forms from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, India, and Mexico, as well as creative formats like a mummy accordion book and a pyramid book.

Making Books for Math and Science

Learn a variety of book forms for use in math and science. Make books for math and geometry facts, planets and constellations, rocks and minerals, plants, and more.

Making Books for American History

Learn what kinds of books were made in Colonial America and after for both adults and children and how to make them. Make horn books, primers, and math books as well as a selection of books to study states, geography, and government.

Making Super Pop-up Reports

Learn to make Super Pop-up Reports, which unfold to make a structure like a building with four rooms, each with two walls and a floor. Super Pop-up Reports are excellent forums for presenting research, and students love them.

Making Books for Poetry Fun

Give your students interesting formats to present their poetry with simple book formats tailored to fit diffferent kinds of poems. This is not a workshop on writing poetry, but rather on creative formats to display poems such as diamante, acrostics, limericks, color poems, haiku, cinquain, and couplets.

Making Books for Young Learners

Learn how to make several simple styles of books and explore ways of using them for basic concepts- colors, shapes, opposites, early math- patterns, numbers, sorting, and language- letters, sounds, rhymes, sequence. It's easy and it's fun!

The Middle Ages

Learn about writing and books in the Middle Ages, get a close-up look at a vellum page from a medieval hymnal, and make a book. Teacher workshops also include activities such as heraldry, illuminated initials, weaving, embroidery, imitation stained glass windows, board games, and helmets, as well as ideas for preparing a feast from room decoration to food and serving suggestions.

Journals and Portfolios

Enhance journal and portfolio experiences by giving students the opportunity to make their own. Learn construction techniques and ways to personalize the books with beads, braids, and other decorative touches.

Family Bookmaking Workshop

Give parents and children the opportunity to spend an evening learning and having fun together. They'll make several books, decorate them with stamps, stencils, and collage, and get ideas for working at home. Maximum number is 50 parent and child pairs.

Susan works by the day, which includes up to six hours of teaching time. She is flexible in her scheduling. She will spend the day working with students only, teachers only, or a combination of the two. Another possibility is an afterschool workshop for teachers followed by a Family Workshop in the evening. Susan recommends the extended day which includes a full school day working with students followed by a 2 -3 hour workshop with teachers. A modest additional materials fee is charged for all workshops.

Susan works primarily in MA, southern NH, and southern ME. There is an additional travel fee for schools more than 50 miles from Newburyport, MA.

Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is a highly respected and popular presenter for the Global Education Center at Framingham State College. She offers many different bookmaking workshops which always fill quickly to capacity. Her workshops are consistently rated excellent by the educators who have taken them. Adjectives used to describe her workshops include "well-organized', "fabulous", "amazingly creative", and "user-friendly." One teacher said, "I learned so much that I can immediately apply to my classroom." Another said, "This is the best, most useful, efficient workshop I've been to.
     Meghan Maxfield, Program Coordinator
     Center for Global Education at Framingham State College

Susan's workshops are content rich and kid friendly. Her methodical presentations of curriculum relevant topics ensures success for every child. Each budding author leaves with a unique "book" and a smile.
     Helen Garrett, EdD
     Library Media Specialist, Memorial School, Manchester, MA

Susan is an extremely resourceful educator whose expertise in bookmaking can be integrated into nearly every curriculum. She is knowledgeable about various cultures and their written language formats. Susan's enthusiasm is contagious among teachers and students. Highly recommended.
     Brenda Hedden, Reading Specialist K-4

Students across the spectrum - from reluctant learners to the gifted and talented student - love making and displaying their research through their books. I suggest Susan's workshops and book ideas to teachers all the time because they are so creative and effective!
     Pamela Herman, M.A., Middle School Librarian
     Newburyport, MA

Susan's bookmaking workshops are so much fun! All her ideas spark students' and teachers' interest alike and motivate all of us to read, research, and write. I'm so impressed by how well all the activities align to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Innovative math, history, and holiday books are just a few of the examples in her repertoire of ideas. We can't wait 'till her next visit!
     Barbara Sargent, Reading Teacher
     Grafton Street School, Worcester, MA

Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord comes to your school loaded with wonderful, workable ideas to make history come alive and to allow teachers to cross the curriculum with comfort. Our students spent a busy and productive morning making sample books from several cultures. Best of all, we returned to our classrooms full of suggestions on what we could do next. The writing projects simply flew from student pens. Even my more challenged students were able to be successful due to the explicit instructions and thoughtful suggestions for modification. My high energy students were focused and excited. After the end of a long day with students Susan stayed on and conducted a teacher workshop that allowed our entire staff to be included in a hands on session. I know they were delighted because for many months afterwards I saw an amazing variety of the books displayed all around our school at every grade level. This program was one of the very best investments we have made with our grant money.
     Mary Ellen Sorensen, Grade 6, Spofford Pond School, Boxford,MA
     Board of Directors, National Council for the Social Studies

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skgaylord (at) makingbooks.com

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