Student Voices: Nathan Hale’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

In February, after two years of waiting, Nathan Hale finally came to Hunter’s Creek Middle School!

For his visit, he did 5 large group presentations where he told two different stories (one about James Garfield and one about Lewis & Clark) then a lunch writing workshop (where students wrote their own comic). Students greatly enjoyed their time with Nathan Hale!

Here are some reflections from my students:

• Nathan Hale’s visit was so fun and entertaining while also being educational. He talked about the corps of discovery but not just about Luis and Clark, he focused on their group rather on just them who other people wouldn’t have even mentioned. I love how he said that they ate every single animal they came across and that they got fat due to eating all that meat I especially liked that York still had his abs even after he got fat. I didn’t even know that they took mercury who sent them. Nathan Hale was so nice and funny I would have loved to say thank you, but I’m sad I didn’t get to. But thank you Mrs. Moye for presenting us with the opportunity to meet Nathan Hale, I enjoyed it.

• Meeting Mr. Hale was an experience I will never forget. He was so fun and light-hearted and he made sure that learning history an unforgettable experience. He made everything easy to understand and kept me engaged the whole lesson. Overall, this was one of my favorite experiences meeting an author.

• I loved Nathan Hale’s visit. I think he was super funny when he was tell us the story about the corps of discovery and his art style was amazing as well. I  I also loved that he had humor in the story but also got the information of the story across. 

• Nathan Hale’s visit was awesome! I loved the different stories and how creative he was. I thought that the story about Garfield was really intriguing and unique. He educated me about a piece of history I had no idea about. I loved the way animated the characters as well, I thought it was brilliant. I really hope he can come visit again soon–it was an amazing time, I never got bored.

• I loved the presentation! I liked how he animated his illustrations. I almost wish he would turn the Lewis and Clark explanation into a book. I would definitely read the book. I also loved the way he included some of the forgotten people in the expedition like York and Pomp.

• Nathan Hale was an entertainer. He expresses and talks in a way that captivates the audience, and makes them want to laugh loud at his jokes. Nathan Hale is able to make a story interesting, with nothing more than paper and a pen. Personally, for me, I don’t enjoy history, because it’s usually all gloom and doom, but Nathan Hale made it fun, funny, and entertaining, all while drawing out the scenes at the same time. Nathan Hale is a great multitasker, considering he must draw very fast and well, and still incorporate it into the story, all in 45 minutes. I really enjoyed Nathan Hale’s visit to our middle school, and I loved the way he interacted with the crowd.

• My reflection on the Nathan Hale visit was that it was absolutely amazing. Like, seriously, it was really good. I loved the whole presentation about Lewis and Clark and the core of discovery. Nathan Hale really made me believe that I was seeing the story unfold right as he was drawing it. Which in its own right, is so cool! His drawing was so fun and interesting and I loved all his characters. The story itself was really entertaining, and I enjoyed the whole story, though I think my favorite part has got to be when he did the voices and characters for the core of discovery tryouts. My favorite characters I think would be York or Sacagawea. All in all, I thought that the story was great, the characters were great, and Nathan Hale was amazing.

• Nathan Hale is very funny, and it was really cool how he connected Garfield the cat and Garfield the president. It was cool to see how he basically created another short graphic on the spot during the presentation. I was there for the special book presentation, and it was so interesting to see how he interacted with everyone. In my opinion, he would make a great teacher. 

• Nathen Hale was a very funny and I loved the story of the president Garfield.  He is very talented at expressing his thought and emotions with drawing and making them appealing and fun to others. I really like how he told us the way he works and how he can make everyone laugh with his illustration and way of telling the story. 

• I found his presentation to be amazing. The speed at which he drew was incredible, and he was still able to draw accurately. I was also very impressed with how he was able to draw something and move on to a different section of the screen, but then use the drawing later, while being able to change it slightly to suit his purposes. And pertaining to the story itself, I was surprised how he found a very “happy” historical fact in the usually bloody stories.

As you can see, he was so engaging; I would highly recommend him (and my students would, too!) for any 4th-8th grade author visit!