September 03, 2008

Reptile specialist will speak at Dodge Elementary School

Professional herpetologist and non-fiction author David M. Nieves will lead two student assemblies and two family presentations at Dodge Elementary School on Tuesday, Sept. 9, Principal Stephanie Schulte said.

Nieves incorporates the six traits of writing into his presentation. The six traits of writing are Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions.

Nieves became fascinated with reptiles and amphibians starting at age 8 when he was growing up in Bellevue, Nebr. Now, Nieves travels to other countries to research and photograph these creatures.

He has written two non-fiction children's books: "Reptiles Up Close" and "More Reptiles Up Close." Nieves presents programs at schools, libraries, zoos, nature centers, and museums.

Nieves will lead student assemblies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sept. 9, Schulte said. He will then give presentations for families at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 9, which will be followed by Curriculum Night in Dodge's classrooms.

More information about Nieves can be found on his Web site, www.reptilesupclose.net.

For more information, contact: Stephanie Schulte, principal, Dodge Elementary School, 641 S. Oak St. Grand Island, (308) 385-5889, sschulte@gips.org