School and Library Visits
My timeline slides will show your children how revision moved me from second-grade teacher to children’s author. Your kids already have editors, like coaches. We’ll talk about who they are and how editing helps, especially when it’s hard. I’ll work with your students to write a simple piece. We’ll move from beginning/problem to ending/solution using reading skills like drawing conclusions or predicting outcomes. Then we’ll improve our piece by rereading and editing it. My goal is for your children to recognize that editing equals better performance, in everything.
If you’d like me to visit your classroom, please contact me. You can pick and choose from the presentation options below. I’d love to show your students how editing can work for them!
School Visit Presentation Options
1. Writing Journey Slideshow
This presentation is based on the slideshow of my writing journey. It starts when I met a bat, the mammal kind, in Germany. Really! That experience gave me my first two books. They’re both in my computer, waiting for me to return for them when I have other books published. Why? An editor told me that bat stories don’t have legs. They sell best before and after Halloween. After that they just take up shelf space! Now I’m spending my time primarily on three stories that have legs and will sell anytime.
2. Common Core Writing Lesson
With grades 1-4, we can transform my journey into a common core writing lesson. As I tell my story, I’ll pause for your students to map out what they want to remember. They can do an opinion about my visit or write informative/ explanatory/ narrative passages about my journey. I can match common core expectations for your grade level to each kind of writing. I’ll tailor my visit to fit the needs and interests of your students.
3. Meet My Writing Friends
Want a different focus? I can introduce you to the authors who’ve critiqued my work. They helped me grow as a writer. I’ll bring along their autographed books and pictures to share.
4. My Real Critiques
I can also show you what a real, live critique looks like on paper, and what “getting pages” looks like. I meet once a month with a critique group in Tennessee. I’ll show you how they look at my work. My conference critiques look a little different. I also have two full critiques of my middle grade chapter book. I’m glad to show your how students constructive criticism benefits me. I’ll link it to what you do every day. You, are their best critic.
5. Visit England or Germany
Would your class like to visit another culture? I can bring in my German or English journals. They have words, pictures, even money. If interested, we can complete a Venn diagram to compare/contrast the two cultures. You can stop there, or turn it into a writing opportunity.
I also have books I’ve brought back from Germany. Most are translated and will show your students German grammar structure, pronunciation, and meaning. Who knows, maybe we’ll even speak a little German before I leave!
6. Editing Student Writing
Do you have students who don’t want to edit their writing? Who won’t listen to you? Let me do a lesson with them. Sometimes hearing the same words from a stranger makes a difference. I just need a draft. We’ll read through it and look for errors. I critique my own work this way as well. I recently did this lesson with third graders. They were brave about sharing their work and taking constructive criticism. They also received a small prize from me for sharing and correcting mistakes. Every student improved their final copy. I hope they remembered my advice for their next draft, and eventually for 3rd grade testing, where proofreading/editing are critical skills.
7. Editing My Writing
For older classes, would you and your students like to see how I edit? I used color last year to push a middle grade story I’d worked on for six years. I was told it was flat and couldn’t believe it. Six years! My Nashville critiquer in September said it was missing sensory and emotional information. Highlighting helped me find what was there, and what was missing. It worked! The same author reread my first two chapters in May and said it was right on track. Hooray! She also showed me how to shrink a manuscript down to one page per chapter. It’s another way to find those holes in your work. I could reverse this strategy to help a reader understand a chapter book.
8. My Blog: A Reading Lesson
This is my blog. I can do a reading lesson for you on any post. The posts come with questions before, and answers after each one. In presentations, I can target author’s purpose, main idea, supporting detail--whatever skills your students need to practice. To see available posts, check my Pinterest boards. My blogs are posted for Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts. I've also matched each post to Ohio science and social studies strands. If you live outside of Ohio, I hope they’re similar for you.
9. Build a Blog Post With Me
Would your class like to build a post with me? We can use any topic you’ve studied. I just need pictures for the post. We can work together - before/during/after my visit - to edit words and pictures. When completed, I’ll post them on my web page. I’ll list your class and your school as my co-authors.
No matter which visit you choose, I’ll talk to your students about persistence like no one else can. I’ve been on my writing journey for 10 years, and still no published books, yet. As a writer, I’ve learned not to be discouraged by critiques. I take the advice that makes sense to me, and I use it to grow. I also make sure I enjoy the journey.
I’ll also talk to your class about who their reviewer is (teacher), and that they should listen to your advice, then decide how to apply it. I pay for critiques. I know whoever I pick is there to help me. It’s important to know how to give and get critiques. It’s easy to hear the good, but I always learn more from my shortcomings. That’s where opportunity lies, and it’s worth the price.
If you’d like me to visit your classroom, please contact me. You can pick and choose from the presentation options below. I’d love to show your students how editing can work for them!
School Visit Presentation Options
1. Writing Journey Slideshow
This presentation is based on the slideshow of my writing journey. It starts when I met a bat, the mammal kind, in Germany. Really! That experience gave me my first two books. They’re both in my computer, waiting for me to return for them when I have other books published. Why? An editor told me that bat stories don’t have legs. They sell best before and after Halloween. After that they just take up shelf space! Now I’m spending my time primarily on three stories that have legs and will sell anytime.
2. Common Core Writing Lesson
With grades 1-4, we can transform my journey into a common core writing lesson. As I tell my story, I’ll pause for your students to map out what they want to remember. They can do an opinion about my visit or write informative/ explanatory/ narrative passages about my journey. I can match common core expectations for your grade level to each kind of writing. I’ll tailor my visit to fit the needs and interests of your students.
3. Meet My Writing Friends
Want a different focus? I can introduce you to the authors who’ve critiqued my work. They helped me grow as a writer. I’ll bring along their autographed books and pictures to share.
4. My Real Critiques
I can also show you what a real, live critique looks like on paper, and what “getting pages” looks like. I meet once a month with a critique group in Tennessee. I’ll show you how they look at my work. My conference critiques look a little different. I also have two full critiques of my middle grade chapter book. I’m glad to show your how students constructive criticism benefits me. I’ll link it to what you do every day. You, are their best critic.
5. Visit England or Germany
Would your class like to visit another culture? I can bring in my German or English journals. They have words, pictures, even money. If interested, we can complete a Venn diagram to compare/contrast the two cultures. You can stop there, or turn it into a writing opportunity.
I also have books I’ve brought back from Germany. Most are translated and will show your students German grammar structure, pronunciation, and meaning. Who knows, maybe we’ll even speak a little German before I leave!
6. Editing Student Writing
Do you have students who don’t want to edit their writing? Who won’t listen to you? Let me do a lesson with them. Sometimes hearing the same words from a stranger makes a difference. I just need a draft. We’ll read through it and look for errors. I critique my own work this way as well. I recently did this lesson with third graders. They were brave about sharing their work and taking constructive criticism. They also received a small prize from me for sharing and correcting mistakes. Every student improved their final copy. I hope they remembered my advice for their next draft, and eventually for 3rd grade testing, where proofreading/editing are critical skills.
7. Editing My Writing
For older classes, would you and your students like to see how I edit? I used color last year to push a middle grade story I’d worked on for six years. I was told it was flat and couldn’t believe it. Six years! My Nashville critiquer in September said it was missing sensory and emotional information. Highlighting helped me find what was there, and what was missing. It worked! The same author reread my first two chapters in May and said it was right on track. Hooray! She also showed me how to shrink a manuscript down to one page per chapter. It’s another way to find those holes in your work. I could reverse this strategy to help a reader understand a chapter book.
8. My Blog: A Reading Lesson
This is my blog. I can do a reading lesson for you on any post. The posts come with questions before, and answers after each one. In presentations, I can target author’s purpose, main idea, supporting detail--whatever skills your students need to practice. To see available posts, check my Pinterest boards. My blogs are posted for Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts. I've also matched each post to Ohio science and social studies strands. If you live outside of Ohio, I hope they’re similar for you.
9. Build a Blog Post With Me
Would your class like to build a post with me? We can use any topic you’ve studied. I just need pictures for the post. We can work together - before/during/after my visit - to edit words and pictures. When completed, I’ll post them on my web page. I’ll list your class and your school as my co-authors.
No matter which visit you choose, I’ll talk to your students about persistence like no one else can. I’ve been on my writing journey for 10 years, and still no published books, yet. As a writer, I’ve learned not to be discouraged by critiques. I take the advice that makes sense to me, and I use it to grow. I also make sure I enjoy the journey.
I’ll also talk to your class about who their reviewer is (teacher), and that they should listen to your advice, then decide how to apply it. I pay for critiques. I know whoever I pick is there to help me. It’s important to know how to give and get critiques. It’s easy to hear the good, but I always learn more from my shortcomings. That’s where opportunity lies, and it’s worth the price.