Students at Stratford Community Schools made this poster to welcome me.

I love visiting with students and teachers about writing and books. Programs can be adapted to each school's needs, but these are my most requested programs:

"Biography -- The Story of a Life." Although a biography may start with a timeline of important events in a person's life, those facts alone do not make interesting reading. To create books that are fun to read, I look for the stories behind the facts. This program works especially well with elementary students. A shortened version of the program for grades K-2 includes activities that help students learn about research and how it can make reading more fun. For students in grades 3-6, I use activities to guide students through the writing process including research, writing the first draft, and rewriting.

Research Detectives: Facts, Questions, and Clues. When I'm researching, I like to think of myself as a detective -- digging for facts, asking questions, and finding clues that lead to more information. Students in this workshop will become research detectives too, learning how they can find the information they need to write interesting reports. Together, we work on researching a biography about a drummer boy in the Civil War.

"What Does a Writer Do All Day?" This presentation can be tailored for various age groups. Students are often surprised to discover that writing is only part of an author's day. In this presentation I talk with students about the variety of work in my day which includes reading, research, organizing information, writing the first draft, rewriting, working with an editor, and letting people know about my books. For older students, this presentation can be a good career day activity, including information about the variety of writing careers.

About My Presentations:

My presentations include activities and discussions designed to encourage students to be active participants. They all include time for questions and answers. I prefer smaller class-sized groups, but two classes can be combined for older students. Presentations for grades 3-12 are about 45-60 minutes, and presentations for students in grades K-2 are about 30 minutes. A full day includes four presentations and time for autographing books. (I will consider doing two 30-minute sessions in place of a longer presentation for up to five sessions for the day.)

Ideas for a Successful School Visit:

Prepare students by having them read my books or at least become familiar with them before my visit.

Brainstorm with students about questions to ask. I'm happy to answer any of the students' questions, but thinking about possible questions in advance helps to keep Q&A sessions focused on writing. It also helps shyer students, who may prefer to read their questions.

Many schools like to sell copies of my books in advance to have them available for me to sign when I'm there. Books sales are a great motivational tool since students are often more interested in reading a book after they've met the author in person. I don't sell books myself, but they may be ordered in advance from a bookstore, or from my publisher at http://www.enslow.com/catalog.asp.

If you wish to share the cost of a school visit with a neighboring school, I'm willing to do two sessions at one school in the morning and two at another in the afternoon.

For information about fees and dates available, please use the contact page on this website.