School Visits
 "Stacy
is a wonderful author to have visit from a librarian's standpoint.
Easy-going and friendly, she immediately put all of us at ease" - Polly
Walton, Swift Elementary, Arlington, Texas.
School visits are a fun part of being a writer. I look forward to each
one. I learn as much from the children and their teachers as I hope
they do from me. To help that happen, I treat presentations like my writing. I sculpt and
revise them regularly to keep them interesting and fun for everyone.
Below is a short description of what I do during a school visit. I've
developed my programs to very generally build upon one another and grow
with the children:
Grades K - 2: This presentation
has three main parts. First, we talk about how a book goes from an idea
to a finished project. I talk to them briefly about getting an idea
down and into a story, as well as show them early dummy books,
illustrations, press proofs, and fold and gathers. Next, we read Dizzy,
my newest book, about a pacific white-sided dolphin who cannot slow
down. Imagine. Finally, I gently introduce them to the idea of
character development by talking about the process I went through to
create Dizzy and, at the same
time, some of the information that I gather on dolphins while
writing the book. This always gets them excited to learn more about
dolphins, and we spend the Q & A time talking as much about writing
as about dolphins and their cousins. The presentation is a great
combination of writing and science presented in a fun way.
I use two power point presentations for this talk, one on "idea to
finished product" at the beginning and one on "character development"
at the end. I also have these character development talks on my website
under Book Supplementals. Teachers can use them for my other books as a
way to teach about the squid and sharks featured in them. As a follow
up for teachers, I also have various exercises on line in a teacher
pack, one of which is a writing assignment, that they can use in the
classroom after my visit. Time: 45 min- 1 hour
Grades 3 - 8: This presentation
focuses on the nuts and bolts of the writing process. We use a picture
book as a tool to talk about story structure - exciting event/hook,
building problems, climax, wrapping it up, ending with a twist - and
story arc, and dissect the picture book story into its parts as
examples of story development. I use a power point for this, so that we
can talk about each section in detail. I segway from story structure
into the writing process and revisions. I explain with examples from my
own work and others why revisions take so long. I tell the students
that it's almost embarassing to show my early drafts, but I do so to
make a point. Even published authors have to hone. Time: 1 Hour
Writing Workshop for Grades 3 - 8
(smaller groups): This is a character development workshop that I do
with smaller groups of students in grades 3 - 8. It builds nicely upon
the story structure and writing process talk by guiding students
through creating their own character and then writing a short story
about them. I use a sentence in which they must come up with a noun,
verb, adjective, adverb, and mysterious note. We use the sentence to
set up the story for its character, place, and mood. We go through each
of these sentence parts, i.e. noun, verb, adjective, etc, talking about
what would work well together and making sure they all fit together. We
then begin character development. I give them general ideas they can
use to build their character, from personality to features to main
emotion. Then the students spend about 20 minutes writing up their
story. The length of the stories vary. For 3rd graders I ask them to
write 10 sentences. 4th graders, 15 and 5th-8th graders 20 sentences -
up to a page. Students generally seem to be able to complete the
assignment and still have time for sharing. I save about 15 minutes at
the end to read through some of the stories and offer tips on how to
improve. I also use a power point for the workshop. Often, teachers ask
for a copy so that they can use it in class and build upon it. Time: 1
hour
Lunch with the Author: I enjoy,
if you would like, to have lunch with a select group of students to
talk about writing, their writing, ideas, and pretty much whatever they
bring up. It's a fun experience for all sides, getting to pick the mind
of an author.
Group Size: I have spoken to
all sizes of groups, ranging from 10 to 1500. I am pretty comfortable
with just about any size. I would suggest, though, for the writing
workshop, to keep the groups smaller (i.e. 50 or less) so that the
students are able to ask questions a little more easily.
Some programs I've been asked to do:
1) 1 general session for k-2
1 general session for 3 -5
3 individual writing workshops, one for each grade 3 - 5
Lunch with a group of students
2) 5 sessions, one for each grade level
Lunch with a group of students
3) 1 general session with 3-5
3 individual writing workshops, one for each grade 3 - 5
Lunch with a group of students
4) 5 smaller sessions with grades K - 2 only
Lunch with a group of students
What we end up doing is really up to the librarian and what works
best for the school. I'm flexible. I can put together just about
anything.
Fees: In-State:
$800 for a full day = 5 sessions + lunch with a group of children
$400 for a half day = 2 sessions + lunch, or, 3 sessions
Out-of-State
$1100 for a full day = 5 sessions + lunch with a group of children
$ 550 for a half day = 2 sessions + lunch, or, 3 sessions
**Plus travel
expenses. These vary depending on how many schools are sharing the
visit, but generally include hotel, airfare (or gas mileage for
driving), food, and a rental car and average about $150/school if there
are multiple schools.
Recommendation Information: It is often helpful to be able to talk to
someone who has hosted an author in the past. Therefore, I've attached
a recommendation letter from librarian, Kaye Shirley, at Pine Forest
Elementary outside of Houston, where I conducted school visits
last year. If you would like to contact a school I visited more
recently, please call Debbie Morales (847.963.5200, or
moralesd@ccsd15.net) at Kimball Hill Elementary in Chicago. I was there
on September 27, 2007. Or Kathy Coolman
(kcoolman@eanes.k12.tx.us) at Bridge Point Elementary in Austin, Texas.
I visited there January 7, 2008.
School visits outside the state
of Oklahoma are $1100/day or $600/halfday plus travel
expenses. Within the state of Oklahoma, a school visit is $800/day or
$400/halfday plus travel expenses. You can set up the visit by
contacting my publicist, Michele Kophs at 360.597.3432 or michele@provatomarketing.com. Or, you can contact me at 918.409.4063 or at
nyikos@cox.net.
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