To SCHEDULE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & School VISITS:
The summer of june discussion guide
If you would like to use The Summer of June in your classroom, click the image below for a handy discussion guide:
One kid’s Trash Discussion Guide
If you would like to use One Kid’s Trash in your classroom, click the image below for a handy discussion guide:
TUNE IT OUT DISCUSSION GUIDE
If you would like to use Tune it Out in your classroom, here is a handy downloadable discussion guide:
ROLL WITH IT Discussion Guide
If you would like to use Roll with It in your classroom, here is a handy downloadable discussion guide designed to lead your class in an approach to the novel that helps celebrate the differences in all of us!
Classroom Visit
As a former high school English teacher and now middle-grade author, I would love to come visit your school and talk all things reading and writing! The Southeast region is the easiest for me to visit, though I can come to other parts of the country as well. Or if your class has read ROLL WITH IT and wants to Skype, that’s an option too!
Classroom visits might include:
• a gathering with students who’ve read my book — because how often do you get to talk about a book with the person who wrote it?!
• a classroom exercise on creative writing and character building where we practice breaking the cliche and writing dialogue
• a meeting with teachers and/or librarians to encourage the discussion of disability in literature
Such a schedule allows me to meet with— and hopefully inspire — a huge number of students, teachers and librarians, making the day as profitable as possible for everyone involved.
Tips for a perfect author visit:
PREPARE THE KIDS! Five minutes of effort will make a world of difference. It will create students who ask AMAZING questions, who listen and respond, and who get so much more out of my visit.
Here are some suggestions:
• Circulate copies in the classroom or library. I’ve known librarians who draw from nearby public libraries. If you’re hard up, contact me and I’ll see what I can do.
• Read the first chapter or first page aloud.
• Brainstorm questions. One question scrawled on a scrap of paper gives the kids something they KNOW they can ask. It can be about writing in general or my book in particular (anything to get the ball rolling).
• Offer the book for sale ahead of time. Often the PTO will manage this as a fundraising activity. Local bookstores love to assist.
• Equally important: Alert students to the sale! Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching a student stand empty-handed as friends get their copies signed.
• Offer the book for sale after the event, when students can’t wait to read them. If you ship me a box of books, I’d be delighted to sign them and ship them back. Or email me students’ names and I’ll mail you an envelope of signed bookplates.
