Workshops for Students

As a former middle school teacher, I love visiting schools and working with students. All of my workshops are interactive. My goal is for students to understand that research and writing for publication is something they can do too. I tailor my workshops to students of any age, elementary through high school.

Here are some of the workshops I offer:

• From Seed to Story—I will rely on humorous anecdotes and a range of visual aids to describe to students how A Thousand Never Evers grew from seed to story. We will discuss what ideas your students have for stories they might want to write and what the next steps would be.
  
  
• The Power of a Question—I will talk about my career as a teenage news reporter. Then I will discuss the variety of interviews I conducted as part of my research for A Thousand Never Evers and reveal some of my most interesting findings. Finally, I will teach students how to ask the best questions possible so that they can uncover the information they need from a source.

• The Art of Revision—What does it really take to write and get published? This workshop will dispel the myth that creative works are sent as gifts from the muse. I will talk about persistence, revision, and the help I received from others in writing A Thousand Never Evers.
  
  
• The Civil Rights Movement—We will talk about what young people can do in the face of big, and often overwhelming, societal problems. Then we will take a look at the role of young people in the civil rights movement.

• Jobs—How many people are involved in creating a book? We’ll explore all the workers in the publishing world, including agents, editors, assistants, art directors, copy editors, production managers, and oh yes, authors.

• Elements of Fiction—This fun and engaging three-week workshop helps students understand the fundamental elements of fiction by using picture books. As students examine plot, character, theme, conflict, and point of view, they apply what they’ve learned to develop their own fiction stories. (Available to schools in the Austin area.)

 

Professional Development for Educators

I’m also available to conduct professional development workshops for educators. Seminar topics include:

• Elements of Fiction—This seminar provides educators with the tools and resources to help their students understand the basic building blocks of fiction. Educators learn how to teach a unit called Elements of Fiction that helps young people use picture books to examine plot, character, theme, conflict and point of view. Students will apply what they learn to what they read and write.

• Media Madness—In this day and age, our students are bombarded with thousands of media images every day. This seminar will provide educators with an engaging unit plan that teaches young people media literacy skills. Students will learn to become critical consumers as well as skilled creators of their own media messages.

 

Honorarium

Fees vary according to number of seminars and workshop size. For visits outside the Greater Austin, Texas area, I ask for travel expenses in addition to the honorarium.

 

To Arrange a Visit

For more information about school visits, please contact Lisa McClatchy, Random House Appearance Coordinator, at LisKe@aol.com.