For Educators

I am happy to offer free 20-minute Zoom author Q&A sessions to schools. Please let me know what might work for your classroom!

I am also happy to attend book clubs for free, virtually or in person. There is a special pleasure an author gets in talking to a room of people who have read her book. Please reach out!

Please see below for more extensive school/library visits and writing workshops. I am currently booking both in-person and virtual visits, but the state of COVID may warrant a pivot from in-person to virtual. Please contact me for more information on sliding scale pricing and availability.

Book Creation and the Writing Life—ideal for assemblies, libraries, bookstore visits!
Discuss the research and writing process, and present my books, including works-in-progress. This talk emphasizes the importance of revision.

What I Learned Writing Eco-Literature—ideal for Earth Day units and science classes!
Present the process of researching and writing two novels with environmental themes. Introduce how to conduct a home plastic bag audit and discuss ways to make change on the personal, local, manufacturing, and policy levels.

How to Care about Language AND the Environment—ideal for National Poetry Month and English classes!
Present my middle-grade verse novel, Turn the Tide. Explain the difference between naturalist and eco-poetry and lead students in an eco-poetry-writing exercise.

Writing Exercises
Here are videos of sample writing exercises that you are welcome to use with your students or that I might facilitate during a school visit!

Poems from a Photograph: A Novel-in-Verse Writing Exercise
Join me as I take you through a poetry craft exercise! Participants will write three short poems that shift in time but maintain a narrative link. Ideal for those who enjoy poetry or novel-in-verse writing! For ages 10+.

Animal Character Creative Writing Workshop
Let’s brainstorm an animal character together! Will yours wear a bow tie… or nothing but its fur or feathers? What will it sound like? Where will it live? Join me for a character workshop and a short reading from Milkweed Meadow. For ages 7+. Note: The workshop begins in earnest at 1m 20 sec.

 


Download The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow Discussion Guide