Sara brings 24 years of teaching experience to her presentations. She uses her experience working with children to keep her school presentations engaging and age-appropriate. Sara knows the challenges students and teachers face when writing in the classroom. Students leave her presentations with story ideas they are excited to write.
Sara enjoys presenting digitally as well, and can speak to school groups via Zoom, Skype and Google Meet.
Contact Sara for more information on booking a presentation.
Testimonial:
“Wow! What an engaging, informative, and thought provoking presentation! Students were engaged the whole time and thoroughly enjoyed you. You not only shared your books, you were true to your teacher background in the way you taught about the writing process! We are so grateful to have gained insight into your role as an author! It was so inspiring!”
—Patricia Sabo, teacher, Burlington, ON
K-2 Where do authors get their ideas? (30-40 minutes)
Kids often have trouble finding topics for their writing. Sara will use Duck Days, Slug Days, Penguin Days, Mountain Machines and Sounds of the Ferry to discuss where her ideas for the books started, and how students can use their interests and surroundings as a jumping off point for writing.
2-4 What does every story need? (40 minutes)
Every story needs three things – a main character, a setting and a problem. Using Slug Days, Penguin Days and Duck Days, Sara will discuss how the three parts interact and will lead the students in activities to create their own stories.
2-4 I know that place! (40 minutes)
A strong sense of place is a theme that runs through many of Sara’s books. She lives in the mountains and spends time on the coast whenever she can, and both make their way into her writing. In this author talk she’ll discuss Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle? Jake Reynolds: Against the Tide, the writing process, and how she used events and locations from her own life to add exciting details to the books.
4-7 Where do authors get their ideas? (40 minutes)
Everyone has a story to tell, and authors draw from all parts of their lives (and sometimes those of their friends), to write a book. In this workshop Sara will describe where the ideas for Count Me In and Warm Up came from, and how she used bits and pieces of experiences from throughout her life to write these fictional stories.
My Clients and Hosts Have Included
* TD Canada Trust Children’s Book Week touring author in Saskatchewan
* Dr. Charles Best Elementary School, Burlington, ON
* Anna C. Scott Elementary, Leonia, NJ
* Minshew Elementary, Minshew, TX
* Southpointe Academy, Delta, BC
* Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Vancouver, BC
* Christianne’s Lyceum of Literature and Art, Vancouver, BC
* Whistler Readers and Writers Festival, 2008-2018
* Canada House, Olympic Winter Games, 2010
* Author in the Schools, Sea to Sky School District