School Visits
Would you like to have Jacqueline visit your school? She offers multi-day residencies, assembly presentations, and smaller writing workshops. There’s plenty of information here to get you started planning a visit, but don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you might have about school visits by using the contact form.
PRESENTATION PROGRAMS
A WRITER’S LIFE
Presentation for Grades 1–6
Through lively stories, Jacqueline answers commonly asked questions about her writing life: how she began writing, where she finds her ideas, and what are the three basic story elements every story needs to be successful. She talks about strategies for becoming a better writer and encourages students to think of themselves as the writers of tomorrow.
EXPLORE THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD WITH ME
Presentation for Grades K–3
Who doesn’t like an adventure? Using the Sydney & Taylor series of early-reader books, Jacqueline shows young writers how to make characters that feel real and create a plot that keeps readers reading, as she explains how a book is imagined, written, illustrated, and published. The presentation includes a brief (2-minute) video demonstration by the illustrator, Deborah Hocking, showing how she draws characters in a way that conveys feelings. As a bonus, teachers are offered a link to a fourteen-page Activity Kit that includes activities for crafts, readers’ theater, puzzles, and short writing reflections.
WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS
Presentation for Grades 3–6
The idea for The Lemonade War began as Jacqueline watched her two sons arguing over a lemonade stand. How did that first idea evolve into a book? What did the author keep from that real-life incident and what did she change? This presentation explores the three story elements of main character, motivation, and problem; story shape and structure; and the sequential stages of writing (thinking, prewriting, writing, and revising). Please Note: All students must have finished reading The Lemonade War before the Author’s visit. The presentation depends on the students knowing the story from beginning to end since they will be discussing the ending of the book.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
All writing workshops are limited to 25 students per session.)
MAP ME A STORY
Writing Workshop for Grades 1–3
How can young writers come up with ideas for stories? Jacqueline draws a map of a childhood home of hers and shows how the map is filled with potential story ideas. Students are then given a piece of drawing paper and encouraged to create a map of a favorite place. Where are the story ideas hidden on the map? Time permitting, each student begins to write a story that was “discovered” on the map.
HOOKED
Writing Workshop for Grades 4–8
Any writer will tell you: The most important paragraph in a story is the first one. Does it hook the reader? Draw her in? Make him want to read all the way to the end? Jacqueline talks about story openings and how to make them irresistible to the reader. She discusses the techniques that writers use to write compelling first paragraphs and shares some examples of the best openings ever written. Students then have time to write a brief story opening using the techniques they have just learned.
THE PLOT THICKENS
Writing Workshop for Grades 4–8
Motivation, rising conflict, climax, resolution. These are the elements needed to create effective plot within a story. But how to do it? In this workshop, Jacqueline explains how plot works, why a story's problem needs to get bigger and bigger, and what story structure looks like. Students play a fun board game in which they create an effective plot, then use a graphic organizer to develop the structure for a story of their own.
RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
BEGINNING TO END: STORY WRITING RESIDENCY
Five-day story-writing residency for Grades 4 –6
What are the elements of a good story? How do you take an idea and shape it into a satisfying tale? In this five-day writing intensive, students work through each step required to envision, draft, revise, and polish a complete story.
I SEE, I DRAW, I WRITE: POETRY WRITING RESIDENCY
Five-day poetry-writing residency for Grades 3 –6
The root of writing nature poetry is observation: looking closely at the world all around. Jacqueline begins this five-day residency by taking the children outside with sketchbooks in hand. They draw the world around them, capturing images and words on the pages of their nature journals. Then they bring those words inside and begin to write poems that use the poets’ techniques of rhyme, alliteration, and assonance.