School Visits
Dana loves school visits!
Dana will engage your class with a fun and interactive presentation that will give students a behind-the-scenes look into writing a book and the publishing industry.
Dana offers a choice of two presentations and one workshop for Grades 4-8. Each can be adapted for an individual classroom visit or a grade presentation. Time for questions and book signing is included.
- Single Presentation/Single Workshop (+book signing): $300
- Half Day (2 presentations or combo of presentation and workshop + book signing): $500
- Full Day (Any combo of presentations + workshop – up to three sessions + lunch and book signing): $800
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A BOOK
This inspirational and educational 40-minute presentation introduces your students to the writing and publishing process. They’ll get a better understanding of the variety of methods writers use to create stories, the process by which a story forms, and the journey to publication. Using first-hand examples, the presentation helps young writers accept that mistakes are part of the process, that a book takes a lot of work, time and patience.
Topics covered:
- Setting up for success
- Finding your most creative time
- Getting the work done
- Revisions
- Steps to publication
THE FACTS IN FICTION
In this 40-minute presentation, your students will hear about the creative process, with particular attention to writing fiction based in science. Students will learn about Dana’s research process and how she overcomes challenging ideas and complicated science to create worlds that young readers can comprehend.
Topics covered:
- Following the right trail of information
- Talking to experts
- Using the internet wisely
- Transforming lingo into common language
- The rules of science writing for young readers
WHAT DID YOU SAY? A WORKSHOP IN DIALOGUE
In this 50-minute interactive workshop, your students will learn the secrets to natural dialogue in text. They’ll practice writing a conversation, engage in improvisational activities that demonstrate how dialogue can define a character and affect a mood.
Topics covered:
- How to make dialogue sound authentic
- Pitfalls to avoid
- Handling text messages
- Using dialogue to define characters
- How to use dialogue tags
SPECIAL PRESENTATION FOR GRADES 3 & 4
Science is everywhere! In this 45-minute interactive presentation, students will be challenged to identify how science impacts their daily lives, from the kitchen to the weather. Students will be given a hypothesis postcard that guides them to identify animals in their area, note their observations, and draw conclusions about animal behaviour, inspiring crowdsourced science.
VIRTUAL VISITS: $150 for one 45-minute session; $125 for each additional visit the same day. Virtual visits can be conducted via Zoom, Skype or Teams.
TRAVEL COSTS: If travel is over 50 km (30 miles), a CRA-based travel rate of $0.61 per kilometre applies, round trip. For visits outside Alberta, cost of travel will be determined based on destination and means of transportation required.