For
Adults and Secondary Students
"Connecting
with Your Grandchild through Books": Books grandparents and
great-grandparents can use to connect and share stories about growing
up.
"Human
History Carved in Bone": In writing The Leakeys: A Biography
I collected stories about the legendary Louis, wife Mary, son Richard
and his wife Meave, and granddaughter Louise. I'll share these stories
with your group or classes and show them a PowerPoint presentation about
the lives of the Leakeys, including photographs of Olorgesailie and
Koobi Fora, where I met Dr. Louise Leakey during my own visit to Kenya.
I'll also bring a model of 1.8 million year old Zinj, now known as Paranthropus
boisei.
Zinj
and Mary (on right)
"Temperament
Type and School": How each of the four temperament types
can best learn. Being "different" from the rest need not keep
anyone from school success.
"The
Process of Writing": Professional writers use Six C's
to assure the quality of their writing. The same process can work for
you.
Mary
and Hannah Thompson, New Windsor Middle School
For
Teachers, in addition to above
"Ideas
for Using Trade Books in Any Classroom": From The Great, Unbelievably
Easy, Only One Sentence Nonfiction Summarizer to Readers Theatre, trade
books can enliven and excite students (and teachers too!)
"Whole
Language: What It Is and What It Shouldn't Be": Many techniques
espoused by whole language advocates were not doable in the typical
classroom but many are now standard. Let's look objectively at what
works and what should be discarded.
For
Younger Students
"Writing
a Paragraph: The Pretzel Path to Writing Success": A writer's
workshop that uses straight and circle pretzels to motivate students
grades 3-8 and helps them easily organize and write a cohesive paragraph.
"Kenya: Early Human History + Animals in the Wild + Friendly People": A PowerPoint presentation and artifacts from my trip to Kenya help young children understand all people are members of one race--the human race--and appreciate the rich culture, past and present, of Kenya. For students in upper elementary and middle school, I'll include information about the Leakey digs and show a model of the Zinj skull.
"At
last, a presentation that was both fun and educational. The workshop
members especially enjoyed their personal participation in the organization
tasks."
— Dr. Richard Mainzer, Council
for Exceptional Children
"Besides
being a delightful speaker, you were informative and inspiring. It was
great to hear tried and true methods and I know everyone in the group
took home much food for thought and action!"
— Diana L. Foor, Association of
Independent Writers
