I would love to help you kick off your exploration unit by arranging a school visit on this fun topic.

My presentation will introduce the world of exploration to your students. I will discuss the events leading up to the age of exploration including innovations in ship design and the role of Prince Henry the Navigator. Using Cabeza de Vaca’s story as a backdrop, I describe the obstacles explorers faced as they pursued their dreams of discovery. My goal is to encourage your students to delve into this topic with gusto.

Do your students sometimes wonder how the skills they are learning now will help them in adult life? They may be surprised to learn that writers use some of the very same writing skills we learned in elementary school. Organizing the work, documenting research, checking for errors, first drafts - these are all part of a writer's toolkit. I will also cover common questions such as how I sell my work, and what the dreaded term 'rejection' means in writer's terms.