Fiona Bayrock, School Visits


	School Visits

		Fiona welcomes the opportunity to share her passion for science and writing through author visits and readings for grades K-7. She creates connections between science and language arts, with humor, fun, and hands-on activities.
	Fiona's Background
	Fiona is the author of BUBBLE HOMES AND FISH FARTS (Charlesbridge) and 14 other quirky science books for kids, such as: THE OCEAN EXPLORER's HANDBOOK (Scholastic 2005), SOUND: A QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK, STATES OF MATTER: A QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK (Capstone 2006). She also brings the "Ew!", "Cool!", and "Phew!" of science to kids and teens, in over 60 magazine articles, as well as in educational databases and literacy & science curriculum resources. From bugs to bridges, chemistry to cane toads, spacecraft to suckers, and acoustics to auroras, Fiona has chased questions through most of the "ologies", talking to scientists around the world in search of cool science stories. Fiona approaches subjects from unusual angles, and peppers her writing plenty of humour.


	Presentations

		Fiona's school presentations are designed for audiences ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 7. Level of detail and content depend on the audience age/grade level. Each session starts with a brief overview of what Fiona does as a writer and how the publishing process works. Fiona brings examples of what a story goes through to become a book--- from manuscripts and galleys, artist sketches and final art, to the large printed sheets that are folded and cut into bound books. Surprise and excitement erupt when students set their eyes on the items Fiona uses to demonstrate how she creates images in her readers' heads. For younger students: Time-permitting, Fiona will wrap up the presentation with the kids involved in an interactive read of one of her stories. Length: 30-60 minutes, including time for questions. For older students: Using examples from her work, Fiona goes into more detail and depth about the research, writing and editing processes, getting it right the first time and catching mistakes, what goes into an introduction, how the parts transition and flow, choosing titles, and some funny stories behind her articles and books. Length: 60 minutes, including time for questions.


	Presentation Details

		-- To foster interactivity, Fiona prefers to meet with smaller groups---maximum 60 students) of similar grade level: K-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-6, 6-7. -- Fiona will do up to three one-hour presentations a day (or two one-hour sessions and two half-hour sessions). -- Week-long writer-in-residence visits are also available, where Fiona will work on premises, meet with selected individual students about their writing, and do additional informal mini-presentations and readings in addition to the regularly scheduled three one-hour presentations/workshops per day. Formal presentations are custom designed to suit each class and the number of sessions Fiona spends with them. ---Fiona is happy to meet with mixed-age homeschool groups.


	Contact Information

		For more information, fees, and available dates, please email Fiona at: fiona @ fionabayrock.com (remove spaces) Thank you for your interest!