Presentations

Ted is available for school visits of one to four sessions in a day, Family Literacy Evenings, and two different kinds of workshops.. He has differing presentations for various age / grade groupings. For Literacy evenings he has a mix of material (stories, show and tell, music) in shorter segments for a wider age range. Workshops run from primary through high school grades. All are detailed below.

Ted strongly suggests that for school-day visits students be introduced to age-appropriate material from his books beforehand. This allows him to do more than merely introduce his work. Students also benefit from a prior chance to talk over the questions they might like to ask.

Ted is comfortable working with large groups (over one hundred students), as long as the grade range is not too broad and the space is adequate.

The school library is his preferred venue. Primary/junior students should be seated on the floor. If the gym is used, he suggests mats be put down.

Ted needs a table for his show and tell materials and an armless chair.

Copies of Ted's books are available for sale and autographing. This should be arranged with him beforehand.

Primary sessions last forty-five minutes. They include storytelling from Ted's picture books, a related movement / imagining activity incorporating music (Ted brings along his banjo and guitar), and a question and answer time in which he shows how the books were created, using lots of visual aids.

Sessions last an hour. There are two main subject options, both offering a more in-depth look at the creative process.

The first, about novels, is built around the theme "where stories come from and how they become books". It begins with examples of how material from real life gets expanded and woven into characters and plots. Then comes an imagining session in which the students make suggestions about how a suggested anecdote could be used. Question and answer time is longer, often followed by some audience-participation music that relates back to the material.

The second is a behind-the-scenes look at picture books: how words and pictures combine, how the story must appeal to more than young children, standards of format, length and design, writing tips, and planning techniques. Senior grade students attempting their own work often find this valuable.

Family Literacy Evening (multiple brief presentations and sales/autographing session): $450.

Daytime visits:

• Single Session, $350
• Half day (two sessions) $575
• Full day (three sessions), $800; four sessions, $1000

For bookings, contact Ted.

Full Contact Information

The Stories CD

Over a series of weekly visits, Ted and the students of each class (see Grades, Groups, & Schedules below,) create, revise, and script a story; often a "fractured" fairy tale. They then rehearse and perform this for a digital recording to Ted's equipment. The story collection is burned to CDs which students then decorate and package, as well as illustrating print copies of the work. A great way to learn about editing and revision!

Building Books

Building Books is a series of weekly visits in which the goal is to have each student “publish” their own picture book via a highly structured, step-by-step process that includes, in succeeding weeks, group brainstorming, drafting a story on a storyboard, trying specific revisions, layout and design, illustration, and details like copyright, impression numbers, dedication, about the author paragraphs, etc. Students learn how and why these tasks are done professionally, and how they can try them in the classroom. The work calls on a variety of talents; everyone has a chance to shine.

In keeping with the “professional” approach, both series conclude with a book or CD launch party, usually a couple of weeks after the last visit, in which the students’ work is celebrated as publicly as possible.

Grades, Groups & Schedules

Originally for junior/intermediate grades, these series have been frequently and successfully adapted for both primary and high school classes. Depending on the number of classes involved, Ted visits the school either one or two days a week for five consecutive weeks. Each class taking part gets one visit per week. For an effective session he needs seventy-five minutes with each group, so he can work with four classes in a day. Thus a once per week series will take four classes through the process; twice per week, eight classes.

Sessions

Sessions in both series include read-alouds from picture books, lessons on the next stage, working time in which Ted can offer suggestions and encouragement and, if there is time, a bit of music. (Ted bring a banjo and guitar. This works especially well with primary students, who need a simplified approach and a greater variety of activities.)Students have work to do between sessions, and deadlines. They tend to need more work time between visits near the end, when, for example, they may be rehearsing, copying their text onto book pages, or illustrating. The weekly stories, emphasis on professionalism and the final celebration of the students’ efforts all tend to be powerful motivators. Both projects are busy but fun.

Materials

The Stories CD requires blank CDs, and jewel cases for each student, folders to hold them and the print copies and the capacity to burn audio copies. The Picture Book project uses standard school supplies: newsprint, construction and photocopier paper, pencil crayons, etc. Book covers (only) need to be laminated. A long-arm stapler is needed for binding.

Fees

Once per week series (five visits plus celebration; four classes), $2000; twice per week (ten visits plus celebration; eight classes) $3000; both plus HST