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School Visits That Move Nonfiction Off the Shelf

Kay Jackson is an author, teacher and
submarine
builder.
She has written over 17 nonfiction books on
topics ranging from biomes to plate tectonics to
submarines.
Her nonfiction books help kids find answers,
solve problems, explore the world, and ignite
dreams.
Kay taught for 20 years in 5 states, 3 countries,
and on 3 continents. |
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Want to get your kids engaged in reading and learning? Try
nonfiction and watch those books move off the library shelves and
into your kids’ hands!
Nonfiction books help kids find answers, solve problems, explore
the world, and ignite dreams.
My husband Doug and I are living proof of this. We have lived in
deserts, grasslands, rain forests, and by the ocean. We
were always lead there by nonfiction books and I, in turn, have
written books using those experiences. It was also nonfiction books
that led us to white-water canoeing, sailing, scuba diving, and
building an underwater ROV and our submarine, Seeker,
pictured here.
I offer three school presentations:
1. Put Nonfiction
into Action (K-8)
2. Seeker the
Submarine (Beginning April ’09) (4-12th)
3. Exploring the World through Nonfiction (HS/Adults)
Call or email, and we can talk about what I can do for your
students.
Kay Jackson,
Email: NF4Kids@aol.com
Phone: (918) 382-9961
1. Put Nonfiction into Action
Grades: K-8
Fees for Tulsa area:
$800 for a full day = 5 sessions + lunch with a group of children
$400 for a half day = 2 sessions + lunch, or, 3 sessions
Fees for outside of Tulsa: $1000 plus expenses for a
full day = 5 sessions + lunch with a group of children
$550
plus expenses for a half day = 2 sessions + lunch, or, 3 sessions
Expenses: Airfare or mileage if I’m driving, hotel, meals, rental car if I fly
in.
I’m flexible! I can create a school visit schedule that works
best for your school.
Presentation Overview: Sure, nonfiction books are about
people, places, things, and ideas. They are information books. But
are they really action books? You bet! During this presentation, I
help students make the connection between reading and action by
taking students through these four steps.
2. Seeker the
Submarine (Beginning April ’09)
Grades: 4-12
Fees for Tulsa area:
Full Day with Kay and Seeker: $1500 = 6 sessions + lunch with
a group of children.
Full Day with Kay, Doug and Seeker: $2000 = Kay will present
6 sessions & Doug will provide tours of Seeker.
Fees for outside of Tulsa: Just add expenses - mileage,
meals and hotel.
Presentation Overview: The submarine is an extreme Do-It-Yourself project. She’s a
two-person sub that rides on the surface like a boat and then
submerges to explore lakes and oceans.
The sub's also the perfect example of using nonfiction books
to fulfill a dream. My husband, Doug, is her designer and he used
many books to learn more the basics about submarines, engines, metal
boat building, electronics, etc. He used those books to create
Seeker. And, he and I together built her – first in our garage
and then in our front yard!
With the submarine at your school, your students will be able to see
it, ask question, learn about the science behind her design and be
inspired to make use of nonfiction books.
This presentation is great for middle and high school science,
technology or votech classes.
3. Writing Children’s
Nonfiction
Grades: High School and Adults
Fees for Tulsa area:
$200 per session
Fees for outside of Tulsa:
$200 per session plus travel expenses: mileage, hotel, meals.
Presentation Overview:
Did you know rocks can speak? That grasses and trees are at war?
In this presentation, I describe how I create a story with the
“characters” in my books. I show how I dig for that shining bit of
information that will spark a child’s curiosity.
Contact me to plan a visit for your school!
Kay Jackson
Email: NF4Kids@aol.com
Phone: (918) 382-9961
My Books
Amazing Military Vehicles, the series
Rosen Publishing, 2009 All around the world and under its
oceans, U.S. military vehicles take on tough and dangerous jobs.
Helicopters rescue wounded soldiers, armored vehicles carry
Marines to the battle lines, huge planes bring food, water, and
medicine to places hit by disasters, subs search for enemy
ships, tanks protect troops on patrol, and ships launch planes
and missiles. Learn more about amazing military vehicles in
this exciting series.
Explore the Desert, Explore the Grasslands, and Explore the
Ocean
Capstone's FactFinders for Early Readers, 2006
Designed for readers ages 7 to 10, these books create a "you are
there" feeling using journal notes and sidebars. Each ends with the
description of a scientist and his or her work. For example, Explore
Grasslands highlights Con Slobodchikoff who studies how prairie dogs
communicate. He believes these little creatures have at a vocabulary
of at least 20 words!
Deserts, Lakes, Oceans, and Rivers
Capstone's Bridgestone Books, 2006
These short books highlight the plants, animals, people, and weather
of a specific earthform as well as how it was formed. Vivid photos,
amazing facts, and maps complete these fascinating geography
introductions.
The places and spaces of our world fascinate me. I’ve hiked the
deserts of Arizona, California and New Mexico. I’ve rafted, canoed,
and waded in rivers of both North and South America. I’ve swam in
the warm waters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and jumped into
the cold waters of the Pacific. I’ve also explored the green waters
and muddy bottoms of the lakes in American Midwest. With each of
these little books, I drew upon those experiences to create a
personal yet accurate picture of the biomes of the world.
Life in a Freshwater Lake
Gale's Kidhaven Press, 2006
While freshwater lakes cover only a fraction of the earth’s surface,
these bodies of freshwater are home to thousands of different
species of plants and animals. Freshwater Lakes explains the
processes that form lakes, describes the plants and animals that
live in lakes, and shows how people affect lakes.
As I wrote Lakes I looked back on our experiences diving the lakes
of Oklahoma and Arkansas as well as the freshwater spring pools of
Florida. These memories inspired topics such as "Stuck in the Mud,"
"Everything Depends on Algae", "Floaters, Skimmers and Swimmers,"
and "Hunters, Paddlers, and Waders."
Plate Tectonics
Gale's Lucent Books, 2005
In seconds, mountains explode, earthquakes topple skyscrapers, and
tsunamis race across entire oceans. Tectonic forces are the cause of
these disasters. The Earth’s surface is a dynamic mosaic of giant
crustal plates that drift across the planet’s face. Plate Tectonics
explains the ancient geological forces that continue to shape our
planet and the fragile life on it.
When I wrote Plate Tectonics, I thought about my middle school
students. What about plate tectonics would capture their interest?
As I read the first-hand accounts of the geologists who developed
and refined the theory of plate tectonics, it was clear that this
was a time of excitement. These scientists, many only graduate
students in their twenties, broke through long-held traditions and
well-established views to create a theory that literally changed how
we see our world. I wanted to transmit to my readers that sense of
thrill and adventure. To that end, Plate Tectonics is filled with
quotes from the earth scientists whose ideas, discoveries, and
experiences have given us, as Helen Prager states in Earth’s Fury, a
way for “us understand the present, past and future shape of the
Earth's surface, and its earth-shaking, fiery, and watery displays
of power."
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