Schedule a visit with Me!
Dear Educator,
My first book, Ada and the Helpers, is a great book for continuing the conversation about hidden strengths that everyone possesses! Ada, a young deaf fox with cochlear implants who loves to dance, helps others find their strengths as she journeys through the forest on her way to a talent show.
Children in preK, Kindergarten, and 1st grade will especially find Ada's adventure to be engaging! They will soon be using American Sign Language to communicate with their friends, and will be looking for their own talents and strengths.
By scheduling an author visit with me, your students will:
- Be introduced to Ada and her friends, as well as the American Sign Language alphabet and some basic emotion signs.
- Brainstorm ways they can be like Ada by helping others.
- Be able to create a visual reminder of their own strengths.
- And learn how they make their community stronger.
I'll also provide extension activities for you to use for instruction beyond my visit. Your students will be able to retell the story with puppets! After reading Ada and the Helpers, your students will want to dance. So I'll provide links to some dances appropriate for young enthusiasm. I'll also give you links to some beginning ASL videos so that your class can continue this wonderful way to communicate with others.
Each activity correlates to the Common Core Standards for your ease and convenience. For a full list of these standards, scroll to the bottom of this page.
I'm very excited to share Ada with your class! Everyone faces challenges, and Ada can help us all remember that we have strengths that can help us to succeed.
Please contact me so that we can set up a time for a virtual author visit!
What to expect:
In a 45 minute author visit: I'll read Ada and the Helpers to your classroom, stopping to teach the ASL alphabet along the way (The book includes words throughout the story spelled out in ASL hand signs!) We'll also go over some basic ASL signs such as different emotions, "bathroom", "please", and "thank you".
Afterwards, we can do one of the following:
- Explore how Ada helped each of the main characters in the story, discuss how we as people can help others, and each student will then have a chance to reflect on how they can be a good helper to others.
- Play an interactive slideshow game where they will use clues to determine who some of the helpers are in a community.
We'll have a short time of questions and answers at the end of the visit. As mentioned, you'll also be given activities for the class for use after my visit to extend their play and learning from Ada and her friends.
Author presentation fees:
For now, all presentations will be virtual. This is not just because of COVID! As an American living in Europe, the development of virtual classrooms during the pandemic has opened doors for you to access speakers outside of your local area—so take advantage of it! I hope to offer live, in-person visits in the future. But I can still offer interactive, educational presentations remotely!
These rates are based on price breaks for the number of sessions per day. They cannot be used for sessions spread out over multiple days.
- Full day (four sessions): $450 USD
- Three sessions: $375
- Two sessions: $275
- One session: $150
Each session is for a class of up to 25 students. For each session, you will receive:
- Two free hardcover copies of Ada and the Helpers, one for your classroom and one for the school library. These hardcover books come with a double-sided dust jacket that has an ASL alphabet chart on the inside over two feet tall, perfect for hanging on the wall in your classroom! Each copy will also come with a pack of my Ada and Friends ASL alphabet flashcards.
- Personalized, signed bookmarks for each student participating in the visit!
- An order form for collecting pre-orders from the students at a 25% discount.
- All of the printable activities needed during and after my visit!
To schedule Travis for your school or organization, contact him at travis@launchmissions.com!
Common Core Standards addressed:
My author visit and extension activities based on Ada and the Helpers addresses a wealth of standards such as ELA, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Benchmarks, Listening and Speaking, and Dance! You can click each standard below to see the details on the official Common Core Standards website or New York State's information on SEL and the Arts.
Key Ideas and Details
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2
With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.10
Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Comprehension and Collaboration
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1.A
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1.B
Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2
Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.3
Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.4
Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.6
Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks
Based on the New York State Education Department
Goal 1: Develop Self-awareness and self-management skills essential to success in school and in life.
- 1a. Describe one’s likes, dislikes, needs, wants, strengths, challenges, and opinions.
- 1b. Identify family, peer, school, and community strengths and supports.
Arts: Dance
Based on the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts
Anchor Standard 1 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Enduring Understanding 1.1 Essential Question Choreographers are inspired by a variety of sources to convey concepts and ideas through movement for artistic expression.
- Where do choreographers get ideas for dances?
DA:Cr1.1.PreK-1.1
Respond using movement elements and skills to a series of sensory stimuli (e.g. music/sound, text, objects/props, images, symbols, observed dance through video or live performance).