Dianne is happy to work with teachers and respond to student questions.
For schools seeking virtual visits or online content, Dianne offers a free 30 minute Q/A or a paid online book club of up to 4-sessions for any of her titles.
The book club includes 1-hour Zoom meetings with short author presentations, interactive discussions, and critical thinking activities. Students are assigned specific chapters to read before each session.
Inquire about details and pricing through the contact page.
Send students working on book reports or class projects
to my FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page for more information.
JADIE IN FIVE DIMENSIONS
ELEANOR, ALICE, & THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS
- Teaching Guide for Eleanor Alice and the Roosevelt Ghosts
- Holiday House Educator’s Guide for Eleanor Alice & the Roosevelt Ghosts
- Historical photographs of Roosevelts and other characters in the book
- YouTube Video: My Experience Ghost Hunting
- Holiday House Star Storytime on Instagram: Read Aloud and Personal Ghost Story
THE EIGHTH DAY SERIES
- Eighth Day Teaching Guide
- Discussion Questions for The Eighth Day
- Eighth Day Activity Sheets
- Scholastic Book Fair Book Talk Skit
- Photographs of Teotihuacan, taken on a research trip for the climactic scene in The Eighth Day
- Video Introduction of The Eighth Day
- The Inquisitors Mark Discussion Questions and Activities
- The Morrigans Curse Discussion Questions and Activities
- Photographs of Central Park, NYC, taken on a research trip for The Inquisitor’s Mark
In-Person School Visits
As a former teacher with 25 years experience, Dianne can connect her presentation to your school’s curriculum. Potential topics are listed below, but visits can also be personalized to meet specific needs. Inquire through the Contact page of this website about honorariums for school visits.
Presentations
- Setting and Research – How authors combine personal experience and internet research to create vivid and believable settings. Dianne shares examples and photos of in-person research (such as climbing a pyramid, planning a breakout in Central Park Zoo, and attending a ghost-hunting class) she conducted in order to get her stories right.
- Dare to Begin – Dianne discusses her beginnings as an author, how stories begin, and various methodologies for beginning a story (ex: pantstering, outlining, and everything in between). Part “How to.” Part “Why Do We?” And part “Let’s Get Started.
Writing Workshops
- Point of View – Examples of first, second, and third person POV w/accompanying writing activity
- Writing Emotion – Lesson on showing emotion through character body language w/accompanying writing activity
- Writing Spooky — How to write a spooky story using setting and mood w/accompanying writing activity
SKYPE/Zoom Interviews
Students should be prepped for the interview with questions for the author.
Endorsements
“Dianne Salerni’s workshop on point of view greatly engaged our sixth graders by immersing the students in authentic, high-interest examples of the different points of view authors use while writing. Mrs. Salerni guided the students in determining why an author chooses to write using a certain point of view. Students were then encouraged to use their own samples of writing to practice these concepts and skills. Her workshop promoted independent thinking while getting the students excited to learn from one of their favorite authors!
~~ Amanda Norris, 6th Grade Teacher, Avon Grove Charter School, PA
“Dianne is a seasoned teacher, so she’s at ease in front of a group of students and she knows how to plan presentations that hold students’ interest. Sixth grade students were focusing on setting when she visited, so she planned a setting-related presentation for them. Students in grades 4-8 were also thrilled to read Dianne’s Eighth Day series, which appeals to a broad range of middle school and upper elementary school readers; we sold out of her books when she visited, and, almost a year later, students fought over copies of the third book in the series when it came out. Since she also has books out for high school readers, she would be a terrific visitor for any school.
~~ Laurie Morrison, Middle School English Teacher, Friends Select School, PA
“What’s the next best thing to having Dianne Salerni, the author of the “Eighth Day” Series come to your school in person? At Falcon Cove Middle School, we found that a SKYPE visit was the answer ! Even though she was in Pennsylvania and we were in Florida, it was so easy to get set up and chat as if we were in the same room. My students even got to meet her cat who wanted to be part of the discussion. Thank you Dianne Salerni for helping my students to appreciate the book even more! We look forward to possibly doing this with “The Inquisitor’s Mark.”
~~Marcia Alexander, Media Specialist, Falcon Cove Middle School, FL
“I liked listening to Dianne Salerni’s speech about her books. It was interesting and exciting to get an author’s perspective on her own book. I thought my questions were answered very thoroughly and I appreciated the time she took to answer them. I enjoyed how she had her daughter do the calendar. It made her seem more genuine and I felt as though she was speaking from the heart and not the brain.
~~ Evan, Student, Winston Preparatory School, NJ
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