Workshops & Educational Coaching
Dan Walker is a teacher and a writer who grew up in Alaska.  With over thirty years of education experience, Walker has a breadth and depth of teaching and learning expertise.  He has worked as a fourth grade through college teacher and as a mentor and school improvement coach across rural Alaska.  His consulting work has taken him throughout Alaska from Anchorage to Barrow, Hooper Bay, and Perryville to Sitka where he works with principals, teachers, and students.   Drawn from these varied experiences are blogs, essays, professional articles, and fiction in published in magazines and literary journals such as the Journal of Geography, Alaska Magazine, and We Alaskan as well as a new novel for young people to be released in June of 2016.  Dan was named Teacher of the Year for Alaska in 1999. 
 
Expertise and background

• Ten years as teacher of the gifted
• Two years college based new teacher training
• Twenty-two years as classroom teacher
• Four years as new teacher mentor with Alaska Statewide Mentor Project.
• Five years a school improvement coach with Alaska DEED
• Curriculum development and committee work
• Teacher workshops on writing instruction, best practice, and effective implementation of researched based instruction

 
Services Dan Walker can provide

• Writing workshops with students third through twelfth grade.  He can spend a day or a week at school working with students and teachers, school-wide or specific classes.
• Writing instruction training for teachers: Various workshops for teachers with optional (and encouraged) follow-up session in person or long distance. What are the best practices in teaching writing; how does writing workshop work; what is the writing process and how is it used; how do I get my class started writing.
• Writing workshops for adults. From one hour to a full day is spent building confidence and competence of adults interested in writing from fiction, memoir, non-fiction and journaling.
• Instructional coaching.  Available to work one on one with educators to examine and improve their work through observation, coaching, and development of reflective practice.
• Teaching best practice workshops.  From one hour to full day workshops on improving instruction and classroom environment.
• Facilitating planning and goal setting meetings.  Support school improvement by leading school teams in the planning/ problem-solving process, and training for professional learning communities

 Author School Visits
Dan L Walker is a new author and old middle school teacher with a book specifically for middle school students.  He is available for School and library visits during this school year.  As a past Alaska Teacher of the Year, Dan can offer motivating and educational presentations for students, effective training for teachers, and writing workshops for adults in a day at your school.
Options Include:
School assembly or large group presentation: 40-50 minutes   A reading from Secondhand Summer and other writings, storytelling about how we write books and life in Alaska during the 1960’s, and a question and answer session. Optional book signing and sales.
 
Classroom visits (10- 30 students):
1: A reading from Secondhand Summer and other writings, storytelling about life in Alaska during the 1960’s, and a question and answer session.  40-50 minutes.
2: Reading using the author’s work and other readings to promote reading with students and model reading instruction for teachers. 30-50 minutes
3:  Writing workshop with students to promote writing fluency, responding to literature or developing personal narrative. 30-50 minutes
4. In person or SKYPE visits with classes that include a short reading, Q&A, and literary discussion with students who have or are reading Secondhand Summer.
 
Presentation for the public, evening or after school: 40-50 minutes.  A reading from Secondhand Summer and other writings, storytelling about life in the 60’s, and a question and answer session.  Book signing and sales afterward.
 
Workshops for teachers:  From 50 minutes to all day.   Reading and writing activities are that promote literacy and effective instruction.  Topics include writing workshop, using the writing process, assessing student writing, writing to read and reading to write.  Reading and writing across the curriculum.
 
Costs:  The charge for an author visit is $950 per day plus travel expenses.  Half days are possible if the author is going to be in the area.   Discounts for multiple schools and/or multiple days. 
 
Books:  Author visits include a signed book for the library.  Individual and class sets available from the author: $13 single copy.   $10 each for sets of six or more.
 
Read more or follow me Facebook https://www.facebook.com/danwalkeralaskanauthor/
Or on my blog at http://mybearlake.blogspot.com/