Teacher Resources
FAMILY VACATIONS and READING: Teachers – Encourage parents to read books together as a family. They can use Waymarking.com or Geocachcing.com to help their students make real-world connections with the book, characters and author! See the Waymarking (like Geocaching) category, Literary Book Marks for Families. They can even plan a family vacation around one of the books found at the site. Also, if a Waymarking site is near your school, you could take a class trip to the site.
Students can create a “Flat Family” cutout and use this in their Waymarking picture when they find a site, if they don’t want to include a personal photo. Using a GPS (Smart Phone works fine), families locate one of the sites related to a book they’ve read, then log in their find online as they join others in this exciting family experience. If a Waymark doesn’t exist for their book, they (or you!) can create their own by noting the site’s coordinates and entering in to the Waymarking category.
Sontag Classroom Resources:
- Ancient Elements Series Resources, including chapter quizzes, a WebQuest, lesson plans, and Accelerated Reader Questions —https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1s1PBdekcbkYm0xQUJtLUZaY1E
- Ancient Mesopotamia Lessons —https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1s1PBdekcbkN1B3cW5GQkMwOEE
- Rising Hope Teaching Resources —https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1s1PBdekcbkZ3hXRGZfZ2FoTVk
- A Learning Theory for 21st Century Students —https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1s1PBdekcbkaXRXaUQyMFowaG8
You can use this QR code to download Dr. Sontag’s bio page and its hotlinks.
AUTHOR TALK TOPICS
Email Dr. Sontag to book an author visit. Here is a list of topics she has addressed.
- Inspiration and Motivation – How Do We Find Them?
– Example of Ryan Murphy, Three-time Olympic gold medalist
– What inspiration and motivation means, and how I find these for my writing
– How students can find and maintain inspiration and motivation - The Writing Process – Like Baking a Cake!
– What’s involved in the fiction writing process
– Personal writing-process examples
– Tips for students when writing fiction - Dreams Are Like Hard Boiled Eggs
– How I pursued my childhood dream of becoming an author
– Help students identify dreams they have
– Motivate students to pursue their dreams
- Read below to see what others have said about visiting and hearing Marie speak.
What Others are Saying
Thank you for your fun, friendly and information packed presentation. The students loved the story line, the in-class reading, the artifacts and of course, the freebies!
We eagerly anticipate your next book in the series. Best wishes from the Lion's den
Mr. LivingstonWhat a delightful way to learn about an ancient culture!
Principal, El Carmelo School, Palo AltoChuck MerrittDr. Sontag captures the Ancient Mesopotamia culture in a captivating tale of a young boy's survival. Armed with his lucky dagger, Sam sets out on an adventure where he encounters numerous challenges and foibles, leading him to a lesson in forgiveness. A great read!
Educator: Assistant SuperintendentDr. Donna Lewis
