Ready to bring some drama to your classroom? 🎬 In this episode of Picture This, host Adam Lehrhaupt chats with children's book and graphic novel author Marcy Colleen, who uses her theater background to create dynamic and emotionally rich stories for young readers. A former teacher herself, Marcy shares invaluable insights and activities for making literature more engaging and inclusive for all students.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to use theatrical techniques like pacing, rhythm, and emotional beats to captivate an audience during a story reading.
- Why teacher's guides should be more than just worksheets and how they can be used across subjects.
- How to use quiet moments to draw students in and create a powerful sense of suspense.
- The crucial importance of diversity in literature and making room for all voices at the table.
- Fun, cross-curricular activities like a "point of view" exercise and a "character outline" to help students deepen their understanding of a story.
Marcy's Book Bag Recommendations:
- Penguinaut! by Marcy Colleen
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- Alfie (The Turtle That Disappeared) by Thyra Heder
Creative Prompts & Activities:
- Character Outline: Draw a character outline on a large piece of paper. Inside, write what you know about the character. Outside, write what you want to know. Then, write a story to answer the questions on the outside!
- The "Quiet Moment" Reading: Practice reading a favorite picture book, using very quiet whispers during moments of suspense to draw your audience in.
Don't just read a story—perform it! 📖 Like, share, and subscribe to Picture This for more ways to ignite a love of reading in your students.
YouTube Video Chapters
- 0:00 - Introduction and Background Connections
- 0:11 - Theater Influence on Writing
- 5:14 - Creating Engaging Educator Guides
- 9:00 - Curriculum Development and Classroom Activities
- 13:24 - Diversity in Literature and Storytelling
- 22:37 - Capturing Emotion and Rhythm in Writing
- 25:33 - Adam's Book Bag: Marcy's Top Picture Book Recommendations
- 27:14 - A "Story Spark" on Diversity & Inclusion
- 34:48 - Final Thoughts & Where to Find Marcy
- 35:24 - Outro
Host
Adam Lehrhaupt
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.