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"Mary was great! |
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"She was absolutely fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her. She is a dynamic speaker and so knowledgeable. Schools Visits
I enjoy working with students and teachers. My programs are correlated to Common Core Standards. |
"Mary is a very |
I take a practical, hands-on, interactive approach, combining my own writing journey with exercises designed to give students confidence in their abilities while teaching solid writing skills. I speak frequently in the community and presents workshops in schools, libraries, bookstores, at camps and conferences. The programs listed below are examples of what I have presented before, but I also work with teachers and librarians to customize my presentations so students can get the most benefit from my visit.
My 30-years of professional writing experience includes:
- six books published for young people
- Ten-years as a television reporter in Spokane and Seattle
- On-the-scene radio reporter
- Eight years as a newspaper columnist
- Published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers
- Published poetry as a teenager
For questions about my school visits, or to schedule a visit:
MaryCronkFarrell (at) gmail.com
509-838-5371
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Where Does Courage Come From?
Fannie Sellins lived in the Gilded Age of American Industrialization when the Carnegies wore jewels and their workers wore rags. She confronted anti-immigrant prejudice and discrimination. She stood up against violence. Irena Sendler lived in Nazi-occupied Poland. She protested religious bigotry and persecution. She acted against racism and hate crime. Both women showed up daily, working to improve the lives of poor women and children. Fannie and Irena risked their lives for what they believed, risked their lives fighting the very same injustices that plague our time. What can we learn from Fannie and Irena? How do we find courage for our time and our circumstances? Whether at school, at home or in our community in the midst of our everyday lives we can take small steps that add up to a big difference. Ordinary people busy with their daily routine can find courage to stand up and make life better in our communities. This 50-minute interactive workshop is suitable for ages 10 and up. It works best with smaller groups such as individual classrooms. It may be combined with a more in-depth writing workshop 75-90 minutes in length. The Feminine Face of Courage
PURE GRIT: HOW AMERICAN WWII NURSES SURVIVED BATTLE AND PRISON CAMP IN THE PACIFIC is the little-known true story of 79 army and navy nurses captured POW by the Japanese in the Philippines shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In this 45-minute program I tell the story of one nurse, using her words, photos that didn't make the book and historical film footage from WWII. This presentation is suitable for assemblies of 5th-12th grade students. With smaller groups of students in individual classrooms, it may be combined with more a more in-depth question and answer session, and/or a writing workshop 75-90 minutes in length. 
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Meet the Author
Empowering Reluctant Writers (and Confident Writers, too)
Thriving Through Adversity: A Workshop Exploring Character
- 30-minute program suitable for large or small groups of all ages
Empowering Reluctant Writers (and Confident Writers, too)
- 45-60-minutes depending on grade level. Suitable for
4th - 12th graders.
Thriving Through Adversity: A Workshop Exploring Character
- 30-minute if combined with 30-minute Meet the Author Program
- 60-minute recommended for 5th – 8th grades
An Explosion or Learning
My historical novel Fire in the Hole! is based on true events, including an explosion that turned the course of Idaho history. It's the story of 14-year-old Mick Shea, son of a union miner in Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Mining District in the late 19th century labor wars.
Students will see a hands-on demonstration of museum quality mining artifacts, showing how miners worked before electricity and power drills. I talk about how I conducted research for the novel and show students historical photos and newspaper articles. Includes a question and answer period.
My historical novel Fire in the Hole! is based on true events, including an explosion that turned the course of Idaho history. It's the story of 14-year-old Mick Shea, son of a union miner in Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Mining District in the late 19th century labor wars.
Students will see a hands-on demonstration of museum quality mining artifacts, showing how miners worked before electricity and power drills. I talk about how I conducted research for the novel and show students historical photos and newspaper articles. Includes a question and answer period.
- 30-minute large group presentation or suitable for K-4 classrooms
- 60-minute presentation suitable for 5th-12th classrooms
- 90-minute presentation includes a writing workshop 5th-12th classrooms
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Fiction Writing Workshop
Non-Fiction Writing Workshop
Revision: The Secret to Good Writing
- 30-minute Plotting & Character
- 60-minute
Plotting & Character, Action, Dialogue,
Description, Detail
Non-Fiction Writing Workshop
- 30-minute What? Why? How? =Content/Purpose/Audience
- 60-minute What? Why? How? with fundamentals of research
Revision: The Secret to Good Writing
- 30-minute recommended for grades 3rd – 8th
- 60-minute recommended for grades 5th – 8th
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