Teachers/Librarians/Students

If you are in the Middle Tennessee area and you would like a visit from the author please send an e-mail to: lenny[at]leonardoverse.com

For a list of things to do in advance of an author visit, please download THINGS TO DO IN ADVANCE OF AN AUTHOR VISIT.

If you’re an educator, check below for lesson plans that coincide with state standards for both elementary and high school age students. There are also numerous tools that teachers can use in the classroom. If there is something that you don’t see that you’d like to, please feel free to let me know in the comment section. I will also have guest posts from some of my closest allies that include topics such as comics, recipes, movies, books, American History and more!

Tips for young writer…Never stop writing. Never stop giving up on your dreams. Your dream may not come true at the time that you had hoped but if you work hard and never give up you will write for the world to see. I have a file folder full of rejection letters from publishers and at the end of that file is my contract with Markosia for the graphic novel, Haven. I keep it so that some day when my daughter is working hard and feels like her dream won’t happen I can pull out that folder and tell her to never give up. I would also say learn as much as you can about writing. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “question everything with boldness” which in essence means do your research! Find things out for yourself and don’t take someone’s word for something. Dig!

For Elementary Age:

For fans of Jupiter Chronicles, download the Are you Callie or Ian? questions and find out who your kiddos are mostly like!

Think you know everything about Jupiter? Download the  Fun Jupiter Facts You Might Not Know About! and find out.

Who was Nikola Tesla? Find out!

Here’s a list of the Major Inventions of the Industrial Revolution.

For Teens:

Below is a list of study lessons available for use by teachers or librarians. All lessons are current objectives listed for Tennessee state standards.

Creative Writing (3012) – Grades 9-12

Goal Statement (per state standard):

Students often have the opportunity to experience expository writing in the classroom but have little time to develop imaginative writing. Creative Writing allows them to promote self-expression, to explore various writing styles, and to strive for variety in diction, sentence structure, and format.

Develop fluency, logic, clarity, and creativity!

Lesson: Choose a character from one of the paintings in the Haven graphic novel that can be found throughout the book. Write a short story surrounding that character using historical references. Be sure to create a situation using events surrounding that time period.

Write for a variety of audiences – Be versatile!

Lesson: Create a one-page synopsis of Haven using the main character suitable for ages 4-5, 6-8, 9-12

Discuss the differences in each. Explore diverse modes and genres of writing – Reach out!

Lesson: Write a Compare/Contrast Essay on the differences between:

Comic Book vs Graphic Novel
Graphic Novel vs Prose

Utilize evaluation and revision skills – Share your thoughts and talent!

Lesson: Using the short story lesson, create a writing group consisting of 4-5 of your peers and review each other’s work. Make suggestions so as to improve the story as if it were your own.

Focus on the steps of the process writing – It’s what must be done!

_______________________________________

Journalism (3008): Grades 9-12

Goal Statement:

The primary goal of any journalism program should be for students to improve oral and written communication skills. Many high school students seek opportunities to explore career possibilities in the media. Journalism programs should offer students many opportunities to excel in a variety of areas.

Learning Expectations: Oral

Demonstrate appropriate interviewing techniques.

Lesson: Create 5 characters in an original short story.

Use the character interview questions found in Haven Character Interview to answer on behalf of each character. Watch the story unfold!

Written

Demonstrate appropriate journalistic writing style for various media.

Lesson: Request the press release written by Markosia Enterprises for Haven. Write a press release based on the work of your choice.

Use Microsoft Word to compose, edit, and revise work for publication.

Lesson: Using the short story written for the Creative Writing session based on the Haven paintings, prepare a submission of your own for publication.

Write for an intended audience, recognizing the importance of ethics in information gathering and reporting.

Lesson: Use the event at the end of the Haven graphic novel to describe the events from the viewpoint of a news reporter or blogger leaving questions unanswered for later investigation.

Demonstrate editing and revision techniques to produce work suitable for publication/production.

Lesson: Using a scriptwriting format, write a pilot episode of a 30-minute production of the short story suitable for a young audience.

Visual

Create visual effects by utilizing graphic designs, either technologically generated (if available)or original work.

Lesson: Using a script writing format, write a pilot episode of a 30-minute production of the short story suitable for a young audience.

Note: These learning expectations for journalism reflect
student performance requirements for grades 9-12.
Students in grades 6-8 may participate in programs with
similar learning expectations with minor
adaptations.

Click on From Concepts to Comics to download the pdf.

CREATE YOUR OWN COMIC!

Comic Master has created an amazing tool for those wanting to create their own masterpiece. Also comes with lesson plans!

Click here to visit Comic Master.

Have fun!

*Special Note: Educators and Writers – if there is anything else you would like to see on the website please feel free to comment below. Thanks!

Reading List for Writers

Donald Maass as a leading literary agent, represents more than 100 fiction writers and sells more than 100 novels per year to top publishers in North America and overseas. He is the author of 14 pseudonymous novels and the books The Career Novelist and Writing the Breakout Novel. 

In this book, Linda Seger shows how to create strong, multidimensional characters in fiction, covering everything from research to character block. Interviews with today’s top writers complete this essential volume.

Creating Character Emotions will help writers find vivid ways to express emotion in their fiction. In 36 lessons, Ann Hood sheds new light on love, hate, fear, grief, guilt, hope, jealousy and other emotional states.