School Visits

You can invite illustrator Mark Penta and writer T.M. Murphy to visit your elementary and middle schools! The Massachusetts-based co-creators of the Totally Weird Activity Books have spent years teaching kids to create. Ted's popular  'Just Write It'  courses have been a success for decades, while Mark has taught cartooning and drawing lessons to all ages, both privately and at schools like RISD. 

MARK & TED's SCHOOL VISIT MAY INCLUDE:

Individual classroom visits and / or large school assemblies

WHAT DO MARK & TED DO WHEN THEY VISIT SCHOOLS?

With Mark's iPad connected to your screens, they do a fun slideshow presentation and talk about their childhood friendship, how they discovered their passions for writing, drawing, and storytelling, and how they eventually collaborated to create the Totally Weird Activity Books, sharing their process for creating unique characters. 

They read the cliffhanger stories from the books and ask the students "What do you think happens next?" Hands raise instantly--imaginations are sparked!--and students tell Mark & Ted how the story should end. Wow! 

Next, with colorful bags in hand, Ted asks students to pick a word--a person, place, and object (For example: Disco Girl, Ice Cream Cone, Tropical Island). Using these random words, Mark draws a brand new totally weird character in real time, triggering laughter, amazement, and fun results! (These drawings are later emailed to your school and printed as handouts so students can color them for a school hallway art display!)

Finally, a Q&A session with the students caps off the presentation, along with a group photo (if allowed) and book signing for students who pre-ordered our books!

Mark & Ted will leave your students excited, educated, and inspired to write, draw, color, and even collaborate together on their own stories. If Mark & Ted can do it--so can they!

WHAT GRADES ARE IDEAL FOR A SCHOOL VISIT?

Grades 3-6 are ideal, because the Totally Weird Activity Books are meant to inspire creative writing in students. That said, Creative Coloring and Far-Out Fun! is often enjoyed (and colored) by younger K-2 students, and Mark & Ted love visiting those classrooms too. They can easily adjust their message and presentation times for shorter attention spans. 

For grades K-2

15 minute presentations are perfect.

For grades 3-6 

a 50 minute to 1 hour assembly works great. Shorter individual classroom visits would work as well.

WHAT DO MARK & TED CHARGE TO APPEAR?

Prices will depend on different factors:

Location of school

Full or half day visit?

Multiple class visits, or just an assembly?

Book orders (or not)

Please contact us to describe your particular interest and requests!

PRAISE:

"I highly recommend scheduling a school visit with Mark and T.M. They are a dynamic and engaging duo, and they bring the writing process to life. During their presentation, our students were captivated, and more importantly, they were eager to put pen to paper!" 

- John Antonucci, Superintendent, North Attleboro Schools, Massachusetts