Presentations

BEYOND THE POWERPOINT and TALK ABOUT IT are workshops created to challenge students to think beyond the text of her books and to learn about the process of creating an illustrated non-fiction work.

FROM GLOBAL TO LOCAL is an exciting presentation developed by Margy. To read more about FROM GLOBAL TO LOCAL, click here.

DISCOVER YOUR WORLD is a presentation Margy has developed, in collaboration with Anne Sibley O'Brien, the illustrator of Margy's books.

In this presentation, Margy and Annie introduce their five award-winning nonfiction picture books, exploring global cultures through the lens of human commonalities — walls, immigrant stories, traditions for welcoming babies, and the daily life of children.

The workshop includes an interactive discussion led by Margy, engaging students in the content of the books and the research and editing process she and Annie use for their collaborations. Meanwhile, Annie will create a full color painting of a child’s face, demonstrating her process and the medium of water soluble pastels. At the end of the day, the four sketches will be given to the school.

Students will be encouraged to ask questions throughout the workshop.

Margy and Annie will present up to four one hour workshops per day. Each workshop should have no more than 50 students. We will tailor the focus of our workshops for individual schools by incorporating a curriculum connection (i.e. a country, region or continent, a subject such as geography, values such as friendship, cooperation, teamwork, or topics such as games, languages, homes or transportation).

Workshops for Teachers

Besides Margy's numerous presentations for students, she also offers a number of workshops for teachers, including NO MORE BORING QUESTIONS: DEVELOPING QUESTIONS FOR THE CRITICAL THINKER, which teaches strategies that enable students to ask upper level, critical thinking skills. These interdisciplinary strategies address issues of fairness, justice and global awareness, and help students frame questions that can be used as research topics and discussion starters.

AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY is a workshop Margy has developed to help teachers understand how to teach about the African continent. A powerpoint presentation introduces Margy's book AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY, which focuses on the daily life of twenty-five African countries. Teachers then participate in a session that translates the ideas and information from the book into challenging, relevant activities. Learn how to enrich the curriculum about the African continent from handouts about lessons and projects that can be replicated in the classroom.