Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell

About Terry Lee Marzell

Terry Lee Marzell holds a bachelor's degree in English from Cal State Fullerton and a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Cal State San Bernardino. She also holds a certificate for Interior Design Level 1 from Mt. San Antonio College. She has been an educator in the Corona Norco Unified School District for more than 30 years.

Available freebies created by Terry Lee Marzell

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The free resources below are available for you to download and copy. Enjoy!

If You’re Going to Dance, You Have to Pay the Fiddler
A Winter Holidays Diversity Play in Five Scenes

by Terry Lee Marzell

Heather Hunter and her brother Jeremy learn about the winter holiday customs of their friends while celebrating their own family’s traditions. Humorous banter, a little mystery, and an important life lesson make this play a hit with younger adolescent audiences. Written by Terry Lee Marzell. This work is in the public domain.

Download  Winter Holidays Play (146 downloads)

More Freebies

Terry Lee Marzell has created a number of digital stories and videos which have been uploaded to YouTube. Feel free to view and share these educational resources with your students.

Glastonbury Abbey

An educational presentation about Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury, England.

The Book of Kells

An educational presentation showing the ancient Celtic Book of Kells, which is housed in the Trinity Library of Dublin, Ireland.

Pictures by Chinese Children

A presentation of pictures created by Communist Chinese children depicting their environment to be used for educational purposes.

Children of the World Paint Jerusalem

Educational video showing paintings of Jerusalem created by children of the world.

Carlotta the Cook’s Mixed Bowl of Nuts

An original digital story that celebrates National Nut Day, October 22.

Wilma Melson Grant authors guide to theater programs

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Retired elementary school teacher Wilma Melson Grant of San Pablo, California, has published an informative guide to running successful theater arts programs. Photo credit: Delta Kappa Gamma, International.

Many excellent educators are often more than willing to share their expertise with colleagues. This is true of Wilma Melson Grant, a retired elementary school teacher and theater arts director from California who has just published a guide book for establishing and running successful theater arts programs in the schools.

Elementary school teachers or parents of an elementary school student who love the theater but have no theatrical experience would benefit greatly from consulting the newly released book, entitled Children’s Theater: Setting Their Spirits Free!  Wilma authored the guide to give assistance to colleagues and others involved organizing and running a children’s drama program. In the volume, Wilma gives information for teaching students how to write their own script from their favorite book, and how to go on to write their own version of popular stories. She shows fellow teachers how to integrate drama and theater into their classrooms by providing tested strategies. She also shows how to assess and organize the skills of parents and faculty members into the essential roles of building and supporting a drama club.

Prior to her retirement, Wilma taught for many years at Tara Hills Elementary School in San Pablo, California. There she established and directed the Drama Club in 1990 as a response to multiple budget cuts which decimated arts programs in the schools.

For the many years she dedicated to working with theater arts programs in public schools, Wilma has earned many accolades. She has been inducted into Delta Kappa Gamma International, an organization that supports women educators. In addition, she garnered the KPIX5 San Francisco Jefferson Award in 2013. The Jefferson Awards are awarded at both national and local levels. Local winners are individuals who engage in extraordinary public service work without the expectation of recognition. This was especially true of Wilma, who continued her work of bringing a fully-formed drama program to school sites, even after she retired from the classroom.

To purchase Wilma’s book, click on this link to amazon.com or this link to Barnes and Noble. Enjoy!

DC’s Sharon Ambrose: English teacher and politician

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High School English teacher Sharon Ambrose established herself as a distinguished political leader on the Council of the District of Columbia. Photo credit: The Washington Post.

Many hardworking educators leave the classroom to establish themselves in politics. One of these was Sharon Ambrose, a teacher from Illinois who went on to become a distinguished political leader on the Council of the District of Columbia.

Sharon was born on Sept. 3, 1939, on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. In 1961, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Saint Xavier University in Chicago. Saint Xavier is a private Catholic women’s school. While in high school and college, Sharon was actively involved in forensics and public speaking. In fact, she met Mike Ambrose, the man she eventually married, at a forensics event. Following her graduation, Sharon worked as a high school English teacher and a PTA leader in Chicago for several years.

In 1964, Sharon’s husband accepted a job with the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, DC, and the family relocated to that city. Almost immediately, Sharon launched herself into volunteer work for the presidential election, a supporter of Lyndon Johnson. She also became very involved with volunteering at the school her children attended, teaching an elementary after-school writing program and becoming president of the school’s PTA. Later she taught courses at the city’s Friendship House that helped individuals earn their GED, a high school equivalency program.

Sharon was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 6. She held this post from 1997 to 2007. When the former teacher took office, the city was struggling to recover from insolvency. Sharon became the Chair of the Council’s committee on economic development, opposing projects that she saw as unreasonably expensive. At the same time, she successfully lobbied for major developments in her ward, which includes Capitol Hill and the Southwest Waterfront and Navy Yard. She was largely responsible for persuading the Washington Nationals to locate their ballpark in a formerly industrial section of the waterfront.

Sadly, this Chalkboard Politician passed away on April 4, 2017, in Washington, DC. She was 77 years old. To learn more about this amazing educator and politician, see this interview published by the Capitol Hill History Project.

Missouri’s Kathryn Sansone: Former teacher, fitness trainer, and author

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Missouri’s Kathryn Sansone: Former teacher, fitness trainer, and author. Photo credit: Kathryn Sansone. Photo credit: Kathryn Sansone

Many fine classroom teachers also established themselves as successful businesspeople. One of these is Kathryn Demmas Sansone, an elementary school teacher in Missouri who also has a national following as a certified fitness trainer.

Kathryn was born on Jan. 1, 1962 in St. Louis, Missouri. As a young girl, she attended Clayton High School. Following her high school graduation in 1980, she attended first Texas Christin University at Fort Worth, and then St. Louis University. There she earned her degree win Elementary Education in 1985. She then taught fourth through sixth grade for four years at oak Hill/Villa Duchesne.

Kathryn captured national attention for her heartwarming and hands-on approach to managing motherhood and life. She is best known for being celebrated by Oprah Winfrey as an “unforgettable mom.” The former teacher went from being a member of the talk show host’s audience to being a featured guest on the television show. She was interviewed by Oprah for Mother’s Day 2003 in O, the Oprah Magazine. In addition, Kathryn has published a book, Woman First, Family Always, which became a top-1000 seller on amazon.com. A mother of ten, she has been interviewed for Inside Edition and magazines such as Parents, Fit Pregnancy, and Child. Furthermore, she has been honored as Chief Everything Officer by America Online. She also serves as a member of the President’s Physical Fitness Council and as a delegate of the Global Wellness Summit.