"I've taught writing to thousands of high school, college, and graduate students, but it wasn't until I began to work with my daughters to harness their creativity in storytelling that I realized these principles could be used for even younger kids too."
- Eric Koester, Georgetown Professor & Author
In the Classroom
Professor Eric Koester is the 2020 USASBE National Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year and Georgetown's only two-time Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year. His innovative courses and curriculum teach 'iterative writing,' leveraging the principles of entrepreneurship in the field of writing and books. He's utilized his principles to help more than 1,500 of his students publish books with nearly forty of his authors winning national book awards.
The Pennymores is a fantasy book that weaves the power of writing into a story in the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Narnia vein. Numerous teachers have used the book in the classroom as a way to complement reading and writing curriculums. To aid teachers and educators, we've created a series of workshops you can utilize independently or in connection with the book to help your students engage with creative writing through storytelling.
The Pennymores and these writing workshops have been used in classrooms and for students from ages 6 (first grade) up to age 14 (eighth grade). You are welcome to copy, use, utilize, modify, or take any of these materials for your classroom.
In addition, you are welcome to download copies (PDF or ebook) for your entire class or any individual students. Whether you'd simply like to have your students read the book or you'd like to incorporate creative writing lessons and tools, Professor Koester has made the book and these workshops available to any student in the world free of charge.
We've partnered with the Malala Fund to donate proceeds of the sale of the book to the organization. The Malala Fund was formed by Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai to support children's literacy.
We've made the book available to any student, teacher, & librarian free of charge to support this mission.
Creative Writing Workshops
We've designed four creative story writing workshops appropriate for kids as young as six and as old as fourteen. The workshops included a worksheet, slides/graphics, and videos of a real-live exercise you can use in your classroom or to create your own exercises. These workshops are fun, active, and designed to help any student create the foundations to write more compelling stories.