From Educators
On more than one occasion, students have opted to skip recess to stay and hear more from Teresa. She takes this as the highest compliment!
"Teresa Funke is a dynamic speaker and compelling story teller. Our students were riveted to their seats and eager to read her books after hearing her speak. Her assembly made history come alive and she easily shifted topics as she noticed increased interest or curiosity in related themes. She helped our students to relate inquiry and research to fictional writing."
-- Martha Petty, Media Specialist, Harris Bilingual Immersion School
"Your visit with us was truly magical! The kids continue to talk about you and their writing. The teachers and the students were very impressed with the workshop model. We have had SEVERAL students fill out the sheet for their free book. Thanks again, Teresa!"
--Julie O'Farrell, Fifth Grade Teacher
"Thank you for visiting our 5th grade. They really enjoyed your visit and are excited to read the books. Your presentation was perfect! The length, information, and time for questions was very appropriate."
-- Mendy Rushing, Fifth Grade Teacher
"Teresa spoke to our entire student body about the experiences of children and teenagers during the second world war and how they worked to support their communities, their families and their country during this difficult period. Her presentation was an engaging look at the lives of students in the past and how they rose to the challenges of their time. She helped our students to understand that although they are young, they each have a very powerful voice that can inspire, challenge and encourage others to do their best. They can also work in their family, their school and their community to make the lives of others better and to make a positive difference in their world."
--Will Allen, Principal, Zach Elementary School
"Everyone was over-the-top pleased with Teresa Funke's presentation to our intergenerational group of seniors and 8th graders. Teachers, elders 60 and better, and many students praised her thoughtful remarks. Everyone left with sound writing advice that was easy to use."
--Bill Ellis, author and writer-in-residence at Sunset Middle School, Longmont, CO.
"The junior high students truly enjoyed Teresa's motivating talk. And many of them commented they loved her book. She has truly inspired many of us here."
-- Joanna L. Keiss, Librarian, St. Joseph School
"The learning my students received from your books and talk continued throughout the year. Months after we read the book, the kids started talking again about your books, and they remembered so much!! It was awesome! Thanks again for writing books that are interesting for kids and for teaching them about writing and WWII!
--Amy Nicholl, Fifth Grade Teacher
"The kids learned SO much from Teresa about writing and WWII. They were even able to make connections between that war and others!"
-- Jill Fenn, Fifth Grade Teacher
"It was amazing to me how interested I became in what you were saying. I can honestly say that was the quietest I've ever seen the seventh and eighth grade classes!"
--Julie Caito, Middle School Teacher
"One of my "reluctant readers" bought copies of two of your books after your talk and finished one over the weekend. She was SO excited to talk about it! We are all now doing an interview assignment with our grandparents in my class and the kids are having a blast! Thank you for inspiring us all!"
--Andrea Tomlinson, Fourth Grade Teacher
"Thank you for sharing your expertise with us! The students’ energy was buzzing when they got back to the classroom!"
--Katie Boisen, Fifth Grade Teacher
I can’t thank you enough for the time and interest you showed to our students. As we reflect back on the two days you were with us, the fifth graders are buzzing, “Oh, I think this is a golden nugget” or “That’s a silver nugget I can use in this story… I better hang on to that somewhere.” They thoroughly embraced your writing advice on the nuggets and on everything else. Both fifth grade classrooms have a renewed sense of excitement about their creative stories and even the pieces they have to write on Revolutionary War heroes."
--Robyn Franklin, Fifth Grade Teacher
"We were lucky to have Teresa Funke come to our school and speak with our 3-5th graders. She did a different writing workshop for each grade. I was amazed to see how interested and enthralled each class was with what she taught. Her books are great historical fiction that the kids love to read! They have been consistently on hold in our library ever since Teresa came."
--Jennifer Janssen, Elementary Media Specialist
"Words fall short of describing how much we all enjoyed your visit! Thank you!"
--Nona Winder, Fifth Grade Teacher
"Teresa, you have a lovely way of connecting with kids in ways that are interesting and engaging to them. My own students are now very curious to know about life in WWII America, and this ties in beautifully with a heritage project they will do in the spring. Thanks for enriching our curriculum and helping us make learning become real and alive."
--Liz Kennedy, Lincoln Middle School
"It was such a joy having you here to speak with the students. Hearing about how you gather ideas and information for your book was really interesting.I personally felt very inspired! I know the kids did, too. They are excited to read some of your books and be in touch with you with you when questions arise. Thank you for helping spark a love for writing and reading in our kids!" --Ashlyn Patton, 4th Grade Teacher
Your visit with us was truly magical! The kids continue to talk about you and their writing. The teachers and the students were very impressed with the workshop model. We have had SEVERAL students fill out the sheet for their free book. Thanks again, Teresa!
--Julie O'Farrell, Irish Elementary
"In my multi-grade 3-6 classroom, I teach a combined unit on Wyoming History, American History, and World History using the Japanese internment as the cornerstone of the unit and I am always looking for historical fiction and non-fiction texts to add to my unit. Your copies of The No-No Boys arrived and we had a fantastic literature circle! One of the boys kept the book to read again 🙂 Thank you again for such an insightful story; we had some powerful discussions and pondered "what would you do" questions often. We very much enjoyed this book and learned so much from it."
-- Molly Amen, multi-grade teacher
From Students
"Mrs. Funke taught us about World War II and shared her experience of being an author. Her visit helped inspire us to read more and find different ways to gain ideas for writing. Mrs. Funke taught us the first step to becoming an author is to find an original idea, and we had fun interviewing each other to find writing topics. Another thing we learned is that even if you don’t have a very good imagination, you can write down what you know in real life and that can take you really far with a story. In addition, we learned to look at a single picture and get a setting, characters, and situation.
We greatly enjoyed Mrs. Funke’s visit and are so excited to continue our own writing!"
-- Ms. Mcdermott's 5th Grade Class, Irish Elementary
"Thank you for teaching us about WWII. I learned so much from you about the war. I never knew that kids were so important in this time."
--Brittany, elementary
"Thank you for coming to our class and talking about your books and WWII. I learned so much!!!"
--Joanie, elementary
"I thought you were wonderful. I couldn't get my eyes off of you when you talked."
--Alex, elementary
"I read your book Remember Wake in one day. I could not put it down. And you really are a wonderful speaker."
--Julian, junior high
"Your presentation inspired me to want to read and write more. Your presentation never had a dull moment."
--Kara, junior high
"Thank you for your amazing presentation. It was amazing to me how interested I became in what you were saying. I can honestly say that was the quietest I've ever seen the seventh and eighth grade classes!"
--Caito, junior high
"I really enjoyed your presentation. You inspired me to try to find something I love to do."
--Emily, junior high
"Your speech inspired me to want to follow my dreams even more. Thank you SO much for coming and talking to us. You made a real difference."
--Katlin, junior high
"Before you came, I never really thought about how much different my life would be in another time and place. I may never write a book, but now I might try a littler harder on my school writing assignments."
--Kalinda, junior high
"Your substantial information on the theme of writing has inspired me to create my own short story."
--Zachary, junior high
"I have to say, your book is one of the best historical fiction books I've ever read."
--Marissa, junior high
"Your presentation truly inspired me to voice my feelings about the world around me."
--Daniel, junior high
"Thank you for your presentation today. It was very informative. It inspired me to write a lot more. It also inspired me to look into history more."
--Jarrod, junior high
"Thank you very much for coming to speak to us kids. I think many of us now (including me) are interested in becoming writers."
--Alexander, junior high
From Homeschoolers
Your books are outstanding! I use them as read alouds and have a hard time putting them down. We have learned so much. Thank you.
--Kelly Hawthorne, homeschool mom
“What an EXCITING series and curriculum to make history come alive for homeschoolers! We’ve been homeschooling for more than 12 years, and we just LOVE Teresa's books. Both my 13-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl sat in rapt attention as I read them the chapters. The lesson plans are creative and easy to understand and implement. Kudos to Teresa Funke for this wonderful series!
--Lisa Spires, writer and homeschooler
“True stories put together in a way that young people can relate to really get my daughter excited about history. The lesson plans and activities you provide are so straightforward, and the additional language arts exercises you include are just wonderful! The expression of moral conscience and love of country in your series is unmatched in books today.”
--Marguerite and Joe McKeon
“The No-No Boys is an engaging tale. My son got a good idea of what life really was like for kids his age in a very difficult situation. The homeschool packet is fantastic as well, because it offers fun and interesting ways to learn more about WWII. The activities are a far cry from 'busy work'. They are exercises in creative writing, drama, art and more.”
--Janet Otto, homeschooler
“Doing My Part brought WWII alive for my kids. It made them aware of all they take for granted. Each lesson stimulates student thought as to how they might have reacted if they were placed in the same situation. My students are eager for me to read the next book in the Home-Front Heroes series.”
--Beth Schaffer, Homeschooler and instructor at The Phonics Factory
"My 9-year-old daughter, who is a bit of a hesitant reader, has been devouring your Home-Front Heroes books. My older daughter (age 16) has heard me talk about Remember Wake enough that she took it and read it overnight. She told me the next morning that she couldn't sleep until she had finished it, and has so much more respect for the men who were there as well as the women here at home. She read Dancing in Combat Boots the next day, and thoroughly enjoyed it too!"
--Elaine Chism, homeschooler