More Than a Book: Creating Curriculum to Bring Rider’s Magic Mark to Life

To me reading children's literature is much more than just reading the words on the pages! What are the goals you have when reading to your children and students?

I wrote my first children’s book! You can find out more about Rider's Magic Mark here:

But, as a teacher, I could not stop at just writing a children's book.

When I began creating Rider’s Magic Mark, I knew the story needed to be more than something a child could pick up, read, and put back on a shelf. As an educator, I kept thinking about what could happen after the last page was turned. What conversations might begin? What might a teacher notice in a child? What might a family talk about around the kitchen table? How could the story become a starting point for helping children recognize their own strengths and appreciate the differences in others?

That is when the curriculum began to take shape.

I created two FREE curriculum resources to accompany Rider’s Magic Mark, along with a collection of free resources for teachers and families available on the Rider’s Magic Mark website. Each resource was created with the same goal in mind: to help adults use the book intentionally while still allowing children room to explore, wonder, talk, and discover.

 Rider’s Magic Mark Curriculum Companion 

The first curriculum is a companion to the book itself. I wanted teachers and families to have ideas for what they could do when they read Rider’s Magic Mark without turning the story into a worksheet or another lesson that children simply have to complete.

Sometimes we need to remember that children can simply read a book for the joy of reading.

The curriculum companion encourages adults to approach the story in different ways. Read it for fun. Take a picture walk before reading the words. Stop and explore the illustrations. Become a story detective. Listen for new vocabulary. Look for hidden words and details within the illustrations. Make connections to social-emotional learning. Ask questions. Wonder together. Let children lead the conversation.

The goal is not to tell teachers exactly how they must read the book.

Instead, it is to provide possibilities.

Every classroom is different. Every family is different. Every group of children brings its own experiences, questions, personalities, and interests. The curriculum companion is intentionally flexible so teachers and families can select the ideas that make sense for their children.

One day, a teacher might use the book for a picture walk. Another day, the class might focus on vocabulary. Another reading might lead to a conversation about kindness, differences, confidence, or empathy.

The same book can become a different experience each time it is opened.

Growing Gratitude and Confidence: A Caring Classroom Curriculum

The second curriculum grew from a bigger question.

What if the ideas found within Rider’s Magic Mark could become part of the classroom culture instead of being limited to one read-aloud?

That question led me to create Growing Gratitude and Confidence: A Caring Classroom Curriculum.

This is a two-week journey centered on gratitude, confidence, kindness, and community. Rather than simply giving teachers a list of activities, I wanted to create a practical, step-by-step guide that could help teachers intentionally build these ideas into their classroom experiences.

The curriculum includes suggested scripts, activities, games, conversations, and social-emotional learning connections. I also included letters for families because I believe the work becomes even more meaningful when children experience consistent messages of kindness, encouragement, and belonging both at school and at home.

The letters can be changed, adapted, shortened, or expanded in whatever way best fits a teacher's classroom and families.

That flexibility was important to me.

I did not want to create a curriculum that told teachers, "This is the only way to do this." I wanted to create a resource that teachers could make their own.

The curriculum is designed with Pre-K through Grade 2 in mind and is aligned with developmentally appropriate practice, NAEYC principles, and CASEL social and emotional learning competencies.

During the two-week experience, teachers introduce concepts through conversations, games, activities, reflection, and SEL connections. But the learning does not have to end when the two weeks are over.

Additional lessons and reteaching ideas are included so teachers can continue incorporating these concepts throughout the year.

That was intentional.

I do not believe gratitude, kindness, confidence, or belonging are things we teach once and check off a list.

They are developed through experiences, conversations, relationships, modeling, practice, and repetition.

Gratitude Is More Than Saying "Thank You"

One of the ideas that became especially important to me while developing this curriculum is that teaching gratitude is about much more than teaching children to say "thank you."

Gratitude can help children notice and recognize the good in themselves, in other people, and in the world around them. These experiences can support the development of a healthy self-concept, emotional resilience, empathy, positive relationships, and a sense of belonging.

When children learn to recognize their own strengths and the strengths of others, they begin to see that everyone brings something valuable to a community.

That connects directly to Rider’s Magic Mark.

Rider's mark is visible. The marks and characteristics of the other children in the story remind us that what makes each person unique may look different from one child to another. Some differences are easy to see. Others are not.

Children do not have to be the same to belong.

They do not have to have the same strengths, interests, personalities, or experiences.

They each bring something unique to the table.

Creating a Culture That Continues Beyond the Book

Ultimately, my hope for Growing Gratitude and Confidence is not that teachers complete two weeks of activities.

My hope is that the experiences become woven into the everyday life of the classroom.

Perhaps a teacher begins asking children to notice someone's kindness. Perhaps children begin recognizing their own strengths. Perhaps a class starts celebrating encouragement rather than simply achievement. Perhaps children become more comfortable talking about differences. Perhaps a child who once struggled to see what they contribute to the classroom begins to realize, "I matter here."

Those small moments matter.

Over time, they can help create a classroom culture rooted in kindness, encouragement, inclusion, mutual respect, and belonging.

And that is really what I wanted these resources to do.

I wanted to create tools that help teachers naturally embed gratitude, kindness, confidence, and social-emotional learning into the day rather than treating them as something separate from the rest of the curriculum.

Resources for Teachers and Families

The curriculum is only one part of the resources available through the Rider’s Magic Mark website.

I have also created a collection of free resources that teachers and families can use, adapt, and make their own. Some resources can be used alongside the book, while others can be incorporated into everyday classroom and family routines.

I believe resources should be useful, accessible, and flexible.

Teachers know their children.

Families know their children.

The resources are there to support those relationships, not replace them.

Everything I have created around Rider’s Magic Mark comes back to the same belief that inspired the book in the first place: children deserve opportunities to recognize what makes them special, discover their strengths, appreciate the uniqueness of others, and know that they belong.

I may have started by writing a children's book, but I quickly realized the story needed somewhere to go after the final page.

It needed conversations.

It needed connections.

It needed opportunities to explore.

It needed teachers and families.

And most importantly, it needed children to see themselves and one another a little differently.

That is why Rider’s Magic Mark became more than a book.

It became the beginning of a collection of resources designed to help children celebrate differences, discover strengths, and shine bright.

I hope you will check it out!

---Dr. Tisha Shipley

Check out my Rider's Magic Mark website for free curriculum and the book!

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