Happy New Year!

Just received my copy of A Velocity of Being Letters to a Young Reader edited by Maria Popova & Claudia Bedrick. It's a beautiful book from concept to execution. Each inspirational letter is accompanied by a phenomenal piece of art. 
I've linked the title above to Maria Popova's site formerly brainpickings, now called The Marginalian  and more information about the book. The Marginalian is a fave place of mine to hang out and read online. Check it out. That's it. Oh, and best wishes for 2019 and beyond.

READ, READ, READ

As the 2018-2019 school year gets underway, I want to stress the importance of READING and challenge everyone to make reading one of the most important activities of every day. 

Many items have invaded the school day AND our lives in general making the most important activity of every day a luxury in many classrooms and homes. Reading aloud and independent reading are the two most important activities that should happen every day, in every classroom, in EVERY subject and in every home by every student, teacher and family.

Make reading a priority. The best way to become a reader is to read. Read a book that you can understand. You may have to look up a few words, ask a teacher or other person about a short passage. No matter what grade level or subject area - yes, even math and physical education, there are books that can be read to entice, inform, embellish and entertain. 

If you see students 4 or 5 days a week, certainly there is time to read. If you see students only once a week, devote part of your class together to reading and include a required reading book outside the class. Conversely, if you and your family are working and running around with activities and chores, there is still a way in every day to make time for reading for the entire family. 

Below are a few themed booklists to get you started. If you don't see what you need, take a look at some of my previous posts or inbox me with what your grade level, subject matter or particular student that can never find anything to read - the more specific you are with your goals and objectives, the better the suggestion. The more you read - the more you know... 

Reading Rockets Books By Theme

Pre-18th Century to Present Materials and Recommended Reading

Emily's Lists of Science Books for Kids of All Ages

Oprah's Favorite Books

EVERY STUDENT IS A SHINING STAR

Shop your local indie bookstore or visit your local library.

HAPPY NEW (SCHOOL) YEAR! Make this the best school year ever. Keep it simple, enjoy each moment and focus on your students. One of my favorite mantras is "work hard, show respect and be responsible." What are some ways we can model this for our students and children?

As parents make sure your child is ready to learn. I recommend reading My Shining Star by Rosemary Wells pictured to the left.

As teachers we should always be prepared and treat every student as though they were our own child or our favorite niece or nephew. My Shining Star is for everyone. Adapt it's ten principles to your teaching practice and classroom "rules." Students know when a teacher cares and respects them. Students know when a teacher is prepared. Students want things to be fair but understand that fair does not always mean the same thing for each student. 

When we model our expectations as adults and accept the responsibility of being a parent or teacher FIRST students will notice. It doesn't mean everyday will be easy, it does mean you are modeling the attributes you expect from them. Walk the talk.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME!

Check the library or shop your local indie bookstore.

I just finished reading The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson. Truth be told, it's been sitting in my pile for sometime and it's a level T so that means a couple hours for a "grown up" reader! But I digress, the year is 1948, the hero is Jackie Robinson and the author of this mostly true story is Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon. I absolutely love the cover and would reinforce one of my favorite teaching mantras, "every picture tells a story." We would start by looking at the picture and imagine what the story might be about. The story is a perfect read for baseball season in 3rd or 4th grade - with a teacher leading and in addition to presenting a love of family and baseball it touches themes of friendship, prejudice and self-control. If you see your students every day you could easily read this book in two weeks. 

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Other books that could also be read with this title include the following:
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson & Kadir Nelson
Who was Jackie Robinson? by Gail Herman
We Are The Ship Story and Paintings by Kadir Nelson
Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey

The list is actually endless when it comes to forming a cohesive, meaningful and FUN unit around these books. In book me if you need assistance, otherwise let me know if you do a unit like these and how it goes.

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Here are a few more resources to add to your planning:
MLB's (Major League Baseball) Breaking Barriers in Sports and in Life
http://www.scholastic.com/motherdaughterbookclub/pdf/Scholastic-MDBC-HeroTwoDoorsDown.pdf
https://www.floridamediaed.org/uploads/6/1/4/2/61420659/2017es-herotwodoorsdown.pdf
https://www.rainbowresource.com/pdfs/products/prod009283_smpl0.pdf
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/videos/teaching-content/kadir-nelson-reads-we-are-ship/

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

JUSTICE FOR KHALIL

Visit your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Angie Thomas debut novel The Hate U Give is nothing short of amazing. It's no surprise that it has been on the New York Times Young Adult Bestseller list almost since it came out - 51 weeks as I write this. Power to the many young people that recognized a great story that needed to be told. It's also no surprise that it has won many awards including but not limited to 2017 National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award and Michael L. Printz Honor Book. Power to all that award authors for their courage to tell stories of diversity and truth. And so it's no surprise that the book will also be made in to a movie. Power to the changing landscape of our film industry.

"Sometimes you can do everything right and things still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right." And sometimes you can seize the day and use your voice to make changes that are long overdue - power to Angie Thomas for putting it out there in a way that pushes the discussion and change. Everyone should read this book.

USING MULTIMEDIA TO ENGAGE

President Obama visits Falcon Launch Site

Using multimedia offers many opportunities across all subject areas. Long a proponent of using a variety of media to engage my readers, today's technologies makes it so much easier than in the past. The challenge is in knowing how to format, pace and integrate appropriate sources. How do we do this? Let's take the recent launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy as an illustration and the variety of appropriate media resources to engage your students in math, science, social studies, ELA and at home. 

Depending on the age of your students, subject area and your objectives, the idea of space exploration from rocketry to cold war, studying the solar system can take many forms. For K-2 see Ms. M's Materials and my use of the First Graders From Mars series. One could easily add a short video of the Falcon Heavy launch (and I mean short - less than 5 minutes these are 1st graders after all). They will ask to "see it again" and that's fine but one of the biggest mistakes when integrating video is playing a "long" video. 

Visit your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

There are many books for elementary students and Emily Lakdawalla offers years of reviews on The Planetary Society website. Ms. Lakdawalla has been doing the list for 9 years and she checks every book for factual information. Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox, illustrated by Nancy Davis is on the list. Perfect for early elementary in its repetitive rhyme about the Big Bang Theory. The Planetary Society is an amazing resource itself, "Cofounded by Sagan. Led by Nye. Powered by you."

Visit your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

The movie Hidden Figures based on the book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly can provide engagement on many levels. There are a ton of resources for middle and high school students studying the Cold War. Journeys in Film not only offers a free downloadable viewing guide for the move, but will send teachers a free DVD. Also checkout NASA for the story behind the story and see some "Modern Figures," rocketry and many other resources.

Visit your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Regardless of the direction of your discovery, when integrating media be sure to be clear on your objectives and make sure that your materials are age appropriate. Video, texts and hands on activities can be mixed together to foster maximum engagement by your students and/or plan a fun family activity. Have an idea but struggling to format it? You don't have enough time to pull all the resources together? Think you've got it but want to virtually brainstorm with you? I can help. Inbox me and turn ordinary lessons in to engaging discoveries.

MORE INSPIRATION MONDAY!

If you missed the 2018 Youth Media Awards click here to see the ceremony and get more information and inspiration!