Wednesday, February 28, 2018

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.

Sunday, February 18, 2018

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.


Monday, February 12, 2018

MORE INSPIRATION MONDAY!



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



AWARD WINNERS, CHALLENGES AND REREADING

Brightly
A quick post today to suggest other ways to find a book to read. Brightly is a blog started by publisher Penguin Random House in 2014 to help parents and educators connect kids with the right books at the right time. The layout of the blog makes it extremely easy to use and provides some great ideas to make reading fun. They also have a newsletter that you can subscribe to. Be selective about what sites or blogs you follow. Manage your social media. If you find you are not getting great suggestions for you, then it's not a fit and unsubscribe. There are so many great places to find ideas today but don't get lost in the forest of social media time waste. Focus on that book a week or challenge of your choice for maximum pleasure.

Another place to find inspiration is on the ALA (American Library Association) website. You can follow them on all the regular social media outlets, but check out their "Award, Grants and Scholarship" pages and create your own reading challenges from the comprehensive Award Lists. Perhaps this year you will see how many Caldecott Award Winners you can read in 2018! Book Riot author Laura Sackton offers 50 DIY Reading Challenges to Make 2018 the Best Reading Year of Your Life! There are 50 great ideas here including number 8 "Read 52 comics - one comic per week!" or how about number 10, "Think of one or two authors who have written at least one book that  you've loved. Now read everything else those authors have published." (Madeleine L'Engle was "her" first!).
Visit your library or shop your local indie bookstore!

Speaking of Madeleine L'Engle, reading or rereading a book you've already read is another way to keep your reading on track - especially when a movie is about to come out! I'm not certain how many times or when I last read A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle -  you can see by the cover photo it's an older version! I'm rereading the book so I'm ready for the March 9th release of the Disney movie. If you follow this blog, you know I am a firm believer of reading the book FIRST. For me, I won't even watch the trailer before I finish rereading the book...but if you want to entice your students or child, by all means watch the trailers.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

JUST RIGHT BOOKS

Good choice!
How do you find a book that is right for you, your child or your student? A book that one will read from cover to cover can be a daunting task for new readers. For this post, I would like to provide some guidance on getting the right books in to the hands of new and emerging readers. 

Let’s start at the beginning with a comprehensive, well researched article by Pamela Paul and Maria Russo (The New York Times Books) entitled How to Raise a Reader. If you are a parent, it's never too late to start but showing by example is extremely important. If you are a teacher of students that may not have had the type of access this article suggests from an early age, I want to invite you to think about your classroom as your home with your own child or children. How could you use these same strategies and ideas to modify how you teach? One example that is fun at home or school is to "read and repeat." My kindergarten and first grade students love doing this. “I say it first, you say it second.” The Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems are great for this as are Ring! Yo? and Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka. 

Shop your local indie bookstore.
Determine your objective and identify resources to meet your objective. If you have a FREE or classroom library, be sure to include age appropriate anchor charts or reading checklists (for students who are already reading and writing) to guide your reader. Every classroom library should have an anchor chart that guides selection that you have hopefully reviewed multiple times with your students. 

Even after having library class for several years and some of the greatest rock star classroom teachers, my library students would stand in line to check out a book they had not even opened! You can not reinforce how to find the book that's right for you enough. On the flip side there are those students who will look at every book in your classroom library or take the entire class period in library and NOT find a book. This is a skill that requires lots of practice. For my upper elementary students I would often make reading passports and they would be challenged to read a book from multiple genres throughout the year and earn stickers for each. Access to a variety of reading materials must be matched by knowledgeable guidance and example!

Shop your local indie bookstore.
Visit Reading Rockets a national multimedia literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. Choosing and Using Kids Books is a great section with information for parents, caregivers and teachers alike. A sister site in Spanish is Colorin Colorado.


You may also enjoy reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller and Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child by Pernille Ripp. Add more reading minutes to your day by listening...try Audible and get your first two books free!


Please note: If you purchase a recommended book through this site I earn an affiliate commission.