Due to an unexpected schedule change, we will be rescheduling our CMLE Group Visit to Buffalo High School!
The new date for this group visit is Tuesday, May 9th at 2PM.
We’d love for you to join us!
In the meantime, you can preview their library from Mary’s post about her visit here.
April is National Poetry Month! Poetry can sometimes be intimidating to students, but there are fun ways to get them involved in appreciating and creating poetry.
This article from School Library Journal is packed with a ton of unique ideas for helping students uncover the delights of poetry. Some of these ideas include:
Plus, the article describes initiatives different libraries are taking to incorporate poetry into student activities. It’s always encouraging to see the cool things that happen in libraries across the country.
Happy Poetry Month!
April is Autism Acceptance Month, and a great way to learn more about autism is through reading about the experiences of others.
This list from Read it Forward features six titles with a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Some of the titles include:
“This bestselling-novel has seen great success on Broadway after it was adapted for the stage in 2014. Haddon’s fifteen-year-old main character Christopher John Francis Boone knows all of the world’s capitals and prime numbers up to 7,057 but can’t stand to be touched and hates the color yellow. His well-ordered life goes off the rails when his neighbor’s dog is murdered, but Christopher sets off to solve the mystery, using—of course—logic.”
“His unique book truly shines a light on what goes on inside an autistic brain; author Naoki Higashida was thirteen when he painstakingly penned this book—a collection of answers to frequently asked questions about autism, like “Why do people with Autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” and “Why don’t you make eye contact when you speak?” Brought to English translation by David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks) and his wife, this disarmingly honest read is illuminating and beautifully written.”
Make sure to check out this list of picture books compiled and reviewed by a school librarian! Some of her picks include:
“I loved this subtle story of acceptance, probably because Sarah reminds me of my daughter. Between Sarah’s effort and Rose’s calm but protective wait-and-see, this story gently conveys to typical children that there is no magic formula for interacting with someone who is autistic.”
“Ian’s Walk is a beautiful story with a simple plot, but one that conveys the complex sibling relationships inherent in special needs families. It’s an obvious story to share with siblings of autistic and special needs children (or even in support groups for such)”
National Autism Resources has several lists of children’s books to choose from, or check out this one from the nonprofit literacy group Books for Bay.
Find more suggestions for books and other publications from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network here.
You probably already know that at CMLE, we offer a service called “Notable Dates for your Noggin” which feature special holidays and birthdays of authors, as well as publications of well-known books. In an effort to help you get more from this service, we’ve decided to select one “Notable Date” each month to feature. We will include a few fun programming and activity ideas too, all for you to use!
April 10th is Encourage a Young Writer Day.
There are lots of ways to encourage a young writer in your classroom, library, or life. Check out these great gift ideas for young writers or find some neat journals from Amazon. If you’re feeling crafty, work together and make your own book to write in!
Looking for words of wisdom on the subject? This article is written from a homeschool perspective but has great suggestions for encouraging writing in kids of all ages. Check out what author Anne Lamott has to say to aspiring writers, or read this article specifically aimed at helping teen writers.
Of course, the best way to get kids writing is to make sure they read! Going to the library is probably the best encouragement of all! 🙂
April is School Library Month, so of course there’s a day specifically to celebrate school librarians. That day is today, April 4th!
If you are a school librarian – we appreciate you and the incredible work that you do! If you know a school librarian, share your appreciation and admiration!
AASL has a whole page devoted to School Library Month, so make sure to check that out. This year’s theme is Because School Libraries Empower Students and the hashtag is #slm17. Their page also includes complimentary webinars and graphics to use at your school library or media center.
School librarians and media specialists do so much to equip students with necessary research, technology, and literacy skills. For a few examples of the cool things that school librarians are doing, see this article from Education Week or this one from Learning.com.
Many of CMLE’s members are school libraries and we have been able to visit several of them. Discover all the excellent programs and activities taking place at these local libraries on our Library Visit page.
Thank you to school librarians and media specialists for all that you do! 🙂
