In June 2016, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their 25 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. The apps encourage qualities such as innovation and active participation, and are user-friendly.
The Foos are characters in this app of the same name that follow commands instructing them how to move (jump, walk, etc) which helps to teach kids coding concepts like sequencing, loops, and conditionals. It’s an interactive game that encourages problem solving, and even has the option for students to design their own games. Teachers are able to download lesson plans as well.
Each month we’ll bring you a compiled list of fun national holidays, birthdays of authors, and publication dates of favorite books. You can use these for your own personal use or for some library inspiration! Share what inspired you in the comments.
Each month CMLE will highlight three books that have some factor in common. We hope they will give you ideas for your collection, or influence an activity, lesson plan, or display.
This month, we share three different books that focus on people’s different abilities and skills. They can be used in your library or media center to teach about the importance of diversity and creativity.
The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin (Author), Rosana Faria(Illustrator), Elisa Amado (Translator) This unique book is created with all-black pages and cover, yet is about the many colors of the world. There are braille words above the text, and the accompanying pictures are raised for texture. In this post from Kids’ Books Review explains “It is the story of a blind boy, who describes colours as he hears, smells, tastes and feels them. Each turn of the page uncovers a beautiful description of a colour; for example, “Thomas says that yellow tastes like mustard, but is as soft as a baby chick’s feathers”.
Take a look at this article that features The Black Book of Colors along with nine other multicultural books from The Positive Classroom
Enjoy this reading of the TheBlack Book of Colors in the video below:
The Noisy Paintbox by Barb Rosenstock and Mary Grandpre Goodreads gives the book this positive review: “In this exuberant celebration of creativity, Barb Rosenstock and Mary Grandpre tell the fascinating story of Vasily Kandinsky, one of the very first painters of abstract art. Throughout his life, Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds, and sounds as colors–and bold, groundbreaking works burst forth from his noisy paint box.”
Here’s a review from School Library Journal’s Classroom Bookshelf that includes classroom ideas and many related links.
Click here for a lesson plan for the book (for first grade instruction, but has instructions to find plans for other grades) that meets Common Core standards.
Check out popular Twitter and blog personality John Schu’s interview with author Barb Rosenstock. The interview includes two great videos that investigate synesthesia.
Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt The author’s website contains this summary of the novel: Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.
Check out this page which contains many different ways Fish in a Tree has been used in a classroom, and impacted students!
“Work simply. Live fully.” This week CMLE focuses on the following work productivity tip from Work Simply, Carson Tate’s popular book. At CMLE, we’ve boiled down Tate’s wealth of knowledge from Work Simply to a few key points; please see the book for more detail and resources. At the bottom, see links to earlier tips in the series! Let’s all be our best selves….
This week’s activity: Set your READY goals and work to achieve them using your Productivity Style
In her book Work Simply, Carson Tate suggests setting goals in four main areas of your life: Professional, personal, health, and spiritual. Keep the acronym READY in mind – it is the first step of the READY, Aim, Fire method that will “not only assist you in getting very clear on your goals and priorities, but also ensure that you achieve those goals in the most efficient and effective way possible”
R – Realistic, E – Exciting, A – Action-oriented, D – Directive, Y – Yours.
Recently you discovered your Productivity Style with a simple assessment. Find your style to use these tips for fulfilling your READY goals:
Find your Productivity Style for some personalized tips:
Prioritizer: When setting your goals, challenge yourself to look at the big picture – think about the action steps required over the next several months (instead of the next several weeks). It may help to keep in mind why this particular goal is important to you.
Planner: Similar to the Prioritizer, try to move your focus beyond short-term action steps, and focus on the big picture. Focus on what the final outcomeis that you are hoping to achieve.
Arranger: While it’s helpful to keep in mind the people that are able to encourage you to meet your goals, don’t forget to also focus on how you will complete the actions required to achieve the goal.
Visualizer: Seeing the big picture comes naturally to you. Try to also think about who else needs to be involved in making your goals a reality.
Banned Books Week 2016 is next week! Beginning September 25th – October 1st, celebrate your freedom to read and tune into CMLE’s website for more ways to participate in this important event!
ALA explains the significance of Banned Books Week: “It highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.”
You can check out ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom for more information on the dangers of censorship.
CMLE is excited to help celebrate this special week, and we have been gathering information to share with you, some of which include ways to get involved and what to do if a book at your library gets challenged. Make sure to check back with us next week!
In the meantime, get into the Banned Books Week spirit and watch this video below on the Top Ten Banned Books of 2015:
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In June 2016, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their 25 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. The apps encourage qualities such as innovation and active participation, and are user-friendly.
