We’re nearly to summer, and for some of us, the school year has already ended! Hopefully, you can take a well-deserved break from screens and other stressors, at least for awhile.
We want to remind you that in case you or your colleagues (or students, or friends) are looking for educational, engaging activity ideas, we have TONS of them, compiled here on our site for easy access.
STEM projects, cooking, exercise, virtual field trips, and so much more! Visit our page or just click on the links below to visit the Daily Pages full of fun activities to try.
Sometimes CMLE will highlight several 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!
Since last weekend was Earth Day, and Astronomy Day is just around the corner on April 29th, we thought it would be fun to highlight a few books and activities that focus on planets, moons, stars, and space!
Read all about constellations: Once Upon a Starry Night by Jacqueline Mitton, illustrated by Christina Balit
“Take an illuminating ride through the starry night sky, and learn how the heavens pay tribute to the gods of Greek and Roman mythology. Once Upon a Starry Night explains the ten ancient figures whose legends are written large across the universe. Every page shines with Christina Balit’s vibrant art, studded with shiny stars, and provides the perfect backdrop to Jacqueline Mitton’s poetic text.”
A listserve discussion was asking about different programs or activities people are doing in their libraries using Raspberry Pi devices. We are sharing them with you here:
We are using Pi mostly with a camera for Social Media campaigns. Our IT department uses them to monitor wireless networks.
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!
At CMLE, we know for our member libraries (and for most libraries) assisting those who are learning English can be an important part of their job! Check out our previous post about the great work taking place at the Long Prairie branch.
This article from Edutopia discusses how photography can help students with their literacy. It includes reference to Wendy Ewald who has done extensive work on the subject. By learning to verbally reflect on and analyze photos, students get used to organizing their thoughts, a skill which translates well to writing.
There are five strategies that use photography to help develop literacy skills:
Focus – students notice details and describe what they are seeing
Portraits – the article shares several different exercises that utilize portraits, like learning about camera angle and the intention of the photographer in taking the portrait
Building Vocabulary and Using Evidence – using a photograph from a past time period, have students list the things they notice, and use this evidence to draw conclusions about when the photo was taken, who the people were, how they were feeling
Perspective Taking – students photograph an object from several different angles and notice the effect that the angle has on the tone of the photograph.
Telling a Story – students each take a picture they feel tells a story, then trade photos with a partner, who then interpret for themselves the story being told. Students can discuss their interpretations, and eventually, write them out.
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Sometimes CMLE will highlight several 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!
