I am a teacher/librarian in Dearborn, Michigan
Girl Who Built an Ocean tells the story of one of history’s original makers, Jeanne Villepreux. Never heard of her? That’s not surprising. At the turn of the nineteenth century (born in 1794), girls were not admitted to a university or really expected to do anything other than marry and raise a family. Jeanne came … More Girl Who Built an Ocean
The idea for this week’s post began when I was talking to some friends, who are also well past twenty about my desire to strengthen my swimming skills. I was a reasonably decent swimmer as a teen, but I do not love water and I have lived in cold places for the majority of my … More The Power of Yet
Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long is a dream of a book for a STEAM teacher. The book describes how houses, bridges, and even books are made by a team of people working together. We see the end products but seldom do we think of all the people involved in bringing … More Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
A new book in the Yasmin series came out recently called Yasmin the Doctor. Yasmin is one of my favorite characters because she is willing to try all sorts of things. She has already been a zookeeper, a librarian, a fashion designer, a builder, and many other things. She is the perfect role model for … More Career Day Plan
One of my favorite Christmas read-alouds is The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie de Paola. I love it because it hits so many learning objectives as well as including Christmas traditions from Mexico, some of which are still practiced today. The Legend of the Poinsettia is obviously folk literature that lends itself very well … More STEAM for a Holiday Classic
I never want to be the tone-deaf person that does not hear the heart-cry of students or of anyone for that matter. Two books I used this week with my second-grade students helped me and my students to consider what it means to truly listen to another person. The first book we read is called … More Listen
This is the million dollar question right now. How will we give students hands-on real-life learning experiences if we have to stay 6 feet apart and sanitize everything before anyone else touches it? Or even more difficult, how will deliver making and inventing in an online school day? As you can see, social distancing is … More How Will We Restart?
I will be presenting at the Wayne RESA Maker-STEMÂ Summit on the topic of Making, Literacy, and Language. Making is a great way to demonstrate deep learning that can go beyond a student’s verbal abilities or language level. Think about important things you have learned in your life like Grandma’s special recipes or swinging a … More Making for Language and Literacy
In my quest to make sure the learning doesn’t stop for my student when the school doors close for the summer, this post about Dynamic Learning from Kasey Bell was just the push I needed. Because I use Google Classroom consistently throughout the school year, my students often add to or update things they have made … More Dynamic Learning
I must admit, I am ready for a rest, but the learning doesn’t stop for either students or teachers and as a school librarian, my viewpoint is a bit different. One of my goals is to provide equitable access to resources for ALL students. In my present position that means making sure that the students … More The Learning Isn’t Over
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