I love to make kids think in new ways. My school is currently doing a March Madness activity by voting on a variety of picture books in all different genres, both old favorites and newly published works. As part of that series, my media lesson this week is a comparison of two of the nonfiction … More Comparing Nonfiction Picture Books
As a school librarian in a K-3 elementary, it is always a challenge to come up with new ways to raise excitement for reading. This year I decided to resurrect an idea that I haven’t used for a couple decades, but with a new twist. In the past, I have done a “March Madness” type … More Giving Reading Month a Twist
I love to connect familiar stories to new ideas to get students to think creatively. Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon by Ying Chang Compestine, illustrated by Joy Ang is the perfect book to make that connection. My only regret is that I did not own it before Lunar New Year, then I could … More A Strong New Twist on an Old Story
A random pair of comments by colleagues led me to today’s post. First, the school social worker asked me if it was O.K. to have some of her students make bookmarks to be distributed in the media center. Just a few minutes later, a math teacher expressed surprise and admiration that I had invited students to … More Who Owns This Library?
via Daily Prompt: Brilliant This black box may not look brilliant to the casual observer, but believe me, it shines like the North Star for me. You see, this is a book locker, the first book locker in Michigan. It is the result of more than twenty years of desire, effort, and planning. I am … More Collaboration is Brilliant
This morning as I listened to the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast with two of my favorite teacher encouragers, Vicki Davis and Steve Dembo, it finally sunk into my thick head that sometimes the best tool to jumpstart a lesson isn’t a new tool at all. I must admit that my tried and true tools for looking at old … More Smart Tech Tools for the New Year Don’t Have to Be New
I am extremely excited to be part of the Reading People Book Launch Team. It is such a privilege to get a peek behind the curtain into the book publishing world. I did not even know that services such as Netgalley.com, which allows authors to invite people to read the galleys of their books, even existed. … More Reading People Book
I am still processing my NerdCampMI, I am also looking forward to Dearborn Moodle Moot and this confluence between the paper and the digital versions of communication brings many questions to my mind. First of all, I saw an amazing presentation on graphic novels by Heather and Beth, which turned me on to Fish Girl by Donna … More What Is a Story, Anyway?
One of the things I love best about Hour of Code is the opportunity it gives for students to shine. This is especially true of students who are not seen as academically strong by their peers. Many students come to school already behind their peers in reading and other academic subjects due to their situation outside … More Code: The Great Equalizer
In thinking about how to teach digital citizenship from a positive perspective, I have been studying the work of Angela Maiers. Getting students to recognize their genius seems to be key in establishing a culture of positive contributions. If students understand that they are expected to contribute what they know and can do, then digital … More Helping Students Find Their Genius
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