What goes on in my library? Check out the Teaching category to get all the details on library lessons, computer science collaborations, library interns, middle school electives, social emotional exercises, book clubs, resource lists, and more.
Readers and I shared Misty Copeland’s picture book Firebird this week, illustrated by Christopher Myers. The book is beautiful and the class loved learning about Misty and her difficult path to become a principal dancer for the American Ballet Company. During one class’ readaloud, an excited kindergartener cried, “That ballerina has a ponytail and brown […]
I’m honored to be the February Spotlight for Tech-Girls Monthly, the killer newsletter from Tech-Girls and Charlottesville Women in Tech. Each month, they highlight a different woman working with technology and feature their story in their newsletter and on their website. Check out my interview – including what drives my passion and interest in technology, […]
WHO: 6th grade readers, writers, and lovers of realistic and historical fiction! St. Anne’s-Belfield School 6th graders will be reading along with 5th grade students from Woodbrook Elementary School in Albemarle County, guided by Woodbrook’s amazing Mindfulness Instructor, Mr. Mack. As always, this book club is completely optional – and Same Sun Here is a […]
For readers with more context in Black history who are ready for deeper conversations, The Girl with a Mind for Math is a perfect fit. Raye Montague’s story is both amazing and frustrating – and my students were vocal about their outrage. Their cries of “How can they treat her like that?! That’s not fair!” […]
“Everybody uses words to express themselves. Except me. And I bet most people don’t realize the real power of words. But I do. Thoughts need words. Words need a voice.” Last week, fifteen families gathered in the Learning Village Library at 6 PM Family Book Club, inspired by Sharon Draper’s novel Out of My Mind. Here […]
The other day I was in the library with a friend and fellow teacher, cleaning up after a volunteer event. She was looking through the books on display on the top of the shelves and picked up a copy of King and King, a fractured fairy tale in which a prince, searching for his future […]
I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011, by Lauren Tarshis I gave this book five stars because 11 year old Dexter runs into Dr. Norman Gage and invites Dexter to chase an EF-5 tornado and turns out stronger than they think. There friends come to save them from the tornado and when they come back to Joplin […]
What is your biggest dream? And how would you feel if you shared it, and someone said, “You can’t do that”? Mae Among the Stars sparked out of this world conversations with kindergarten and first grade this week. We are having so much fun learning about Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to go to […]
Your Who Said That? activity looks awesome! I’d love to see all of the pics, descriptions and quotes if you are up for sharing! I think I’d learn something new, too. 🙂 -Karen February is Black History Month, and it’s the perfect opportunity to spend extra time talking about amazing Black figures, both past and […]
We honor Black history by… This display is designed to spark conversation and get students thinking. We wanted a display that helped students to see that Black history isn’t something old and stagnant, that can be learned and forgotten, but instead something living, breathing, and still happening right now (and not confined to a single […]