Tuesday Tips March 10, 2020

TECH TIP and BOOK TIP:  Coronavirus Information

In light of the growing concerns about the coronavirus, I've put together this week some reliable sources about the virus itself and its impact on education.

Situation Summary and Overview of the Virus from the CDC

Live Map with Real Time Updates and Data from Johns Hopkins University (screenshot below was taken at 9:47 AM)

Open Source Spreadsheet of Colleges and Universities that have closed put together by Bryan Alexander of Georgetown University

Map and List of Public Schools Closed due to coronavirus compiled by Education Week

RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ONLINE DUE TO SCHOOL CLOSURES

Edublogger has done a thorough overview of moving classes online it includes checklists, how to structure the day, and tips on teaching

Tips for Designing an Online Lesson

Google Blog shares many ways in which the Google Suite of products can support online learning

Tuesday Tips March 3, 2020

TECH TIP:  Feature Films for Education Now Fully Available

I have purchased a subscription to Feature Films for Education.  This allows you to show any of these movies in your classroom for free!  It is tied to our IP address, so it will only work here at school.  But students could also log in and watch any films during a study hall if you needed them to watch or catch up after being out.  Here is how to log in:

Feature Films for Education
https://ffusa.infobase.com/PortalPlayLists.aspx?wid=97151 

Stop by the library to get the log in information

BOOK TIP:  American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 

 American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is the fictionalized story of a Mexican mother and her son whose whole family is killed by a cartel and they must flee to the United States.  Oprah Winfrey selected this book as her current book club pick.  However, once the title was announced, there was immediate controversy and charges made of cultural appropriation as the other is not Mexican and some felt she "white washed" the migrant experience.  The book has increased cries for diverse authors and discussions of who gets to tell these stories.  I've read it, and would love to hear others' thoughts on this book.  It's worth a read just to see what the controversy is all about. 

Tuesday Tips February 25, 2020

TECH TIP:  Ken Burns in the Classroom on PBS Learning

Ken Burns has been creating historical documentary films for over 40 years.  His films pull together primary sources, archival footage and interviews.  These are great resources for the classroom.  However, they are often long.  At PBS Learning, they have created lesson plans and pulled video clips from his films to support learning in your classroom.  You can search for things by Era or by Film.

And you can find items by video clip or lesson plans

BOOK TIP:  New Books Delivered Today!

Over 60 new books were delivered today!  Can't wait to explore them.  I love to talk books with your classes.  I can create a book talk to go with any of your needs.  And maybe one of these new books will be in there!

Tuesday Tips February 11, 2020

TECH TIP:  2nd Quarter Report Using Texting Story

Texting Story is an app I wrote about here before.  I used it to create the 2nd Quarter Report for the library.  This was very easy to use and could be a great project option for students.  It is a 40 second video, watch it here:

2nd Quarter Report Author: Kara Staunton-Shron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4gkkVM38GA

BOOK TIP:  Life and Death Booktalk

Last week, I gave a book talk to the Life & Death class on books that inspire.  Here are the books I shared with them. Ones that are highlighted were the ones students checked out.  

• The Thank You Project: Cultivating Gratitude One Letter at a Time
• Educated: A Memoir
• One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Day in America
• Internment
• When I Was the Greatest
• Every Moment After
• The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
• Shooting Stars: The Story of Lebron James
• A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time
• My Story: Elizabeth Smart
• We Say #neveragain
• The 57 Bus
• Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
• The Other Side: Stories of Central American Teen Refugees Who Dream of Crossing the Border
• In the Country We Love: A Family Divided
• Shout: A Poetry Memoir
• Strangers Assume My Girlfriend is My Nurse
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
• Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

Tuesday Tips January 28, 2020

TECH TIP:  Slido for Google Slides

Slido is a Chome extension that you can add to your account and it allows you to add in quiz or poll questions right into your Google Slides presentation.  Students respond to the quiz or poll with a code on their device and the answers populate in real time.  

BOOK TIP:  Dig by A.S. KIng

  The American Library Association announced their winners of the Youth Media Awards yesterday.  These awards include the best books written for children and young adults.  The Michael L. Printz award for excellence in literature for young adults went this year to Dig by A.S. King.  Dig is a book that will make you uncomfortable and it wants you to be uncomfortable.  It is the story of four white teenagers who grapple with their dysfunctional family and its racial ignorance and overcoming the past.  Will make you think.

Tuesday Tips January 14, 2020

TECH TIP:  TextingStory App

  TextingStory could be a fun project with your students. It is an iPhone app that allows you to create a story told through text messages.  It will then turn it into a video of the messages scrolling through.  This could be used as a free write assignments, a conversation through two book characters, or even between two historical figures.  

BOOK TIP:  New York Public Library Top Checkouts of All Time

The New York Public Library turns 125 this year.  In honor of that anniversary, they released yesterday their top 10 checkouts of all time.  How many of these books have you read?  I've read all but one (any guesses which one?)

1. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: 485,583 checkouts
2. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss: 469,650 checkouts
3. 1984 by George Orwell: 441,770 checkouts
4. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: 436,016 checkouts
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: 422,912 checkouts
6. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White: 337,948 checkouts
7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: 316,404 checkouts
8. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: 284,524 checkouts
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: 231,022 checkouts
10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: 189,550 checkouts

Tuesday Tips January 7, 2020

TECH TIP:  The Google Year in Search

Need a feel-good moment as you adjust to being back from vacation?  Watch this year's Google Year in Review video.  The theme is heroes, as the world searched for heroes at the box office, at sports arenas, and in our own lives.  It will make you smile.

BOOK TIP: Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover

  When best friends Matt and Cole were in first grade, 18 of their classmates were killed in a mass shooting in their classroom.  Now, Matt and Cole are graduating high school, but they are still dealing with the effects of that fatal day.  This is a novel about the impact on those who survive these terrible tragedies.  It is a story surrounded by profound grief, but also of resilience and moving forward even when you don't want to.  It was a great read.