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The Common Core’s emphasis on nonfiction challenges educators to provide insightful and interesting materials to students. In order to best serve my population, I decided to create a series of nonfiction author study units similar to those we already did. Since most teachers at my school tend to assign animal research reports to introduce nonfiction, I chose Steve Jenkins for my first nonfiction author study—someone whose books are found in most classrooms and libraries.
from graphic novel guest blogger, Francisca Goldsmith:
Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco form a team that is hard hitting as well as provocative, insightful as well as careful with detail. Neither journalist has ever been shy about taking a side in the story he is reporting and with the material here, side-taking is an essential aspect [...]
It may seem obvious to you, dear reader, but not everyone knows that the library is the heart of the school community, the place where student and faculty life converge—where children race to reserve the latest installment in that must-read series, to find that just-right book, to explore online resources, to work and collaborate on research projects, to reread a favorite fiction title before the movie is released, and to talk about the books they love with people who care. It’s the place where teachers discover new resources to incorporate into lesson plans, gather to discuss and map curriculum, and to attend professional development workshops after school hours.
Tom Reiss’s childhood fascination with the novels of Alexandre Dumas led him to read Dumas’s memoirs. He was blown away by the superhero-like adventures of Dumas’s father and determined to uncover his larger-than-life story.
In an interview with CBS News, Reiss states, “As an equal fan of history, superheroes, and adventure stories, I was enthralled.” Why has [...]
Oksana Marfioti (née Kopylenko) has succeeded in writing a funny and creative coming-of-age memoir, one that encompasses the immigrant experience, an inside look at Roma culture, and one doozy of a dysfunctional family. (Her father moves to the U.S. hoping to play with B.B. King but ends up telling fortunes and performing exorcisms. Quite lucrative in L.A., [...]
Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead
By Rebecca L. Johnson
Millbrook Press (an imprint of Lerner)
$30.60
ISBN: 978-0761386339
Ages 9 and up
On shelves now
There’s this podcast I like to listen to called RadioLab, which is essentially just a show for people who like kooky science but are still a little foggy on what exactly Einstein’s Theory [...]
In her new memoir, Reyna Grande, author of Dancing with Butterflies and Across a Hundred Mountains, tells the story of illegally immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico, and the difficulties being apart for long periods of time caused her family. The Los Angeles Times calls it “the “Angela’s Ashes” of the modern Mexican immigrant experience,”and praises [...]
The Common Core (CCSS) has arrived. We’ve had time to study the standards, peruse the list of recommended materials, and explore the suggested curriculum maps and assessments. Now, how do we begin to put this nationwide initiative into operation? What meaningful steps forward can we take? In this column, we’ll focus on the ideas that shape our approach to the standards. All start with the letter “C”—we call them “The 10 C’s.” We begin with the concept that holds all the others together: collaboration.
This collection of essays gives teen readers a chance to hear about life in the Middle East and Africa straight from writers (all 25 years old or younger) who live there.
For more about AIC’s (American Islamic Congress) Dream Deferred Essay Contest, check out the contest rules & guidelines. The judges “are looking for essays that [...]
Thursday, September 27, 2012, 1:00 – 2:00 PM ETIf you think that Rudyard Kipling’s Elephant’s Child was justly spanked for his “’satiable curtiosity” do NOT tune in to this webcast—because the informational books our panelists will be featuring are far and away more likely to stimulate that “curtiosity” in today’s young pachyderms than to punish it. For striking insights into some unsolved mysteries of the past and present, stunning glimpses of the animal world’s wonders, and a walloping view of the greatest rivalry in dinosaur studies ever, join us to “talk book” about Dona Herweck Rice’s Unsolved! History’s Mysteries (Teacher Created Materials), Barbara A. Somervill’s Ancient Maya (Scholastic), Super Nature Encyclopedia (DK), and Rebecca L. Johnson’s Battle Of The Dinosaur Bones: Othniel Charles Marsh Vs. Edward Drinker Cope (Lerner/21st Century). This archive is no longer available.
Wisdom the Midway Albatross: Surviving the Japanese Tsunami and Other Disasters for Over 60 Years
By Darcy Pattison
Illustrated by Kitty Harvill
Mims House
$11.99
ISBN: 978-0-9798621-7-5
Ages 4-8
On shelves now
If I had a better knowledge of my nonfiction children’s history then I might be able to tell you the exact moment that biographies of individual animals took off. [...]
Richard Ross, a professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, spent five years photographing and interviewing teens in juvenile detention centers across the United States. Juvenile in Justice allows for conditions and teens to speak for themselves.
Excerpts of his work are available on the book’s website and on the CBS 48 Hours/Mystery page, and you can [...]
“Every time I see a vehicle broken down on the side of the road, I reflect on what a truly terrible idea flying cars would be. That’s not a promise I seriously want kept.”
Thursday, March 1, 2012, 1:00 PM ETLooking to do some end of the school year reference buying? Come and hear about new nonfiction from ReferencePoint, ABDO, and Scholastic. The webcast will include series books, standalone titles, books for reports, and books for general-interest reading. Archive now available!
Thursday, February 9, 2012- 3:00 PM ETThe world around us is constantly changing and evolving; the same should be said of your nonfiction collection! The Egypt of one year ago no longer exists, new social networking tools have been created that complicate teen relationships more than ever, and movements like Occupy Wall Street have redefined activism. It is important for your students and young patrons to have the resources they need to research and understand the society in which they live as well as communities beyond their borders. Archive now available!
