March 2nd is Read Across America. In the past most libraries and schools celebrated this day by reading Dr. Seuss books and organizing Seuss-themed activities. Over the past couple of years the focus has shifted to emphasize multicultural and diverse literature. I am grateful for this change because it provides the perfect opportunity to share with students and parents a broader selection of children's books and to create programs and activities that focus on acceptance, kindness and cultural ... Read the Post
Read Across America Ideas: Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers
Diverse and Multicultural Picture Books
It is so important to read our students' picture books with diverse characters. Children need to learn about new cultures, places, and traditions. They also need to be able to "see" themselves in a book. For so long there was a shortage of diverse and multicultural children's books. And while there has been a steady increase in the past few years, there is still a long way to go. Below is a book list of 36 books that feature both multicultural and diverse characters. These include children of ... Read the Post
Picture Books About Children with Different Abilities
"When I see you through my eyes, I think that we are different. When I see you through my heart, I know we are the same".Doe Zantamanta It is so important to teach our students to see with their heart. Reading books with characters who have different abilities helps our students to do this. It helps them to build empathy and respect. It gives the chance to look beyond a person's disability and see who they are inside. And it also allows children who have a disability to see themselves ... Read the Post
Using eBooks to Teach Nonfiction Text Features
When I first started as a librarian, I tended to read only fiction books to my students. I never read nonfiction growing up and I do not remember any emphasis on reading nonfiction in my college classes. Luckily, this did not last too long and I soon learned just how much myself and my students enjoyed nonfiction and informational text. This is also about the time I noticed a large increase in narrative nonfiction as well. I began explicitly teaching nonfiction text features to my classes. I ... Read the Post
Favorite February Read Alouds
Besides reading Valentine's Day books, February is one of the best months to read biographies and narrative nonfiction. Most of the books on this list focus on black history month and President's Day. I also included a book that I just discovered called A Poem for Peter. It is about Ezra Jack Keats and how he was inspired to write the book The Snowy Day. I love this book so much, I just had to give it a special mention. Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek : a Tall, Thin Tale by Deborah ... Read the Post
Engaging Upper Elementary Students
One of my biggest struggles as a librarian has always been trying to create lesson plans that are engaging to my upper elementary students (keeping my 5th graders on task is no easy feat)! This becomes more of a problem after Christmas break. I have created a list of different ideas and activities that you can try to encourage learning and keep your students excited about reading and coming to the library. Some of the ideas are my own and others I gathered from my Staying Cool in the Library ... Read the Post
