Common Core Lessons: Every Friday the New York Times publishes lessons that correlated with the common core. They use articles that were featured in the newspaper and tie a writing activity to those articles. The lessons can be found on the New York Times education bloghttp://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/lesson-plans/common-core/
TumbleBooks
New National Geographic Videos Included with TumbleBooks
Tumblebooks is now more then just fun books to watch and read along to. It offers audiobooks, chapter books, graphic novels, and now videos from National Geographic. These short videos offer insights into science, history, biographies, geography, and space & technology. They are a great way to bring to lessons to life. They also pair them with fiction and/or non-fiction book. Tumblebooks is available on our various library sites.
Native American Stories for grades 6-12
Wisconsin Media Lab is proud to present The Ways, a new ongoing series of stories from Native communities around the central Great Lakes. The online educational resource for 6-12 grade students features videos, interactive maps, and digital media exploring contemporary culture and language. The Ways supports educators in meeting the requirements of Wisconsin Act 31, seeking to expand and challenge current understanding of Native identity and communities.
From a music video exploring Ojibwe language and identity in an urban landscape to a glimpse inside a Native family fishing business on Lake Superior, The Ways explores connections between traditional ways and those of today. The engaging series features tribal communities of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. An interactive map shows story locations and compares treaty lands, reservations, and Native population around the central Great Lakes.
Family: Husband, Ron. Children: Scott, Mark, Lisa, Julie, and Lori Grandchildren: Emily, Nathan, Cailyn, Lauren, Miriam, and one on the way.
Fun Fact:When my kids were 4, 6, 8, 10 and 15 years old, I decided to take them to Florida during Easter break. That wasn't my husband's idea of a dream vacation, so he opted to not join us. The youngest got car sick on the way there, and we had to drive miles to get to an exit so I could clean up the car. The 6-year old broke out in chicken pox while we were there. The oldest had the job of reading the map (no GPS back then) and keeping the other kids in line while I drove. He did such a fabulous job and I couldn't have done it without him! We only missed one turn the whole trip. In spite of the tribulations, we had so much fun and created wonderful memories. Every year after that, as long as the kids were available, we took a road trip to a warm destination during our break. All of my kids are grown up now, so I am working on the grandkids as my next set of traveling companions.
Winter Movie Tie-In Books from Overdrive
If you have not tried it yet, Overdrive is our district site where you can download eBooks and Audiobooks for free. Overdrive has recently upgraded it's format. You now need to enter your library card number to enter the site. Students can use their student ID number to login, and all staff uses their library number (which you can get from any library paraprofessional). Read the book before seeing the movie:
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (ebook)
Grades: 11+
Short Description: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," writes Tolstoy in his literary masterpiece Anna Karenina. Commonly regarded as one of the greatest realist novels ever written, Tolstoy himself saw it as his first true novel.
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcias (eBook & audiobook)
Grades: 8-12
Short Description: Sixteen-year-old Ethan Wate is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena Duchannes moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. Little does he know that Lena is hiding a secret curse
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (audiobook) Grades: 9-12 Short Description: Follows the adventures of Jay Gatsby as he tries to win back the woman he loved and lost. Presents a classic portrait of the Jazz Age and the life of the wealthy in Long Island, New York.
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (audiobook) Grades: 10+ Short Description: Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, when, owing to a case of mistaken identity, another man is arrested in his place; and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. Life of Pi by Martel Yan (audiobook and ebook) Grades: 10+ Short Description: Pi Patel explains how he was shipwrecked and travels in a lifeboat with a 450 pound Bengal tiger for 227 days, but when they reach Mexico, the tiger escapes into the jungle, and no one believes the story Pi tells them about the tiger.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks Grades: 10+ Short Description: Max Brooks documents the first-hand experiences of a range of survivors from the Zombie War. From the New Dachang village in the United Federation of China, where the trail began in twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the United States of America, the testimonies of men, women, and children reflect the fear and horror as well as the scope and duration of the Zombie War. Not on Overdrive but available from the Butte des Morts Library and soon to be a movie:
Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon Grades: 2-5 Short Description: Horrid Henry and his neighbor Moody Margaret decide to make the most sloppy, slimy, sludgy, sticky, smelly, gooey, gluey, gummy, greasy, gloppy glop possible. Is it the best glop in the world or the worst thing that's ever happened to them? Plus three other stories so funny we can't even mention them here.
Spanish Titles Now Available on Overdrive
Looking for Cheap Stocking Stuffers?
Scholastic Books is having a warehouse sale December 12-13 from 10am-7pm. Best Western Green Bay, 780 Armed Forces Drive, Green Bay, WI 54304 For More Info Visit: http://qrs.ly/bg2dvxb
Congratulations to our winners last month. One lucky reader even received a new car (does it really matter if only Stuart Little could drive it?). Stay tuned to future newsletters for more contests.
