Using Blendspace to Support Learning and Instruction

I really do appreciate my on-line professional learning network. Without them, I would be unaware of so many apps, web-based programs, and more that can be used to support instruction and learning. Recently, I searching for something on John Schu's blog, Watch.Connect.Read, and was reminded of a program that he used called Blendspace to make a lesson on Kate DiCamillo.

Since I was working on setting up a Haiku Learning site for the teachers and librarians that I work with, I decided to try making my own author lesson using Blendspace. In looking through some youtube videos, I noticed a series of videos for how Melissa Stewart created her book No Monkeys, No Chocolate. This gave me the idea of doing the Blendspace lesson on this very thing.

Since I wanted to see how the teachers I work with might be able to use it, I specifically chose to use it as they might use it. I was pleased to see that Blendspace was super easy to learn and use, and I was able to log in with my District google account.  It took me a very short time to create the lesson below, and to embedded it in my Haiku Learning site.

If you haven't had a chance to play with Blendspace, I hope this encourages you to give it a try. You can also check out their blog for more ideas.

What apps and programs have you found most helpful in creating lessons?

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: January New Releases

Welcome to the first Nonfiction Picture Book New Releases post of 2015, and thank you for supporting the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge for the 4th year. If you are just finding out about the challenge, it is not too late to join in. Actually, everyone is welcome to join in at any point in the year. This is a wonderful community of teachers, librarians, and other book related folks that love to celebrate nonfiction books for kids. So, if you are finding this for the first time, welcome and if you are returning, so glad you are a friend.

At the beginning of each month, I do my best to round-up as many new quality nonfiction books for children and share them with readers of this blog.  I know that this is an extremely useful resource for me and hope that it is to you as well. ~ Happy Reading!

Here are the new releases that are coming out this month:

December 23, 2014

Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century by Carole Boston Weatherford; Illustrated by Raúl Colón (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

January 1, 2015

Birdology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Birds by Monica Russo; Photographs by Kevin Byron (Chicago Review Press)

January 6, 2015

Big Red Kangaroo by Claire Saxby; Illustrated by Graham Byrne (Candlewick Press)

Bilby: Secrets of an Australian Marsupial by Edel Wignell; Illustrated by Mark Jackson (Candlewick Press)

Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts by Nikki Grimes; Illustrated by Michele Wood (Orchard Books)

Draw What You See: The Life and Art of Benny Andrews by Kathleen Benson Haskins; Illustrated by Benny Andrews (Clarion Books)

Earmuffs for Everyone: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs by Meghan McCarthy (Simon & Schuster)

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson; Illustrated by Sean Qualls (Schwartz & Wade)

The Founding Fathers: Those Horse-Ridin', Fiddle-Playin', Book-Readin', Gun-Totin' Gentlemen Who Started America by Jonah Winter; Illustrated by Barry Blitt (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayer (Beach Lane Books)

Sand Swimmers: The Secret Life of Australia's Desert Wilderness by Narelle Oliver (Candlewick)

Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted a Million Trees by Franck Praevot; Illustrated by Aurelia Fronty (Charlesbridge)

January 20, 2015

Winnie: The Remarkable Tale of a Real Bear by Sally M. Walker; Illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss (Henry Holt & Co.)

January 27, 2015

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko; Illustrated by Sean Qualls (Arthur A. Levine)

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:

It's Monday! What are you Reading? From Picture Books to YA - 1/5/15

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.  Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers have adapted it to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

Here is what jumped out of the pile this week...

Zombie in Love 2+1 by Kelly DiPucchio; Illustrated by Scott Campbell (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, December 30, 2014) - I loved Zombie in Love and was hoping that this one lived up to the first one. It did! Yay! It was wonderful. It made me laugh aloud. I want to share it with everyone.

Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara Levine; Illustrated by T. S. Spookytooth (Millbrook Press) - A book kids will really enjoy. I love the first two lines: "Have you ever wondered what we would look like if we didn't have any bones? It wouldn't be pretty."

Bugs and Bugsicles: Insects in the Winter by Amy S. Hansen; Illustrated by Robert C. Cray (Boyds Mills Press) - Another book that children will find entertaining and fascinating. Favorite line: "She isn't dead. She isn't really asleep. She's a bugsicle. "
 

The Promise by Nicola Davies; Illustrated by Laura Carlin (Candlewick) - "...and I understood the promise I had made. I held a forest in my arms, and my heart changed." - This line really touched me as I read this book.

And, here is the book stack that I am working on, and Holmes just had to come check it out when I was taking a picture...

So, what are you reading?

A New Year, One Little Word, and No Resolutions

Happy New Year! This post has not been easy to write. I started it just prior to New Year's Day. It should have taken me a couple of hours to write. However, I went back to my last year's New Year's post and oh no. I realized that there was so much there that I did not accomplish and so much that I did not even remember that I had written.

So, I have been thinking....I am not making any resolutions this year. Well, maybe one thing.

One Little Word
Last year, I read One Word That Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page (Wiley, 2013).

I had seen a lot of people talking about their One Little Word, and I was wondering what it was all about. I decided to pick a word.  I, then, shared the book with a close friend and we picked words, and on & off we checked in with each other.  My one little word last year was MEANINGFUL. Though I wasn't certain that it was the right word, it was the one that seemed to strike me emotionally.

As I looked back over the year, I am not certain how much I saw change as a result of my one little word, but I did put in motion a few things. I started making some changes to my living space to make it more a place that I felt good about and to reflect the me I wanted to be.

I, also, decided to adopt two little fur babies. 

Watson and Holmes at 6 months

I named them Holmes and Watson and they have been a source of a lot of fun and entertainment the last five months and in their own way they have brought a new and different kind of meaning to my life.

Oh course, there are days like today when they managed to find and open up a bag of dried lentils all over the bedroom and hallway. Fortunately, they are so cute that I will keep them.

This year, as I have seem everyone's posts about their One Little Words, I wondered if I would do it again. This time, a word kept coming to me.

Mindful image made with the notegraphy app.

Mindful. Mindful of the choices I make or choose not to make. Mindful of how I interact with others. Mindful of how I speak. Mindful of special, small moments in the day. So, let's see how it goes.

As I was talking about my one little word with my friend who did it with me last year, she mentioned a TED TALK that she had just watched.

TED TALK: Phil Hansen: Embrace the Shake

There are so many powerful ideas in this presentation by Phil Hansen, but maybe the end is what I really needed to hear.

"Limitations may be the most unlikely of places to harness creativity, but perhaps one of the best ways to get ourselves out of ruts, rethink categories and challenge accepted norms. And instead of telling each other to seize the day, maybe we can remind ourselves every day to seize the limitation."

Sometimes, I believe I have fallen into a rut and I need to rethink some things. Sometimes, I look at limitations and feel defeated rather than how a limitation can open the door for a new opportunity. I need to think more about this one, but I sense there is something here for me to learn.

Finally, I am not certain about what I would like to see happen on my blog. However, I know that I will be thinking about what I am doing and whether I should continue it or do something different. I want my blog to have meaning and to be fun.

As for my reading, I am not setting any reading goals this year. I will continue to use GoodReads to track what I read because it is a great way to share book lists with teachers and parents and to remember what I read. I love reading and I know I will read, and isn't that the important thing in the end?!

Wishing you a Happy New Year and may the year bring wonderful surprises and journeys and may will all embrace our limitations in order to discover new things.

Reading Goals for 2015 - Carolyn

Since I (Alyson) seem to be at some kind of weird impasse with my New Year's post, I reached out to Carolyn and asked what she wanted to read or do this new year.  So, I turn it over to her:

As the New Year has just begun, here is a list of books I will be reading and events I will be attending in 2015.

Books released in 2015:

Fairest by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel and Friends, January 2015) and Winter by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel and Friends, November 2015)

The prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, Fairest will explore the past of the wicked Queen Levana. As a huge fan of the series, I'm looking forward to its release. Marissa Meyer is actually blessing us readers with two books this year, as Winter, the fourth and last(?) installment of the Lunar Chronicles is slated to release later this year (and thus the cover has yet to be released).

A Girl Undone by Catherine Linka (St. Martin's Griffin, June 2015)

One of my favorite debuts of 2014 was A Girl Called Fearless, and so one of the books I'm most looking forward to is A Girl Undone, the sequel to Catherine Linka's brilliant first novel. I'm intrigued to see what will happen to Avie, the main character, after the events of the first book.

The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May (September 2015)

The Falconer was one of my favorite releases this past year, and so I'm greatly anticipating the release of the sequel, The Vanishing Throne. While it does have a UK release date (fall of this year), a US release date has yet to be announced, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it'll be released soon.

The Chess Queen Enigma by Colleen Gleason (Chronicle Books, October 2015)

As a big fan of the Stoker and Holmes novels, I am greatly anticipating the release of the third book in the series. Since the release is scheduled for fall, a cover is yet to be released.

Series to catch up on:

Princesses of Myth books by Esther Friesner 

I've read the first five books of Princesses of Myth series (Nobody's Princess, Nobody's Prize, Sphinx's Princess, Sphinx's Queen, and Spirit's Princess), but I need to read the sixth (Spirit's Chosen) and seventh (Deception's Princess) books in the series before the eighth book (Deception's Pawn) is released in April of this year. The Princesses of Myth series follows the fictionalized yet historical stories of various heroines throughout history: Helen of Sparta, the Egyptian queen Nefertiti, Himiko (the daughter of a 3rd century Japanese cheiftain), and most recently, Princess Maeve of Ireland.

The Maisie Dobbs series, by Jacqueline Winspear

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the the Maise Dobbs books, a mystery series that follows a detective through the 1930s as she solves a number of crimes, often pertaining to the after effects of the Great War. The eleventh book, A Dangerous Place, will be released this March, so I have some catching up to do - I've only read the first six books. The Maisie Dobbs books, in order, clockwise from top left: Maisie Dobbs, Birds of a Feather, Pardonable Lies, Messenger of Truth, An Incomplete Revenge, Among the Mad, The Mapping of Love and Death, A Lesson in Secrets, Elegy for Eddie, and Leaving Everything Most Loved.

Books to read and series to start:

Maze Runner Books by James Dashner

I've meant to read the Maze Runner books for a while now, but I am seriously planning on reading them, because I just recently saw the movie (yes, I did break one of the cardinal rules of book lovers - I saw the movie before I read the book).

 The Hush Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick

Another YA series I've been meaning to read. After several recommendations, the Hush Hush books have made it into my tbr pile.

All of John Green's books

While I'm a huge fan of the Vlogbrothers (John and Hank Green's Youtube vlog), I've only read one of John Green's books (The Fault in Our Stars). I'm planning on reading the rest of his collected works: Looking For Alaska, Let it Snow, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and An Abundance of Katherines. 

Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint Exupéry

I've read The Little Prince before - both as a child and in my freshman honor's English class - and I utterly adore it. However, now that I'm in my second year of French, I want to read it in the original French. The upcoming movie (at least the French version) will be released this year, so reading the book again will be a great way to refresh my memory.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My mother bought me a copy of of the book after hearing great reviews about it, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I'm super excited to read The Book Thief, and it is at the top of my TBR pile.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

I've already read the first two books of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy (Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight) and haven't had a chance to finish the trilogy with the last book. I loved the first two books, and I hope that the third doesn't disappoint. 

Book Events I'm looking forward to attending in 2015:

SCIBA Children's Literacy Day 

For the past two years, I've had the privilege of attending the SCIBA (Southern California Independent Booksellers' Association) Children's Literacy Dinner in February, where I had the opportunity to socialize with booksellers, authors, and publicists. This year, a day-long event will be held (more information about that can be found here). I'm looking forward to attending; it has been a highlight of my year every time I've gone, and I'm sure it will be just as enjoyable.

Pasadena Teen Book Fest

Last year, the first ever Pasadena Teen Book Fest was held. I had a great time volunteering and attending, and look forward to doing so again this year.

LA Times Festival of Books

A must-do for , the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is a weekend long event featuring author panels, book signings, book sellers, and lots of book-lovers. I've had a blast every time I've attended and look forward to attending this year.

ALA Annual Conference

For something new, I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be attending the American Librarian Association's Annual Conference in San Francisco this summer. I've never been before, but it promises to be a great weekend full of books (as well as a great networking opportunity). 

Happy New Year to you, and I wish you all a lovely year (full of books) to come!

_______________
You can find Carolyn here on Fridays since the summer.  You can follow her on twitter @yalitfrenzy