GWAEA Media Center Update
January 2020
Above are a few titles that have been added to the collection. Click here to learn about more. Search here for other GWAEA Media Center resources. We deliver and pick up for free!
Think, Make, Innovate: Connecting Literary Characters & Students through Making
Check out GWAEA Digital Learning Team's guest blog post where Sara Pflughaupt, Solon Community School District's Teacher Librarian, combined making and literacy for an active reading opportunity. Read Sara's guest blog post and/or watch the "Read, Make, Connect" episode of TMI (below). You can find Sara on Twitter @scsdlibraries.
If you would like to learn more about combining making with literacy by reading one of our new professional books, Remaking Literacy.
From the Desk of...
TrueFLIX has become a go to resource for 3rd grade students at Keystone Elementary while completing research on wormholes and space. Students selected a planet of interest to research and use TrueFLIX to collect facts. I like how the database provides several options for students to learn from: whether watching an introductory video or reading/ listening to a book. Learning can be increased through access to additional articles and websites available within their search. Once research has been completed student design a planet themed MakerSpace project. The facts lead to the creation of a wormhole travel by utilizing green screen and the DoInk app. What a great motivator for students to be able to bring together research finding from TrueFLIX and MakerSpace project (images provided by Renee Bear).
Renee Bear, Keystone Elementary Technology Associate
Benton Community School District
PASSWORD CHANGE!
For training and support with these or any other GWAEA Online Resources, contact:
Kathleen Goslinga, GWAEA Online Resources Lead, 319-399-6582 or
Dianna Geers, GWAEA Teacher-Librarian, 319-399-6481
Black History Month - Feb. 1 - Feb. 28
Celebrate the culture and contributions of African Americans in February AND all year long!
Reading Rockets provides many resources for celebrating African Americans.
- Activities and ways to celebrate
- Video interviews with children's authors of color.
For older students:
- Poets.org created a collection of poetry, by African Americans, for reading and celebrating all year.
- Poetry Foundation has compiled poetry, articles, and podcasts exploring African American history and culture.
The GWAEA MackinVIA collection has many books about African American history, but also diverse titles featuring authors of color and diverse characters. Here are a few:
- I am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde
- The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Zietlow Miller
- Miles Morales, Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds
- The March Book I by John Lewis
World Read Aloud Day - Feb. 5, 2020
Looking for something to read aloud that day? Try some of the GWAEA Online Resource that provides instant access to thousands of books.
Interested in connecting with others around the country or world? Shannon Miller, Director of Innovation for Instructional Technology and Library Media in Van Meter, Iowa, has created a document to help connect others for this celebration. Connect here. Read her entire blog post about World Read Aloud Day here.
Presidents Day - February 20
Digital Learning Day - February 27, 2020
"Started in 2012, Digital Learning Day has provided a powerful venue for education leaders to highlight great teaching practices and showcase innovative teachers, leaders, and instructional technology programs that are improving student outcomes. This grassroots effort blossomed into a massive nationwide celebration as teachers realized that Digital Learning Day is not about technology, it’s about learning. It’s not about laying off teachers for laptops, it’s about enhancing the role of the teacher in America’s classrooms. Digital Learning Day promotes the effective use of modern-day tools afforded to every other industry to improve the learning experience in K-12 public schools." Get involved and learn more at: https://digitallearningday.org/
The GWAEA Digital Learning Team is celebrating all month long! Keep your eyes out and follow the DLT: Twitter & Instagram @DLGWAEA
Make and Take Open House - Jan. 29
Grant Wood AEA Media Center
Email: reservations@gwaea.org
Website: https://www.gwaea.org/educators/media-center
Location: 4401 6th Street Southwest, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
Phone: 319-399-6754
Twitter: @dianna_geers