WKMS LC Newsletter February 2020
Librarian: Dr. Conrath / Assistant Librarian: Mrs. Patterson
Black American History Month Resources and Information
This month Demco has compiled several resources for Black American History Month. Below is a short list of some helpful resources to use with potential lessons and other activities to support African American influence and accomplishments in our country.
Why Is February Black History Month?
- History.com has curated a collection of videos for Black History Month, including “The Origins of Black History Month.” The site also contains articles, speeches and pictures of interest for Black History Month, available throughout the year.
- Time’s article entitled “This is How February Became Black History Month” provides a detailed account of the events leading to Black History Month.
- Mental Floss has a more succinct description of the origin of Black History Month in an article entitled “Why Was February Chosen for Black History Month?”
- Wikipedia’s article on the origins of Black History Month features photos of Carter G. Woodson and of the Black United Students' first Black culture center, as well as information about Black History Month celebrations in the United Kingdom and Canada, along with criticisms of the celebration in the United States. A number of helpful links are also provided, including other history or heritage months celebrated in the United States.
Celebrating Black History Month
- EDSITEment’s Guide to Black History Month Teaching Resources, presented by the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a robust and rich collection of educational resources for teachers, including videos, lessons, websites, and articles.
- Poets.org features 12 Poems to Read for Black History Month. Each poem is short in length but powerful in message, and each poem contains both information about the poet who wrote it and an accompanying commentary on the poem by a contemporary poet.
- Black Culture Connection from PBS has 10 Little Known Black History Facts that I would be willing to bet contains at least a few facts that even most teachers are not aware of. (Confession: I was only aware of 4 of the facts prior to reading the article.)
- Scholastic’s list of 28 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month includes ideas and activities for students pre-K through 12th grade."
Source:
Winner, Matthew. “Resources to Support African American Heritage Year-Round.” Ideas & Inspiration from Demco, 18 Nov. 2019, ideas.demco.com/blog/african-american-heritage-year-round/.
Read our newsletter to the end and qualify for a special reward.
WKMS Learning Commons Book Club & YouTube
One of the first editions is a promotion and conversation on Son Of The Mob.
The WKMS Learning Commons recently added a special iPad to the program and WKMS Book Club students will be able to check it out to use iMovie and DoInk to record new conversations and promotions connected with books middle school students are reading.
With this reading promotion in mind, one might ask why is it significant to put a talk show about books on YouTube. According to The Verge: "Teenagers are more interested than ever in YouTube...and according to The Pew Research Center, 85 percent of teenagers say they use the platform."
Source:
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/
Farokhmanesh, Megan. “YouTube Is the Preferred Platform of Today's Teens.” The Verge, The Verge, 31 May 2018, www.theverge.com/2018/5/31/17382058/youtube-teens-preferred-platform.
Lexington County Library Visits WKMS
Upcoming Visits:
March 4th, 11:30am-1:30pm
April 1st, 11:30am-1:30pm
May 6th, 11:30am-1:30pm
Special Fireflies Reward Attached To Our Reading Program
2020-2021 Brand New JBA List
WKMS Learning Commons Statistics
Over 7,380 Print Books Have Been Checked Out This School Year
109 Follett eBooks Have Been Checked Out This School Year
SC DISCUS & Black American History Month Resources
If you need the username and password for DISCUS, please come by to see Dr. Conrath or Mrs. Patterson.
WKMS Learning Commons
What does DISCUS stand for? If you are the first person to come by and answer this question correctly, you will win an iTunes gift card.
For others who name the online catalog system for eBooks in the learning commons, you will receive a special reward while supplies last.
If you can be the first person to name three books on the new 20/21 JBA list, you will also win an iTunes gift card. (Hint: The answer is in the newsletter.)
Email: rconrath@lexington1.net
Location: 117 White Knoll Way, Lexington, SC, USA
Phone: 803-821-4315
Twitter: @wkmslearncomm