Innovation Center
January 2018
Relatable Lit
Giving Life to Old Books
A Dickensian Affair
Instructional Partnerships
The 6th-grade research class learned how to program character tasks in a Minecraft game and then coded their own Minecraft game at code.org. Code.org has hundreds of different coding activities for all skill levels and works well on the Chromebooks.
Shelf Awareness
Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month are right around the corner. If you are looking for books that will hold your students' interest but accurately portray the Civil Rights Movement, check out John Lewis's award-winning trilogy of graphic novels titled March. This series will take you on a journey into the Deep South to witness monumental events of the Civil Rights Movement, e.g., lunch counter sit-ins, Freedom Riders, March on Washington, Selma to Montgomery March, & groundbreaking legislation. Language and violence is minimal in the series, but it is an honest portrayal of the climate in the 1960s. The series can be tied with current events, such as the recent special election in Alabama. All books are available for check out in the innovation center!
If you are would like to make informed book recommendations, try using the new database provided free by the West Florida Public Library system. NoveList will suggest book titles and give you read-alike suggestions. You only need your public library card to access the site. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cpid&custid=s8424018&profile=NOVPLUS
Overdue notices were placed in teacher boxes on Thursday. Please pass them out during homeroom and remind students that there is a book drop bin in the cafeteria.
Future Launches
- Florida Literacy Week will be January 22-26. This year's theme is Find Yourself in a Book. Some of the scheduled events in the innovation center include autographed book drawings, book fine forgiveness, book scavenger hunts, a new literacy-focused BreakoutEDU game, Facebook Live event with Christina Diaz Gonzalez (author of the SSYRA title Moving Target), and a makerspace with book art and bookmarks.
- Read to Me is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, January 24th during 5th period. Eighth graders are invited to sign up first. Sign up your class for a spot in advance if you are interested in having them read to the dogs.
- UpCyclothon 2018! Students will have an opportunity to take part in the inaugural Upcyclothon event this spring. The first activity will involve classes making windballs, which are rhombicosidodecahedrons made out of cardboard and plastic screws. Please continue to save your cardboard for the innovation center!
- Minecraft Club will continue to meet on Fridays during research. An updated spreadsheet with participating students will be emailed next week. Students can play single player during research Monday-Thursday if they have a pass from their research teacher. Students will be limited to 30 minutes of play time during block days.
- Sunshine State Book Club finished their first books in December. This month, sixth grade is reading The Nerdy Dozen. Seventh grade is reading The Girl in the Well Is Me. Eighth grade is reading It Ain't So Awful, Falafel. Book club meets during research every Wednesday and Thursday for 30 minutes. There are still more available spots if you know of a student who might be interested. An updated list with participating students will be emailed next week.
Visit the innovation center!
Email: sratliff@escambia.k12.fl.us
Website: https://wms-ecsd-fl.schoolloop.com/MediaCenter
Location: 450 S Old Corry Field Rd, Pensacola, FL, United States
Phone: 850-453-4770 230