WLPCS Library News
Q1 2017-2018
Emma Otheguy visits Latin!
Books for the Beast
NoodleTools Email Login
Students and faculty can now use their Latin emails to sign into NoodleTools.
New Library Books for Quarter 1
Instructional Corner: Outlining
See below for lesson materials that can help students learn about outlining. This lesson is ideal for grades 9-12, but please let me know if you'd like to see other versions for grades 5-8.
Thanks to Sander for allowing me to work with HOJ to develop this lesson, and Joyce and Kara for allowing me to work with English 9 students on this important skill! Please let me know if I can come in to work with your class!
Fiction and Nonfiction to Support the Teaching of Controversial Issues
As we're discussing in our classical mission seminars this year, teaching controversial issues is a meaningful pedagogical challenge that can result in rich conversation and much learning. Young adult and children's books can serve as texts to foster conversation about controversial issues. Here are five titles you might read or excerpt for your class to highlight a few controversial issues covered in our professional development text. This is just a selection of books for younger readers that tackle deep issues in a meaningful way. If you are looking for a book to enrich a specific conversation in your class or share with a student, please let me know.
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (race, gender, class) -- “Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.”
- My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula Freedman (religion, cultural identity) --During the fall leading up to her bat mitzvah, Tara (Hindi for "star") Feinstein has a lot more than her Torah portion on her mind. Between Hebrew school and study sessions with the rabbi, there doesn’t seem to be enough time to hang out with her best friend Ben-o--who might also be her boyfriend--and her other best friend, Rebecca, who’s getting a little too cozy with that snotty Sheila Rosenberg. Not to mention working on her robotics project with the class clown Ryan Berger, or figuring out what to do with a priceless heirloom sari that she accidentally ruined. Amid all this drama, Tara considers how to balance her Indian and Jewish identities and what it means to have a bat mitzvah while questioning her faith.
- Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers (patriotism, military issues) -- "Robin "Birdy" Perry, a new army recruit from Harlem, isn't quite sure why he joined the army, but he's sure where he's headed: Iraq. Birdy and the others in the Civilian Affairs Battalion are supposed to help secure and stabilize the country and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. Officially, the code name for their maneuvers is Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the young men and women in the CA unit have a simpler name for it: WAR."
- Fourth Down and Inches by Carla Killough McClafferty (sports) -- "Award-winning author Carla Killough McClafferty takes readers on a bone-crunching journey from football's origins to the latest research on concussion and traumatic brain injuries in the sport. Fourth Down and Inches features exclusive photography and interviews with scientists, players, and the families of athletes who have literally given everything to the game."
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena (class) -- "Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn't he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question in this picture book is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty-and fun-in their routine and the world around them."
Blurbs from the publisher.