Live Stream Event with Justin Baldoni

Were any of you interested in this? It's a live streamed event, which is kind of fun, but it will probably be available after the fact to view as well.

Join filmmaker, actor, and author Justin Baldoni who recently published a book Boys Will be Human. for a real-talk on helping boys embrace their feelings and fears and find their confidence to be their authentic self. You’ll hear tips and get advice on how you can become the strongest, kindest, bravest person you can be.

The live streaming event is on Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 1-1:30pm, so it mostly falls during grade 8 GA2 block

Behind the Curtain Reader's Theatre books

I came across one of these books on Sora today and they have a bunch of them. I want to show it to you - may be of interest!


https://cherrylakepublishing.com/series/205-behind-the-curtain

Sold a Story Podcast

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong
There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn't true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended.


Here's a review and overview from Forbes
New Podcast Examines Why Teachers Have Been ‘Sold A Story’ On Reading Instruction

Congressional App Challenge

Registration for the 2022 Congressional App Challenge is by November 1st, 2022 (Next week).

The Office of Congressman Seth Moulton is proud to host the 2022 Sixth District Congressional App Challenge (CAC), an app competition for students in middle and high school. The CAC accepts computer programs (or apps) written in any programming language, for any platform (desktop/PC, web, mobile, raspberry Pi, etc.) The Challenge’s submission portal is now open and students can register and submit their applications until November 1st, 2022. The competition is available to all students who meet the eligibility requirements, regardless of coding experience.

We strongly encourage students of all skill levels to participate and learn how to create their own apps. Winners will be selected by panels of judges drawn from the local community and honored by their Member of Congress. Their apps are eligible to be featured on display in the U.S. Capitol building, on house.gov and on the Congressional App Challenge website.

MA Independent Comics Expo

You or some of your students may be interested in this...

The MA Independent Comics Expo is happening this weekend at BU. It’s free and features workshops, panels, exhibitors, etc. from folks like Jarrett Krosoczka, Maia Kobabe, Gail Galligan, Chad Sell and more. There are some pre-show events tomorrow night.

More info here: micexpo.org

Create Papel Picado in Google Slides

Celebrate Día de los Muertos with Applied Digital Skills

Teachers - celebrate Día de los Muertos with the new Applied Digital Skills lesson Create Papel Picado in Google Slides. In this lesson, students can learn about the holiday tradition and create a digital version of the Mexican folk art, papel picado.

Jason Reynolds Live Stream Event

The Jason Reynolds live stream event is Tuesday 10/18 at 1pm. 

The topic is "Learn What Makes You Strong" Reynolds' new novel, Stuntboy, in the Meantime, is about a boy who finds his inner strength by helping others shine. You can see/show the trailer for his new book here:
https://youtu.be/Dfy2a0lcmTM

Find out more here:
https://info.flip.com/events/jason-reynolds.html

Funky Chaucer reboot

I stumbled across this article today from a few years ago:

Funky Chaucer reboot by Patience Agbabi due for April launch

The award-winning poet's modern take on the Canterbury Tales to come complete with ladettes, rappers and self-help gurus

I was wondering if there might be any videos of this, and found a few including this one. I don't know if it includes anything that is verboten - given how bawdy the Canterbury Tales can be, it's hard to say and I didn't watch it all the way. But this or something similar might be of interest to you for this unit.
Patience Agbabi - Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, The Slam Remix

If you'd like me to dig around some more, let me know. I just don't want to spend time on it if it's not of use! But it could be useful/interesting to show the Canterbury Tales continued relevance.

Spirited musical based on A Christmas Carol

Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell dance through the streets of Boston in ‘Spirited’ trailer
The movie musical based on "A Christmas Carol" was filmed in the Boston area in 2021. “Spirited” will open in theaters Nov. 11 before streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 18.

Note that it's rated PG-13 so if you were interested in showing to students you would need parent permission slips.

Misinformation Swirls in Non-English Languages Ahead of Midterms

I've been concerned about misinformation and disinformation with all of our students, but like a lot of things, it may disproportionately affect people who engage with the internet in other languages than English:

Misinformation Swirls in Non-English Languages Ahead of Midterms

If you are interested in working with me on any lessons where I can co-teach or help you knit in digital literacy skills with your students, I'd love to do that. I've done a lot with digital literacy the past few years, including a graduate certificate program a couple of years ago and teaching digital literacy to BMS students in a class last year and the year before.

World Mental Health Day resources

Today (Oct. 10) is World Mental Health Day. How fortuitous we have a day off for it!

You may find this In Rhythm with Nature YouTube playlist useful for some peaceful sounds and videos to play in the classroom or you can even do some more directed breathing exercises with it.

Google's Keyword blog says:In Rhythm Of Nature is a digital wellbeing experience inspired by the Carl Linnaeus Flower Clock. Linneaus was a renowned 18th century botanist and taxonomist who developed a modern system to identify, name, and classify living things. His unique garden designs captured the natural circadian rhythms of different plants that would open and close their blooms in relation to the time of the day. In Rhythm With Nature aims to establish an intimate connection between humans and nature through a series of beautifully crafted breathing exercises timed by the flowers opening and closing. Essentially you are breathing with flowers that open according to your time of the day.

Read more here

Sounding Out a Better Way to Teach Reading

Article in the NY Times today that may be of interest

Sounding Out a Better Way to Teach Reading
Schools are returning to phonics and other evidence-based literacy methods, and already there are signs that the switch is paying off in improved scores.

American Ideals Virtual Field Trip

Explore America’s Unique History of Civic Engagement

Immerse students in the process of democracy! Show a new generation how leadership, communication, and informed action unite people for the greater good with the American Ideals Virtual Field Trip.

Cool Science Artwork Competition

We are excited to announce the 11th annual Cool Science Artwork Competition. Please share this invitation with parents, teachers, mentors, community members, and students who are interested in the arts and/or sciences. This year’s deadline is January 13, 2023.

Cool Science
Cool Science is a free and public art competition held each fall for all K-12 artists. Cool Science is a collaboration between the UMass Lowell, UMass Boston, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, University of Kansas, and Kansas City Art Institute. In 2019, Cool Science received a National Science Foundation grant that helped it expand the project beyond Massachusetts to Kansas, Missouri, and Southern New Hampshire.

Challenge Questions
This year, we are asking young artists to answer one of the following challenge questions with a visual work of art:

• How might your experience with extreme temperatures be different from kids in other places around the world?
• Draw someone who is getting ready for flooding where you live.
• Draw a public transportation system (like buses & trains) that keeps working in a severe storm.

Competition Winners
During this winter, we will select the best entries for display on public buses in 2023. The honorees will be recognized at our art exhibit celebrations next year.


To Learn More
For further information about the contest, please visit: https://www.coolscience.net/artwork-guidelines-rules
You can also join our community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. You can also visit our website for further information about the program (www.coolscience.net).

Live Stream with Lauren Tarshis - I Survived Author

We did a nice live stream event with Stephen Curry that's run by Flip through Microsoft Teams today with a 5th grade team and the kids seemed to really enjoy it.

There's a live stream event coming up in November that could be a good one for a grade 6 team - it's with Lauren Tarshis, who writes the I Survived books. Find out more about it here:
https://info.flip.com/events/wellington-avalanche.html

I have already signed up for it and would be happy to host a 6th grade team for it. It's on Thursday, November 10 from 1-1:30. Your kids are on team until 1:25, so they would maybe be a few minutes late to their GA. You would just have to bring them down here and stay with them but I'll do the space and tech setup.

If more than one team is interested, I can do a drawing. And if you want to do it in the classroom, it's do-able, I can show you what you'll need to do to set it up. It's not hard, but it uses a program we don't use here much (Teams).