Catherine, Called Birdy movie

I didn't realize they've made a movie out of the first book by Karen Cushman (who also wrote the Midwife's Apprentice).

It's coming out Oct. 7 and will be on Amazon Prime

It covers a similar period of time to the Midwife's Apprentice and might be of interest for some comparisons? It is PG-13. FYI

Trailer:
https://youtu.be/fPiztxYR9sU

How an Eighth-Grade Civics Class Helped Reverse the Last Conviction in the Salem Witch Trials

From NY Times Learning - you may find this interesting/useful

Lesson Plan: How an Eighth-Grade Civics Class Helped Reverse the Last Conviction in the Salem Witch Trials
Students will learn about the power of civic action to achieve justice — even 329 years later. Then, they will propose their own plan to rectify a wrong in their own community.

This actually happened in North Andover, just up the road!

Tiny Memoir Contest for Students

This may be of interest to you -- either as a contest, or just as an activity/lesson.

The New York Times has a Tiny Memoir Contest for Students. They invite teenagers to tell a true story about a meaningful life experience in just 100 words. Contest dates: Sept. 14 to Oct. 12.

To help, they have a step-by-step guide full of advice that is grounded in 25 excellent 100-word mentor texts.

If your students actually want to enter, they must be a student ages 13 to 19 in middle school or high school to participate, and all students must have parent or guardian permission to enter. Please see the F.A.Q. section for additional eligibility details

Public radio archive of Latinx, Hispanic and Spanish-language programs

TadioWorld: AAPB Releases Resources to Honor Hispanic Heritage. "To honor Hispanic Heritage Month, the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is releasing a selection of documentaries, interviews and other archival material for stations to air. The resources highlight the AAPB’s archive of Latinx, Hispanic and Spanish-language programs created by public radio broadcasters for radio and television. The material includes more than 8,000 newly added broadcasts from Linea Abierta, the only nationally-aired, Spanish-language, public radio call-in show."

Hamilton Education Program Online

The Hamilton Education Program Online provides students, teachers, and parents with the opportunity to explore America’s Founding Era and shows students how to use that knowledge to create and perform their own narrative in the form of a song, rap, spoken word, or scene.

Students who create a performance piece are eligible for our national competition and lottery—now open for submissions. Here are the details:

• We will select a total of 20 winners—10 performances chosen by our judging panel and 10 performances chosen at random.
• This program is open to both school and—new in 2022—at-home submissions.
• Up to 3 submissions per parent or teacher are allowed.
• Winners will be invited to New York City for an all-expenses-paid, full-day theater experience, including a performance of Hamilton, in Spring 2023.
• Submissions are open to all students in grades 6-12.
• Deadline to submit performances: December 16, 2022.

To help them in their journey, the program features expert advice from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the cast of Hamilton, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s master teachers on how to research, create, and perform their own original performance piece.

Ready to get started? Visit this page to create a free account and please email if you have any questions

Steph Curry Livestream Event

I have signed up for this 30 minute event for kids with NBA Superstar Stephen Curry that will be held over Microsoft Teams from 1-1:30 Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 4.
I'd like to host one 5th grade team in the library for this event. If more than one team is interested, I'll do a drawing.

I have purchased 3 copies of Stephen Curry's new inspirational picture book, "I have a superpower" (spoiler alert: he puts his heart into what he does) that I will give away to students on the participating team.

The participating team can also submit questions in advance through Flip and get a chance to win a poster and be featured in the event. See below for more details.

Translating "Hamilton" into German

This was fascinating!

Six Lyrics That Show Why ‘Hamilton’ Is Tough to Translate

Ideas for Building Community

10 Ideas for Building Community at the Start of the School Year

Inspired by lighthearted New York Times features from across sections, these exercises can help students get to know one another.

• Make something with just six items (plus a wild card).
• Debate the silly, or discuss the serious.
• Ask “What’s Going On In This Picture?” with your own photos.
• Play Wordle.
• Describe your Sunday routine.
• List 10 things you can’t live without.
• Compile a playlist.
• Explain a unique skill.
• Debate some Social Q’s.
• Discuss the books you love — or loathe.

Constitution Day & Citizenship Day is 9/17

 Constitution Day & Citizenship Day is on 9/17 so many schools will celebrate it on 9/16.

Technically, "Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students." - Commemorating Constitution Day and Citizenship Day - US Dept. of Education

The Smithsonian has some good (and free) resources to recommend if you are interested.

You may also want to check the National Constitution Center https://constitutioncenter.org/

and the National Archives Constitution Day

https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/constitution-day

Google Classroom Cleanup & Setup

If you are starting to set up your Google Classrooms (and let's be honest, maybe also clean up the old ones from past years...), this presentation may be helpful. I updated it last year, but I just used most of the steps myself and they all seemed to work pretty well!

If you just want a quick checklist (with some links to more resources on page 2), try this

Jason Reynolds @ National Book Festival

Jason Reynolds is speaking at the National Book Festival next Friday and Saturday. He's an incredible speaker - some of you may enjoy this yourself or to share with your students after the fact.

NPR Podcast: Jason Reynolds on TED Radio Hour
Friday, September 17, 2021
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT

Live Conversation with Jason Reynolds
Saturday, September 18, 2021
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm EDT
This live presentation will premiere online with captioning as part of the National Book Festival and will be available for viewing afterwards in the Library's Event Videos collection.

Of course there are also dozens of other fantastic authors and speakers as well!

Constitution Day & Citizenship Day 9/17

Constitution Day & Citizenship Day are on Friday, September 17.

The National Constitution Center has a range of lessons and activities for Constitution Day - and every day.

• Resources for Constitution Day
• Interactive Constitution
• Classroom Learning Materials
• Constitution Day Events

American Bar Association Lesson Plans

• Middle School - Constitution

Library of Congress

• Constitution Day Resources

National Archives

• Observing Constitution Day

U.S. Department of Education

• Constitution Day Resources

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service

• Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

Cambridge Science Festival

The Cambridge Science Festival will go through April 30

From Boston.com: The Cambridge Science Festival, primarily online this year has more than 160 free exhibitions, demonstrations, tours, workshops, and more. The festival website says: “From culinary creations to comedy, from astrophysics to artwork, we’ve got your science needs covered. Meet a scientist! Tour a lab! Talk to an eel!”

Puberty Info for Specific Student Populations

I came across this through a link in an article today in the NY Times - it's information about puberty from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center in Nashville that is geared toward specific student populations and their families and educators -- (1) students with intellectual disabilities and (2) students with autism.

There are separate guides for families of boys and girls with intellectual disabilities, which would also be useful for educators. Note the separate appendix with storyboards and visuals to use while implementing the methods outlined in the guide.  The guides for students with intellectual disabilities are also available in Spanish. 

Girls with intellectual disabilities

• Healthy Bodies: A Parent's Guide on Puberty for Girls with Disabilities
• Spanish language version - for girls
• Girls Toolkit Appendix 

Boys with intellectual disabilities

• Healthy Bodies: A Parent's Guide on Puberty for Boys with Disabilities
• Spanish-language version - for boys
• Boys Toolkit Appendix

For autistic teens and adults

• Puberty, Sex, and Sexuality: An Introduction for Autistic Teens and Adults Toolkit
• View as interactive online course: 
  *To take part in the online course, register for a free account at triad.vkclearning.org and access the information under "Information Toolkit" To learn how to navigate the online learning portal, visit https://vkc.vumc.org/vkc/triad/online/

Portuguese Language Books

There was an email thread with MA school librarians this week about the best place to get Portuguese language books

Amazon has the best selection. Most on Amazon are offered by the vendors Pure Brazil and Foreign Books Illinois and most are reasonably priced.

Another vendor is BuoBooks  (https://www.buobooks.com/).  They claim to be "the world's first Portuguese language bookstore" and are headquartered in Florida with offices in Portugal and Brazil. 

France seeks Unesco heritage status for the baguette

France seeks Unesco heritage status for the baguette - BBC

Video game could help improve brain function for children with disabilities

“Researchers at the University of Victoria have tapped into a booming gaming industry to help improve brain function and cognitive abilities in children with disabilities. A team at UVic, building on years of study, have partnered with the private sector to create Dino Island, a video game that takes children with neurodevelopment disabilities on a tour of a fictitious, digitized island where they face a progressive series of challenges in the hopes of improving their brain function.”

Read article here: Video game could help improve brain function for children with disabilities.

OurEcho Challenge - STEM Innovation Competition

The OurEcho Challenge is a STEM innovation competition that ask U.S. middle school students to take a closer look at biodiversity in their communities then do something to protect it. Students identify threats to local ecosystems and then propose solutions to help preserve, protect or repair those natural resources. 

 
Entries will be accepted through April 22, 2021, and free standards-aligned biodiversity resources are available to support teachers and students year-round. 

10 Finalist Teams will join EarthEcho for a live broadcast virtual celebration, where they will present their innovative ideas. The top 3 teams will be awarded grants of up to $5,000 to turn their projects into a reality.

Click here for more info and to enter

YouTube "Checks" Tool

If you ever upload videos to YouTube that may be using music or other copywritten content, here's some info for you:

YouTube can now warn creators about copyright issues before videos are posted

• YouTube is rolling out a new tool called “Checks” that tells a creator ahead of time if their video contains copyrighted material.
• The new feature screens uploads for copyrighted content, which could lead to takedowns
• This new system is reliant on Content ID. If YouTube’s copyright identification system finds a violation after a video is scanned, the rights holder’s policy will be automatically applied to the video, according to the company. This could result in either the video being blocked entirely or the rights holders monetizing the video instead.

Listen to Five of the World’s Newest, Wildest Instruments

Listen to Five of the World’s Newest, Wildest Instruments - NY Times

A Lego guitar and a “war tuba” are among the highlights of this year’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition.

You can also go here:
Guthman Musical Instrument Competition