Below are all the picture books I read with classes in the month of September. Ask your student about their favorite one!
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Last weekend I drove out to Harbor Springs to attend the Festival of the Book with some of my TSD colleagues. It was a beautiful weekend, the Fall colors were gorgeous. I had incredible conversations about authors, illustrators, and books. My favorite part of the festival is the opportunity to talk to some of my students' favorite authors, like Alan Gratz, Tae Keller, Carole Lindstrom, and Sophie Blackhall, just to name a few. Speaking of Sophie Blackhall, I spent a few hours Saturday hanging out in the Harbor Springs Public Library listening to picture book authors speak, and during her presentation Sophie shared her brand new book If I Was a Horse. She even taught the audience how she draws horses.
Another highlight from the weekend was this middle grade panel, which featured some incredible authors. The star of the show, however, was the 11-year-old moderator. He asked the sort of questions that kids would really want to know when given the opportunity to talk to their favorite authors, which made this panel extremely fun. Yesterday I got to join my Elementary Media teammates at Oakland Schools for an all-day training on the role of Artificial Intelligence in schools. I went into the training with a bit of knowledge about AI but I wasn't quite sure how it fit into my students' lives. I learned so much about the many ways we are already using AI, whether we like it or not. Ever noticed when you're typing an email and it predicts what you're going to say next? That's AI! Our team had excellent discussions about the ethics and concerns with using AI in the classroom. Primarily, we worry about whether or not AI is keeping up with COPPA laws which keep our elementary students safe. It is my job to keep student data safe and secure, so I will be keeping a close eye on these developments and ensuring any tools we use in the classroom are not sharing student data. Another lesson I learned was that AI can create images that look astonishingly real (except for hands, it really struggles with hands). It can also mimic voices and other sounds. We watched a music video for a song that was created and performed entirely by AI. It's amazing, but now more than ever I need to remind my students that you can't always trust everything you see on the internet. Just because you see a photo or video on a website, or hear a sound bite online, doesn't mean it is real. On the bright side, I saw so much potential for AI to save us time. Time is always my #1 enemy, I never have enough of it. But there are incredible tools for teachers like Magic School and Canva that can make lesson plans, write goal statements, or create presentations and visual aides in a flash. These time-saving tools are going to help me use my time wisely so I have more time for my students, my family, and myself. What a gift! I'll leave you with two of my favorite AI games that can be used with students: 1. Quick Draw. My family has been playing Quick Draw at home since he was in virtual Kindergarten in 2020! It's a great little drawing game that demonstrates how AI works. Imagine playing Pictionary with a computer. This game is great for any and all ages. 2. Semantris. This word-association game powered by Google is the perfect combination of Tetris and word play. I had so much fun trying this one out at the PD yesterday that I came home and played a few more rounds after dinner. This one would be great for older elementary students and up, as there is a reading/writing component. Last week 5th graders began a new unit of study in the Library Media Center. The spark for the idea came from an actual fire which began way back in June. When wildfires in Canada were keeping students indoors due to poor air quality, my son asked me my favorite question: "Why?" Why did we have to stay inside when the fires were happening so far away? And why can't they just put them out? This question was the beginning of our inquiry cycle which lead me into a fit of research, reading articles and watching videos, and I discovered some really interesting ways that firefighters and engineers are using drones to locate, prevent, and assist with fighting fires. First, I introduced 5th graders to the inquiry cycle. Then we watched 3 video clips from different news sites showing three different ways that drones are being used by firefighters. Next, we brainstormed other careers that could use drones and how they might use them. I was so impressed with the list students generated. This week we got into the really fun part: flying drones! But before they were allowed to fly, 5th graders had to look closely at the drone and try to figure out how it works. They drew and labeled sketches, then used the "Parts, Purposes, Complexities" thinking routine from Maker-Centered Learning to look closely and consider exactly how and why drones can fly. Then, we split up into groups to fly. The kids were all smiles as they set to figuring out the controls and mastering flying the drone around the library. Next week we will be imagining and building prototype "attachments" for our drones to improve a career of their choice. Like the firefighters we saw in the featured videos, students will have to think carefully about a job that could benefit from drone technology and then imagine a new tool that would make the drones even better.
Here are some highlights from the first weeks of school:
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AuthorMrs. Henderson is the School Library Media Specialist at Hamilton Elementary. In addition to being a book-lover, she is also a gamer, a crafter, and a mom. She also shares a lot on Twitter: twitter.com/lhendersonreads Archives
April 2024
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