Why I Picked It Up: We are always looking for engaging books for the elementary classroom, so when this came across one of my many searches. It reminded me of How They Croaked, by Georgia Bragg (one of my faves!), and so I quickly ordered it. Why I Finished It: It’s really addicting. The book arrived […]
Making Connections
Thematic Unit: Picture Books about Perseverance
Theme: In order to teach a thematic unit, students must first understand the theme being studied. Define perseverance for the students. I chose to explain it as continuing to do something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. I illustrated the definition for students by explaining how my youngest son has persevered through guitar lessons. […]
Book Review: Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices
Why I Picked It Up: In searching for strong social studies text for our Beyond the Textbook Session, I found this advanced reader’s copy in Sherry’s personal collection. It was definitely a “Jessica book,” so she happily gave me her copy. Why I Finished It: Curiosity! From the beginning I was intrigued by the stories the […]
Book Review: Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast, by Josh Funk
Why I Picked It Up: My son and I were studying in the children’s section in Barnes & Noble, when he looked up and pointed at a display shelf and hollered, “MOM! Totally a book for you!” It’s official, my son is completely aware of my quirky taste in books and there are varied authors […]
Book Review: Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail, by Kate Messner
Why I Picked It Up: This book had two different things to recommend it to me. We tend to read either YA novels or picture books, and so we’ve been looking for younger elementary chapter books. We are also getting ready for the upcoming Texas Council for the Social Studies Conference at the end of the month, […]
App/Website Review: Canva
I’m going to share a secret with you today. I am NOT a talented graphic designer. Yet, I do all the visuals for this website and for our presentations thanks to my secret weapon: Canva. In a previous post, we did share some solid apps for creating visuals. While those apps do create excellent visuals […]