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I'm thrilled to be joined today by Pernille Ripp — a passionate educator, author, and literacy advocate. She is the author of Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students, and Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration. She's also the founder of the Global Read Aloud, a program that has connected millions of students and teachers around the world through the shared joy of reading.And for all of our benefit, Pernille is also a prolific sharer. After teaching in Wisconsin for over a decade, In her BlueSky re-introduction she noted she was “back living in Denmark because she needed to breathe a bit easier.” And she frequently posts about her experience in the Danish education system, “Fun fact about teaching at my Danish school,” she writes, “when we are sick, we're not required to write sub plans because we're sick.” And by most measures, Danes are among the happiest in the world, despite having among the highest tax rates. Healthcare and PreK-College education is free. Hygge conjures cozy seasonal vibes. Denmark has some of the highest public education participation and teacher pay and some of the lowest student:teacher ratios and class sizes among their OECD peers, including the United States. On a more grim note of comparison, the Wikipedia page for “school shootings in Denmark” contains a single entry from 1994, the only school shooting in Danish history. However, as a PDF, the list of school shootings in the United States since 2000 is 169 pages long with footnotes.Regular listeners of this show will know just how immediately all of this grabbed my attention. In the past we've had guests talk about their experiences with everything from the education system in Trinidad & Tobago to the national Chinese college entrance exam, so I am thrilled at the opportunity to dig into both American and Danish society and education systems with someone who has knowledge and experience in both.Pernille Ripp Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
EPISODE 1773: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Elana K. Arnold, author of THE BLOOD YEARS, about book banning, book burning and what we can learn from Second World War books about good and evilELANA K. ARNOLD is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children's books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Several of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have appeared on many best book lists, including the Amelia Bloomer Project, a catalog of feminist titles for young readers. Elana teaches in Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
A Response to Book Banning Born in Canada, Zetta Elliott moved to the US in 1994 to pursue her PhD in American Studies at NYU. She is the author of over thirty books for young readers, including the award-winning picture books Bird and Melena's Jubilee. Dragons in a Bag, a middle-grade fantasy novel, was named an American Library Association Notable Children's Book and was selected for the 2021 Global Read Aloud. Her poetry has been published in several anthologies, including Show Us Your Papers, We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, and New Daughters of Africa; her young adult poetry collection, Say Her Name, was named a 2020 “Best of the Best” title by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was nominated for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award. Her picture book, A Place Inside of Me, was named an ALA Notable Book and a Notable Poetry Book by the National Council of Teachers of English. Elliott advocates for greater diversity and equity in children's literature; her essays have appeared in Blavity, The Huffington Post, and Publishers Weekly. She currently lives in Chicago, IL.
In this episode of the SCBWI Podcast, we are joined by Elana K. Arnold!ELANA K. ARNOLD is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children's books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Several of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have appeared on many best book lists, including the Amelia Bloomer Project, a catalog of feminist titles for young readers. Elana teaches in Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets. Follow Elana K. Arnold on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elanakarnold/Buy An Ordinary Day here:https://bookshop.org/p/books/an-ordinary-day-elana-k-arnold/218301?ean=9781481472623SCBWI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scbwi/SCBWI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/scbwiBecome an SCBWI member today: https://www.scbwi.org/join-scbwi/Shop the SCBWI Bookshop.org page: https://bookshop.org/shop/SCBWISupport the show
Victoria J Coe is on the #ReadingWithYourKids #Podcast to celebrate two Fenway series. Victoria tells us the World was first introduced to Fenway in the Fenway and Hattie Middle Grade series. She is delighted that younger kids can now enjoy Fenway's antics through her Make Way For Fenway Chapter book series. Victoria also tells us how thrilling it was to have her book named a Global Read Aloud and why she named the hero of her series after Boston's world famous baseball stadium. Click here to visit Victoria's website - https://www.victoriajcoe.com/ Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com
In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to FINALLY SEEN author Kelly Yang about Roald Dahl, Ron DeSantis and why children's literature has become so politicized. KELLY YANG, Founder, is the New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of FRONT DESK and winner of the 2018 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. FRONT DESK is a debut middle grade novel published by Scholastic Inc, the publishers of Harry Potter, about a 10 year-old Chinese American immigrant girl who manages the front desk of a motel while her parents clean the rooms. In 2018, FRONT DESK was awarded the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature as well as the Parents' Choice Gold Medal. In addition, FRONT DESK is a Children's History Book Prize Honor Book, a E.B. White Honor Book, and has earned numerous other recognitions including being named an Amazon Best Book of the Year, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a NPR Best Book of the Year, a NBC Best Book of the Year, and a Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year. In 2019, it was announced that FRONT DESK is a 2019 Global Read Aloud, connecting 1.5 million children around the world through one book. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, I speak with Pernille Ripp.Pernille Ripp is an expert in literacy and technology integration and dedicates her research and practice to developing engaged and empowered students and communities.She is a teacher, speaker, author, blogger, and passionate advocate for education. She is the recipient of the 2015 WEMTA Making IT Happen Award; and the 2015 ISTE Award for Innovation in Global Collaboration.In 2010, Pernille founded The Global Read Aloud, a global literacy initiative that began with a simple goal in mind: one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to connect millions of students in around the world.She is the author of Passionate Readers -The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child and Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students, now in its second edition, and Empowered Schools, Empowered Students, both focusing on creating learning spaces and communities where students thrive and all stakeholders are empowered and passionate about learning. She has also authored Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration published in 2016 by Solution Tree. Her work has also been featured in many print and online journals including Edutopia, The New York Times, School Library Journal, The Guardian, and MiddleWeb.You can follow Pernille's work on Blogging Through The Fourth Dimension, her personal blog and a frequent Teach100 top-rated education blog.Pernille's current research interest is in creating passionate literacy environments within the restriction of our current educational systems to helping students fall in love with literacy again. She uses her own classroom as a laboratory, as well as learns from the many educators she works with across the world.Pernille is now also part of The Author Village, a collective of forward-thinking children's book authors and educators available for school and library visits, conferences, festivals, panels, and professional development opportunities. To see her page there, please go here.Direct Link: Episode: CHECK OUT THE SHOW AND EPISODES ON ITUNESThe show is on Spotify!TOPICS WE EXPLOREWho is Pernille Ripp? And what does she have going on?What are some AHA moments in the transition to living back in Denmark after being the US for a long time?What are differences in education between US and Denmark?What are similarities in education between US and Denmark?Why are we going backwards since COVID?Power of moderation, not thinking in extremes told through lens of the recent reading warsThird edition of her book, Passionate Learners, is about how do we let go in a system that teaches us that control is the best way to manage?Dealing with our own control demonsPower of trustHow do you start off the year co-creating community with students?How is power at the core of classroom about power and positional control?And how you do you this in the daily class, not just a one activity lessonYOUR CHALLENGEShare ideas you gathered from the conversation with us on the socials.What resonated with you? RESOURCES MENTIONED IN SHOWInstagramTwitterPatreon communityBlogAnd pre+order of my her edition?https://linktr.ee/PernilleRippall the goodness of her website AND more!Pernille Ripp Website Her website contains everything you would ever need to find all of her work!
Elana K. Arnold and I talk about the virtue of islands and plotting a mystery without knowing the ending in her newest novel, JUST HARRIET. We also discuss her series, A BOY CALLED BAT, writing about autism, questions of power, theme, the over prioritizing of plot, how to generate more ideas, making readers feel safe without patronizing them, how we all contain multitudes, author vs reader responsibilities, the random penguin slaughter of 2012, werewolves, an illegal ferret, and so much more. Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children's books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Several of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have appeared on many best book lists, including the Amelia Bloomer Project, a catalog of feminist titles for young readers. Elana teaches in Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets.
On this episode of TWIWT, Michelle and Alley sit down with award-winning author, Elana K. Arnold, to discuss storytelling, creative vulnerability, un-schooling your kids, not talking to your parents, and more. Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children's books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Elana teaches in Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and also offers two awesome writing courses: a generative creative writing course called Vision Season; and a masterclass in novel revision called Revision Season. Learn more at elanakarnold.com.
Transcript created using Maestra. We apologize for any errors.00:00:00 Molly RauhHello and welcome back to the CCIRA literacy conversations podcast. I'm your host Molly Rauh with my co-host , Jessica Rickert.00:00:09 Jessica RickertToday's podcast features Pernille Ripp. Pernille's work centers around creating a classroom environment based on student needs. Pernilleshares how important it is to keep students in the forefront of teaching and how to bring joy into the classroom and slow down to support students' learning . Welcome Pernille. We're so excited to have you on the podcast. Would you start out by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background?00:00:39 Pernille RippSure. So my name is Pernille Ripp. And most days you can find me in seventh grade English and Oregon, Wisconsin, right outside of Madison, Wisconsin. Or of course, at home, with my own for kids, trying to navigate what it means to be a teacher and a parent during an ongoing Global pandemic. If I'm not teaching or with my own kids, I'm usually either reading or writing or speaking. We're running the Global Read Aloud, which kicked off this week. And so there's always lots to do and lots of crazy busy-ness. But I would say that I'm easily found, and I love usually wherever I'm at. And I just like to try to think about how we can change all the things that we see need to be changed, and what we can do within the frameworks that we work within, and how we can continually provide students opportunities to reclaim the power that so many of our systems have taken away from them, whether it's within their reading and writing instruction, but also just in like, how they get to be in our schools and the systems that we have set up for them thereA 00:01:49 Molly RauhAwesome. So my first question for you, Pernille, is just thinking about my own time and energy as a teacher. What was it that kick-started for you, like going beyond teaching in your classroom and starting to write professional development resources for teachers? And then where do you find the time and energy to do all the great things you do? Because the rest, the rest of us need to know.00:02:20 Pernille RippYeah, I don't think there's such a thing as finding time, right? Like I think I make the time, and some days I feel super balanced and on top of the world and other days, I definitely don't. And I will say that the last 19 months. Now, with pandemic teaching, my world has been completely off kilter. I have not blocked as little as I have in all the years since I've been blogging. Even tonight. I sat outside for maybe 30 minutes, drinking a cup of tea, and just trying to read it. Book. And like my brain just could not connect with the words that I was seeing on the page. But I also say, like I have an incredible support system, right? I have a husband who is super invested in making sure that I have space to process, because that's how my writing started. It was a frustration with what I was doing, and then recognizing that some of the things that I was doing had been directly passed on to me in Traditions, right from helpful mentors and and college experiences. And also just what I had witnessed whatever was the traditions of teaching. And I was just really frustrated with how I had ended up becoming a product of the system that didn't work for all kids. And so I spoke a lot about it to my husband, and he's super, and he's a first-year teacher. He's really into education as well. But he was the one that said, you know, you really like writing, and he thought about writing about it. And so that's how it started. It started and continues to just be this, this kind of ongoing dialogue with the world, but also a monologue with myself with going. Okay, I saw this. And here are my thoughts. And here's what I'm going to try and hear what? Here's why this doesn't work. And so my blog is really just this, like random collection of experiences from the last 11 years, both in the classroom and also outside of it. And somehow that hit a chord with a lot of people. And it was not something that I set out to do. You know, it was not a diss intention of like man. I was a second. I was a third-year teacher when I started writing, and I did not think that I had the answers for anything, and I still don't have many answers, but I had a lot of questions. And I also had this hope that if I could change some things, maybe I could make the situation in front of me better. And my students were kind enough to share their voices with me and say, yeah, you go share this with other adults to, because it would be really nice if more people hurt at the new. And so I think that's it's just a super organic Journey that I've been on and continue to be on. Right. The learning never stops. And, and I think, especially in the last 19 months. Now more than ever, when we've just been told, we'll figure it out, or, you know, here's this new initiative. Can't you just make it work? I've tried to share all the dumb little things that I have done to try to make it bearable and manageable, but also been very vocal about like this is not sustainable, and it's not okay for us to feel like we're the ones failing here when there's so much more going on than just the decisions within our own classroom. 00:05:28 Molly RauhI love the that started as a reflective practice for you that you were just kind of reflecting on your work and writing about it. And, you know, I also think it's really neat that it was your husband who was like, write about it. You know, he recognized since what you needed when maybe you couldn't. So I think that's that's kind of a neat thing.00:05:48 Pernille RippAnd I think maybe he was just sick of hearing about it. You write like, because it's it's also like when you're in this vacuum together. Now that we were to teacher household, we also have to have like, we've really recognize some boundaries. And being like otherwise. It's all consuming. And I think he was at the point to where he was like this is all consuming for you. How can you get it out, step away? And then feel like you did something productive with all those thoughts? And so he knows me. Well, he knew that writing would be a good outlet for that.00:06:16 Molly RauhAnd I think one of the beautiful things about that as starting this journey for yourself as a third-year teacher. I don't know to me, that's like the prime time. You still have lots of energy. You still, like you have questions about things. You have all these ideals that you haven't forgot, if that makes sense. Yeah, because I think I don't know about you, but as I go through my own teaching journey, sometimes you lose sight of like that, that ultimate goal of who you want to be. Because, like you said, those systems, they end up changing us. And sometimes you look around suddenly, and you're like, I don't want to be part of these systems anymore. And you said, like you said, they're part of traditions, and they get passed down. And I think we all slowly, over time, you know, become complicit complicit in some practices that we probably don't love.00:07:13 Pernille RippAbsolutely. And I think they I think the system is set up to do that, that I think it's meant to wear as down the way that we are spoon fed this, you know, statement of, like, will do it for the kids. And the minute you raise your voice, well, then you're not in it for the right reasons. And what an incredibly toxic way of thinking. Like the reason I raise, my voice is for the kids, but it's also the create a profession that is sustainable for people, because it does not work if we're, if we are self sacrificing our health, our families, everything, our finances, just to fix a system that isn't working for kids, and then in Reverse being told, like, you must not have done enough. You know, when we look at burnout, it's like there's so many reasons. But of course, it's also like the burden that educational staff and the system is supposed to to carry is just too much. And so I think it's also, I think you're right with that, like I love being around new teachers because they're still hopeful. And then I look at myself, and I'm like, man, when did I become the jaded old teacher, right? Like when did I become that teacher? I was like, oh, here we go, another new idea, you know, like that voice in the staff meeting. But I get it now, And I get why people end up there. And so I think it's important to continue the dialogue with students to, because the students have been in our grade before. And so while I might be a eight year veteran of seventh grade by now, this is my students, one and only time in seventh grade, and they have hope and they want to change things. And so that's why I think it's so important for me to have those conversations with kids as well.00:08:47 Molly RauhOkay. So, thinking of like going from that blogging piece to your first book, and and just to give you a little bit of heads up. So, you know, I like to poll some of my colleagues and friends in education before I do these interviews. And I would say, I there were there were two kinds of teachers. They either knew who you were, and there were like, oh, my gosh, that's so exciting. She's great, or they had no idea who you were. And so for the you know, I think on a literacy podcast, most of our listeners probably know who you are. But on the off chance that there are some who don't know much about you, I think like I want, I want you to go back to early as a professional writer. How did you go from the blog to a book? And then kind of quick summary of what your first book was about that our listeners can maybe go. Maybe I need to pick that up. Okay?00:09:48 Pernille RippYa, no, how did that? So I was Brave. I saw a tweet. So I've been blogging for a couple of years, and people were responding, which was crazy, right? Like even the first blog post that I wrote somebody responded, and it wasn't my mom, you know, moms always like show up and dads. And it was like some stranger who had like, left a comment. And he was so crazy to me, and it continues to be to this day. And so after a couple of years, I was like, okay, this is kind of cool. And I sought sweet notes from the small press. And they were like, "Hey, we're looking for new education writers." And I was like, now, wouldn't that be something like, wouldn't that be a cool challenge to like, take all of this that I've been putting out in the world. And like, try to not make it a system like I didn't want to make a how to how to teach like Pernille kind of book. But just to be like, hey, here's my journey. And here are the ideas and man has that made a difference in my space at the time as a fourth and fifth grade teacher. And so I sent the idea, and they were like, yeah, yeah, we think there's something here. And so I wrote the first version of "Passionate Learners" for them. And then, you know, there were some things that didn't work out the way they did. And but they were. They were kind enough to connect me with Routledge to sell the book rights to them and so route, which then and they were like, this is awesome. Let's repackage this, but do want to update it. And by then I had moved to middle school. So I was like, yeah, because I looked at that book through that written by that Elementary version of Pernille that was all about like, let's break the system. And like, how do we give control back to students? And how do I question grading? And the homework? And like just constantly look at all the structures and the boxes that we place kids in and try to break those within a very conscripted conscripted system. You know, how do you work with in a school that tells you you have to do letter grades, but you don't want to, right like, what do you do that? How can you still Center the kids and still kind of play by some of the rules? And so I've read that book now is a middle school teacher. And I was like, oh, wait, here's the middle school extension of this work right now that I'm only responsible for 45 minutes of English times 5 that that wall breaking, has to look totally different, because it just wasn't such a different world. And so it was a really fantastic, great way to go back and revisit like what Pernille had written a couple of years earlier, what I had written a couple of years earlier and go kid. Now, how does this get adapted and modified? And so that was the second second edition of Passionate Learners, which sounds like really fancy, but it was really just because it was a purchase of that book. And so that book is really like, I don't know, my hopes and dreams for any classroom teachers of how do we give the control back to kids? How do we create opportunities for them to shape the learning, decide the learning assess themselves? And how do we put a microphone in front of their faces to say, what's not working for you? Do you feel respected? You know, why not? And what would, what would you like to do to facilitate change and be open to that, and then be able to help them create this change? And so that's where it all started. And then once that book came out, then all of a sudden it was, you know, just like these really serendipitous connections with other people that were like, Hey, we're, you know, could you want to write about, you know, you kind of talked about this and passionate Learners. You want to come over to Corwin and talk more about like, how can principals and empower their teachers like, what do you, what do you wish principals, knew and administration?" Which was a really interesting book to write, because it was like, I was not in a great principal situation at that time. So it was kind of like, what do I wish? We're my ideal situation, but it was also looking at, okay, what, what am I doing in my with my students to break down some of the hierarchy of power and how we share power? And how could that really be replicated within a district and the same thing? Then the global collaboration book happened. And then route, like a Routledge came back, and they were like, I was actually, I think I was under contract to write a book about student blogging, because I was super into student blogging. And as I started writing it, I was like, this is not. I was like, why am I writing this book? Like I don't think this is like chapter or like a PDF. And so I spoke to DonnaLynn Miller, who I know so many people know. And is a very dear friend of mine, I said, I have this idea for a writing or a reading book. And I was like, but I don't, I don't think, you know, like, who am I to write a reading book? And she was like, "No, we need as many people out there writing these books to say, look, DonnaLynn can do it in Texas, with, with her age groups. And Penny can do it up, you know, up in her, in her age groups. And then this random random teacher in Wisconsin can do it with her kids." And so it was the boost I needed to kind of go. Okay, I have I have a few ideas, and also to pay homage to the people who had come before me and said, I picked up their ideas. And here's what it looks like teaching day-to-day and 45 minutes of ela. And so that was passionate readers. And so for me, I think if I look at all four books that I've written and I'm currently writing up this, One what keeps coming back to me is, how do we center the child? And how do we make their voices heard? And how do we recognize that when a child shows up in our classroom, it's not just their academics that show up? It's their whole experience. It's the whole child, and if we don't make space for the emotions that they carryrwith them when it comes to Reading, writing or anything in school, and I don't just mean in a recognition like, oh, I see that you're having a hard day. But really we dive into into into these emotions with kids. Then they're going to have a much harder time actually making some real connections to the journey that they're on. And so that continues to be at the heart of my work and continues to be at the heart of my writing. So my hope for any of the books is really that any teacher at any grade level can pick it up and go, oh, I'm going to try this like I'm going to take these ideas, and I'm going to make him work within my system. But here's why she changed. And maybe I can't do it. I think she wants she did, but I can do some of that. And I think the biggest gift has just been when ducators have come up and said, you, you gave me the courage to go and try some of these things, because I write about the fear, you know, that came with making some of these changes, and also just like that one idea that you gave man, it just made the biggest difference like what a crazy honor that is. So yeah, the writing was not something I ever thought would be a part of my life. And now I can't imagine it not being a part of my life. That's usually how it goes, right? 00:16:41 Molly RauhDefinitely. Well, and that's that's how I process to. So to me, that just makes sense, although I haven't blogged about it in a long time, but early on, like you, I used to blog about it. So trying to think of how you worded it, you said it was. It was really great wording. You had said something about, you know, even just that, they read things, and they might not be able to use all the things that you put in your book, but they might take just one thing. And that really made me think about, kind of honoring the you know. And you've talked a lot about different spaces and places like DonnaLynn's space and place. And you mentioned Penny Kittle. Yeah, I was gonna say, was it Penny? Ya you mentioned Penny, and like the space in place that she teaches in. And so thinking of that, you know, I really I just really appreciated that, because I don't know. Over the years I've felt that teaching is incredibly personal, right? So, like, you know, I have I have my way of being, and it's not going to be your way of being. And so sometimes the things that work for me in honoring kids might look a little different in then how you my honor kids. And, you know, I love that you're a seventh-grade teacher, because that was my previous life, and I miss my seventh graders00:18:17 Pernille RippSuch an incredible age to be a part of right? And I think that that's also it like I think about. So I now teach in a glorious 86 minute block. So I only have three seventh grade classes. How vastly different they are. And even within my own system of doing things, looks very different depending on the kids in front of me and I, while I love that there are books and systems out there that are like day one day to, you know, do this, because I think it's such an incredible resource, especially when you're just starting out, and you're trying to figure out your own systems. But like, I really wanted to put a book out there that was like, you don't have to do this day by day. You can use this at different parts of the year. You can use this when it fits for this one class or, or just. Here's a question, you can ask yourself, when you're having one of those days, some things are not working, because that's what's been helpful for me, right? It's been more of those books that said, I see you. And here's some things that you can do to make YOU better. And in turn, your classroom is going to hopefully feel a change as well. And so that has always been my goal, never to write the 10 step version. You know, just to be like, try this. Reflect on this. Ask this, do this. Here's a sheet. Here's an idea. Here's a lesson. And those are my favorite PD books as well, the journeys that I get to go on, because otherwise I forget, you know, I can't sit with it book in my lap and read another person, step-by-step instructions when I'm there with the students. And so for me, it's important that there needs to be some sort of osmosis into my own system.00:19:49 Molly RauhWell, and that brings me back to something you said earlier that I really appreciated too, because you talked about how you see how that those systems kind of make us jaded over time. And you know, a little bit of that idea of having some empathy for how teachers get to those spaces and going, okay, I love that. You said, you know, here's a question you can ask yourself. And, you know, I think that's something even in the world we live in today. I've seen some of my colleagues that were, you know, at one point in time, like people, I really admired and loved dearly. I've seen them kind of go down what I might consider a little bit of a dark path where maybe they've lost touch with who they are and what they leave as a teacher. And so I, like, I like that question framing too, because sometimes those questions can be questions that you ask your dear friends too, to help them reflect on where they're at. And it's that that comes from a space of, I think, a lot of empathy for just how hard it can be to continue this profession and stay true to that core of wanting to do our best for kids and wanting to honor them and keeping them centered. So given that, you know, that's something that you speak to that resonates with me personally. Could you give an example of a question that you ask yourself sometimes, or that you recommend teachers might ask themselves when maybe they're making choices that aren't student-centered or aren't ya internally. That experience? Yeah, I think, I mean, there's one question that I've used for years, and that's just what I want to be a student in my own classroom, right? Like wood Pernille, the 12 year old version of Pernille, as much as I can remember, would, would I have thrived in this environment that I've created a law inside my seventh graders? But also like thinking as a parent, right? I have four kids in myself. And would they be able to thrive within our environment and kind of keeping that as a gut check? Because there's always going to be days where I'm like, hmm, no. Today was probably really boring, right? And so then, knowing that when I'm planning, adding some more boring lessons, because sometimes they are just going to be boring right like it's not always going to be a production, then thinking about like, what's my attitude and delivering these lessons as far as like, how am I joking around? How am I giving them a chance to get up and move around? And, you know, how else can we provide joy? And so that's my other question, especially right now is how much? How much joy are we having? Are we getting a chance to just sit and laugh together? You know, it cannot like I was on Twitter the other night. And Julie G, who's just a fabulous educator that I admire so much. You know, she had said, I'm going to paraphrase it home awfully, but she had said, something like, you know, constantly asking kids to solve the world's problems is exhausting for them, and also, like, not healthy. And I think about that, especially like with an English right where we have so much like, let's burn down the system. And like lets36, let's really dig in all these deep dark issues. And how are we going to change the world, which is like, super amazing. And I have some kids who are like, yes, lets, you know. And they want to go out. And they want to do all the things. But right now, too, I think, like, we all just need some more joy. And that's not in any way pretending that the world isn't burning literally around us, but it's just going like, how can we refill our energy reserves so that we can go out and fight the rules and fight the system and continue all of the conversations that we're having that need to be have about the inequities? And all is the system make just obstacles that we have in place for so many people in our country. And so for me, one of the questions to is just like, how am I bringing joy in? How are we co-creating joy and not like in an artificial way, but just like, you know, today, one of my fantastic kids just loves playing computer games on his chrome book the entire time that I'm teaching. And so we just made it a game of like, how quickly could I shut him down? And he was laughing about it. It. And I was like, I was laughing about it too, because it was like the perseverance that was being put into trying to get the game loaded before I noticed it was really impressive, like that kid is going to go places, right? And I think it was important for me in that moment. It go like this is funny. This is this is not this kid, like trying to like, be super rude or anything like that, like he's being a kid who has an opportunity to do the snake game or whatever they have unblocked and whatever. And and that was what he needed to. He laid himself. And so, yeah, I think, I think right now, I think it's really important that we all come back to Joy a little bit, but also that idea of like, you know, would you want to be a student in your own classroom? And if you're not sure, go ask the kids, that's always what I when I go out and teach people. I'm like, what questions are you asking, kids? Well, how would they describe your class? And sometimes people get really defensive. And I get that, because it's really hard to be told that maybe your class is not the favorite class, or maybe they don't really like you that much. Or maybe that lesson plan that you have worked so hard on. And that you were so excited about is not what they're excited about. And I've had to really teach myself, and I wish I was better at it, but I pretend that I'm really thick skinned, and I'd pretend in the face of my students that I'm really thick skinned. And so I always tell him, like, you got to tell me, if you don't feel safe, I hope you are able to tell me, or if you don't feel respected for me, I will give you opportunities to tell me. But at any point also let me know. But also, if you're like, this is so boring, can we plan something better together? Because you also have to recognize that these are my best ideas. And so if something is really terrible, let's talk about it, and then I would love your input. And I think that that has helped me stay more grounded. And I think for a lot of teachers who maybe are feeling really burned out right now, maybe having some of those conversations with kids. But like, how can we make this better? What would make a difference? Like, even my students today I put on the board, they're kind of in different places because they're working through some things, and it was like, you know, get all your old work done. And then hey, finish this new project up. And then third one was like, when you're done, you can nap, or you can read. But you can work on other classes in the kids were like, we can nap Mrs. Ripp. I was like, yeah, you can nap, and they were like, oh, my gosh, I really want a nap. And so again, that from the kids to write. And so I just think that if we're feeling this burnout, if we're feeling this frazzled, if we're feeling the scatterbrained, that we can't even read books, and how are the kids feeling, and not because that their emotional state takes precedent over ours it, there needs to be some sort of like, you know, balance there. But like, if we're feeling this way, then how are the kids in our, in our care feeling? And so I feel like there's just opportunity to have a lot of conversations. I was a really long winded answer. I apologize.00:27:06 Molly RauhNo, that was a glorious, answerand it deserves every second that I got. Well, that made me think so, you know, I'm new at my school. And so being new, you know, you're feeling this inordinate amount of pressure to like, impress the boss and, like, you know, going from middle school to high school. I also felt this pressure for a high school level of rigor. And, you know, the reality was, I realized my kids aren't there yet. You know, it's a very different population than where I was before. They have a lot of spaces where I need to build some skills that they don't have that. You know, I took for granted, they might have as high school students. And so I had to take a step back and go, you're pushing these guys too much. And yes, you want to get there. And I'm still going to get, you know, do my darndest to get them there. And I've already seen them grow exponentially, because kids are amazing and resilient, and they can do fantastic things. But I also, you know, in that push, I was making my classroom, like you said, it was not a place where kids wanted to be. And really, it wasn't a place where I wanted to be right. And, you know, had this realization of that, because, you know, again, I like to be reflective and ask myself, myself those questions. And this was very impulsive. I'm a very impulsive person. You know, I asked, I started adding like a silly little question at the beginning of the day, in addition to whatever, you know, warm up sort of thinking tasks they had going on. And the other day I had put on there can you do a cartwheel? And, you know, we go around the room, and some of them are like, maybe, I don't know. I haven't tried in years, and some of them are like, I don't think so. And so impulsively. I was like, all right, in the middle of class today, we're going out, we're finding out if we can do cartwheels. All of us. I don't know either. I haven't tried in a while, might pull a muscle, and you guys can laugh. And so we literally like, you know, they were digging into a text, you know, working really hard. And so we took a break from that. We all piled outside, there were a bunch of people in the courtyard. So they were like, oh, we can't do this here, people will see us. So I found a little spot out of the way they could have a little privacy. And we just like, started doing cartwheels. And pretty soon they're cheering each other on, like, try it. You can do this, and they're like pausing and like teaching somebody how to do a cartwheel. And there was just amazing bond building between the class. And, you know, I didn't plan that. But oh, we needed it so much. And it was this huge aha for me, like, I need to do some silly things with my kids, more. Like my freshman, by the end of the day, they're so fried there. They're not there, you know. And I was getting really frustrated with them, because they're just not able to be students. You know, they've got these block like our classes are like an hour and a half long, right? And so, you know, those 90 minute classes that's a lot for some of those kids. And so by the time they get to their fourth hour and a half class, yeah, they've got nothing left and just going out and doing something silly. Or like the other day for our break. We didn't even go outside as we just needed something really quick we do could do. They had a little arm wrestle battle. You know, not everybody had to do it. But if they wanted to, they could. And we had brackets. And, you know, we found our classroom arm wrestling champion champion and just some of that physicality too. I think they needed so much. And so I was really grateful that I just had a crazy impulse to honor all the other parts of their being, or at least you know, the being silly and being a kid piece. Because man, they've been able to come back and still dig into text, and, you know, and probably do better than if I'd said, no, we need every minute of this time like.00:31:09 Pernille RippAnd I've had to remind myself that to like, slow down down, because we're getting this artificial press right of like learning loss and get them caught up. And like, poor we behind, first of all, like, who is this fictitious person that we're all running after. So I'd like to have a conversation with him. But it's also just like, slow down and have the conversation, you know, and, and, and do the small group challenges and do the physicality. And it's okay that work time today was only 15 minutes, because we were switching between things will come back to it tomorrow. And so I keep laying these grand plans for how quickly we're going to get through units. But what I keep marveling over at the slower pace that we're going is so many more kids are finding success. So many more kids are starting to like open up to each other. So many more kids are laughing. I have this rule in my classroom. You can't say, shut up, I just find it really disrespectful. And they know, like when I say they're like, I say, language and they know. And now like they're all saying it to each other, right? Like language, Mrs. Ripp, Mrs. Ripp says, language. And I just like it's those little things that become the spoken language of our community, right? That weaves us together. And I think that, you know, not now more than ever, but now more than ever, we need to recognize that. And I think now more than ever, we also have the ability to say, no, like, no, I'm going to put up a barrier to my classroom, and I'm going to trust my instinct, and I'm going to try to tap into these kids in front of me and try to build community, because that's what you told me to do. And I'm going to continue to do that all year so that we can take academic risks so that we can read together, right? I don't think I've handed out so many snacks in my life, and then had to like, put kids into separate spaces. So there's six feet and hand sanitizer. But I'm like, if it takes me going to Aldi, buying more granola bars or going down my principal of me, and like, I need snack, because I'd really like not to fund it myself, you know, so that these kids can learn learn and like, have a moment. Then I'm going to buy the granola bars right? Like. And again, I'd prefer not to buy myself, because I think we do that enough. But I think what you speak to their cartwheels or arm wrestling like, yeah, like, how are we keeping them in a space to learn to also where they feel safe? I mean, think about how many kids didn't speak last year if they were virtual, and they learned that to be in the shadows was a perfectly fine place to be. And now we're asking to come right back out in the sunlight, you know. And so, like, how are we handling that with kids in a true way? And not in this artificially constructed? Well, we're in school, so you better just do what I tell you to do kind of way. So if it takes granola bars or cartwheels, or whatever it is, then that's what it's going to take, right?00:34:05 Molly RauhAnd and yeah, yeah, this I agree, this snacks help tons to I have definitely gotten more snacks than I ever have before. And you talked about that like hiding in the shadows when they were remote. And I've seen that with my students, they don't know how to talk to each other anymore. It is that much harder to get them to feel brave enough to put an idea out to into the universe. And that was, as we were doing cartwheels. It evolved into this, like be bold challenge like be bold just try it like, you know, we're going to cheer you on whether it's the worst cartwheel we've ever seen, or were completely amazed. And we did like, they started cheering each other on. They started encouraging each other to try. And that, I think, has gone back into our academic moments where, you know, a kid, and I like my favorite response when a kid shares an answer. And even as I you know, maybe clarify misconceptions, you know, I'm always like, oh, I love The Bravery of that answer. Like, I love to tell them, they're Brave when they answer things, and they share ideas. And so the you know, that's part of my language that I hope passes on to my students, but that, that cartwheel the culture of the cheering each other on. I think that has come back into the academic space since last Friday, when I did that, well, we've had a ton of your time already. And so, and and poor Jessica, I dominated this conversation. 00:35:35 Pernille RippOh ya, hi Jessica!00:35:37 Jessica RickertYou guys are good. You're talking secondary. It's all good. 00:35:44 Molly RauhSo Pernille. I know you said that as you're writing, your books are thinking about things you've learned from other places is there? Do you have an educational hero or a mentor? Somebody you've learned from that, you know, you kind of keep with you. So, you know, who's your hero?00:36:00 Pernille RippWho's my hero? I mean, I could I could give you a list of incredible adults that are still doing the work. But honestly, it's the kids like it keeps coming back to the kids. The kids that find their voice, the kids that speak up against me, the kids that on my survey, you know, have the bravery to tell me that no what I'm doing does not work, or that they don't feel respected by me like they are always going to be my educational heroes. The kids who I know what's going on outside of school, because they have, they have confided in me, and yet they still show up, and they try, or even the kids were. Life is amazing, and they come in, and they like want to be there. And they want I want to connect, and they're trying to reach out to you and all of their amazing ways. You know, that to me like that's The Bravery. Those are the kids that I'm, that those are the people that I look up to, because, like, if I can be smart enough and be good enough to be deserving of being in the in the presence of my seventh graders, then it's been a good day. And I feel that way with my own kids to like, I look at some of the ways that my kids, who are also vastly different look at the world, and I'm just in awe and I, I want to get closer to that right? Like I want to get out of this jaded adult shell, where we listen too much to the news and and were dominated by this Doom and Gloom and go out and say, well, why not? And why not me? No, why not change? And who can I bring along on this journey? And who's already on this journey that I can learn from? So I would say, the kids, you know, when in doubt, go ask some questions. We have the best. Like I say, there's always that we have the best professional development sitting right in our classroom. And so so we need to tap into that.00:37:48 Molly RauhI love that number. One resource. Our students.00:37:53 Jessica RickertAnd that's the best take away. And I did enjoy listening too. I just love hearing educators talk, and you guys both in the classroom talking about kids. And it's an interesting take on how covid is affected kids. But I love how you talked about bringing that Joy back in and both of your experiences and examples of having a little bit of fun because they do think we get mired down on. We've got to do this. And this and this and definitely getting out of the adult world and getting into the kid world is so much better for everyone. We all need to turn off the news and talk to kids more. So I love that aspect of it too. And so make sure for all of our listeners that you go to sign up right now. It's ccir aorg, because per meal will be presenting at our 20:22 conference. And you can even get more insights and wisdom too. So thanks so much for joining us tonight. Pernille.00:38:49 Jessica RickertThank you for inviting me. I appreciate it.00:38:52 Molly RauhThanks for listening to CCIRAliteracy conversations podcast to find out more about ccir a go to ccir aorg on ccir aorg. You can join as a member, or find great resources like our professional development blog, which posts every Tuesday and has a variety of guest writers on an awesome selection of topics. CCCIRA is a Professional Organization, Educators and community members dedicated to the promotion and advancement of literacy. We also have a Twitter account at Colorado reading. You can find us on Instagram at CCIRA_ColoradoReading . Or you can find us on Facebook, where we also have a members only group that we're trying to build. And our Facebook account is CCIRA Colorado Reading. We'd love to hear more from you. And again, if you're looking for new content, please send any questions or things you'd be interested in seeing from ccir a to ccir a video at gmailcom. Thanks for listening and have a great week.
Chalk and Ink: The Podcast for Teachers Who Write and Writers Who Teach
On today's episode the flexible and innovative Pernille Ripp talks about how there is no such thing as a perfect teacher, how when she writes she strives to create from an authentic and honest place, and how as educators we need to prioritize conversations with students to make sure we don't lose sight of the kids as we cross off items on our curriculum to-do lists. Pernille and I recorded this episode before the 2021 Global Read Aloud started on October 4th. But if you want to join there's still time to get in on the fun and connect with classrooms all over the world. Go to theglobalreadaloud.com to get started.We have some new features this year. At the end of every episode, I'll be assigning optional homework. Before November 5th, be sure to read Tina Athaide's Orange for the Sunsets. Once I started reading this historical fiction gem, I couldn't put it down. It's written from two points of view and is set during Uganda's 1972 expulsion of Asian Indians.I'm donating a copy of Passionate Readersto a lucky podcast listener. There are several ways to enter: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and Pernille, 2) Go to www.katenarita.com/podcast and make a comment on this episode's post, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people could have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, October 29th. Wow! I can't believe October is almost over. The winner will be announced on Friday, November 5th, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That will help other listeners find us.Finally, I want to give a shout out to Sarah Brannen for Chalk + Ink's podcast art. Sarah's latest book, Uncle Bobby's Wedding, earned a starred review from Kirkus.Thanks so much for your support.Happy listening!
Chalk and Ink: The Podcast for Teachers Who Write and Writers Who Teach
On today's episode the flexible and innovative Pernille Ripp talks about how there is no such thing as a perfect teacher, how when she writes she strives to create from an authentic and honest place, and how as educators we need to prioritize conversations with students to make sure we don't lose sight of the kids as we cross off items on our curriculum to-do lists. Pernille and I recorded this episode before the 2021 Global Read Aloud started on October 4th. But if you want to join there's still time to get in on the fun and connect with classrooms all over the world. Go to theglobalreadaloud.com to get started.We have some new features this year. At the end of every episode, I'll be assigning optional homework. Before November 5th, be sure to read Tina Athaide's Orange for the Sunsets. Once I started reading this historical fiction gem, I couldn't put it down. It's written from two points of view and is set during Uganda's 1972 expulsion of Asian Indians.I'm donating a copy of Passionate Readersto a lucky podcast listener. There are several ways to enter: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and Pernille, 2) Go to www.katenarita.com/podcast and make a comment on this episode's post, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people could have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, October 29th. Wow! I can't believe October is almost over. The winner will be announced on Friday, November 5th, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That will help other listeners find us.Finally, I want to give a shout out to Sarah Brannen for Chalk + Ink's podcast art. Sarah's latest book, Uncle Bobby's Wedding, earned a starred review from Kirkus.Thanks so much for your support.Happy listening!
In which Dan talks with educator, author, and speaker Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp) about the importance of developing young readers. For over a decade Pernille has run the Global Read Aloud, a six-week program that unites classrooms around a single text. Dan and Pernille discuss what it means to be a reader, helping our reluctant readers find books that speak to them, and why teachers need to listen to students about their reading needs. As always, I welcome comments and questions on Twitter @BigIdeaEdMentioned in the show:The Global Read Aloud, created and run by Pernille RippPernille Ripp on the webBooks:The One and Only Ivan by Katherine ApplegateAmal Unbound by Aisha SaeedThe Bridge Home by Padma VenkatramanWhen We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy GilbertShow Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte Black Boy Joy, edited by Kwame MbaliaThis Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner Music:Track: Sunflower — Soyb [Audio Library Release]Music provided by Audio Library PlusWatch: https://youtu.be/dG1U3NuR9PkFree Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/sunflower
Kenny Lawler suspended by Bombers after impaired driving arrest (0:30); Study shows Pfizer vaccine loses effectiveness after six months, pointing to potential need for booster (7:30); Facebook's Faceplant: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all went down on Monday (11:40); Walk-to-school Day is tomorrow / stories of walking/biking/bussing to school (19:50); A warning from health officials on Manitoba's COVID future (27:05); Texts on walking to school (34:05); More texts on walking to school & discussion about the safety of walking to school (36:40); Winning text on walking to school (44:00); Local author David A. Robertson's book 'The Barren Grounds' will be used in Global Read Aloud (46:45). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
EPISODE 42 Most teachers that I know fantasized about being teachers from a very young age. I'm sure I'm not the only one who envisioned what my future classroom would look like or the successes my students would have due to my hard work and attention. My guest on today's episode, Pernille Ripp, was disappointed to find that the current education system made it difficult for her to fulfill her dreams and provide students with authentic reading experiences. Instead of being complacent, Pernille decided to focus on two important areas of teaching: engagement and empowerment. What started as a blog ended up having an impact not only in her classroom but around the world. Her program started as an idea to increase engagement in reading but it has transformed into something much more, teaching skills such as empathy. The empowerment of Global Read Aloud fosters connectivity amongst people, which has never been more important than it is today. Pernille Ripp is a seventh grade teacher in Wisconsin and the creator of the Global Read Aloud (www.theglobalreadaloud.com), a literacy initiative that has connected more than 2,000,000 students since 2010 through the use of technology. She speaks internationally and writes regularly on her blog (www.pernillesripp.com). She is also author of several books including Passionate Readers - The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child and Passionate Learners: Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students In this episode we discuss: -The background behind Pernille Ripp's journey as an educator -How to give students more authentic reading experiences -What Global Read Aloud is and why it was started -The impact Global Read Aloud has on student's perspective outside the classroom Resources Mentioned: -The Global Read Aloud -The Global Read Aloud Facebook Group -Passionate Readers Book Facebook Group -Pernille's Website For more resources, head to the show notes: stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode42 Connect with me: -Join my newsletter -My TPT store -stellarteachercompany.com -Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany -Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company
Teacher and author Pernille Ripp talks with Colby about the past, present, and future of The Global Read Aloud, the project she created in 2010.This episode is sponsored by SHARING BOOKS, TALKING SCIENCE: EXPLORING SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS WITH CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, written by Valerie Bang-Jensen and Mark Lubkowitz and published by Heinemann.
Our guest today is Pernille Rippe who is an English teacher, author, internationally known speaker, and the founder of Global Read Aloud. Pernille asks educators to reflect on one simple question: Would you want to be a student in your classroom? She takes time today to tell us how to build a classroom library that is accessible to all students, no matter their reading level, and shares how she encourages her students to provide her with feedback on her teaching as well as how she makes her students feel. Many of us were able to see Pernille's keynote speech at the joint EARCOS/SENIA conference several years ago and have been inspired by her work ever since. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/seniapodcast/message
October 16 2020 - Episode 24The EdTech Chat Podcast with @mrkempnz1. Introduction2. Audience Question - How do you get into Education Consultancy?3. EdTech Tool of the Week - Quicktime4. Interview with Pernille Ripp5. Win this weeks prize (Consultancy support) by going to bit.ly/edtechwin and completing the short form (Competition ends 9am SGT on Wednesday 7 October).6. Subscribe, Rate and ShareIf you have a question that you want answered on the podcast please emailinfo@igniteedtech.comConnect with Mark Quinn here or via email markquinn9129@gmail.comLinks from PodcastTHE IGNITE EDTECH TEAM OF EXPERTS TO HELP YOU THRIVEPernille on TwitterPernille's Website and BooksGlobal Read AloudMote - voice notes and feedbackTrouble Makers BookStamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You BookConnect with Craig on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook to stay up to date.Find episodes you might have missed here.Thank you for your support. Please share your favourite part of today's episode and tag me on your social media and don't forget to rate our podcast so we can reach more people!
In honor of the final year of the Global Read Aloud, Unabridged Podcast revisits our episode from last year, in which we discussed Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves, Padma Venkatraman's The Bridge Home, and Kelly Yang's Front Desk. Join us in celebrating this fantastic program, which highlights books for young people and promotes global collaboration. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Mark Oshiro’s Each of Us a Desert (thanks to Partner NetGalley) Jen - Roshani Chokshi’s The Silvered Serpents (thanks to Partner NetGalley) Sara - Beth O’Leary’s The Switch (thanks to Partner Libro.fm) Celebrating the Global Read Aloud Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves Padma Venkatraman's The Bridge Home Kelly Yang's Front Desk Mentioned in Episode Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves Mark Oshiro's Anger Is a Gift Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony Cormac McCarthy's The Road Peter Heller's The Dog Stars Neal and Jarrod Shusterman's Dry Mindy McGinnis's Not a Drop to Drink Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven Alan Gratz's Refugee Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers Give Me One - New Find Ashley - American Gods Jen - 800 Words Sara - Olive and June and Speed Cubers Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page. Want to support Unabridged? Check out our Merch Store! Become a patron on Patreon. Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram. Like and follow our Facebook Page. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check out our Teachers Pay Teachers store. Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter. Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on Apple Podcasts or on Stitcher. Check us out on Podbean.
During the pandemic let's learn at home. "Less Screens. Listen. Create. Innovate." Listen to this tale and an educational lesson. This special episode is with Pernille Rip who created the Global Read Aloud. Learn more about how to inspire kids to love reading during our current pandemic. Learn more about our podcasts at mykidslocker.com.
Ada Stucky joined the show to talk about teaching during COVID-19, her math classes, high heels, then and now differences, Global Read Aloud, Fish in a Tree, Flipgrid, Padlet, Canvas Conferences, Tiny Houses, Teaching her own kids, overhead projectors, Money and Me Class, and More! #CadetArchitects, Check out the show notes HERE #CadetArchitects Links from the show 00:15 - Intros 01:40 - Girls Who Code Mention - (I meant to come back to this later and forgot. ) 01:53 - Random fact - FBI/CSI/Criminal Minds 03:30 - Student Investigations 05:00 - Info about her math class 05:55 - Info about your brain. If you're a person, you're a math person. 07:20 - Turning student statements into questions 09:25 - Differences from teaching then and now 11:45 - Tech changes from yesteryear 12:50 - Where's my overhead projector? :) 13:59 - Money and Me Class 17:30 - Counterfeiting money :) 18:40 - Mister 880 movie 20:34 - Global Read Aloud of The Bridge Home 21:50 - How to handle books that make you cry. 22:50 - How to connect with other students around the world from the Global Read Aloud Flipgrid, Padlet, Google Sheets 24:38 - The benefits of taking the learning outside the walls of your school 26:00 - PenPal Schools 26:48 - Fish in a Tree whole school read aloud 28:20 - Parent donations 29:00 - COVID-19 Teaching - What's working? This is the time to do what you've always wanted? Try things out. 30:29 - Interruption - Real life home learning interruption. (I left this in the podcast because it's what everyone is currently experiencing. It's just a snapshot of reality during these times.) 32:15 - Geometry unit during COVID-19 : Design a Tiny House 33:20 - Lucid Charts for Blueprints 34:11 - Planner 5D for 3D modeling 34:50 - Next year possibly 3D print the winning tiny house 35:45 - How will COVID-19 change you? 36:18 - Canvas Conferences 37:14 - Google Meet 38:15 - Teaching with your own children in the same school discussion and advice 45:50 - Teaching in high heels 47:17 - One piece of advice for trying something new? 49:15 - Ada's contact info Twitter - @AskStuckyMath Google Voice - 317-563-1387 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/cadetarchitects/message
Girls Fly! (http://girlsfly.org/) Author Series - Padma Venkatraman Padma Venkatraman is an American author and activist who believes women and girls have a written voice. Padma Venkatraman is the award-winning author of highly acclaimed novels such as The Bridge Home, a 2019 Global Read Aloud book; A Time to Dance and Climbing the Stairs. Her books have been featured on numerous best book lists and received a total of 20 starred reviews.
For the second year, we are excited to explore three of the Global Read Aloud books. (You can find out more information about the Global Read Aloud here.) We are thrilled to begin Season 3 with a discussion of three amazing novels for middle grade, middle school, and young adult readers.Listen to the episode, and then let us know what you think! timeline *Introduction and General Discussion: 00:00 - 01:16 *Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves: 01:17 - 18:45 *Padma Venkatraman's The Bridge Home: 18:46 - 31:59 *Kelly Yang's Front Desk: 32:00 - 43:40 other mentions *Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony *Cormac McCarthy’s The Road *Peter Heller’s The Dog Stars *Mindy McGinnis’s Not a Drop to Drink *Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven *Alan Gratz’s Refugee *Neal Shusterman’s Dry *R. J. Palacio’s Wonder *Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers *Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” other resources *Joseph Boyden’s Wenjack *Louise Erdrich’s Tracks *Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine *Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Hearts Unbroken Check out what's coming up next. want to support unabridged?Become a patron on Patreon. Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram. Like and follow our Facebook Page. Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter. Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher. Check us out on Podbean.
Padma Venkatraman (@padmatv) shares THE BRIDGE HOME, a 2019 Global Read Aloud choice. The story centers on two sisters, Viji and Rukku, who are orphaned at the hands of an abusive father and a mother who is too afraid to leave him. Viji is the caretaker of her sister, and in no small way these girls are survivors. Padma writes from a place of experience, strength, and survival herself and she shares a sentiment on recording that I want you to listen for because I think it’s such an important and powerful phrase. About being a survivor she says, “You are not going to shape who I am.” This conversation is just for you, dear listeners. You can access even more information about this book and its author and illustrator by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast. Thank you to this week's sponsors: Storyteller Academy Bharat Babies And to the generous support from our Patrons.
PERNILLE RIPP is a prolific blogger, highly recognized speaker, literacy expert, creator of the Global Read Aloud, and the author of several books, including Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. She’s also a Danish educator living in the US, mother of 4, and soulmate to an incredible man that makes it all possible. Follow Pernille on Twitter https://twitter.com/pernilleripp and visit her blog at https://pernillesripp.com/. In our conversation, Pernille discusses the reality that we won’t always be able to reach every student in precisely the ways we hope to. She recounts the bullying that her daughter experienced in third grade, and the incredible meeting with Pink that helped to breathe new confidence and optimism into her daughter’s outlook and self-identity. She defines the purpose that lies at the core of her legendary blogging activities, and articulates the political (non-partisan) nature of books that speak for the marginalized. Pernille also shares a couple of her keys to productivity and lists some of the voices and resources that have been shaping her thinking and inspiring her professional practice this year. Connect with Pernille: On her blog: https://pernillesripp.com/ On Twitter: https://twitter.com/pernilleripp On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pernillesripp/ At her Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PassionateReadersBook/ Check out her books: https://amzn.to/2Wo9Bly Visit https://teachersonfire.net/ for all the show notes and links from this episode! Connect with Teachers on Fire podcast on social media: On Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeachersOnFire On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachersonfire/ On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeachersOnFire/ On LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/TimWCavey On The Teachers on Fire Magazine: https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDPjkAn7lZb-rahyVDttKA Song Track Credits Intro: Stand Up (by Mike Cosmo -- license purchased at https://taketones.com/) Outtro: Bluntedsesh4 (by Tha Silent Partner, courtesy of FreeMusicArchive.org) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/teachersonfire/support
Join Josh and Mandy as they talk with elementary teacher Andrea Childes about how she uses the power of social media to share and learn new ideas. Plus, hear how Andrea succeeds in asking authors for advance copies of their work so she can include great books in her global read aloud.
Padma Venkatraman and I discuss her new middle grade novel, THE BRIDGE HOME. We discuss everything from her childhood in India to her becoming an oceanographer and now an award-winning author. We also discuss religion, spirituality, writing about them for the middle grade market, and, of course, flying saucers. This episode is filled from end to end with fascinating insights about writing and storytelling, as well advice for living. Padma Venkatraman is the author of 4 novels: THE BRIDGE HOME, A TIME TO DANCE, ISLAND'S END and CLIMBING THE STAIRS, all of which were released to multiple starred reviews (for a total of seventeen stars so far). Her latest, THE BRIDGE HOME, was released this February to five starred reviews (in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal and School Library Connection), won an Audiophile Magazine Earphone Award, and is the 2019 middle grade Global Read Aloud. Her previous three young adult novels have won several awards (South Asia Book Award, Paterson Prize, Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe, Rhode Island Book of the Year etc.) and received numerous honors (including the ALA Notable, ALA BBYA, Kirkus BBYA, Booklist Editor’s Choice, NYPL Top 25 and Bank Street Best Books). MiddleGradeNinja.com PadmaVenkatraman.com
Intro Hi everyone! This is Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of two girls, and enjoying my extra reading time over the holiday break and the chance to relax. This is episode #66 and today we are celebrating some of the best middle grade books published in 2018. Main Topic - The Top 20 Middle Grade Books of 2018 I’m a bit of a data nerd, and I have always been into tracking my reading - from my color-coded index card system in high school to my alphabatized Excel Spreadsheet in the early 2000s to now where I do a mix of Goodreads and a bullet journal. So looking back over the last couple of years since I started doing this show, in 2016 I read 60 middle grade books with 31 of those published in 2016. And my top three books of that year were Booked, Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, and The Wild Robot. (You can find that list here.) Last year, I read 79 middle grade with 55 of those published in 2017. A jump I will totally attribute to the intensity of being on the CYBILS committee. And my top three books of 2017 were Posted, Refugee, and Orphan Island and my top three graphic novels last year were Real Friends, Pashmina, and All’s Faire in Middle School. (You can find the full list here.) This year, I read 59 middle grade books with 41 of those released in 2018. Before I start - a quick caveat. Selecting ONLY 25 titles was almost impossible. I enjoyed just about every book I read this year, and I know each one will find it’s reader. So how to choose the top twenty-five? I have two criteria - the writing is immersive (a book I couldn’t put down) and the story has that something special - unique character, an intriguing plot twist, or a thought-provoking theme (a book I can’t forget). And again this year, I decided to separate out the graphic novels so be on the lookout for another best of podcast soon featuring just the middle grade graphic novels. Okay, let’s get to it! Here are my Top 25 middle grade novels of 2018: Granted by John David Anderson From the author of the soon-to-be movie, Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and last year’s amazing Posted is this story about Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets - one of the few remaining fairies entrusted with the job of Granter - a fairy who ventures into the dangerous human world to grant a wish. Ophelia’s increasingly difficult quest to grant a little girl her wish of a purple bike will keep you turning the pages. And her reluctant friendship with the slobbery dog Sam - along with some other hilarious touches like Ophelia’s special song - will make this novel one you won’t forget. Where the Watermelons Grow by debut author Cindy Baldwin This book - better than any I’ve read - captures the heat and the swelter of a scorching-hot drought-ridden summer. Our protagonist, Della, is feeling the weight of that and also the burdon of her mother’s re-emerging schizophrenia. But this novel is also laced with the sweetness of friendship and watermelon and hope and a touch of maybe magical honey. Every Shiny Thing by Cordelia Jensen & Laurie Morrison This dual narrative novel is about Lauren and Sierra. The two girls end up living next to each other and becoming friends when Lauren’s neighbors become Sierra’s foster parents. As Lauren starts to become more aware of her priviledge, she comes up with a - shall we say “ill-advised” Robin Hood scheme that quickly starts to spiral out of control. Watching Lauren and Sierra get deeper and deeper and deeper into that pit and wondering how on earth they were going to dig themselves out is what kept me turning those pages. And what makes this book unique and fresh was the strength of the two perspectives - Lauren’s chapters in prose and Sierra’s in verse. The Three Rules of Everyday Magic by Amanda Rawson Hill Believe. Give. Trust. With those three magical rules passed on to her from her grandmother, Kate tries to grapple with the changes in her life. Divorce, faltering friendship, and her grandmother’s worsening dementia. Along with the typical difficulties of a 12 year old! I loved this book for its blend of beautiful prose and realism. Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya This middle grade coming of age novel tells the story of 8th grader Marcus Vega who ends up traveling to Puerto Rico with his mom and younger brother in search of the father who seemed to abandon them years ago. And yes, his journey is about discovering family, but it’s also about discovering his culture. This book is a beautiful homage to Puerto Rico and a story that captures the experiences of many kids with family connections that represent multiple languages and backgrounds. It reminds me a bit of the graphic novel Crush with a twist of Torrey Maldonado’s Tight. The Frame Up by Wendy McLeod MacKnight This novel was not only unforgettable but it utterly changed the way I experience walking into a musuem forever. And to me - that is the mark of an excellent book. It makes you see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Frame-up is set in a real-life place - the Beaverbrook Gallery in New Brunswick, Canada. And the art director’s son soon discovers that the paintings are…. alive. And they can travel into other paintings - which is completely fascinating when you consider that this museum includes art from different eras. And multiple paintings of the same person. What the author does in this world is spell-binding. But things start to get dicey when suddenly the art director’s son and Mona, a young girl in one of the museum’s prized paintings, find themselves desperately trying to stop both an art heist and a plot to destroy their community forever. Everything I Know About You by Barbara Dee This book was a fun mix of humor and history intermixed with realistic depictions of issues that young people are coping with - like body shaming and eating disorders and figuring out that whole friendship thing while staying true to yourself and your values. What made this book stay with me long after that last page was read was the main character, Tally, whose self-confidence and style and body positivity are inspiring. So Done by Paula Chase This upper middle grade coming of age story centers around friends Mila and Tai. The girls have spent the summer apart and as fall starts, it has become more and more clear that their friendship is sputtering out. And yes, part of that is typical things like finding new interests and more focus on boys, but there is this one massive secret hanging over both girls’ heads that threatens to not only destroy that friendship, but could destroy families, too.The slow, shocking reveal of what that secret really IS kept me turning the pages and what made this book stick with me so long afterward are the voices of the characters that are so fresh and unique and real! During the first chapter, I had a huge smile on my face because I was so happy to be reading a book that sounds like some of my students when they are talking to each other - and don’t think any adult is within earshot. Chase has this incredible knack for voice, and I cannot wait to see what other middle grade books she has coming our way! The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson Johnson has expertly woven together multiple storylines across two different eras that are beautifully fused together in the final chapters. The main character, modern-day Candice, discovers a decades old mystery that takes her and the quiet bookworm boy across the street on a quest for a long-lost treasure. But to figure out the clues, they have to delve into some long buried town history that some folks would rather keep hidden. This book is rich with details and touches on topics that are not common in middle grade - like the end of segregation and its impact on black schools and the concept of passing. It’s beautifully written and if you have older middle grade kids who loved The Westing Game and who love mysteries, this is a great book to put in their hands. You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino Alex Gino’s second novel for middle grade readers is a sweet story about Jilly, White and hearing, who befriends a Deaf Black ASL user on a fandom website where they connect over their mutual love of a fantasy series. When Jilly’s new baby sister is born Deaf, she and her parents struggle with which expert advice to follow and everyone makes some missteps along the way. Based on reviews from those in the Deaf community, Gino does seem to get that representation right. To me this book is one to have in your classroom or library because it shows one character’s pathway through learning about incredibly important but tricky topics like white priviledge, racism, micro-agressions, and abelism. And done in a way with warmth and heart. Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez I’ll admit - this one almost got past me! I was at school and had forgotten my book at home. And so on a whim, I picked up this book from my classroom library and promptly forgot that any other book existed and promptly fell for Stella’s sweetness and charm. Stella is a third grader, born in Mexico, but now living in Chicago with her mom and older brother. She’s struggling with being in a different class than her best friend, Jenny, and dealing with the accompanying worries that Jenny might be forming a closer relationship with another girl. Stella is also figuring out where she fits in with her outgoing family since she is more quiet and is working through some speech difficulties. Three things stand out to me about this book - its utter realness, the excellent illustrations sprinkled throughout, and also the fact that this novel intersperses Spanish in the most organic and well-executed way that I’ve ever encountered before. They pop up frequently and naturally, and yet I feel confident that most non-Spanish speaking readers can fairly easily figure out what those words mean from the context. Takedown by Laura Shovan I LOVE books that immerse me in a subculture - like Victoria Jamieson’s Roller Girl, and the Irish dancing in Kate Messner’s The Seventh Wish. I was fascinated to learn about wrestling moves and the tournament process in this novel. And of course it doesn’t hurt that the two main characters - Mikayla (known as Mickey) and Lev are written so vividly and honestly. Told in alternating point of view chapters, Mickey and Lev are each dealing with their own middle school difficulties of faltering friendships and dicey family dynamics. When they both wind up wrestling for the same elite traveling team, Lev needs to cope with having a new wreslting partner (a girl), and Mickey has to deal with a wrestling culture that isn’t exactly keen to accept her. How these two characters grow and how their stories intertwine have stayed on my mind - months later. Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart Another incredible story from a favorite author of so many of my students. Good Dog is told from the point of view of Brodie - a dog who we meet just after he’s entered the great beyond after his death. And as our sweet, noble Brodie figures out the rules of this new place, and makes some friends, he remembers more of his past life on Earth. And remembers the danger that his boy, Aidan, is still in. And Brodie has to decide whether to move on to that ultimate Forever or if saving his boy from that threat is worth the awful price he’ll have to pay to even attempt helping him. I love this book for so many reasons - but mostly for how it quietly but powerfully connects with Gemeinhardt’s previous novel, The Honest Truth. I don’t want to say more, but…. if you have a kid who has read and loved that book - give them Good Dog right after. Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai This is another novel that snuck up on me and then wouldn’t let go of my heart. For the last couple of years, my 5th graders and I have read Home of the Brave together as the first read aloud. This year I decided to have their book clubs centered around refugee and immigrant stories - with a focus on #ownvoices novels. And Escape from Aleppo was the only book club choice I hadn’t yet read - and so I read along with the kids in that club and followed their reading schedule and joined their discussions. And I completely agree with their assessment - this book is fabulous. It’s about 14-year-old Nadia, who we meet as her family is evacuating their home in Syria in an attempt to flee to Turkey. But in the carnage, Nadia ends up separated from her family and has to make her way through the city of Aleppo in a dangerous effort to reunite with them and to figure out who in the war-torn city she should trust to help her. What stands out to me most is the searing depiction of modern-day war and how much my students saw themselves in Nadia’s flashbacks to pre-Arab Spring Aleppo. Scenes were everything seems stable and Nadia is all about the latest episode of her favorite reality TV singing show and what color she should paint her nails. If you are looking for a companion book to Alan Gratz’s Refugee, this is an excellent choice. And one that will stay with you for a long, long time. Rebound by Kwame Alexander This is the much-awaited prequel to the much-loved and much-awarded, novel-in-verse The Crossover. This book is all about Josh & Jordan’s father - Chuck “Da Man” Bell. But - this is an origin story. So when we first meet him, he is just Charlie - an 80’s kid reeling from a family tragedy and trying to find his way forward and trying to find his smile again. When home becomes tense, he is involuntarily shipped off to his grandparent’s house for the summer where he starts to find that path forward. I loved this book for it’s awesome illustratations and all those great 80s references. Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson Esteban, Tiago, Holly, Amari, Ashton, Haley - these six kids are brought to an abandoned art room each Friday, left on their own, and allowed to simply talk. And eventually - their stories unfold. Stories of deportation, of harassment, of parent death and incarceration. Of hope and of despair. And by the end of that year, they have formed a bond and a vow to harbor each other. It’s Jacqueline Woodson so you know it’s gorgeously written, but it also speaks to a great need for empathy in our country right now. And I can attest that it’s not just one of those “important” books that kids don’t really like. It was one of the top requested book club selections and currently has a huge waiting list in my room, so I can vouch for it’s kid appeal. Small Spaces by Katherine Arden Okay - this book creeped me the heck out! And it was glorious! This paranormal horror story is about a young girl named Ollie whose mom tragically died last year, and understandably - Ollie is withdrawn and rather raw. One fall day, Ollie disovers this strange book that tells the legend of two local brothers who come under the influence of The Smiling Man - with horrific results. When Ollie takes a field trip to a nearby farm, she and her friends Coco and Brian end up in an other-wordly battle to survive the lure of those mysterious forces. This book is so immersive and atmospheric and has one brilliant twist at the end that has me shuddering just thinking about it! Oh - and if you’re the type of person that isn’t at all freaked out by scarecrows - read this book and that will change. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed There has been sooo much love for this book this year - and if you haven’t yet read it, I will add my voice to all the others telling you…. it’s incredible. This novel is about a young Pakistani girl whose dream is to finish her education and to become a teacher. But when her mother is struggling with depression after having her fifth baby - another girl - Amal ends up staying home to take of the household. And then, to make matters far worse, she ends up insulting a poweful man in her village and be forced into indentured servitude to work off her family’s debt to him. It was this section of the book and Amal’s complicated relationship with man’s family and other servants that was the most compelling to me. Amal Unbound was the middle grade pick for the 2018 Global Read Aloud and is worthy of a spot in any middle grade collection. Blended by Sharon Draper As 2018 came to a close, I started scouring the social media feeds of readers whose taste I rely on to see what books from the previous year I may have missed. And by far the one that I kept bumping into… was Blended. And oh were they right to push me to read it! And...confession time - this is the first Sharon Draper book I have read! You may already know her work from Out of My Mind or Copper Sun. This novel is about an 11-year-old girl - Izzy to her mom but Isabella to her Dad. Her parents are divorced and every week Isabella has to switch - switch households, switch bedrooms, switch backpacks, switch expectations…. and sometimes feels like she has to switch identities. Her father is black and and lives a far more swanky lifestyle now and Isabella’s mother is white and their home definitely has a more casual vibe. I loved this book because I know how many students can relate to Izzy’s frustrations with parental tug-of-war and that awkwardness with people coming into their lives. But this book had so many more themes that will definitely strike a chord with kids today - racial profiling, school threats, micro-agressions, police shootings, and the myriad other things that make up children’s day-to-day experiences. The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden Ahhh - this book! I just…. Okay - plot first. This is the story of Zoey - a seventh-grader whose primary goals in life are to keep her two young siblings quiet and out of the way of her mom’s boyfriend and his father, to scrounge up enough for them to eat, and to stay completely invisible at school. But all of those things become tricky when her teacher pushes her to join the Debate Club after school. This book is about rural poverty, the nuances of the gun debate, domestic vioience… but the way those threads play out are not at all what I had expected - and so much better. This is the novel I wish I had read as a young middle school teacher when I thought that giving an hour’s worth of homework that required colored pencils, a ruler, and internet access was a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Front Desk by Kelly Yang Another stand-out debut! And every time I see another starred review or another reader gush about this book, it just makes me heart a little more happy. Front Desk is about Mia Tang whose family - recent immigrants from China - wind up running a motel under less than ideal circumstances. Mia’s expectations of life in America - juicy burgers, a pet dog, a yard, and big pool - differ A LOT from her true life, which she keeps hidden from her classmates. Her life is tough. But once she starts to harness the power of her writing, Mia starts to realize that even the big injustices in life can start to change. Front Desk was another fall favorite of my students and a perfect book club book. And the last time I checked, it was offered through Scholastic for a great price. The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown When a sequel comes out to a book that you adored - characters who have found a home in your heart - it’s with trepidation that you crack open that cover and start a new journey with them. Oh but thank you Peter Brown because you did not disappoint and in fact…. I may love this story even more than the first. It’s hard to say anything without giving away the first book if you haven’t read it yet. (And if that’s the case - get on that!) But I will say that this sequel has more action, more human interactions, and therefore - more personal connections that kids can latch onto. And it deals with some big moral and ethical questions! It’a a brilliant story with a touch of the Iron Giant, a sprinkle of The Odyssey, and a little dash of The Good Place. Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes This is the story of Jermone - a young black boy playing outside his home with a small toy gun. A black boy who gets shot and killed by a police officer in the first pages and whose presence haunts the rest of the pages - and whose story - along with the other boys - haunts me still. And I can see in my classroom the impact it makes on the young kids who read it. There are instantly caught by that first title page - “Dead” - and those first words - “How small I look. Laid out flat, my stomach touching the ground. My right knee bent and my brand-new Nikes stained with blood.” Jerome is the first ghost boy we meet, but later there will be Emmett Till and others who get to tell parts of their stories. This book was both completely immersive and has that quality of staying with you long after you’ve read it. And it’s a rare book that deals honestly with racism and police violence in a way that is age appropriate and clear. And so many people have said, “This is an important book.” It IS - but don’t get it just because of that - get it and read it with kids because it’s an excellent book. Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo This is, I believe, the first sequel that Kate DiCamillo has ever written. And if this is the quality of a DiCamillo sequel then I hope she writes a TON more - because this book ripped me apart and put me back together again. And I mean that in the best possible way! This book is the follow-up to Raymie Nightingale and focuses on Raymie’s quirky friend - Louisiana Elefante. Lousiana’s grandmother wakes her up in the middle of the night, piles her into the car, and is off to face her reckoning with the curse that has hung over their family’s head. Well, they end up in a Georgia Motel run by a cranky lady - where Louisiana has to take on more than anyone her age should have to. But also learns a lot about grace and the goodness of humankind as well. Raymie Nightingale was a book I liked pretty well, but nothing compared to this. It’s like this story sat in a rock tumbler until all the extra grit fell away and this sparkling gem emerged at the end. Tight by Torrey Maldonado This book was fast-paced, fresh, and had such a…. bite to it! It’s the story of 6th grader, Bryan, who loves comics, who loves drawing superheroes, and who loves his mother and a life of no drama. His dad brings enough of that into their life. Money in their family is… tight. So he worries about that and worries about being perceived as “soft” - not tough enough. But then his parents, sort of... set him up with a friend - this neighborhood kid named Mike. And at first, Bryan resists. He gets weird vibe from this kid. But then the boys bond over comics and Netflix shows and spend more and more time together. They’re tight. But that friendship turns toxic when Mike starts luring Bryan into skipping school, hopping the turnstiles in the subway...and worse. Tight is an exceptional books - raw and real. If you have kids who like Jason Reynold’s Ghost and who liked the Miles Morales Spiderman - this is the book for them! Alright - those are my top 25 middle grades books of 2018. Now - I want to hear from YOU! What were your favorite reads of the last year and which ones should I make sure to read in the year ahead? Closing Alright, that wraps up our show this week! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Books Between is a proud member of the Lady Pod Squad and the Education Podcast Network. This network features podcasts for educators, created by educators. For more great content visit edupodcastnetwork.com Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher so others can discover us as well. Thanks and see you soon! Bye!
GLOBAL READ ALOUD ROCKS! As promised, listen to both the teacher and student experience with the Global Read Aloud initiative taking place in our classrooms right now! It's been an incredible way to connect with classes all around the country (and even outside of the USA) and discuss the awesome books we're all reading. Navigate to this link to learn more and see it in action: http://jeggert.weebly.com/blog--podcast/global-read-aloud-from-the-teacher-student-lens-episode-10
In this episode, Lori Johnson interviews her daughter, LCA alumna Alexandra Johnson who is a senior at Calvin College studying to be a secondary English teacher. Alex is a serious reader and a podcast fanatic. By the time this episode airs, she will have read over one hundred books this summer, along with working full-time as a camp counselor to five and six-year-olds at Meadow Breeze Day Camp and consolidating her research for her honors thesis on the topic of freshman writing genre study and the use of college writing centers. Alex and I will be sharing some of our favorite young adult and middle-grade books that we read this summer in hopes that you may read them too and share the list with your students. Summer is a great time to catch up on the new books that have been published during the school year when it is difficult to read them while keeping up with lesson planning and grading. We hope you enjoy the episode! Topics: 01:02 - How to discover good books that you may want to read 01:58 - Favorite fantasy genre books of the summer 04:50 - Realistic fiction for middle grades 10:00 - Global Read Aloud 12:50 - African American Literature Resources Referenced in the Podcast: GoodReads: www.goodreads.com Moonglow by Michael Chabon Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton Posted and Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson Gary Schmidt (author of Okay For Now, Wednesday Wars, etc.) Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder Refugee by Alan Gratz Global Read Aloud: https://theglobalreadaloud.com/ Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds Track series: Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu by Jason Reynolds Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson Picture us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe
Information about Alan Gratz author of Refugee for the Global Read Aloud 2018.
We tried to go very light on the spoilers in this #unabridgedhighlights episode, but a few minor spoilers were hard to avoid as we revealed what we loved about these books.timeline *Introduction and Overview of Episode: 00:00 - 00:54 *Samira Ahmed's Love, Hate, and Other Filters: 00:55 - 16:30 *Aisha Saeed's Amal Unbound: 16:40 - 39:20 *Alan Gratz's Refugee: 39:32 - 57:33 other mentions *Clemantine Wamariya's The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After (with Elizabeth Weil) Check out what's coming up next. want to support unabridged?Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram. Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter. Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher. Check us out on Podbean.
If you’d love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance. https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea --- Are you struggling with the timeline of the publishing process? Are you curious about staying organized as a writer? How do you keep track of each character’s storyline and remain consistent? Get ready for this motivating conversation featuring today’s special guest Aisha Saeed. Aisha is a New York Times bestselling author. She wrote WRITTEN IN THE STARS which was listed as a best book of 2015 by Bank Street Books and a 2016 YALSA Quick Pick For Reluctant Readers. She is also the author of the middle-grade novel AMAL UNBOUND a Summer 2018 Indie Next Pick, An Amazon Best Book of the Month, has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus and is a Global Read Aloud for 2018. Aisha’s experiences are hands-down motivating, from finding which literary agents to contact through a local bookshop, to switching her mindset to approach literary agents confidently, to finally hearing a “yes” after the 30th submission for publication, and so much more. Say 'Hi' to Aisha on Twitter! ------ Make sure you don't miss out on our brand new feature article "Letting the Ghosts In" by J.C. Cervantes, click here to read it! Click here to read our 3-year anniversary event summary by Olivia Liu weaved in with photos by Melora Chang! To access Aisha Saeed's shownotes page, click here!
Classroom 2.0 LIVE webinar “March Featured Teacher: Going Global in the Classroom with your Students” with special guest presenter, Paula Fehlinger. March 24, 2018 Over the years, we have had presentations by many excellent educators who have shared their strategies and examples of global connection and collaboration with their students. In order to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world, young people need to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to engage in lifelong, cross-cultural learning and collaboration. More than ever, young people need the 21st-century skills for global competency, digital literacy, critical thinking and global collaboration among international peers. According to Anne Mirtschin, "Student's believe that they can solve the problems of the world. If we help them to develop a global network and teach them how to collaborate then they may well do so!” We are really excited to have Paula Fehlinger as our March Featured Teacher who will be sharing her stories, experiences and teaching tools for helping her students to connect globally. Webinar Description: Ready to break down the walls of your classroom and go global? Help students make real world connections to expand their world of learning. Learn how to use Twitter and Skype to make contacts and to participate in The Global Read Aloud, The Global Math Task Twitter Challenge and Mystery Skype Challenges on your schedule and at your own pace. Paula Fehlinger has been with the East Penn School District for 19 years and has taught both first and second grades at Wescosville Elementary School. She received her teaching certificate from Moravian College and earned Masters Degrees in Classroom Technology, Instructional Technology and Instructional Media from Wilkes University. Paula is a Keystone Technology Innovator Star 2016. She is currently working on becoming a Google Certified Educator. Paula is the second-grade level district leader at East Penn and serves on several committees within the district to support grading and curriculum initiatives. She also leads and teaches several PD courses in the district. Recently, Paula presented a session about taking her classroom global at the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo & Conference in Hershey, PA. When she is not teaching, Paula enjoys cheering on her two sons, Colin and Carter, at their sporting and middle school events. https://twitter.com/pfehlinger https://twitter.com/MrsFehlinger (Mrs. Fehlinger’s 2nd-grade class Twitter feed) https://sites.google.com/eastpennsd.org/pfehlinger/home (Paula’s class website)
Intro Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two girls, a 5th grade teacher, and yeah...starting to have those back to school bad dreams where I’ve arrived at school and I have no lesson prepared or all the furniture has been removed from my room or I’m suddenly teaching Kindergarten! This is Episode #33 and today I’m talking about launching a reading community in those first few weeks of school and then I welcome author Celia C. Pérez to the show to chat about her debut middle grade novel The First Rule of Punk. But first I am excited to tell you that today’s episode is sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and publishing platform that is perfect for classrooms. If you are like me and are looking for an engaging and authentic way to make sure your students are writing every day, you are absolutely going to want to visit WriteAbout.com to check it out. My favorite thing right now is the thousands of ideas across various genres and formats to inspire your students to write more and write more thoughtfully. So - at the end of the show, I’ll share with you a few of my favorite writing ideas I found on WriteAbout that will get my students excited about writing about their reading this year. Main Topic - Launching a Reading Community As the summer winds down and I head back to school, I have been thinking a lot about how I want to make this year different. Make it count. Make it matter. And be more focused and intentional about cultivating that reading community from the start. So today I’ll share some thoughts about how to really develop a strong community of readers before school starts, on that first day, and in those first few weeks. Before School Starts Cultivating that new community of readers started this week before I even met my students. I finally got into my classroom this week after our custodians have been busy waxing and cleaning. (Everything revolves around that waxing schedule, right? There was one year I came this close to shimmying through the window to get into my room!) This morning, I was able to walk through the door - so things are good! And before my new 5th graders even step foot into the classroom, there were three things I knew I needed to take care of: Make sure I have scheduled time every day for them to read and for me to read to them. From the very first day. And treat those times as sacrosanct. Make sure they can see themselves in our classroom library. On recent episode (#28 if you want to scroll back in your feed and listen) I talk about the diversity audit that my students did to analyze the books in our library. And over the summer, I have been working on adding a better variety of titles. When I dust off those shelves and put those books in those genre bins and select some enticing titles to feature face out, making sure those books are as diverse as my class and as diverse as their world is crucial. Create those displays that will get them excited about the reading they’ll do this year. In the hallway right before they enter our room, they’ll pass this giant #ClassroomBookADay display that I have been diligently working on. A big shout out to Lori Lewis in the #ClassroomBookADay Facegroup group who shared (for free!) this cool display of polaroid picture templates for each of the 180 books we’ll be reading this year. So I have been cutting and trimming and measuring and tapping and it’s an impressive display and a promise of what’s to come. And as in year’s past, I also create a “My Reading Life” display for the door where I showcase covers of some recent reads and some all-time favorites. And eventually that will be turned over to my students for their own displays. And of course I always have my own “Mrs. Allen is Currently Reading….” chalkboard display. On the First Day That first day is so crucial in setting the right tone and really conveying your priorities by your actions and what you pay attention to. On the first day of school, I have two goals: Get to know my students as much as possible. Pronounce their names correctly, start to learn their interests and passions and strengths. And start to build that trusting relationship. Because if I am going to ask them to open themselves up and take risks as readers (and writers!) this year, they have to know that I care about them and want to know their authentic self. I want them excited to come back. Gone are the days when I used to start with an extensive review of the syllabus and grading procedures and setting up the rules. Nope. We are having fun. There will be music and movement and an engineering challenge. And at least one read aloud - probably two! And a chance for them to do some book tastings and exploring what’s available in our classroom library. And - some down time when they can dive into those books and start to build back up that stamina for focused independent reading. During the First Weeks During those first few weeks is when that classroom culture of reading really starts to emerge as routines and relationships are established. Within that first week, I like to give a reading survey to get a sense of their likes and attitudes about reading. This is also really important because a carefully crafted survey can give you great data when you compare the answers to those questions at the end of the year. I used to give a paper one but now I use a Google Form. If you want to take a look at a really good sample, Pernille Ripp has a great one on her site that I will link to for you. But don’t dismiss the power of casual conversation about books during those snippets of time throughout the day like arrival and dismissal and in the hallway. Absolutely share what you are reading but that authentic reading community happens when kids can share with each other their thoughts and feelings and reactions (both good and bad) to that book they brought home last night. A huge part of fostering that reading culture is providing engaging and authentic ways for kids to talk about the books they are choosing to read. The days of me assigning a diorama of Hatchet or a cereal box craftivity about Wonder are done. So instead, we’ll have book clubs, we’ll write blog posts and share them with a real audience, we’ll use WeVideo to do booktalks and post them on a YouTube channel, we’ll Skype with authors and other classes for the Global Read Aloud, we’ll create #BookSnaps of our favorite parts, and we’ll tweet our favorite lines and tag the author and cross our fingers for a response! And - most importantly - we’ll do even cooler things that are ideas my students bring with them! So - I am so so excited for fantastic year of reflecting and growth and learning with my students and with you. I would love to know how you launch your school year to cultivate a community of readers. You can tag me on Twitter or Instagram - our handle is @books_between or email me at booksbetween@gmail.com . I would love to hear from you. Interview Outline - Celia C. Pérez Today I am really really excited to welcome Celia C. Pérez to the podcast. She is the author of the recently released middle grade novel The First Rule of Punk. We chat about her inspirations for the novel, zines, and The Wizard of Oz! The First Rule of Punk Your debut middle grade novel, The First Rule of Punk, has been getting all kinds of buzz - everyone is talking about this book! I just cannot wait for the world to meet Malú. Can you tell us a bit about this girl - and a bit about her story? One of the aspects that makes this novel so unique are the zines that are included between some of the chapters. And - I will be honest and tell you that the word “zine” was something I had heard of but the mental image I had was nothing close to the truth. So - for those, like me, who might not be aware... What are zines? And what was your process like for creating the zines that are in The First Rule of Punk? When Malú and her mom move to Chicago, one of the first things they do is scope out and find the neighborhood coffee shop and the neighborhood library. What was your childhood library like? There is this tension between Malú and her mother about how to dress and behave. She thinks her mom wants her to be this ideal Mexican-American “senorita” and Malú want to dress in a more edgy style. Did you feel that cultural tug-of-war in your own family? I noticed this recurring thread of The Wizard of Oz in the book! Are you a fan? I was so intrigued by Malu’s worry dolls - can you tell us a little more about them? So, I have to ask…. cilantro or no cilantro? Your Writing Life What were some of the challenges with writing this book? What’s next for you - do you think you’ll stick with middle grade? Your Reading Life What were some of your favorite books as a child? What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? Thank You! Closing Okay - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, let me know. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - if you head over to their website you’ll find awesome ideas to get your students writing about their reading this year. One of my favorites is: “You have to choose a character from a book you’ve read to lead a group or team you are part of. Who do you choose and why?” (I know who I’d pick!) But I think the prompt I’m going to start with this year is the one called “My Life As A Reader – Memories of Reading” Definitely check that one out when you head over to the WriteAbout site. Thanks again and see you soon! Bye! Episode Links: Celia’s website: http://celiacperez.com Witch's Sister by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright Encyclopedia Brown Series by Donald J. Sobol The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton Tex by S. E. Hinton Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton That Was Then, This is Now by S. E. Hinton The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser The Red Velvet Underground: A Rock Memoir, with Recipes by Freda Love Smith The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Intro Hi everyone - welcome to Books Between - a podcast focused solely on middle grade readers and to help teachers, parents, and librarians connect them to books they will love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two, a 5th grade teacher and still basking in the glow of getting to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson LIVE when he came to Syracuse! He talked about science in the movies and was utterly hilarious. If you ever have a chance to go see him, please do it! This is Episode #23 and Today I am welcoming author Victoria Coe to the show and then chatting about two excellent new May releases that you won’t want to miss, and then answering a question about middle grade classics in the classroom. Main Topic - Interview with Victoria Coe Today I am honored to welcome Victoria Coe. She is the author of the amazing and fun Fenway & Hattie series which was just picked as one of the 2017 Global Read Aloud choices. We chat about pets, Beverly Cleary’s Ribsy, what makes an author visit go smoothly, and lots of other things! Take a listen. Global Read Aloud We’ve been working on having you come on to the show for a few months now but I am actually glad that the timing worked out for now so that I could talk to you about the Global Read Aloud! I admit, I actually screeched when I saw the announcement that Fenway & Hattie was selected for 2017! How did you find out that Fenway & Hattie was picked? From the very first pages, I knew the Fenway & Hattie was a book that begged to be read out loud! Even when I was reading it by myself alone, I found myself mouthing the words and already figuring out where I would pause to let my students figure out what’s happening. Could you tell us what the book is about for those listening who haven’t read it yet? It wasn’t until I finished reading the book that I noticed the “1” written on the spine, so I was really excited to know that it will be a series and we’ll get to spend more time in Fenway’s world! I know the second one has come out already - Evil Bunny Gang. Did I see that Book 3 was announced recently? In Fenway & Hattie, one of the funny aspects of the story is the names that Fenway gives to the family. So, the dad is “Fetch Man” and the mom is “Food Lady”. So - in your home, what would your pets call you? There is just something about dog books that have the potential to connect so deeply with an audience. In fact, you wrote a post on the Nerdy Book Club site called “How Ribsy Changed My Life”. What was it about that dog and that book that fascinated you? I follow you on Instagram and Twitter and I have to say that I love and appreciate that you and so many authors share aspects of their life - your writing process, your inspiration, your frustrations sometimes! Recently I’ve seen a lot of pics of school visits. What is a Victoria Coe school visit like? So we have a lot of teachers and librarians listening who plan author visits. What are some things that you appreciate and like as a visiting author? One thing that I am always trying to encourage in my students is developing a rich reading life. How do you make time for reading in your life and what have you read lately that you’ve really liked? Book Talk - Two Excellent New Novels In this section of the show, I share with you a couple books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I want to share with you two fantastic novels just released last week. Both are books about the seismic changes that can happen when someone new comes into your life. They are Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder and Posted by John David Anderson. Three Pennies I will start with Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder. This novel is about an eleven year old girl named Marin who was abandoned many years ago by her mother and has been bounced around the foster system in San Francisco since she was four. And she’s come up with these rules for survival which essentially boil down to this; BE INVISIBLE. Don’t bother the adults, don’t fight with other kids, but that makes for an incredibly lonely existence and a situation where a kid can all too easily get swept aside and forgotten. And at age 11, there’s little chance she’s going to get adopted. All Marin has from her mother are three things: fading memories, a ceramic piggy bank with one coin rattling inside, and a copy of the I Ching. Marin is constantly casting her three pennies and using the book to try to find her way back to her mother. But, the I Ching is also called The Book of Changes and Marin’s eleventh year is full of unexpected turns. Here are three things to love about Three Pennies: Dr. Lucy Chang! She is Marin’s latest foster parent - a kind but clinal woman. And single. The reason why she’s single comes out in a dinner conversation where Marin tries to be rude to Lucy (because she fears being adopted and losing hope of that reunion with her mother.) Lucy is a science-minded surgeon and precise, but I love how she uses that in the service of being kind toward Marin. For example, she shares these great analogies of the human body. Let me read you a couple. The owl in the story. Every few chapters we get a brief scene from the point of view of a young rehabilitated owl living among the tall buildings in San Francisco and observing what happens below. It’s a quieter and softer part of the book but I love how those chapters weave through the main parts of the story and especially how the owl connects and comes together with the other characters at the end. And I can’t talk about that owl without mentioning the stunning cover art by artist Victo Ngai. It is vibrant with the golds and warm browns of this owl with piercing teal eyes. It’s a stunner of a cover and the artist has done work for The New Yorker and The New York Times - and her work is amazing. I’ll post a link to her site in the show notes so you can check it out. Three Pennies is a beautifully written and gentle book about finding family. If you have kids who might love One For the Murphys or Counting by 7s, but you want something a little shorter and maybe easier to read on that same theme, this book is a great option. Posted Next up this week is a book I have been waiting to get my hands on - Posted by John David Anderson, who you might know from his most recent middle grade novel - Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. This story is about a tight-knit group of four middle school boys. Their nicknames are Frost, Bench, DeeDee, and Wolf. The story is told from Frost’s point of view. He earned his nickname (from Robert Frost) because he won a poetry contest in 5th grade. His parents are recently divorced. His close friend is Bench and he got his nickname because he’s always warming the bench for every team he’s on. He’s big and kind of their protector. No one messes with them when Bench is around. Then there is DeeDee who’s small, kinda geeky, dramatic and the Dungeon Master when they play D&D. Hence his nickname, DeeDee. And finally, Wolf. He is a lanky, quieter kid who’s a piano prodigy and got his name from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each of them are kind of outcasts and outsiders in their own way. But - they have found each other - their tribe as Frost calls it - and support each other. Until a new girl, Rose, shows up and things get thrown into turmoil in unexpected ways. Interconnecting with that dynamic is the fact that all cellphones have been recently banned at Branton Middle School and post-its have become the new contraband form of communication. And what starts off as DeeDee posting fun sticky notes on his friend’s lockers snowballs into this mess of a situation where their friendship is really tested. This is one of those books that the more you read, the more you want to slow down and savor the story, the language - and just spend time with these characters. Well - some of them. There are so so many things I want to say to rave about this book! I have to limit myself to three - but honestly I could list at least 30. So, just as a small sample, here are three amazing things about John David Anderson’s Posted: How much Anderson GETS middle school and the inner life of middle school kids. Before coming to teach 5th grade in an elementary school, I was a 6th grade teacher in a middle school for 8 years. And I used to joke that middle school is the Social Serengeti. There are predators and prey and you better do whatever you can to get cover within a group. And Posted absolutely captures this. Frost calls it the Middle School Minefield. And, oh the antics these four boys get involved in! From making homemade dynamite in their driveway to accidentally microwaving a can of Spaghettio’s and almost burning down the house. These are the stories every kid can relate to - and I’m sure they have some similar ones of their own. How well Anderson builds suspense by withholding information and slowly revealing it in pieces later on. For examples, there are these various messages written on post-its throughout the story, phrases thrown at one of the characters, and an awful text that gets a girl suspended (which is the catalyst of the cell phone ban). Anderson doesn’t reveal what those messages are at first, but describes everyone’s reactions to it. Or he tells the consequences of a conversation, but the details come out more slowly - I LOVED it!Just like he did with Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, Anderson is masterful at sliding the pieces of the puzzle into your view until you start to see the picture yourself. How this book reminded me of the Netflix series Stranger Things. I know that sounds odd because they’re two completely different genres! But - both are about four close friends used to their own routines when a vulnerable yet powerful girl is suddenly in their midst. And how they handle that disruption and the decisions they make about who to protect could either fracture their friendship or bring them closer together. And - there’s lots of Dungeons & Dragons references! When you get a new book by an author whose previous work blew you away, you’re almost expecting to be let down. Posted was everything I was hoping for, and I think this one might actually be even more of a winner with kids because the conflicts are centered so clearly on their lives. Ya gotta get this one! Q & A Our final segment this week is Question & Answer time. Question: This question comes from Annamaria on Twitter “Hi, @Books_Between I'm looking for "classics" to fill a bookcase in my classroom. Have Dahl, L I-Wilder, CS Lewis, few others. Rec's? Thx!” Answer: Alright - yes! Here are a few titles and authors you might want to add. The Indian in the Cupboard (and the sequels) Harriet the Spy All the Beverly Cleary books! (Ramona books, Ribsy books, Mouse & the Motorcycle) The Wizard of Oz series Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry The Wind in the Willows Where the Red Fern Grows A Wrinkle in Time - that one is also a series E. B. White (Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little) The Hobbit The Hundred Dresses Louisa May Alcott (Little Women and Little Men) The Boxcar Children Series Christopher Paul Curtis (The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 and Bud, not Buddy) Black Beauty Lots of the E.L. Konigsburg (books like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler) Frances Burnett’s The Secret Garden and A Little Princess Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series Some really like the Betsy-Tacy series - I haven’t read them but would feel remiss if I did not mention them Mary Poppins Series Anne of Green Gables books Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass All the Judy Blume books! (well, wait - careful, she does have some adult books out, but definitely Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber) You know, in looking at this list, there are so many that I grew up loving but I recognize that in many “classics” lists, the titles and authors do lack diversity and also, where you do find some diverse characters, they’re often not portrayed that well. So in considering including classics in your library, that is an aspect to think about. So, listeners - I know I have forgotten some. What other “classics” would you add to this list and especially, what are some more multicultural “classics” that should be included? We will absolutely revisit this again with some updates. Closing Alright - that’s it for our show this week. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they will love or an idea about a guest we should have or a topic we should cover, please let me know. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Also, we have just launched a newsletter. So if you are interesting in more middle grade goodness, I’ll post a link to sign up for that in the shownotes. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of the show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you in two weeks! Bye! Links: https://www.amazon.com/Nutcracker-Mice-Kristin-Kladstrup/dp/0763685194 https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/how-ribsy-changed-my-life-or-it-all-depends-on-your-point-of-view-by-victoria-j-coe/ FENWAY AND HATTIE resource padlet: https://padlet.com/victoriajcoe/mr9wmo96cm65 https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2017/04/07/and-the-winners-are-global-read-aloud-choices-2017-gra17/ Info about my author visits: http://www.victoriajcoe.com/school-visits author page at PenguinRandomHouse.com where you can click on all three books for a description and order/preorder links: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2109553/victoria-j-coe http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780380709557 http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481492065
In episode 47, Michael & Dan chat with Pernille Ripp about teaching, being connected, and the Global Read Aloud!
Welcome to Episode 8 of the Nerdy Bookcast! Today on the show, you will get to hear a the Nerd Talk that Pernille Ripp shared the this year s nErDcampMI. And, the serendipity of Donalyn Miller s book shelf in this week s book talks. Today s episode: Helping Engage Disengaged Readers. Thank you for very much for listening! The Post Actually it s a Nerd Talk from Pernille Ripp, shared at nErDcampMI in July, 2016. Pernille Ripp is a teacher, speaker, author, blogger, and passionate advocate for education. She is a proud member of the Educator Collaborative, a global think tank and professional development organization, working to innovate the ways educators learn together. In 2010, Pernille founded The Global Read Aloud, a global literacy initiative that began with a simple goal in mind: one book to connect the world. The GRA has grown to connect more than 1,000,000 students in 60 different countries. She is the author of Passionate Learners How to Engage and Empower Your Students, now in its second edition, and Empowered Schools, Empowered Students, both focusing on creating learning spaces and communities where students thrive and all stakeholders are empowered and passionate about learning. Her work has also been featured by many print and online journals including Edutopia, School Library Journal, The Guardian, and MiddleWeb. Pernille s newest book is Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration is out for pre-order with a birthdate of January 20th, 2017. You can learn more on Pernille s blog: Blogging Through The Fourth Dimension The posts you hear on The Nerdy Bookcast originally appeared on The Nerdy Bookclub. The book talks Where the Sea Turned to Silver, by Grace Lin Irena's Children: Young Readers Edition; A True Story of Courage, by Tilar J. Mazzeo Rise of the Lioness: Restoring a Habitat and its Pride on the Liuwa Plains, by Bradley Hague Sam the Man and the Chicken Plan, by Frances O Roark Dowell The post Helping Engage Disengaged Readers – The Nerdy BookCast appeared first on Teacher Learning Sessions.
Welcome to Episode 4 of the Nerdy Bookcast! Today on the show, you will get to hear a post from Michigan principal Jim Bailey, eavesdrop on conversation between Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp that was recorded last spring when Donalyn visited Colby s school and his students were at special, and Book Talks of the titles in this year s Global Read Aloud from the creator of the Global Read Aloud herself, Pernille Ripp. Today s episode: Changing the World One Book and One Reader at a Time. Thank you for very much for listening! The Post “Curing the Reading GERM, by Jim Bailey Jim Bailey is the principal at Hemmeter Elementary in Saginaw, Michigan. He has a passion for helping all students become lifelong readers. Jim spends his time reading, cheering on the Detroit Tigers, and enjoying time with his family (wife, Laura, and two sons, Evan and Griffin). He is an all-around nerd who probably spends too much time obsessing over Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Clash of Clans, and comic books. You can follow him on Twitter as @jcbailey3. Curing the Reading GERM appeared on the Nerdy Bookclub on February 8, 2015. The posts you hear on The Nerdy Bookcast originally appeared on The Nerdy Bookclub. The book talks The Titles for the 2016 Global Read Aloud: Works of Lauren Castillo Nana in the City The Troublemaker The Reader Twenty Yawns Yard Sale The BDG, by Roald Dahl Pax, by Sara Pennypacker Orbiting Jupiter, by Gary Schmidt All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely Thank you to Global Read Aloud creator Pernille Ripp for this week's book talks. Pernille's blog is Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension. Learn more about the Global Read Aloud. The post Changing the World One Book and One Reader at a Time – The Nerdy Bookcast appeared first on Teacher Learning Sessions.
Intro Hi and Welcome to Books Between - a podcast to help teachers, parents, or librarians connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - an elementary school teacher, a mom of two daughters, and excited to be back at school! Last Tuesday, I welcomed a brand new batch of 18 5th graders and we have had a great week reading picture books like School’s First Day of School and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, setting up our fresh new reading journals, and taking time to get to know each other. It’s going to be a fantastic year! This is Episode #6 and today we’re discussing the Global Read Aloud project, the two read aloud novels featured at the middle grade level, and I’ll answer a question about the origins of the podcast. Main Topic - The Global Read Aloud Project As September has rolled around, and teachers, librarians, and homeschool families are making plans for the year, I thought now would be a good time to discuss The Global Read Aloud Project - also referred to as GRA. If you’ve been hearing about the Global Read Aloud Project and want to know more, then this is the perfect podcast for you. I first heard about the GRA last summer on Twitter and was immediately intrigued, but at the time, I was already piloting a new reading program so didn’t want to take on another new thing. But this year, I am ready to go and really excited to be participating for my first time. The questions we’ll answer for you today are: What is the Global Read Aloud project?, What are the books?, Why should I participate?, and finally How can I jump in and get involved? What IS Global Read Aloud? First of all - what IS the Global Read Aloud Project? The GRA was started by educator Pernille Ripp in 2010 as a way to connect the world around one fantastic book. In 2010 that book was The Little Prince and after that, it expanded to include more than one book to target different reading levels, so more children can participate. It really was a bottom up, grassroots project that has expanded every year. This year there are more than 600,000 students signed up already. The Global Read Aloud runs each fall from early October to the beginning of November and teachers, librarians, and parents participate by reading that year’s featured book out loud to their kids over a six week period. This year the GRA kicks off on October 3rd, but you can definitely jump in after that date. The suggested reading schedule is posted on the Global Read Aloud website, which I will link to in the show notes. During that time frame from about early October to early November, your class connects with at least one other group of children, and hopefully more depending on how in-depth you want to go. That connection might involve a Skype session, doing a joint project in a Google Classroom, asking and answering some thought-provoking questions in a shared Edmodo group, or maybe connecting on Twitter. What are the 2016 books for GRA? As I mentioned before, the GRA has expanded beyond just one book to feature several across various age ranges so you can find a good fit for your child or your class. I will be participating as both a parent with my 7 and 9 year old and as a teacher with my 5th graders. The youngest grades do an author study and read six picture books over the course of the project. This year’s featured author/illustrator is Lauren Castillo -you might know her books like Nana in the City, The Troublemaker, and a recent favorite in my house - Twenty Yawns. I defy you to read it aloud without yawning joyfully all through that book! My girls and I will probably end up reading those as well. The next GRA book option recommended for ages 7 and up is Roald Dahl’s BFG. I think that’s a great fit with the Spielberg movie released last summer and a huge perennial favorite among adults and kids. The next read aloud choice recommended for ages 9 and up is Pax by Sara Pennypacker with illustrations by Jon Klassen. Either the BFG or Pax would be perfect for middle grade readers, and I’ll be talking much more about them in our Book Talk segment in a few minutes. If you are looking for something for readers ages 12 and up, then this year’s book is Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt. And the Young Adult book this year for about ages 15 and above is All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely. I have not yet read either of those books but so many of my friends keep talking about them - they are bound to be excellent. Why should you participate? Really the answer is two-fold. It’s great for children AND it’s great for you, too! Participating in the Global Read Aloud is an excellent way to have students connecting and collaborating with other kids and classrooms across the nation (and maybe world!) through social media and other online tools. And old-fashioned pen and paper, too if you want! We are a global society and the GRA is a perfect way to build those 21st Century skills we all know are crucial for kids’ success. Aside from benefits for students, there are also lots of benefits for teachers. All the teachers that I’ve spoken with who have done the GRA in the past have loved the connections they make with other educators. It really builds your professional network and also pushes you a bit to try to expand your digital literacy in a new directions. So maybe that’s Twitter, Skype, or Padlet. But whatever direction you decide to go in to make your connections, I know you won’t regret participating. How can you participate? So now that I have got you excited and hopefully sold on trying out the Global Read Aloud project this year, how do you join? The first thing to do is grab a copy of whichever book you decide to read and then go to the GRA main website - www.theglobalreadaloud.com - and sign up right on that main page. It’s really easy to find, and - by the way, totally free. From there, you can find the Google Group and Facebook Group. Also - one of the best places to make connections with other teachers and classrooms are the Edmodo groups designated for each book. There is also an online shop where you can buy this year’s Global Read Aloud merchandise - and all kinds of other reading themed t-shirts and accessories. If you listened to Episode #3, you already know that I went a little crazy there and bought 3 shirts from the shop already. GRA is also on Pinterest (of course!) and you can connect on Twitter using this year’s hashtag #GRA16. Each of the individual books also have their own hashtag for easier sorting - the middle grade novels are #GRABFG and #GRAPAX for Pax. There is lots and lots of other great information on the website - and I’ll link to everything I’ve mentioned right in the show notes. I am really psyched to be joining the Global Read Aloud movement this year and I’m looking forward to seeing all the exciting connections and cool projects that you all are doing as well. Book Talk - Two Middle Grade GRA Choices In this part of the show, I share with you a few books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week, I’ll be talking about the two middle grade Global Read Aloud options: The BFG by Roald Dahl and Pax by Sara Pennypacker. BFG Roald Dahl’s 1982 novel The BFG is about a Big Friendly Giant (that’s what the BFG stands for) who roams the streets of London with his magical trumpet which he uses to blow dreams into children’s ears. One night a young orphan, Sophie, sees him outside her window. So the BFG snatches her up and carries her off to Giantland. There Sophie realizes that there are nine other giants who are WAY bigger than the BFG and not so friendly. They set off each night to the far corners of the earth to gobble up children. Eventually, Sophie and the BFG come up with a plan to try to stop these man-eating giants. A plan which, by the way, involves the Queen of England. In true Roald Dahl fashion, it’s funny but also pretty dark gruesome actually. So here are three things that I find very intriguing about the BFG. The Language. The BFG speaks in this funny mishmash of semi-English, using words like “filthsome” to describe something yucky, “kiddles” for children, or “human beans” to mean human beings. Really good dreams are called “phizzwizards” and nightmares are “trogglehumpers” - it’s just fun and playful. And of course, my daughters now enjoy using the term “whizzpopping” which means - farting. The potential for some deep conversations. For example, it turns out that Sophie is not the first child that the BFG has essentially abducted. There was a little boy who lived with the BFG for awhile and was eventually discovered by the other giants and eaten. I found that to be deeply disturbing and it raises big moral questions. Should he have taken her? As does the idea that the giants are totally and completely evil for eating people. I mean - are lions evil for eating a gazelle? Are humans evil for eating bacon? There are those ethical questions that this book can raise about our choices in what we eat. The Movie - This past July, Disney and Steven Spielberg teamed up to create The BFG film. It was a beautiful and well crafted movie that does downplay the darkest elements of the book while generally staying pretty true to the main plot points. Also - if you are Downton Abbey fan, Penelope Wilton (who plays Mrs. Crawley) does a phenomenal job as Queen Elizabeth II. It’s worth watching just for that! And I think the DVD will be released by this November, so the timing should work out to watch the film after you read the novel. Pax The second middle grade option for the Global Read Aloud is Sara Pennypacker’s Pax. The novel starts off with a heart-wrenching scene of a boy, Peter, intentionally abandoning his pet fox by the side of the road. Eventually, you come to realize that Peter can’t keep the fox, named Pax, because his father has enlisted in the army and so Peter has to go live with his grandfather. The chapters alternate between Peter’s point of view and the perspective of the fox as he tries to survive in the wild and desperately hopes his boy returns for him. And after a guilt-ridden couple of days, Peter does run away to try to find him. Here are three things I really found so fascinating about Pax: The novel is set in an undefined place and time, and I found that aspect of the book to be really interesting. It could be the United States or maybe Canada and there are clues along the way that help you narrow it down a bit. For example, there are modern-ish vehicles and they mention the kids playing baseball. But you’re never really sure, and I think that dimension of this book could lead to some deep conversation and debate with kids. How this novel explores the concept of being inseparable. When Peter first arrives at his grandfather’s house, he discovers an old picture of his dad as a kid with a pet dog. The grandfather describes them as “inseparable” and that idea of being inseparable gnaws at Peter and he almost becomes obsessed with the idea. I just love how the book explores that idea from all different angles - the father who left to fight in a war, his own mother who died just recently, and now leaving his tame and vulnerable fox on the side of the road. It really asks us to think about whether or not being inseparable is the highest form of bonding and love. The perfect symmetry of the ending. And - I don’t want to spoil it at all by revealing what happens, but oh my gosh - it is powerful and not at all what I expected to happen. Pax is so much more than I’ve just described - I haven’t even mentioned the characters Vola or Gray or all the issues that come as Peter and Pax try to make their way through this worn-torn country to find each other. Pax is so good. It’s about war, and loyalty, and loss. I’m excited and intrigued to see what this novel brings out in my students this fall. I hope you decide to sign up for the Global Read Aloud this year with your students or read aloud with your kids. I’ll be doing both - reading Pax to my 5th graders at school and my 9 and 7 year old at home. But even if you don’t do the GRA, these are both excellent books to put in the hands of a middle grade reader. Q & A Our last segment of the show is Question & Answer time. Question: Now that the Books Between Podcast has been out for awhile and more people are listening (thank you!), I’ve had some people ask “What made you decide to start a podcast?” Answer: Two things really came together to push me to into launching a podcast about middle grade readers and middle grade books. First, I simply LOVE listening to podcasts. I have a 30 minute commute to work each day and podcasts like Stuff You Should Know, RadioLab, and Serial make my drive bearable. If I’m doing the dishes or cleaning, I pretty much always have an earbud stuck in my ear. And last year I started to listen to more kidlit focused podcasts like Let’s Get Busy (which is now All the Wonders), The Yarn, Scholastic Reads, and KidLit Drink Night. So I knew how much a podcast could have an impact and really give value to someone. But there wasn’t a podcast that solely focused on middle grade books and readers. Second, I started to become more open and interactive about my reading life both online and in person. And take my role as a reading advocate more seriously. So, on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, I’d share what I was reading with my students and my daughters. And I’d ask for others suggestions, too. Essentially, wherever I went, I was talking to people about books kids would like and how to get them reading. And I noticed that I was having similar conversations over and over again. For example, last June I had a parent stop me in the hallway at school to ask for summer book recommendations and then a few days later, my friend Ilona messaged on Facebook with the same question. Last spring I was swapping ideas with a librarian in our district about March Book Madness and some creative ways she had to get students recommending books to each other, and then I’d have the same conversation on Instagram when I posted photos of our book brackets. And I kept thinking, “Oh, I wish you had been there when we were just talking about this!” I really wanted a way to share the essence of those conversations with more people. So that - combined with the thought that there seemed to be a space in that middle grade podcast niche - pushed me to start this Books Between Podcast last summer - a podcast focused on readers between 8 and 12. I decided to teach myself the basics of GarageBand and get over the fact that I hate the sound of my own voice, and push myself to do something new and little uncomfortable. I am truly humbled by how many people have reached out to say they’ve enjoyed the episodes so far and are finding value in the podcast. So stay tuned because I have lots more interesting topics planned for upcoming weeks, fantastic new books to talk about, and an exciting announcement which I can’t wait to share with you. Closing Alright - that wraps up our Q&A section this week. If you have a question about how to connect children between 8-12 to books they’ll love or an idea about a topic we should cover on a future episode, please email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find a full transcript of this show, and all the other episodes, at our website - BooksBetween.com with links to every book and resource I mentioned today. And, if you have gotten some value out of this show, I’d really appreciate a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher so others can find us as well. Thank you again and see you in two weeks! Bye!
Classroom 2.0 LIVE webinar with special guest, Nate Balcom, May Featured Teacher, May 14, 2016. We are so excited to have Nate Balcom on Classroom 2.0 LIVE as our Featured Teacher for the month of May! This will be an excellent opportunity to learn about an amazing project Nate has organized called "March Book Madness" and also to hear about the exciting ways he is integrating technology in his teaching as the Integration Specialist at Starr Elementary Sch., Grand Island, Nebraska. He has taught in the classroom for 12 years at Starr Elementary School. We are looking forward to seeing some of the creative videos and projects his students have created. Nate is passionate about global education and each year his students are involved with the Global Read Aloud program that connects students around the world who are reading a book together and sharing their experiences. https://theglobalreadaloud.com Nate is a Google Certified Educator Level 1., was a 2015 Grand Island Education Foundation Mini Grant Recipient, 2015 Grand Island Education Foundation Teacher of the Year Nominee, and a 2014 Bammy Awards Nominee for Teacher of the Year. He obtained his Master's Degree in Elementary Administration from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is currently pursuing another Master's degree in Technology Leadership. He and his wife have two amazing boys (12 y/o and 9 y/o) and two daughters (6 and 4 y/o). http://www.mrbalcom.com/
Some of our awesome 3rd grader join the podcast to talk about Global Read Aloud!!
Passion-Driven: This session will focus on the positive changes that can occur in our schools when one “finds their people,” or a group of other like-minded educators. I will discuss a variety of ways teachers can connect with one another on- and off-line to spark their individual passions, as well as provide tips for collaboration and passing on the spark. Examples include: EdCamps, Twitter (citing specific hashtags or chats), Google+ communities, Pinterest, worldwide educational events (Dot Day, Global Read Aloud, Hour of Code), and local and national conferences.
Download on iTunes Sign Up For the Talks with Teachers' 30-Day Challenges Segment I – Background and Inspiration http://pernillesripp.com @pernilleripp Tell your story. Where are you from and how long have you been teaching? What classes have you taught? – Pernille did not want to be a teacher at all because her mother was a teacher and several family members were as well. Yet in her early 20s she realized that working with children and the one thing that she ran away from, teaching, is what she really wanted to do. She now teaches 7th grade English in Oregon, Wisconsin. Who has helped you in your journey to become a master teacher? – Her first mentor was a special ed teacher in her old district. The minute Pernille walked into her classroom she knew she wanted to be like her because she taught from the heart and made each student feel like they were the most important thing in her world. It is important for other teachers to know that we all have had setbacks in the classroom. Identify an instance in which you struggled as a teacher and explain what you learned from that experience. – One lesson that stood out was during student teaching. It was a math lesson and the students were totally lost. She kept repeating the instructions over and over, almost forcing it upon kids. She knew it was failing and couldn't fix it at the moment. It taught her that you couldn't just barrel through the content or lesson, especially when its someone else's idea. You have to make it your own. What is the challenge in teaching? – You are many things to many kids. Some need need discipline, some need a bystander in their life, some need comfort. You cant be the same teacher for every kid. What is one thing that you love about the classroom? – The students -- what they give to you. THey offer up pieces of they heart and their soul for you to safeguard. She also loves the fact that it is never the same. Segment II — What book do you recommend to a teacher that wants to develop? What is one thing a teacher can do outside the classroom that can pay off inside the classroom? -- Find time for yourself. Is there an internet resource that you can recommend which will help teachers grow professionally? -- Bounce around and explore your curiosity. Twitter is one place where you can jump in and out of conversations. Provide a writing practice that is effective? – She introduced student blogs and allowed them to be reflective. It gave them a voice to the world. Update the cannon. What books belongs in the classroom? The post The Global Read Aloud’s Pernille Ripp appeared first on Talks with Teachers.
Pernille Ripp is a 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin. She is also a very popular online blogger, co-founder of Edcamp MadWi and the creator of the Global Read Aloud. In this session you will learn about: Pernille's background in education Becoming a connected educator Edmodo and EdmodoCon Global Read Aloud Pernille's Blog Genius Hour in the classroom Mistakes and passions