It’s baseball season again. It’s also the 10th anniversary of Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream written by Crystal Hubbard and illustrated by Randy DuBurke. How can you celebrate both?
Category Archives: Educator Resources
Lesson plans, activity guides, and helpful tips from our literacy specialist and guest educators.
Reading for the Earth: Ultimate Earth Day Resource Roundup
Earth Day, April 22nd is right around the corner, and we at Lee & Low are some pretty big fans of this blue planet we live on. So, whether you choose to plant a tree or pledge to better uphold the 3 R’s -reduce, reuse, recycle- we are celebrating and promoting awareness the best way we know how- with books! Continue reading
Interpreting César Chávez’s Legacy with Students
In this guest post, Sara Burnett, education associate at the American Immigration Council, presents strategies and resources to enrich the classroom with the legacy of César Chávez. This blog post was originally posted at the American Immigration Council’s Teach Immigration blog.
“When the man who feeds the world by toiling in the field is himself deprived of the basic rights of feeding and caring for his own family, the whole community of man is sick.” — César Chávez Continue reading
7 End-of-Year Field Trips and Book Pairings That Your Students Will Love (but won’t break the bank)
Assessments may not feel far enough in the past (or perhaps haven’t even started!), but the end of the year is fast approaching and field trip planning is in full force! Continue reading
4 Mentor Texts and Activities for National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month. With so many forms of poetry to explore and share with students, what will you choose? Continue reading
Why Do We Need Diverse Books in Non-Diverse Schools?
In this guest post, Taun M. Wright, CEO of Equal Read, lays out some of the arguments for using diverse books in all schools, regardless of student demographics.
DeAvian was a disengaged student, more interested in socializing than academics. Her school had well-known books like Ramona but it wasn’t until her Big Sister gave her a book with an African-American girl on the cover that suddenly, “DeAvian’s eyes opened wide with excitement and a smile filled her face. She held the book tightly, looking up as if to say: ‘Here I am, at last!’” Now, DeAvian continues to read, and her academic performance has improved dramatically. The impact of representative literature can be profound.
In a year with so much important attention to discrimination, the call for diverse children’s books is clear. However, diverse books aren’t just essential to students from minority or marginalized backgrounds. We need diverse books in schools with students representing fewer identity groups just as much as we need them in more diverse schools. Continue reading
Where to Find Culturally Diverse Literature to Pair with Your Required Curriculum
We hear over and over again from teachers across the country how they want to infuse more culturally responsive and relevant texts into their district or school-mandated curriculum.
It’s challenging to do, but what if we had some resources to share to help you out? Continue reading
Why I Love to Read Sad and Dark Books to Children (and You Should Too)
- Gleam and Glow written by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Peter Sylvada
- Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust written by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Stephen Gammell
- Hiroshima No Pika written and illustrated by Toshi Maruki
- Fox written by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Ron Brooks
- The Harmonica written by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Ron Mazellan
- Peppe the Lamplighter written by Eliza Bartone, illustrated by Ted Lewin
- The Shark God written by Rafe Martin, illustrated by David Shannon
What do they all have in common? Continue reading
10 Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom
Think there’s no need for sepia-toned filters and hashtags in your classroom? Don’t write off the world of #selfies just yet.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media channels among generation Z, or those born after 1995 and don’t know a world without the Internet. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this is a generation of visual learners and communicators, where sharing your life-from the food you’re about to eat to your thoughts about anything and everything-is a part of your everyday routine. So, why allow Instagram in your classroom? Continue reading
Celebrate Music in Our Schools Month with Drum-Inspired Books
March is Music in Our Schools Month. In support of music programs, music educators, and wiggling students trying to sneak a beat, we are celebrating (global) Music in Our Schools Month with DRUMS!
Continue reading