Motivation

Dear Mo Willems

Addie takes her mom on an exploration of her favorite author, Mo Willems. The exploration goes beyond his books and includes watching a Reading Rockets interview with Mo Willems and drawing him fan mail.

A Strawberry Farm-to-Table Adventure

Carol shares the delicious fun of strawberry picking at a local farm, and how a book and Highlight magazine article lead to baking adventures in the kitchen with the kids.

One of my favorite things to do when the weather turns warm is taking my kids fruit picking. Yes, it gets hot. Yes, there are bugs flying around. Yes, it involves manual labor. But when you bite into that plump, perfectly ripe strawberry, blackberry, peach, fuji apple, and the list goes on, your mouth fills with such sweet and juicy goodness that it’s well worth the effort.

Diverse Books Blossom, Including Disability! Download a Free Booktalking Kit from WNDB™

We Need Diverse Books™ (WNDB) just launched a Booktalking Kit that is now available to download at no cost. The kit is comprised of 30 titles and helps to increase the comfort level involved in identifying, reading, and discussing books that feature diverse characters, including those with disabilities. The kit also considers diversity among authors.

Disabilities or Not: Great Ideas for Digital Summer Learning That Work All Year Long

To be sure teachers and related services personnel offer top summer learning ideas that include accessible educational materials (AEM) here are suggestions from reliable resources that can stand up to learning demands all year long.

Hook Kids on a Book Series! We Add Accessibility

Meet two ambassadors for summer reading who are advocating for high quality summer learning experiences that boost literacy and establish a habit of reading.

Create Summer Readers with "Audie 2015" Audiobook Standouts

Here's list to grow readers from the world of audiobooks, the format for learning that engages struggling and other readers when books in print do not.

The format, that is essential for students with print disabilities, helps learners access the same books that their peers are reading in print. The literacy that can result from "ear reading" creates "academic" knowledge and the "social" opportunity to "talk books" and be part of literacy conversations struggling readers so often miss.

Video Trailers Whet Learner Appetites for Audiobooks: A Strategy for Struggling Readers

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb is a trailer from Libro.fm. Viewing the video is a strategy that could engage readers with an audiobook and its author and or illustrator before listening.

Little Museum of BIG Little House Treasures

En route to Mansfield, Missouri, Laura and Almanzo’s final home, we had time to think and talk about the places connected to Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family that weren’t on our Little Journey itinerary. Once we reached Mansfield, our mileage for the Little Journey would be more than a thousand miles, so there were some places along the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway we just couldn’t include, like:

Laura’s Little Schools

On the Little Journey, both Avery and Janet had a special interest in schools where Laura studied or taught since Avery has always loved to play school and Janet has taught students at all levels — from early elementary to graduate school. Janet writes below about the striking differences and not so surprising similarities we found between the schoolhouses in De Smet and those of today.

"Leap into Learning Differently" Website Debuts with BAM Radio Podcasts for All Educators

"Leap Into Learning Differently," a new website by Sharon LePage Plante, is crafted carefully to include "amazing people who care about learning for all students." She is site founder and also a tireless teacher, tech director, and social-media-in-education aficionado who won a 2014 Bammy Award for her work with special needs students.