I’ve been lucky over the past ten years of hosting my annual K-4 Be-a-Famous Writer Contest and free literacy website to meet a lot of amazing like-minded people. People that want to support literacy. I want to use this opportunity to share with you some of the people and companies that are my literacy heroes.
On social media I’ve been able to engage with many teachers and librarians. Many of these interactions have resulted in virtual visits to their classrooms or an invitation to a conference. I’ve been awed by their dedication to support children in building their literacy skills and going the extra mile always for their school and students.
The American Association of School Librarians recently named their Social Media Superstar finalists. On this list are two women who I’ve had the good fortune of building valued relationships with and am proud to call my friends. Shannon McClintock Miller is in the Leadership Luminary category and Elissa Malespina is on their social justice defender list.
Every week I look forward to the Kid Lit round up of links that I may have missed. This is compiled by Jen Robinson. I encourage you to bookmark Jen Robinson's Book Page. The mission is a place for parent's, teachers, and librarians to grow joyful learners: bookworms, mathematicians, scientists, artists + more. You can also subscribe to her newsletter as well. It's full of valuable information about literacy.
I also have met two wonderful multicultural book advocates on Twitter. Children’s reading and play advocates Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom teamed up to create an ambitious (and much needed) national event and non-profit initiative called Multicultural Children's Book Day. Their page has a lot of valuable resources. Everyone should have a bookmark to this link: Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents. Also check out their individual websites as well, as they have book reviews, and resources about what is happening in the children's literacy arena.
I’ve also been wow’ed by the companies I’ve meet too. The chats they offer on Twitter to engage with the education community to discuss technologies and share solutions, or just to listen and learn. I am so impressed that so many companies aren’t just about selling products, but are also about providing valuable resources to teachers and librarians.
I’d like to introduce you to the companies that are my literacy heroes. Here’s a round up of some of the free resources they provide!
Mackin Educational Resources. They have the Mackin Grant Channel. It is Mackin’s resource focusing on the latest funding opportunities for your school or library. Every month they have a featured grants list. There is also a link for ongoing grants and get this, they also give you grant writing tips, where they show you sample documents and there’s a section about grant strategizing. Honestly, every school library should have this link bookmarked. You can sign up for their newsletter so you never miss an issue.
Tales2GO You won’t want to miss the access to the research and articles about the value of audiobooks. You can download a paper from their website on how Audiobooks can support English Learners by meeting their unique challenges. They also have a newsletter you can subscribe too and it comes with a free trial.
Follett Learning has the Follett Challenge. They encourage schools to share an incredible program that’s changing the way we teach and students learn. The schools might win a share of $200,000 in Follett products and services. This can be life changing for a school! Every school should have this site bookmarked!
Buncee A creation and presentation tool for students and educators to create interactive classroom content, allowing learners of all ages to visualize concepts and communicate creatively. They have a teacher corner where presentations are shared for other teachers to access. You can find ideas like a PI Day Activity Template for example
or a very informative Global Maker day interview with Instructional Technologist Jamie Donally.
Flipgrid is the leading video discussion platform. I came into contact with this company through a teacher who asked me to read a page of a story for Global Read Alouds. They merely sent me a code, it took me to a page with all of the information, and I honestly can’t tell you how simple it was to participate in this event. I’ve continued to do this project and have done 4 books so far. Flipgrid is very active on social media and provides so many ideas, contests, and more. You can watch a number of webinars online so you can learn more techniques and ideas about how to use this technology with your students.
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