Waffle Bytes

  There are many cool things that can be done with My Maps, but this is one that uses Google Sheets.  Often when students are reading a novel, they have no location context to put cities or places that are mentioned.  There are teachers that have been using Google Lit Trips for many years, but what if you are unable to use Google Earth?  What if you want a simpler activity that students can complete quickly? What if you want something that is accessible to students in their G Suite Drive? You can build a quick activity using Google Sheets and My Maps.  Here's how: 1. Set up your Google Sheet Provide headers for anything you want included on the pop-ups for the markers on the map.  Here I have set up so students can add the following: Place, Description, Chapter, Location, Support Link 2. Fill in the data This can be done by you, or you can share the sheet with your students and have them fill it in.  Any cells can be left blank, with the...

Novel Engineering looks like a great way to collaboratively teach Literature with Engineering! From the website: An integrated approach to teaching Engineering and Literacy "Inspired by kids and grounded in research, Novel Engineering is an innovative approach to integrate engineering and literacy in elementary and middle school. Students use existing classroom literature - stories, novels, and expository texts - as the basis for engineering design challenges that help them identify problems, design realistic solutions, and engage in the Engineering Design Process while reinforcing their literacy skills.... [S]tudents develop projects based on texts they read in English Language Arts or other content classes, such as history. The characters become their clients and students pull from the text to scope problems and set constraints as they engage in engineering design. Teachers play a pivotal role in supporting their students' engagement by providing a supportive,...

What: Writing Contest Theme: "How did an author's work change your view of the world or yourself?" Who: Students Grades 4-12 Deadline: December 2, 2016 - Grades 9-12                 January 9, 2017 - Grades 7 &8, Grades 4-6 Websites:   Letters About Literature site , Guidelines  (pdf), Teaching Guidelines (pdf) from Cathy Lancaster, Youth Services Librarian, LM As Nathaniel Hawthorne so elegantly wrote in  The Scarlet Letter , "She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom." I read it in the ninth grade and while many in my class moaned and groaned, and quite frankly hated it, I was absorbed into the world of Salem, Massachusetts in 1642. Absorbed into the plight of Hester Prynne and her daughter Pearl. It was an awakening to examine how the world has, or has not, changed in our treatment of women in the centuries since. Now the details of the plot and much of the book itself have faded from my memory, b...