Karen Bonanno: Time to Change the Game Plan

Karen recently spoke at the Australian School Library Association conference, answering the question, "What will be the future if you do not take charge of your own seismic shift?"  It is 30 minutes well worth watching as a school librarian, challenging us to take charge of our knowledge and our teaching and our jobs.


http://vimeo.com/31003940

Online Thanksgiving resources

With our 5th grade studying Colonial America and the Revolutionary War, I'm always on the lookout for engaging resources that provide them with glimpses of what life was like in the 1600s.

Scholastic.com has a colorful and interesting slideshow with audio about the trip the Mayflower took from England to America.

I share the story of Sarah Hale, who wrote letters to every president for decades until Abraham Lincoln gave in to her request for a national Thanksgiving holiday by reading Thank You, Sarah: the Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson.  You can introduce the resources of the Library of Congress and the definition and use of primary sources by showing her original letter and the text.

• Original letter from Sarah Hale to Abraham Lincoln
• Text of Sarah Hale's letter

Colonial Williamsburg has a teacher resource section of their website with multimedia presentations, electronic field trips, and information about life in the 18th century.

Plimoth Plantation has a website with teacher and student resources, including virtual field trips.