Mississippi Bend AEA Media Montage

I find myself to be an optimist, glass-half-full person usually. This outlook becomes tested when controversy enters the equation, e.g., debates around the pandemic, political battles, and pushes on our core values or beliefs. Schools and libraries across the country are experiencing increased numbers of book challenges in classrooms and libraries. As I reflect on this momentum, my thoughts naturally change from optimistic to defensive.

Michael Jordan, who I might add is the best basketball player ever, once said, "Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation." As I researched and reflected, I went back to the core values of libraries. They are an institution built upon the foundation of intellectual freedom. The American Library Association states, "Library Bill of Rights affirms special protections to minors using libraries: 'A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.' The school library center has the unique responsibility of introducing young citizens to the world of information."

As I reflect on ways to focus on the positive, I feel it is essential to hold to the foundations. Embrace the messiness. Celebrate family and community involvement in the school. Use this opportunity to create media advisory groups to improve the library program. Recognize the value of set policies and procedures. Adhere to the policies and guidelines to provide context and guidance. Use this opportunity to advocate for literature and the importance of libraries and librarians. Lastly, celebrate libraries as they are a safe space where all children can find themselves in books, connect with characters, and learn varying perspectives. Swap the conversation from negative to positive and act upon the opportunities!

Dr. Joan Bessman Taylor, from the University of Northern Iowa, provided a historical perspective around book challenges, proactive steps, and resources to support challenges earlier this week during our second Media Academy session.

• Form an advisory committee to develop, edit, and evaluate library collection development procedures and include selection and reconsideration policies
• Gather data about your students, e.g., culture, identity, economics, mental health concerns, district continuous improvement goals, and SEL needs
  
  

After a challenge:

• Report it to the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom,
• Give the challenger information and acknowledge concerns
• Provide an official district form and set a timeline for expectations around the decision
• Prepare the team by sharing copies of the book, reviews, district policies, and readers' needs.
• Utilize ALA's resources for challenge support

ALA's Intellectual Freedom Manual encourages librarians to incorporate the library's core values into social media, signage, websites, policies, etc.

• Library Bill of Rights
• The Freedom to Read Statement
• Code of Ethics
• Libraries: An American Value

The 2021 Computer Science Education Week is December 6-12. It is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper.

Below are some ideas or resources:

• Participate in or use previous monthly challenges found on our media site under STEM/STEAM Materials.
  
• Organize an Hour of Code.
• Are you looking for a global event? Check out the 12 games of Christmas designed for 7-17-year-olds with participants from Hong Kong, Tokyo, and the United States. Each day, the organizer will share tips and either a game or creation. Featured games will be available on Youtube, Twitter, and a dedicated Scratch studio. Details are available on this website.
• Follow @CSEdWeek or @IowaCSTA on Twitter.

Our media staff has been working to meet the requests for our book giveaway. Even though many have shipped, we still have gently-used materials from our K-12 library. Items include professional books, K-12 fiction and non-fiction titles, and set books.

Come in anytime to browse the items throughout December. Cannot make it to to the agency? No problem! Fill out this form to request randomly selected books. Already received books but are interested in more? Feel free to ask for additional materials.

Mississippi Bend AEA Media Center

M-F 7:00am-4:30pm

729 21st Street Bettendorf, IA 52722

563-344-6256 or media-center-staff@aea9.k12.ia.us

Readers Theatre Scripts

One of my favorite memories of teaching is performing a script around the story The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the students in a new way. Why readers theatre? It is fun and encourages group work with literature at the center. It naturally provides scaffolding and differentiation for students, emphasizes a growth mindset through practice, and provides opportunities to shine with staging and dramatic reading. Teachingbooks offers 144 readers theatre scripts. The search can be filtered by curricular area, genre, cultural experience, and more to meet specific needs.

• PK-2 - 155 scripts
• 1-5 - 218 scripts
• 4-8 - 196 scripts
• 7-12 - 52 scripts

Encourage creativity and take it one step further. Have students edit a script or create original scripts summarizing fiction or nonfiction text. Incorporate reader's theatre into family literacy nights or share recordings with families.

During our second media academy session, Mindy Romero met with teacher-librarians from two districts to delve deeper into using the diversity analysis to highlight books and guide future purchasing decisions. Mackin offers this service free with no obligations for purchasing. And the good news does not end there! They have certified teacher librarians available to help with customizing lists. Below are helpful resources to walk you through the process.

• Mackin Diversity Analysis Slide Show and Information
• Screencast of the Diversity Analysis
• Reviewing Your Analysis
• Tag Report help link
• Custom list request link
• MARC Records

Mindy Romero

Educational Consultant

Mackin Educational Resources

Phone: 800-245-9540

Email: mindy.romero@mackin.com

Interested in quick tips to support blended learning for grades PreK-8? I encourage you to subscribe to Melissa Wiklund's monthly newsletter. I discovered KindU TV which offers safe, ad-free videos for primary teachers with the added benefit to personalize folders based upon curricular content.

After reflecting upon the second media academy session held earlier this week, I was in awe at the great discussions, applications, and ideas that surfaced during the collaborative work time. Teacher librarians rock! All content, including the recording, is housed in Google Classroom.

Next Dates:

• January 31, 2022 - Authentic Learning Party
• March 28, 2022 - Digital Party

REVIEW SOME EXCELLENT FUTURE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Dive into your creativity with a Fine Arts course!

Arts Integration: Creative, Rigorous and Meaningful Learning

#308077

Students in arts-integrated classrooms have higher levels of engagement and fewer disciplinary referrals, resulting in high academic achievement. Why? Because creative processes help students construct personal relevance and meaning in their learning. During this course, discover how to embed accessible (and fun!) arts-based strategies into your lessons to promote critical thinking, inquiry, reflection, and social-emotional intelligence. Examine how arts experiences can be used as formative and summative assessment tools. Participate in interactive experiences that promise to reinvigorate your own creativity and passion for teaching.

1 Relicensure Credit

Begins 02/05/2022

Whether you are a new teacher-librarian or paraeducator this course is for you!

Paraeducator Area of Concentration: Library Media Technology

#189591

The course covers understanding how libraries serve as resources based upon research-based best practices and includes 9 hours of required virtual face-to-face meetings held in the evenings. It will build an understanding of the role school libraries play in supporting curriculum with print and digital resources, the foundations of building a diverse collection and welcoming area, and dive into the ethical issues related to libraries such as copyright, confidentiality, and diversity.

3 Relicensure Credits

Begins 03/01/2022

Contact Us

staffdevelopment@aea9.k12.ia.us.

DECEMBER

Advent – begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (November 27-December 3) and ends on Christmas Day (December 25).

Hanukkah- sundown of November 28 ending at sunset on Monday, December 6

December 1- Rosa Parks Day
December 2- Special Education Day

December 6 thru 12- Computer Science Education Week
December 7- Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
December 13- National Guard Birthday
December 15- Bill of Rights Day
December 17- Wright Brothers Day
December 24- Christmas Eve
December 25- Christmas Day
December 26- Kwanzaa

December 31- New Year’s Eve

Please email or call us at 563-344-6459 anytime for appointments, assistance with usernames/passwords or any other media related questions!

Check out all our services here! We are here to support you!

Email: hwhitman@mbaea.org
Website: https://www.mbaea.org/
Location: 729 21st Street, Bettendorf, IA, USA
Phone: 563-344-6526
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/missbend9/
Twitter: @MBAEA

The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender identity, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, socioeconomic status, or disability in its educational programs, services or employment practices. Inquiries concerning this statement should be addressed to Kim Hofmann, Equity Coordinator, at 563-344-6415.