News from the Curriculum Resource Center

Ellis, Deborah.  Off to War:  Voices of Soldiers’ Children. 2008.  Groundwood Books.  ISBN:  978-0-88899-894-1.

Ellis, who gained acclaim with her Breadwinner trilogy set in Afghanistan, has taken on the topic of the children of soldiers.  Interviewing children from the United States and Canada who have a parent or parents involved in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, she writes poignantly of the joys and struggles of these children.  The kids share how they cope with stress, how their parents are different when they come home, fighting with the remaining parent, and keeping their mind off of sadness.  Many find solace in sharing their … Continue Reading

Teaching opportunities spring up constantly in life, and the Super Bowl is no exception.  Frank Baker offers these questions for pre and post Super Bowl viewing regarding media literacy. Connect math and football with this lesson suggested by the NCTM or information literacy skills with this football fact sheet from Education World.  The CRC offers many sports fiction and nonfiction books that may get even your most reluctant reader involved with a book.  Tap into a student’s natural love of sports…and use it!

We certainly strive for every week to be a no name calling week, but to highlight the very real fact that bullying still exists, this week has been designated as such.  According to the website,
No Name-Calling Week is an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities.
For teachers, lesson plans and downloads are available, as well as links to other related sites.  The CRC has books to go along with this theme such as The … Continue Reading

For those who like to teach with Big Books, we have just added eight new books that also come with props and materials that encourage discussion and help you bring the stories to life.  Titles include Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?;  If You Give a Moose a Muffin; Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs; If You Give  Mouse a Cookie; Is Your Mama a Llama; Mouse Paint; The Cow That Went Oink; and Silly Sally.  Find these theme packets at CURR TA 372.64 L21b on the Dr. Seuss table.

Stop in and check out our display of Martin Luther King, Jr. titles.  In addition to the books on display, we also have many picture books still on the shelves, and they are all available for checkout.  Bring the meaning of the holiday to life for your students through quality picture books.  For older students, we offer a video of the “I Have a Dream” speech (CURR TA 323.1 M11i), the Eyes on the Prize PBS series (CURR TA 323.4 P111eye), and a primary sources kit on the Civil Rights Movement (CURR TA  323.4 … Continue Reading

It’s welcome back to Spring Semester here at BGSU, and at the CRC we welcome you back with Alison Jay’s Welcome to the Zoo. This wordless book is a colorful feast for the eyes that will cause you to linger over each page.  Packed with surprises, the visual literacy applications with this picture book are endless.  You’ll find it with the new CSCL books in the hallway at JUV J421w. 

Fans of Tales from Redwall take note, Brian Jacques has a new adventure available at the CRC.  Doomwyte  is full of mystery, adventure, battles, and quests.  You’ll find this volume at JUV J19d with the new CSCL books in the hallway.