Timely Take-aways for Life Long Learners: Literature and Language

Whether exploring favorite authors, lesser-known works, or book history topics, several new titles provide breadth and depth to the study of literature, literary collections, speeches, and history. 

Index, A History of the
Dennis Duncan, 2022, W.W. Norton & Company Themes: Book History, Social History, Books

Book history fans will be enthralled by this fascinating history of the index. Duncan traces the little-known highlights of its design, use, and changes over time.

Take-aways: Students will related to how the index has evolved from print media into digital searches.

Everyday Emerson: A Year of Wisdom
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 2022, St. Martin’s Essentials, Macmillan Themes: Literary Collections

These daily quotes are intended to connect with everyday life and share the universal appeal of his writings.

Take-aways: English teachers will find these quotes to be excellent discussion starters. Ask students to consider whether they agree with the quote and how it applies to life in today’s world.

Walt Whitman’s New Orleans: Sidewalk Sketches and Newspaper Rambles
Stefan Scholberlein (Editor), 2022, LSU Press Themes: Literary Collections

After an introduction and excerpts from A Traveller’s Note Book, readers explore 50 short prose “sketches” and insightful information and resources about Whitman and his works.

Take-aways: Use this fascinating book to help students better understand Whitman and his use of sketches to share his insights into daily life. Ask students to create their own sketches based on their observations.

Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches that Would have Rewritten History
Jeff Nussbaum, 2023, Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan Themes: Literary Collections, Speeches

Sharing notable speeches that were never delivered, Nussbaum explores the historical contexts along with the content of dozens of speeches by well-known individuals. From change and crisis to apology and loss, each of the five parts examples a different theme that impacted the speech’s outcome.

Take-aways: Students are familiar with the famous speeches, but will find these less-known, never-heard speeches to be engaging and thought-provoking.

All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia
Simon Garfield, 2023, William Morrow, HarperCollins Themes: Book History, Language Arts

Garfield’s conversational style turns what could be a dry history of the encyclopedia into an engaging exploration of this fascinating reference source. Through short, interesting chapters, readers learn about the authors and publishers along with the content and formats of the beloved encyclopedia.

Take-aways: Share examples from Garfield’s book, then ask students to adopt their favorite reference book category. From field guides to atlases, involve students in writing their own reference history.

Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain
Amy Jeffs, 2023, Andrew McMeel Publishing Themes: History, Social Science, Literature, Mythology

While tracing the history and interconnected mythology, Jeffs retells both well-known and lesser known tales. Along the way, readers explore key landscapes and legends. The linocuts are of particular note.

Take-aways: Written for a modern audience, young adults will enjoy the retellings. Involve teams of students in examining the early, prehistory, antiquity, or the Middle Ages and mythological themes.

The Wonderful World of James Herriot: A Charming Collection of Classic Stories
James Herriot, 2023, St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of Macmillan Themes: Essays & Narratives

This illustrated version of Herriot’s popular narratives bring these classic stories alive for a new audience.

Take-aways: Inspire teen writers to use observation and humor in their own nonfiction narratives.

The Hobbit Encyclopedia
Damien Bondi & Vivien Stocker, 2023, Frances Lincoln, Quarto Group Themes: Literary Criticism

This illustrated guide to Tolkien’s universe features hundreds of entries related to characters, places, and plot elements.

Take-aways: Suggest this reference companion for fans of The Hobbit. Ask students to create their own “encyclopedia”.

Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb

Synergy: Celebrating Poetry

POETRY is a literary form that elicits an emotional response through the use of language. This condensed art form can be written, spoken, or performed. Often spoken aloud, the words and phrases are arranged for meaning, sound, and rhythm.

To understand a concept, it’s useful to read a cluster of books related to a theme. Explore these recently published books for young people:

POETRY PROMPTS written by Joseph Coelho and illustrated Georgie Birkett jumpstarts the writing process for children. Prompts feature a variety of techniques and use examples to help young writers enjoy learning about poetry. Poetry Power-Ups provide tips and encouragement. ARC courtesy of Wide Eyed Editions, an imprint of Quarto Group.

COURAGE OUT LOUD: 25 POEMS OF POWER written by Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett shares poems that encourage confidence-building in children. It’s the third book in the Poetry to Perform series. These original poems can be used as personal mantras as well as inspiration for children’s own poetry writing. ARC courtesy of Wide Eyed Editions, an imprint of Quarto Group.

CHAMPION CHOMPERS, SUPER STINKERS AND OTHER POEMS BY EXTRAORDINARY ANIMALS written by Linda Ashman and illustrated by Aparna Varma features poems for children about a wide range of animals. This interactive picture book features poems with hints about an animal that are followed up with facts and special characteristics. The book concludes with information about protecting endangered animals, measurements, and mask poems. A glossary is also included. Involve children in incorporating animal facts into their own nature poetry. ARC courtesy of Kids Can Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.

WELCOME TO THE WONDER HOUSE is written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard, then illustrated by Deborah Freedman. The poetry collection for children encourages creativity and inquiry across the curriculum. ARC courtesy of Wordsong, an imprint of Astra Publishing House.

Synergy: Visualizing Poetry

Visualizing poetry involves analyzing the language, structure, mood, and theme of a poem, then creating a visual connection through drawing, watercolor, paint or other visual medium. Or, creating a mental image. Comics poetry blends aspects of comics and poetry.

Read the recently published children's book, then learn more at the website:

POEMS TO SEE BY: A COMIC ARTIST INTERPRETS GREAT POETRY by Julian Peters is an anthology of classic poems presented for a new generation of readers through a rich variety of visuals. Exploring twenty-four English-language poets, the book examines six themes: seeing yourself, others, art, nature, time, and death.

COMICS AS POETRY is an online article by Ivan Brunetti (January 30, 2020) that explores the connection between comics and poetry.

Read the article at https://bit.ly/2F6MJ72

ARC courtesy of Plough Publishing.

Website: Pencil Code

PENCIL CODE is a free, online programming language editor for kids.

Users can jump right in by clicking the “Let’s Play” button. Or, explore activities in the areas of art, music, or adventure. Users can also explore shared student projects.

Teaching and learning resources are available including manual and a code book. An online guide is also available.

Librarians will find this tool to be a fun way to explore coding skills with students. Weave the editor and online resources into computer, math, art, music, and writing activities.

To visit the website, go to https://pencilcode.net/.

Website: Native Knowledge 360

NATIVE KNOWLEDGE 360 is an award-winning history and culture project from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

This website provides educators and students new ways of thinking about Native American history and culture. Begin by reading about the ten essential understandings that serve as a framework for the project. Use the search tool to locate resources or explore the educational materials by subject, language, nature, region, grade, or format. Resources include digital lessons, teacher guides, teaching posters, websites, and videos. Don’t miss the “did you know?” section that addresses common myths.

Librarians will find this website to be a valuable tool in connecting youth with new perspectives on Native American history, cultures, and contemporary lives. Work with teachers to weave the resources across the curriculum.

To visit the website, go to https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360.

Website: ReadTheory

ReadTheory is a free reading comprehension website for students of all ages and ability levels.

The program’s adaptive approach helps students learn at their own pace as they work their way through thousands of skill building exercises. The quizzes span reading levels from elementary through college levels and are aligned with standards. Teachers can use the program to track individual student progress.

Youth begin with a short quiz that involves reading a passage, answering a question, and receiving feedback. After a longer pre-test, students are assigned exercises matched to their reading comprehension needs.

Librarians will find this to be a useful resource for students, teachers, and parents.

The program is available for both desktop and mobile devices.

To visit the website, go to https://readtheory.org.

Website Review: Museum of New Zealand

The MUSEUM OF NEW ZEALAND provides rich teaching resources exploring people and places connected with New Zealand.

The website includes dozens of educational resources from across the curriculum. Of particular note are the lessons associated with language and art. Tales from Te Papa contains 120 mini-documentaries that explore the stories behind artifacts in the museum’s collection.

Librarians will find this resource particularly useful in classrooms learning about the countries of the world. The website provides a unique perspective on world events. For instance, children in the US often learn about World War I from an American perspective. This project contains learning materials that help students learn about the experiences of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey.

To visit the website, go to https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/…/for-educato…/teaching-resources.

Website Review: Rockalingua

ROCKALINGUA is a music-based Spanish learning program for children.

The website is divided into five sections: videos, games, songs, worksheets, and picture dictionaries. Although a subscription-based option is available, many learning materials are available for free. The activities encourage repetition and include listening, speaking, reading, and writing elements.

Librarians will find this website to be a fun way to get elementary children started with Spanish language learning. Combine the website with picture books written in Spanish as well as language learning books.

To visit the website, go to https://rockalingua.com/.

Technology Review: Yiddish Book Center

The YIDDISH BOOK CENTER is a comprehensive website providing information about language, literature, and culture.

The website contains access to collections, information sources, educational programs, and more.

The Digital Library and Collections area provides over 11,000 titles including oral histories, lectures, audiobooks, and other materials in Yiddish. Of particular interest are 800 children’s literature titles.

The Language, Literature, and Culture section provides articles, podcast interviews, and short films.

Librarians will find this to be a useful resource for students interested in exploring Yiddish and modern Jewish literature and culture.

To visit the website, go to https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/.

Website Review: My Grandmother's Lingo

MY GRANDMOTHER’S LINGO explores the loss of language around the world.

Marra only one of many languages around the world that are dying. This interactive experience helps students learn about the language and why it’s important to save this and other languages. Although the project focuses on an Australia’s indigenous languages, this experience has relevance around the world.

Librarians will find this website to be a fascinating way to help children understand language and the implication of lost languages. Ask students to learn about languages of Native American peoples that are being lost.

To visit the website, go tohttps://www.sbs.com.au/mygrandmotherslingo/.

Digital Spotlight: Discovering Literature: Shakespeare

DISCOVERING LITERATURE: SHAKESPEARE from the British Library is a digital collection and educational resource focusing on Shakespeare’s plays.

Contents: This resource features digital objects from the British Library. Users can explore the materials by works, articles, collection items, themes, teaching resources, and a person area. The works section features 15 plays. The articles area provides nearly 100 articles written by scholars, performers, curators, and journalists focusing different aspects of Shakespeare and his works. The collection section provides easy access to collection items. The themes area explores themes such as comedies, tragedies, histories, and more. The Shakespeare biography page includes links to many collection resources. The teacher resources contains a couple dozen lesson plans and resources.

Classroom Connections: Librarians and English teachers will find that these high quality digital objects and supplemental materials are useful additions to the English curriculum. Use the themes section to immerse students in a variety of works related to topics of interest from ethnicity to interpretations of madness.

Featured Digital Objects:
Comedies https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/themes/comedies
Tragedies https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/themes/tragedies
Deception https://www.bl.uk/…/th…/deception-drama-and-misunderstanding

To visit the collection, go to https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare.

Technology Review: StoryNory

STORYNORY is a website presenting free audio stories and poems to children.

This website contains 100s of free audio stories for young people. The stories are divided into original stories, fairytales, classic audio books, educational stories, myths and world stories, junior stories, and poems and music. Most of the works contain both text and audio. Within each sections, the stories are categorized. For instance, the fairy tale section includes stories by Hans Christian Andersen, Brother’s Grimm, Aesop, and more.

Librarians will find this website to be a useful resource for classroom teachers seeking short, classic stories. The easy-to-use format is appropriate for children. Although the website contains ads, they aren’t distracting.

To visit the website, go to http://www.storynory.com/.

Technology Review: American Rhetoric

AMERICAN RHETORIC is a website containing over 5000 full-text audio and video versions of public speeches and other significant historical audio.

The Speech Bank is a database contains public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, and other media resources. Users can search by keyword or browse alphabetically. The works may include audio, video, a transcript, and/or links.

Of particular note is the Top 100 Speeches. This section contains significant American political speeches of the 20th century. The Rhetorical Literacy section includes 49 important speeches of 21st century America. Other areas of the website include speeches by President Obama, movie speeches, and figures in sound. A scholars section explores resources of interest to researchers and academics. Finally, an exercise section provides classroom resources.

Librarians will find the website contains many of the important speeches used in K-12 government and history classrooms. English teachers will find the figures of speech section particularly useful.

Although the advertising can be distracting the content is worth the hassle.

To visit the website, go to http://americanrhetoric.com.

App Review: The ASL App

THE ASL APP by Ink & Salt helps users of all ages learn conversational ASL.

Containing over 800 signs and phrases, this easy-to-use app makes learning American Sign Language accessible and fun. Users begin by choosing a category such as know your ABCs, know your numbers, universal gestures, and the basics. Handshape exercises are also available. Each section provides a short video demonstration and the option to repeat, show the video slowly, or move to the next video.

Although the basic package is free, librarians may wish to add packages at a small fee associated with particular topics of interest within the curriculum. The basic app is an excellent way to get youth interested in ASL a quick and easy start.

Pair this app with the Spread the Sign website athttps://www.spreadthesign.com/ and other online resources to extend the experience.

To learn more about this app, go to http://theaslapp.com/

Book Review: Will's Words

WILL’S WORDS: HOW WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE CHANGED THE WAY YOU TALK by Jane Sutcliffe is an informational picture book explore the impact of Shakespeare on the English language.

Designed for intermediate grade students, the book begins with a letter from the author explaining that the focus of the book is on Shakespeare’s fascinating words and phrases. This beautifully illustrated picture book immerses readers in the time period, while weaving Shakespeare’s famous words into the narrative. Phrases like “too much of a good thing” and “wild-goose chase” are a couple examples of the many words made famous by this famous playwright. The book features sidebars containing Shakespeare’s words, their meaning, and where they can be found in his work. The book concludes with a second letter from the author, a timeline, and a bibliography.

Librarians will find this book to be a fun and engaging way to introduce young readers to Shakespeare’s world and his love of wordplay. Place the book in a learning center along with other books about Shakespeare, online resources, and a hands-on activity involving his famous phrases.

Learn more about the author at http://www.janesutcliffe.com/.
Learn more about the illustrator at http://www.jshelley.com/.

Published by Charlesbridge on March 22, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Tech Review: DuoLingo

DUOLINGO is a free and easy-to-use website and app for language learning. From Spanish and French to Hebrew and Klingon, users can choose from dozens of languages.

Students begin by creating a log-in so the system can track progress. Next, users can jump right into the basic lessons or take a placement test.

The first section provides tips and notes to orient learners new to the language. Each highly interactive lesson incorporates attractive visuals to support learning and reinforces text with audio support. Users are provided with detailed, corrective feedback to support learning. Interaction includes clicking, typing, and recording audio. Progress through the lesson is shown on a status bar. At the end of each lesson, weekly progress is shown and an option is provided to review.

Users are encouraged to set daily goals to keep motivated. A reward system is used to encourage participation. Users are invited to compete with their friends through Facebook.

In addition to the lessons, the tool provides other types of support including a personal word list, activities, and the opportunity for discussion. The Immersion option involves users in reading articles from the web. It’s even possible to upload documents to increase reading comprehension.

Although the format is slightly different on the app and website, they’re both equally easy to use.

Librarians will find this to be an excellent supplement to the school’s language classes.

To get started, go to https://www.duolingo.com

To download the app, go to https://itunes.apple.com/…/duolingo-learn-lang…/id570060128…