curriculum - Laurie Ann Thompson https://lauriethompson.com Inspiring and empowering young readers Fri, 15 Jan 2021 22:07:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://lauriethompson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/cropped-05_lauriethompson_PhotoByMaryBalmaceda-thumbnail-square-150x150.jpg curriculum - Laurie Ann Thompson https://lauriethompson.com 32 32 TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE resources for teachers and #GIVEAWAY! https://lauriethompson.com/2017/12/02/two-truths-lie-resources-teachers/ https://lauriethompson.com/2017/12/02/two-truths-lie-resources-teachers/#respond Sun, 03 Dec 2017 04:45:09 +0000 https://lauriethompson.com/?p=3233 Read more]]> It is with great excitement and gratitude that I give you this list of amazing educational resources that wonderful educators and designers have compiled to go along with TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: IT’S ALIVE! and, hopefully, make it easier–and more fun–for teachers or librarians to put to use in the classroom!

Educator's Guide for teachersFirst up is the Educator’s Guide to Support Information Literacy, written by amazing 5th grade teacher Melissa Guerrette, M.Ed., NBCT. This guide is chock full of tips teachers can use to teach students how to evaluate sources and fact-check any materials they may encounter, whether they are reading the stories from TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE or just about anything else.
It includes a printable Fact or Fiction note-taking worksheet teachers can use to help readers analyze a text to determine if it is true or false and record evidence of their thinking processes along the way.
It also has a list of the Common Core State Standards supported by the activities in the guide, AND an impressive collection of additional resources for teachers of information literacy concepts.
Download the PDF of the guide HERE.

TTL Stem Game for teachersBut wait, there’s more! Awarding-winning Library Media Specialist and STEM Coordinator Suzanne Costner partnered with Curious City DPW to create a STEM Card Game and companion research activities. “As a school librarian with a passion for STEM topics, I saw this book as an opportunity both to explore interesting stories and to develop crucial information literacy skills,” says Suzanne. Using scientific topics pulled from the book’s sidebars, they created a 52-card card deck that teachers can print out for their classroom. In Round 1, Player 1 reads a statement to Player 2 from a card. Player 2 decides whether the statement is a “Truth” or a “Lie.” In Round 2, players choose a research topic from their amassed cards and make three game cards of their own – two truths and one lie on their chosen topic. In Round 3, players try to outwit each other with the game cards they have created. Each new game in the classroom grows the game deck with new STEM material!
Download the PDF of the Truth or Lie? STEM Card Game HERE.
Suzanne and Curious City DPW also put together the Two Truths and a Lie: What’s Your Source?, which provides teachers with links for students to explore for topic validation and gives them the chance to compare and cross-check the information before making their final decision on whether the stories in TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: IT’S ALIVE! are fact or fiction; Two Truths and a Lie: Reaching for Resources, which provides educators with links connected with the book’s chapters to build information literacy lessons upon, and the Two Truths and a Lie: Rationale, Curriculum Connections & Grading Rubric.

To go along with all of this excitement, for a limited time Curious City DPW is hosting a GIVEAWAY! Read all about it and ENTER HERE, but hurry! Winners will be announced December 5, 2017!

I’m super excited about how these might spur classroom discussions around STEM topics and information literacy. If you use either of them with students, please let me know! I’d love to hear about how teachers are putting into practice and any suggestions for how it could be improved. And, of course, pictures would be fantastic!

]]> https://lauriethompson.com/2017/12/02/two-truths-lie-resources-teachers/feed/ 0 Emmanuel’s Dream as an all-school read https://lauriethompson.com/2017/04/05/emmanuels-dream-all-school-read/ https://lauriethompson.com/2017/04/05/emmanuels-dream-all-school-read/#respond Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:30:07 +0000 https://lauriethompson.com/?p=2906 Read more]]> Last year, Emmanuel’s Dream made its way to Cumberland Road Elementary in Fishers, Indiana, as their all-school read, a book selected to be incorporated across the curriculum in all grade levels. The school describes itself as “a school committed to inclusivity and global connectedness,” and they thought Emmanuel’s true story would be a good fit. Students and teachers read the book. I did virtual visits via Skype to answer the students’ questions and hopefully deepen the experience for them. And then everything came together in a serendipitous but impactful event for the entire school community! Here’s a photo from their event:

Emmanuel in front of a sign the children made
Yes, Emmanuel himself showed up, mid-way through his ride across the U.S.!

For the whole article, click here.
More recently, Brooks Global Studies in North Carolina also chose Emmanuel’s Dream as their all-school read! Their mission is to have their studies lead students to “understand how their actions as individuals impact the larger community of their classroom and the school, just as the actions of a single country affects the world.” Again, students and teachers read the book, and I called in via Skype to answer questions from students. And once again, students were in for an exciting surprise, when Emmanuel himself arrived, this time all the way from Ghana! It was a special treat for me, too, since I had a chance to talk to him during one of the Skype sessions.
Here’s a video they made of the inspiring event:
I love seeing how Emmanuel is connecting with kids and inspiring them to follow their dreams! Don’t you? ]]> https://lauriethompson.com/2017/04/05/emmanuels-dream-all-school-read/feed/ 0