1st Things First

1. Sara Smith says, "Thank you so much for having me! I hope it was helpful for everyone and sorry again for my coughing!" I really enjoyed her selections for us. I'm ordering many of her suggested titles and they will be available this spring. Here is the recording.

2. Julie Smith says, "HI Lindy! Thanks again for having me yesterday! I know I was the last session so I really really appreciate people hanging with me until the end!

• Google's "Odd One Out" AI Photo Game
• Google Fact Check Explorer
• Google Reverse Image Search
• Google's Synth ID AI-Image detector
• Amnesty International YouTube Data Viewer
• List of good media literacy books
• Media Literacy resources
• Digital Forensics Tools
• My database of AI tools

Hope these are all helpful! Please thank everyone from yesterday for me."

Here is the recording.

3. I am still awaiting answers to the questions we asked Margaret Buckton and Dave Daughton, but here is a doc shared with us that day. There was not a recording of the morning sessions. However, it was discussed that future open discussion sessions would be welcomed as we continue to work towards compliance. The following days I will open up a zoom room for anyone who wants to join. Additionally, in January the group felt a 1/2 day session might be beneficial. I will have a Doodle Poll for those dates in the December newsletter.

• Monday, November 27th 4pm to 5pm
• Friday, December 8th 3pm to 4pm
• Monday, December 18th 7:30am to 8:30am & 3:30pm to 4:30pm

Acknowledge and celebrate the Indigenous peoples of North America through their stories. While every November is Native American Heritage month, you can incorporate Native American titles and resources throughout the year. Here are some resources to help you build an appreciation for and raise awareness of the histories and contemporary experiences of Native peoples, and inspire student reflection in your learning spaces.

• Celebrate, include, and uplift Native voices with titles and resources from this updated and expanded collection of curated lists, such as Native Writers, Read Native Challenge, Indigenous Representations for Teachers and Learners, and Giving Thanks: Indigenous History, Food and Gratitude, and more.

• Feature books and resources by and about Native Americans that have been honored by the American Indian Youth Literature Award. Create bookmarks or embed these award winners to share them with readers!

• Learn the Cherokee words for the four seasons in this video book trailer for We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. Then, students can use this activity sheet to think about and draw traditions or activities they do over winter, spring, summer and fall.

• Find new and authentic options for texts to teach in this list titled Read Alikes for Island of the Blue Dolphins, from the SLJ and NCTE’s Refreshing the Canon series.

• Watch the video book trailer for Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) and reflect with your students on the question asked: “Why are Native Peoples often imagined rather than understood?”

• Share a glimpse of Powwow culture and modern day Native American life by listening to this Meet-the-Author Recording and viewing the accompanying illustration for Powwow Day by Traci Sorrell.

• Search our entire American Indian Collection for additional titles and resources to incorporate into your lessons and programming.

• Introduce your students to important and influential Native American figures from history:

  • Watch this book trailer for Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer to learn about this inspirational Cherokee woman.
  • Watch this complete video reading of Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story to see how the Navajo language Nez was told to forget in boarding school became instrumental to the war effort. Then reflect on the importance of heritage.
  • Search our American Indian Collection and filter by genre (biography) to find additional titles and resources about Native American people.

    
    

• Show and share complete video book readings of these titles by Native authors:

  • The Song that Called Them Home
  • Remember
  • Fry Bread
  • When We Are Kind
  • Where Wonder Grows
  • Finding My Dance
  • The Day the Earth Rose Up

Courtesy of PebbleGo Next

Designed for upper elementary students in grades 3-5. Contains standards-aligned articles, activities, videos, and games in six unique databases: Science, Biographies, Social Studies, States, Health, and Indigenous Peoples' History.

Each article includes read aloud capabilities, academic vocabulary words and definitions, images, video, and audio.

Background August '23. Capstone had the privilege of collaborating on these updates with Dr. Katrina Phillips, a professor of American Indian and American History at Macalester College Minnesota. Dr. Phillips is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, and author of ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day. We hope this update will provide the essential scaffolding needed for your educators to deliver thoughtful, accurate, and engaging lessons on this important topic.

4th Annual Digital Learning App Smash for Future Ready Librarians® (All4Ed/Future Ready Librarians)

Get ready for an exciting hour of inspiration and innovation as twenty Future Ready Innovators come together to unleash the power of twenty cutting-edge digital tools. In this fast-paced event, our presenters will showcase how they use digital tools to craft interactive and engaging learning experiences for students across face-to-face, virtual, and blended learning environments and even at home!

For more information and to register, visit: https://all4ed.org/events/.

Pop YS Live: Best Books of the Year

Pop YS joins the “best of” bandwagon to showcase what we think are the best books we read this year. We’ll cover picture books, chapter books, teen titles, and of course, graphic novels. We’ll want to hear from you in chat as well! Did we nail it? Leave off an obvious choice? This fun, interactive session is sure to engage and who knows, maybe add to your YS collection.

More Information & Registration

Great Prairie AEA provides professional development opportunities for teachers in the areas of curriculum, instructional strategies and assessments - all to help students achieve and schools improve. Specialized services for children and students with diverse learning needs, including identification, diagnosis, planning and therapies for those with disabilities. Children from birth to age 21 are included.

Email: comments@gpaea.org
Website: gpaea.org
Location: 2814 North Court Road, Ottumwa, IA, USA
Phone: 641-682-8591
Facebook: facebook.com/gpaea
Twitter: @gpaea

It is the policy of the Great Prairie Education Agency not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Nathan Wood, 2814 N. Court, Ottumwa, IA 52501, (641) 682-8591 x5512, nathan.wood@gpaea.org (employment practices) or Angela Livezey, 2814 N. Court, Ottumwa, IA 52501, (641) 682-8591 x5302, angela.livezey@gpaea.org (educational programs).