findingEducation’s Digital Teachers’ LoungeTips and insights from the findingEducation team.

We first met Sarah Brannen, children’s book author, illustrator and blogger, at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) conference in Charlotte, N.C., where she cohosted a panel on censorship.

FindingEducation recently reconnected with Brannen over the phone to learn more about her first book, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” (UBW), published in 2008. “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” features a young guinea pig, Chloe, who is worried her favorite uncle won’t have time for her anymore because he’s getting married.

“The fact that it’s a same-sex wedding is absolutely irrelevant to the story,” Brannen says. But according to the American Library Association, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” was one of the top 10 most challenged books in 2008, due to ”homosexuality” and because it was deemed to be “unsuited to age group.” The book was also selected as an American Booksellers Association Book Sense pick for Spring 2008.

“Some of the stories that I write are about people, and I illustrate them with animals to keep the story universal,” Brannen told findingEducation.

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Subject: Art, English & Literature, Other
Tags: Educator Profiles

Joyce Valenza in a photo by Jim Graham.

This week, findingEducation spoke with Joyce Valenza, an information specialist and author who manages the Springfield Township High School Library in Erdenheim, Pa. Valenza is also a blogger for School Library Journal, a former tech columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a lecturer on education issues and technology.

Valenza sets the bar exceedingly high for librarians. Inspired by the benchmarks set by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), she recently published “14 Ways K-12 Libraries Can Teach Social Media” (Tech & Learning, 21 Sept. 2009) and her own Manifesto for 21^st Century School Librarians, which calls for librarians to acquire the necessary skills to guide learners in new and emerging information and communications landscapes.

“If you call yourself an information professional, you have to be a professional in the information landscape of your time,” says Valenza.

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Subject: English & Literature, Integrated Technology, Languages, Other
Tags: Educator Profiles

Did you take the Quiztory last week? Now it’s time to check your answers:

1. Who sent a memo on Oct. 7, 1940, to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s advisors proposing aggressive action against Japan? Lt. Cmdr. Arthur McCollum

2. When did much of Europe switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar? Oct. 5, 1582

3. Who wrote “Guerilla Warfare” and was killed by CIA operatives and members of the Bolivian army in 1967? Che Guevara

4. Where did writer Edgar Allen Poe die? Baltimore, Md.

5. Which film was the first full-length film to feature the voices of its actors? “The Jazz Singer”

Subject: English & Literature, History, Other History, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory, The Answer Sheet

Test your students’ knowledge of the notable events covered in findingDulcinea’s “On This Day” column this week with the Quiztory—a quiz on important events in history. A new Quiztory will run every Friday.

1. Who sent a memo on Oct. 7, 1940, to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s advisors proposing aggressive action against Japan?

2. When did much of Europe switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar?

3. Who wrote “Guerilla Warfare” and was killed by CIA operatives and members of the Bolivian army in 1967?

4. Where did writer Edgar Allen Poe die?

5. Which film was the first full-length film to feature the voices of its actors?

What’s Coming Up?

Next week, “On This Day” will take a look at Christopher Columbus’ landing in the Caribbean Islands, Italy’s declaration of war on Nazi Germany and the Cuban Missile Crisis. We’ll also examine the American athletes that gave the black power salute at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, and the kidnapping of Quebec’s Minister of Labor by militant separatists in 1970.

Subject: English & Literature, History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory

Blake Harrison, left, and Alex Rappaport of Flocabulary.

This week findingEducation caught up with Blake Harrison, a.k.a. Emcee Escher, rapper, educator and creative director of Flocabulary, to hear how he and Alex Rappaport, cofounder and executive producer, are bringing their energy and passion for hip-hop to the classroom.

By weaving words into rhymes with infectious beats, Harrison and Rappaport knew they could engage students and ultimately teach them something. Their first CD, released in 2004, put vocabulary words in context, helping prepare students for the SATs. Since then, they’ve developed programs for teaching world and U.S. history, math, science and even Shakespeare. They’ve taken their music on tour, held teaching workshops and created a current events series called The Week in Rap, now being broadcast on Channel One, a national TV news network for teens.

fE: When did you get the idea for Flocabulary?

BH: In high school, I had one teacher in particular who used to say “’Sesame Street’ has spoiled you guys. You guys don’t know how to learn. You think education has to be fun, but it doesn’t. It shouldn’t be.” And I couldn’t disagree with him more. I just thought he was being lazy.

Education can be fun and we make it really fun for youngsters. But right around middle school and high school, there isn’t as much emphasis on that. And I just didn’t think that was necessary. I thought you could teach really serious academic content, get people where thy have to be in terms of the standards in achievement, while also doing something that’s really engaging.

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Subject: Biology, Chemistry, English & Literature, Geometry, History, Life & Earth Science, Math, Music, Other Math, Physics & Astronomy, SAT, Science, Social Studies, State exams, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Educator Profiles