Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/776907
Books for the New Year What better way to start off the new year than with a few good books? Look no further than California Reads recommendations for stories that students will love and remember for years. Ally, the protagonist in Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (grades 6-8), hides her inability to read by creating clever distractions. But her newest teacher, Mr. Daniels, sees the bright, creative kid underneath the troublemaker. When tests show she has dyslexia, he helps her learn to read and gain confi- dence in herself. When the Beat Was Born, by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Theodore Taylor III (grades 3-5), is a story of hip-hop's beginnings. In summer 1973, Clive Campbell spun the records for a party in the South Bronx. Calling himself DJ Kool Herc, he played the music to make the breaks (the musical interludes between verses) longer for dancing. The book tells how Kool Herc came to be a DJ, how kids in gangs stopped fighting to break-dance, and how hip-hop went on to define a culture and transform the world. The joys of family and food are evident in Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park and illustrated by Ho Baek Lee (pre-K , kindergarten). In rhyming text and charm- ing illustrations, a hungry child helps her mother make the traditional Korean dish of mixed rice. They shop, prepare ingredients, set the table, and sit down to enjoy the meal. Check out cta.org/californiareads for more rec- ommended books. #californiareads Build Your Global Skills The NEA Foundation knows that for students to prepare for the global age, educators must first be equipped with the knowledge, skills and disposition needed to teach in the global age. How best for students to become knowledgeable about the world and see it from various perspectives? How best to communicate across cultures? The foundation's Global Learning Fellowship offers educators 12 months of professional development to support them as they build global competence skills and create their own lesson plans to share with educators around the world. Fellows also experience nine days of international field study. All active NEA classroom teachers are eligible to apply; application deadline is Feb. 28, 2017. For details, see neafoundation.org/pages/global-learning-fellowship. M A R C H 2 is NEA's Read Across America (RAA) Day, a day for students, educators, schools and communities to celebrate read- ing. Plan now for activities, such as inviting special guests — parents, firefighters, the mayor — to read their favorite books. While RAA, sponsored by NEA, CTA and many of the country 's leading literacy and youth groups, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, encourage your students to read all year long. The more children read, the better they read. And the more they read outside of school, the better they do in school. See CTA's Cal- ifornia Reads (cta.org/californiareads) for quarterly teacher- approved book recommendations for all ages. More information and classroom resources for RAA at nea.org/readacross and #readacrossamerica. Read Across America 8 cta.org in the know calendar