Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/912628
Good Reads A F E W 2 0 17 - 18 book recommendations from California Reads: Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team (grades 6-8), by Steve Sheinkin, tells of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School's football team, a national powerhouse during the early 20th century. And no wonder: The federally funded boarding school for Native Americans boasted now-legendary student athlete Jim Thorpe and fabled coach Pop Warner. The book also looks at the U.S. government's violent persecution of Native Americans and Carlisle's mandate to erase Indian cultures. The obstacles that Thorpe and his fellow students overcome, both on and off the field, will move and inspire young readers. The Bear and the Piano (pre-K , kindergarten), by David Litchfield, is a story of friendship. A bear cub finds a piano in the forest and learns to play it, delighting his friends. He's excited when he is invited to the city to share his sounds. But should he leave his friends to follow his dreams? The 11-year-old protagonist in The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones (grades 3-5), by Wendelin Van Draanen, retreats into the stories he writes, for good reason: He and his mother just fled her abusive boyfriend and now live in poverty, kids at his new school make fun of his Southern drawl, and he must spend most of his time at the nursing home where his mother works. Lincoln slowly realizes who the real heroes in his life are and that "real folks around me had sto- ries I'd been completely blind to." For more teacher-recommended books, see cta.org/californiareads (#californiareads). Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 15 Looking for lesson plans focused on King and his work, or for content you can use during Black History Month in February? Stanford University 's Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute provides document-based K-12 lesson plans and online resources (kinginstitute.stanford.edu/ liberation-curriculum/lesson-plans). Scholastic has new, curriculum- focused service lessons for grades 9-12 (scholastic.com/mlkday). And NEA offers classroom resources to help students put King's life and impact in perspective (nea.org/tools/lessons/mlk-day.html). Fred Korematsu Day, Jan. 30 Officially recognized by California in 2010, Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution is the first state-observed day in U.S. history named after an Asian American. Born in Oakland, Korematsu was 23 when he refused to go to the internment camps for Japanese Amer- icans in 1942. Arrested and convicted of defying the government's order, he appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court. Several states now commemorate his birthday, Jan. 30. See korematsuinstitute.org/ fredkorematsuday. Go Global Cultivate global competence skills and build lesson plans to share with educators around the world with the NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship. Active NEA members who are current K-12 classroom teachers are eligible to apply; the fellowship offers 12 months of professional development and a nine-day international field study. Deadline to apply is Feb. 5. See neafoundation.org/ global-learning-fellowship. Source: Scholastic 8 cta.org In the Know C A L E N D A R