Category: Especially for Educators

blog posts directly related to teachers and classrooms

Especially for Educators: “Trading Places: Connecting Story Elements Across Texts and Time” from Beth Anderson and Vivian Kirkfield

February 7, 2025

Don’t you wonder sometimes if historical figures in the same time period knew each other? or knew about each other? I thought about that a lot when I was working on stories of Prudence Wright and Deborah Sampson. They lived in the same colony, at the same time, both animated by the revolutionary spirit. With … More Especially for Educators: “Trading Places: Connecting Story Elements Across Texts and Time” from Beth Anderson and Vivian Kirkfield

Especially for Educators: “What Can I Do? Using Books to Inspire Action” by Laura Perdew

October 18, 2024

As an educator, it was truly exciting to watch as kids discovered their agency. Here’s a great post from author Laura Perdew with a super new book and activities to inspire children to adopt sustainable habits, discover how they can make a difference, and become agents of change. Please share this post with teachers, parents, … More Especially for Educators: “What Can I Do? Using Books to Inspire Action” by Laura Perdew

Especially for Educators: “Passive to Active: Using a Game to Engage Students with Nonfiction” by Elizabeth Shreeve

September 6, 2024

Kids love animals—especially the weird ones! Elizabeth Shreeve shares a science book for ages 7-10 that celebrates one of Earth’s most unique group of critters. The Teacher Guide comes with “The Adaptation Game,” a fun, card-based activity developed with STEM experts. GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment after the post to enter the drawing for a copy … More Especially for Educators: “Passive to Active: Using a Game to Engage Students with Nonfiction” by Elizabeth Shreeve

Especially for Educators: “Harnessing the History of the Harlem Renaissance” by Melissa H. Mwai

July 12, 2024

Sharing the past can inspire the future! In her new book, author Melissa Mwai gives young readers a peek into the Harlem Renaissance, and in this post, she shares three activities for the classroom to build understanding of the time, make use of nonfiction text features, and extend learning. Leave a comment below to get … More Especially for Educators: “Harnessing the History of the Harlem Renaissance” by Melissa H. Mwai

Especially for Educators: “Using Picture Books Across Curriculum Subjects in Every Grade Level” by Vivian Kirkfield

February 16, 2024

Vivian Kirkfield, one of the kid lit community’s most energetic encouragers, has a new book hitting bookstores—and wow! it’s a powerful story beautifully told! PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: ANNIE LONDONDERRY, THE FIRST WOMAN TO CYCLE AROUND THE WORLD will inspire and bring history alive for all ages. Like Vivian, I’m a former teacher who’s a firm … More Especially for Educators: “Using Picture Books Across Curriculum Subjects in Every Grade Level” by Vivian Kirkfield

Especially for Educators: “Using Storytelling to Teach Math in the Primary Classroom” by Keila Dawson

February 9, 2024

Welcome to Keila Dawson, a fellow member of Kid Lit For Growing Minds, a group of kid lit creators whose books cross curricular areas and support educators. Keila’s got a delicious activity to use with her latest release, YUMBO GUMBO, that brings math into the kitchen in the best way, merging learning, culture, and food! … More Especially for Educators: “Using Storytelling to Teach Math in the Primary Classroom” by Keila Dawson

Especially for Educators: “Investigating the Structure and Function of Rule-Breaking Plants” by Jessica Fries-Gaither

December 1, 2023

Educators! Here’s a terrific science activity using carnivorous plants and a new book from author and science educator Jessica Fries-Gaither! AND Jessica is offering a GIVEAWAY! A copy of NATURE’S RULE BREAKERS: CREATURES THAT DON’T FIT IN! Just leave a comment after the post to be entered in the drawing.  Congratulations to ejdthomasville winner of … More Especially for Educators: “Investigating the Structure and Function of Rule-Breaking Plants” by Jessica Fries-Gaither

Especially for Educators: “Five Fantastic Geology Activities for Young Children” by Leslie Barnard Booth

October 6, 2023

This week we’re featuring another gorgeous picture book about geology! Author Leslie Barnard Booth shares some fantastic classroom activities for educators based on her new book A STONE IS A STORY.  Leslie is also offering a giveaway of a 30-minute virtual classroom visit! Just leave a comment after the post to get in the drawing! … More Especially for Educators: “Five Fantastic Geology Activities for Young Children” by Leslie Barnard Booth

Especially for Educators: “Using Science to Teach Language Arts” by Elizabeth Shreeve

September 15, 2023

Kids love sloths! I love sloths! And I love the bonus of science in language arts lessons. Here’s a science book  that’s perfect for teaching language arts—on a topic that students can’t resist. Elizabeth Shreeve shares a flexible, fun “Discovery Tree” activity developed with a STEM teacher especially for busy classrooms. GIVEAWAY! Just leave a … More Especially for Educators: “Using Science to Teach Language Arts” by Elizabeth Shreeve

Especially for Educators: “Recentering Diversity and Decentering White/Eurocentric Culture” by Zeena M. Pliska

August 11, 2023

Just in time for the start of a new school year! This post from author and teacher Zeena Pliska shares an activity for educators to help explore, examine, and evaluate classroom libraries. AND she’s offering a copy of her newest picture book, EGYPTIAN LULLABY. GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment after the post to get in the … More Especially for Educators: “Recentering Diversity and Decentering White/Eurocentric Culture” by Zeena M. Pliska