You Are Cordially Invited...

The university community is invited to attend the inaugural UCF Book Festival in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center on Saturday, April 17, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the UCF Arena and the Psychology Building.

More than 60 noted authors and poets will be on hand to discuss their works, meet readers, and autograph copies of their books. Book sales, exhibitors, children's activities, and complimentary book appraisals are among many highlights of the event. Admission to the UCF Book Festival is free. A full schedule of events and activities is available online at bookfestival.ucf.edu.

Please call 407-823-2835 for additional information.

Author Interviews

I'm not sure how I missed these, but interviews by high school students of authors who appeared at the 2009 FAME conference have been posted on the FAME website.

Authors include Margaret Peterson-Haddix, Stepahnie Tolan, Peg Kehret, Ridley Pearson, Richard Yancey among others.

Very Cool!

Wimp Yourself

You'll love this: Wimp Yourself from the website to promote the upcoming film.  You can find a game and a quiz, too.

Here's the movie trailer:

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Henry's Heart

Students have the unique opportunity to work on a new children’s book with author/illustrator Charise Mericle Harper — from beginning to end. The award-winning author invited the elementary school students to become an integral part of “Henry’s Heart,” from the rough manuscript to the finished product.

Each week Harper goes to a local elementary school and works with the children as they discover how books are written. Harper wrote “Henry’s Heart” about a little boy and his heart, which comes to life as a character all its own. Her story personifies the heart and addresses love, as well as health and fitness.

Like Henry’s heart, the interactive project took a life of its own in the form of weekly sessions with the elementary school’s 300 students--kindergarteners, first and second graders. The author and media specialist Linda Costelloe are setting up workstations from January through April, where the students can experiment with various types of paper, select winners of “font fights” or discuss healthy eating habits. Harper generously shares her creative license with the kids and welcomes their input regarding the paints and brushes to use for her illustrations, what Henry should wear or the type of tree she should depict.

The book will be published by Henry Holt next year. You can read more and follow the students' and book's progress here in weekly updates.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! A Prezi for You!

In her blog, Time to Renew, media specialist Amy describes creating her first Prezi presentation.  If you haven't experienced Prezi, hold on!  It's something completely different; it's not your grandfather's Powerpoint!

Here's her presentation about Dr. Seuss she's using for a biography lesson.  What a nice birthday present! (March 2, 1904)

Mouse over the space under Seuss' photo to see the arrow; then click on the arrow to see the Prezi.  Or click on MORE and select autoplay.

Dr. Seuss Biography on Prezi

A Book Club for Florida's Middle Schoolers

News from the Florida Department of Education:

The Literacy League book club is a new reading initiative designed to connect Florida’s middle school students with their favorite authors in modern and innovative ways. The club, open to all students in grades 6-8, creates a new kind of collaboration between students, reading and technology.  Students will now have the opportunity to have their questions answered directly by the author of the selected book, redefining how students learn through the use of technology.

Four books will be selected throughout the year by the Florida Department of Education and students participating in the club will be asked to submit questions about the book either by e-mail or video submission. The questions will be answered by the author of the chosen book for a Literacy League podcast show, housed on Florida’s iTunes U site. The show will also air regularly on the Florida Knowledge Network.

Book Selection:

Award-winning author Julianna Baggott’s book “The Anybodies” is the first book chosen for the club.

The next book selection will be announced in April.

How to submit a question:

Upon completion of the book, please submit your questions in the following formats:

•    E-mail questions to LiteracyLeague@fldoe.org
•    Submit a recorded video question (WMV, Quick Time or MPEG files will be accepted), and either e-mail to the above address or mail  a CD version to the Department of Education’s Communications Office at 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1524, Tallahassee FL, 32399-0400
•    Mail your written questions to the above address

The deadline to submit your questions for this quarter’s book club broadcast is March 1, 2010.

TeachingBooks.net

Last week I mentioned the TeachingBooks.net webinars.  Today I attended both of them and all I can say is FABULOUS!  Thanks to TeachingBooks and SUNLINK, Florida schools have access to all the thousands and thousands and thousands of book and author related resources on their site until the end of this school year.

I've added a TeachingBooks.net search box to the sidebar so you can try it out.  Look for the authors and books you are reading for your genre assignments or others you are interested in.  You can login from the SUNLINK hame page, too.  I've provided via course mail more directions for access.

While I'm amazed at the number of resources, I'm also impressed with the training and support tools--handouts, slideshows, videos, bookmarks, and more that you can use to learn more about the resources and to inform your parents and teachers about all that TeachingBooks has to offer.  They even provide flyers that have been translated into 22 different languages to send home to parents!

If you missed the webinars, try one of the video overviews.  It's worth every minute of your time!

Don't miss this chance to explore TeachingBook.net.  And let's give a big virual THANK YOU to Nick Glass @ TeachingBook.net and the good folks at SUNLINK!  What a great gift!

You Are Cordially Invited

I received this invitation in the mail this morning...maybe you did, too?  I don't know the source of the mailing list.  In any case, this is most timely given the next assignment:

Hi,

TeachingBooks.net and SUNLINK invite you and your colleagues to the following complimentary webinars to learn about this resource that is now available for everyone in SUNLINK to use. Please note that one of them is tomorrow.

Authors and Illustrators Enter the Classroom through 21st Century Technology: TeachingBooks.net supports your reading and library activities

    * Wednesday, January 20, 2:45-3:15 Eastern Time | 1:45-2:15 Central Time
    * Wednesday, January 27, 3:30-4:00 Eastern Time | 2:30-3:00 Central Time

    http://teachingbooks.na3.acrobat.com/sunlink21stcenttech/

Virtual Classroom Visits from Authors: TeachingBooks.net for High School

    * Wednesday, January 20, 3:30-4:00 Eastern Time | 2:30-3:00 Central Time
    * Wednesday, January 27, 2:45-3:15 Eastern Time | 1:45-2:15 Central Time

    http://teachingbooks.na3.acrobat.com/sunlinkvirtualvisits/

You do not need to pre-register, nor do you need a telephone or special software. You just need Internet access and speakers or headphones. Simply click on a link above at the time of the webinar and enter the meeting room.

Webinar descriptions and details at:
http://TeachinBooks.net/sunlink_webinars

We hope you'll be able to attend. Best regards,

Nick Glass, Founder & Principal - TeachingBooks.net

I'd be willing to trade parts 4 and 5 of Assignment 2 for a report on any one of these to the group in the discussion area!  Let me know if you're interested!