Read Into This

Co-hosts Lisa Noble and Beth Lyons sit down with author Lawrence Hill to discuss his new book, Beatrice and Croc Harry.

Lawrence Hill is a writer whose novels and works of non-fiction have been widely read in Canada, translated into many languages and published around the world. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Guelph and has served as a teacher or mentor to developing writers for thirty years.

His new children’s novel is Beatrice and Croc Harry. It is 375 pages, and was written for both children aged 9 – 14 as well as for older teens and adults. It will be published on January 11, 2022 by HarperCollins Canada.

https://www.lawrencehill.com/

The group discussed the closures/reductions/limitations that were in place for their LLCs last year. Coming from three different Ontario school boards there was a lot to discuss as to how each board approached staffing during the 2020-2021 school year. All three TLs share how their libraries have re-opened for student and educator use this year. How are we ensuring that students have access to culturally relevant and diverse texts as well as a variety of text formats (ebooks, audiobooks, etc)? Given the transition that’s happening for Ontario Ministry of Education mandated tests (OSSLT & EQAO) there also needs to be a shift in how students are able to access texts within their classroom and school library. As school library professionals what steps can we take to help push this transition forward and advocate for the needs of our students? The panel also discusses goals for this year in the LLC while balancing their own energy and mental health needs.

Alanna King
Role: Educator, fully remote senior English with the Upper Grand District School Board
Twitter: @banana29

Jonelle St Aubyn
Role:Full time teacher librarian at Louise Arbour Secondary School
Twitter: @Ms_St_Aubyn

Adrienne Kennedy
Role: Full time teacher librarian (focus on Library and Wellness) Toronto District School Board, TDSB

Texts/Resources mentioned in this episode:

Libro FM
https://libro.fm/

Poetry In Voice
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/

Centauri Arts
https://www.centauriarts.com/

HotDocs
https://www.hotdocs.ca/

Festival of Literary Diversity
https://thefoldcanada.org/festival-events/fold-kids-bookfest/

The Making Box
https://www.themakingbox.ca/

Digital Human Library
https://www.digitalhumanlibrary.com/

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Thank you to all who contributed!
Jenn Angle- ON, Teacher-Librarian, Bellmoore School (Binbrook), Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Natasha Cardoso- Elementary Teacher/librarian William G. Davis TDSB
Kate Johnson-McGregor, ON, Secondary Teacher-Librarian, Brantford Collegiate, GEDSB - OLA SuperConference Planner
Jennifer Byrne, ON , Elementary Teacher-Librarian, Wilshire Elementary School, YRDSB
Lila Armstrong- BC
Rebecca Rubio- BC
Tim Boudreau, ON, Middle School Teacher librarian at Lougheed Middle School, Brampton, ON
Cathy MacKechnie, ON, Secondary Teacher Librarian at Nepean High School, Ottawa, ON
Barbara Whiston- QC/Montreal
Jen Giffen, Secondary School TL, YRDSB,

Read Into Summer Reads

The co-hosts gather to look back over their favourite summer reads of 2021.

Texts mentioned in this episode:

Not Your Princess by Lisa Charleyboy
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood (Editor Kwame Mbalia)
If I Tell The Truth by Jasmin Kaur
Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Beth Lyons hosts Melanie White and Cathy MacKechnie, both educators in the Ottawa Carleton District School Board to discuss the idea of learning loss vs. learning gains over the past few years as educators and students have faced the COVID 19 pandemic. The discussion centres on the collaboration between educators who work together, create a plan and are prepared to design in the moment to support student learning.

Melanie White- @WhiteRoomRadio
Podcast- Just Conversations https://voiced.ca/project/just-conversations/
Blog- https://reflectingonrecreation.wordpress.com/2021/08/17/the-abscess-sol2021/
Cathay MacKechnie- @NHS_library

Texts mentioned in this episode:

180 days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents By Kelly Gallagher, Penny Kittle
Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom by Matthew R. Kay
This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewel
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond
High School by Tegan and Sara Quin

S2E13 Interview with author Michelle Grierson

Alanna hosts this episode with debut novelist Michelle Grierson. Teacher turned author Michelle explores the inspiration for Becoming Leidah, and how her trip to Scandinavia solidified her ancestral culture into the world she designed in this book.

You can follow Michelle at:
https://www.michellegrierson.com/

on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/michellegrierson11
on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.ca/mishkagryson/_saved/
and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/michellegrierson11/

For my review of Becoming Leidah check out my blog here:
https://threadbarebeauty.com/2021/04/02/becoming-leidah-by-michelle-grierson/

Stephen Hurley joins host, Beth Lyons, to unpack the series of podcasts that looked at audiobooks, podcasts and read alouds in classrooms and school libraries during the 2020-2021 school year. They look back at the school year that included both online and bricks-and-mortar classes, the humanity of the education system and what it means to be human in the 21st century.

The podcasts discussed in this episode include:

S2E7 Read Into Audiobooks/Podcasts- Adrian Del Monte (Part 1)

S2E8 Read Into Audiobooks/ Podcasts- Lynn Thomas (Part 2)

S2E9 Read Into Audibooks/Podcasts- Tim Boudreau (Part 3)

S2E10 Read Into Read Alouds- Julie Vandendool & Aviva Dunsiger

Texts mentioned in this episode:

Rebels Against the Future by Kirpatrick Sale

The Giver and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Makes Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall

The Librarian’s Stories by Lucy Falcone, illustrated by Anna Wilson

Tough Like Mum by Lana Button, illustrated by Carmen Mak
Creating Inclusive Writing Environments in the K-12 Classroom: Reluctance, Resistance, and Strategies that Make a Difference by Angela Stockman

Cultivating Genius: A Four-Layered Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy by Gholdy Muhammad

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production

Brené with Tim Ferriss and Dax Shepard on Podcasting, Daily Practices, and the Long and Winding Path to Healing- podcast, Brene Brown, Unlocking Us

Co-hosts Lisa Noble and Beth Lyons chat about Indigenous texts that span the K-12 education continuum and ways that educators have integrated these texts into their daily practice. This episode was inspired by A Day to Listen- 12 Hours of Indigenous-led Radio Programming on June 30th.

https://downiewenjack.ca/a-day-to-listen/

Texts Mentioned In This Episode
Reclaimed by Jared Martineau (Lisa incorrectly called it Unreserved which is a different CBC show with Falen Johnson)
A Sitting In St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia
I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe, Illustrated by Pauline Young
The Ecstasy of Rita Joe by George Ryga
I’m Finding My Talk by Rebecca Thomas, Illustrated by Pauline Young
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society- Spirit Bear
Facing History and Ourselves
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Author Monique Gray Smith
When We Were Alone by David A Robertson
Powwow by Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane
Birdsong by Julie Flett (and all books by Julie Flett)
My Day with Yayah by Nicola Campbell, Illustrated by Julie Flett
Board books series by Neepin Auger
American Indians in Children’s Literature site by Debbie Reese
Nibi Is Water by Joanne Robertson
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade
Medicine Wheel Education publications- The Circle of Caring and Sharing, The Eagle Feather, Gifts from Raven, Trudy’s Healing Stone, The Hoop Dancer’s Teachings
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
We Are All Treaty People by Maurice Switzer, illustrated by Charley Herbert
Barren Grounds by David A Robertson
Tales from Big Spirit series by David A Robertson
A Girl Called Echo by Katherena Vermette
Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett
Siha Tooskin Knows Series by Charlene Bearhead and Wilson Bearhead | illustrated by Chloe Bluebird Mustooch
This Place: 150 Years Retold by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, David A. Robertson, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Jen Storm, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette, Chelsea Vowel | illustrated by Tara Audibert, Kyle Charles, GMB Chomichuk, Natasha Donovan, Scott B. Henderson, Ryan Howe, Andrew Lodwick, Jen Storm | colour by Scott A. Ford, Donovan Yaciuk
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
The Break by Katherena Vermette
If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie with Nahanni Shingoose, art by Nshannacappo
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
There There by Tommy Orange
#NotYourPrincess- Voices of Native American Women by Edited by Lisa Charleyboy & Mary Beth Leatherdale
Glass Beads by Dawn Dumont
The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers
One Dish, One Mic- podcast
Telling Our Twisted Histories- podcast
Storykeepers: Let’s Talk Indigenous Books- podcast
Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation by Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail
Indigenous Writes by Chelsea Vowel
21 Things You Didn’t Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
Indigenous Peoples Atlas
Anti-racist Educator Reads hosted by Colinda Clyne

Join Read Into This host Beth Lyons as she explores how virtual read alouds have been used with fellow teacher-librarian Julie Vandendool and kindergarten educator Aviva Dunsiger throughout the 2020-2021 school year. Our discussion stems from a Twitter thread between the three of us looking at why read alouds seemed to have been more successful when in a virtual space than in the bricks-and-mortar space while following safety protocols. How do we balance supporting the literacy needs and sharing of stories with students and educators using virtual tools with the power we know that comes from small group discussions and the connections made when talking about the books together? Both Julie and Beth reflect on how the act of sharing stories in a large school-wide setting using virtual tools allowed for a small act of community gathering in a year when we were all so far apart. How can we engage in a story and the learning connected to themes and inquiry sparks when working with grades ranging from kindergarten to Grade 8. We know that stories act as “mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors” (Rudine Sims Bishop) but how have they also acted as “keys” (Julie Vandendool) to a shared common space?

Julie Vandendool- Alloa Public School LLC
@AlloaLlc

Aviva Dunsiger
@avivaloca

Poem shared by Julie-
Her Books and Stories by Erin Hansen
https://inspiration.allwomenstalk.com/her-books-and-stories-by-erin-hanson/

Sparks that helped structure our discussion:
“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories” ~Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

The Science of Story- https://news.berkeley.edu/berkeley_blog/the-science-of-the-story/

Jonathan Gottschall Tedx- https://youtu.be/Vhd0XdedLpY

Texts mentioned in this episode:

The Truth About Wind by Hazel Hutchins & Gail Herbert
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith
What Riley Wore by Elana K. Arnold
A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary
Malaika series by Nadia L. Hohn
I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe
Take It Back by Kia Abdullah
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Cultivating Genius by Gholdy Muhammad
Calm, Alert, and Learning by Stuart Shanker
Inquiry Mindset by Trevor Mackenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt
Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer's Workshop Into a Maker Space by Angela Stockman
Creating Inclusive Writing Environments in the K-12 Classroom: Reluctance, Resistance, and Strategies that Make a Difference by Angela Stockman

Beth Lyons speaks to teacher-librarian Tim Boudreau about creating podcasts with students as part of his philosophy and integration of maker education in the school library learning commons. How might integrating podcasts and the creation of content help students to see themselves as creators of digital content and not only consumers? Tim outlines the planning process he undergoes with students as they begin to develop and plan for creating their own podcast. How can we use podcasts- both the creation and consumption of- to improve our students’ listening and speaking skills? Tim and Beth discuss whether virtual learning has raised educator’s awareness of the need to better connect literacy activities to the important skills of listening and speaking in a way that wasn’t acknowledged before.

Student Created Podcast- Lougheed Reads
https://www.spreaker.com/user/voicedradio/lougheed-reads-dont-stand-so-close-to-me

Tim Boudreau
@Timboo_drow

Texts mentioned in this episode:

Podcasts
Pod Save America - Politics
The NY Times The Daily - News
Revisionist History - History and storytelling
Tai Asks Why- CBC
The Interview Dudes
The Happiness Lab - Mental Health
Shut Up and Sit Down - Gaming
Mars Patel- Gen Z Media

Books
From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
Invincible by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, John Rauch
House of M by Brian Michael Bendis
The Walking Dead by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore