It often presents films which both culturally authentic and thought provoking and which provide information or viewpoints not easily found elsewhere.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013
ADIFF presents the Best of ADIFF in New York City 1/18/12-1/20/12
The African Diaspora Film Festival presents selections which would be of interest to second language teachers of Spanish, French and Portuguese as well as teachers and professors of multicultural studies and intercultural communications studies.
It often presents films which both culturally authentic and thought provoking and which provide information or viewpoints not easily found elsewhere.
It often presents films which both culturally authentic and thought provoking and which provide information or viewpoints not easily found elsewhere.
Monday, January 14, 2013
New Jersey Library System Holds Mock ALA Awards
On Friday, January 11 the BCCLS (Bergen County Cooperative Library System in New Jersey )Youth Services Committee
held its annual mock awards program. Reportedly after some spirited discussion, the following books were chosen.
Printz:
Award: Code Name Verity/ Elizabeth Wein
Honors: The Fault in our Stars/ John Green
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew
Shepard/ Leslea Newman
Newbery:
Winner: Wonder/ R.J. Palacio
Award: Temple Grandin/ Sy Montgomery
Splendors
and Glooms/ Laura Amy Schlitz
Same Sun
Here/ Silas House
Caldecott:
Winner: Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad/
Henry Cole
Award: Extra Yarn, written by Mac Barnett; illustrated by
Jon Klassen
One Special
Day/ Lola Schaeffer
(Thanks to Sharon Kalman for sharing this information)
How close did the BCCLS Mock Awards come to the actual youth media awards of the American Library Association? You'll have to wait until January 28th, 2013 to find out.
The Book and Media Awards of the American Library Association will be held on January 28, 2013 at 8 a.m. PT (11am EST) on Jan. 28, from the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
Webcast
Approximately 12,500 webcast viewers will join more than 1,300 onsite audience members for the 2013 announcements. Virtual seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Facebook and Twitter
Those that are not able to join the webcast can still follow results in real-time by logging on to the ALA Youth Media Awards Facebook page, or via Twitter by following hashtag #ALAyma.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Emancipation Proclamation anniversary
Today is not only the New Year, but
also the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Having just finished reading the new non-fiction young adult book, The
Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln
and the Dawn of Liberty by Tonya Bolden, the significance of this day is
greatly enhanced.
This is the history we never learned
in school.
Bolden plunges the reader into the
social and political climate leading up to the event, and the enigmatic
character of Abraham Lincoln. She begins the book with a quote by Frederick
Douglass, “We were waiting and listening as for a bolt from the sky…we were
watching, as it were, by the dim light of the stars, for the dawn of a new day;
we were longing for the agonizing prayers of centuries.”
Voices from contemporary participants
and observers such as Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, John Charles
Fremont, Harriet Tubman, Charlotte Forten, Sandy Cornish and many others are
recounted. (If you don't recognize some of these names their stories will
become very meaningful to you after reading the book.) The text is delivered in
an active, present tense similar to a news report, so that there is immediacy
to all the events. (Some may note that
not much has changed, when the political animosity of congress members is
described.) Illustrated with contemporary paintings, political cartoons and
photographs, each with detailed captions, noting the social, political or
ideological markers that may be lost on present-day readers, the visual
literacy of the reader is greatly enhanced.
Lincoln is revealed in all his
contradictory statements and philosophies, which illustrate his difficulty in
coming to a decision which satisfied his moral, political, legal and
constitutional views. Bolden inserts parts of the constitution and the evolving
proclamation, so that the problems in coming to a consensus on a difficult
issue can be understood.
In the Epilogue, a measured yet personal
examination of Lincoln and the proclamation is presented, which will be a spur
to lively discussions and reflection in the classroom.
For the New Year, and for this
anniversary, may teachers and students use texts such as these to create a
greater understanding of our history.
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