In February we celebrate "the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society" (blackhistorymonth.gov). There are plenty of resources available to help celebrate. Check out the resources below and reach out if you need support.

• GALE Celebrates Black Artists in History with activities and lesson plans.
• NEA K12 Lessons and Activities
• We Are Teachers: 34 Activities for Black History Month
• Black History Month Podcasts
• Black History Month Choice Board

World Read Aloud Day is a celebration of the power of reading aloud. Reading aloud has many benefits, as stated by Teacher Goals,

"Read-alouds can improve reading skills, build vocabulary, and promote a love of reading. They can also be used as a tool for teaching literature, language arts, and other subjects."

Below are some awesome opportunities to engage on February 7th.

• Listen to author Peter Reynolds read aloud The Word Collector and get a sneak peek of The Reflection of Me. Sign up here.

• StoryVoice has teamed up with authors to stream live author reading all day! See the schedule and join live here.

• Teacher Goals will be streaming two and a half hours of read alouds too.

• More information and resources here.

Click here for printable bookmarks students can color for WRAD.

It's award season, and the Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award provides a fun opportunity for students in Oregon and across the country to vote on their favorite nominated book. As stated on their site:

The Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award (BCCCA) sponsored by OASL (formerly OEMA) is named in honor of Beverly Cleary, the Oregon born children's book author. Children of all ages may vote each spring for their favorite title from the list of nominated books. The winning title is announced on Beverly Cleary's birthday, April 12. Nominations include books targeted to the reading ability of 2nd and 3rd graders or a little higher.

Get students involved. Below are some resources for teachers.

• Resources for getting started.
• Slides decks and supporting resources.
• Voting information.

Makerspaces in school libraries offer a dynamic learning environment where students can engage in hands-on, collaborative projects that foster creativity and innovation. These spaces go beyond traditional educational methods by providing students with opportunities to design and create projects, enhancing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They also create an opportunity for students to engage with non-fiction books in the library they may not otherwise know are there.

Charlotte Merritt, Cal Young Middle School library manager, set up makerspaces in Cal Young's library and students are loving it! Students learn to create friendship bracelets, draw cartoons, and make origami creations during their flex, break, and lunch times. Ms. Charlotte plans to create more stations and highlight other books in the Dewey section of the library throughout the year.

The 2024 Youth Media Award winners have been announced! The YMAs celebrate the best diverse literature released in the past year. You can view the results here. It's an awesome list of engaging, diverse books all of which we have in our district digital collection available in Sora.

• ALA's list and explanation of YMAs
• 2024 YMA recording
• 2024 YMA Winners and SLJ's Round-up
• 2024 ebooks available in Sora

Teachers, parents and students: use your Eugene Public Library card to stream titles curated for high-quality educational and entertainment value – free!

For ages 2-8 years old, go to Kanopy Kids to find online movies, shows (including Sesame Street and Arthur), storytimes, and more. All free, ad-free, available immediately and with unlimited borrowing: bit.ly/KanopyKidsEugene.

For older youth and adults, including classroom use, visit Kanopy.com to browse an amazing selection of feature films, documentaries and The Great Courses. All free, ad-free, and available immediately.

Questions about this or any library services? Call Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450.

The Eugene Public Library Foundation encourages patrons to show your love for Eugene Public Library by designing a logo that can be used on promotional materials for advocacy and awareness campaigns to convey that our library is essential to our community. Contest is open now. Deadline for entries is March 31.

PebbleGo has many awesome lesson plans on a variety of different topics and this Snowflake lesson is engaging and will familiarize students with PebbleGo while having fun at the same time.

Though National Reading Month is in March, February is the time to start making plans to engage students in reading all month long. From read-a-thons and literacy nights to read-ins and book talks, there are plenty of ways to get students and families excited about reading.

The National Education Association's (NEA) Read Across America event is often highlighted during the month of March. As stated on their website, "Read Across America is an annual reading and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading with this theme: Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers." Many choose to kick off the celebration on March 2nd and celebrate all month during National Reading Month, but NEA provides resources and activities to engage readers all year long. Reading Rockets has awesome resources and activities to engage students in reading as well as fantastic lists of diverse books.

Start planning activities for Read Across America now so the fun can begin during National Reading Month next month. March is just around the corner, friends!

Let the battles begin! Many schools have already started their school Oregon Battle of the Books competitions. Battles should be wrapped up and winning teams reported by the last week of February. Good luck and have fun!

Regional Tournaments:

3rd-5th: March 9th @ Thurston High School

6th-8th: March 9th @ Siuslaw School District

9th-12th: March 16h @ 1 p.m. North Eugene High School

Globally competent, digital citizens know how to access reliable and credible information as they explore the world around them. 4J subscribes to the databases below and we also have access to many more databases via Eugene Public Library. If you would like more information on these databases, contact Amy Page (page_a).

Click here to check out super rad Canva updates, to include fresh AI Magic Studio features!

Email: page_a@4j.lane.edu
Website: https://www.4j.lane.edu/technology/library/
Location: 200 North Monroe Street, Eugene, OR, USA
Phone: 5410790-7765
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4jlibrarymediaservices/mentions
Twitter: @AmyPageTL