GAPS Libraries Resource Update

Two Truths & AI is an interactive digital literacy game for grades K–12 that teaches students to identify AI-generated content and develop critical media literacy skills. Through an engaging, 60-second challenge, students try to distinguish between real and AI-generated movie posters. It's a fun way for students to test their AI detective skills, while also building their critical thinking muscles.

Education is at the core of PRAxSCHOOLS. Meaningful experiences with visual and performing arts can be transformative. The PRAxSCHOOLS educational programs encourage exploration, discovery and contemplation in a welcoming environment. Learn more about opportunities for K-12 schools below:

• Field Trips
• Exhibition Tours
• School Matinees
• Artists in Classrooms

Sign up for the PRAxSCHOOLS Email List to receive the latest information about PRAxSCHOOLS programming.

More schools are taking up the challenge each week! 🎉 Don't forget to get ready for Winter Break -- help students learn how to log their reading minutes, or have printed reading logs ready to take home. Use the button below to access more support materials!

Looking for something fun to do with students on the last day of school before winter break? Mackin is hosting a free virtual classroom visit with Jeff Kinney, The New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Event Details

• Date: Friday, 12/19
• Time: 9:00 am to 9:30 am Pacific
• Format: Jeff will invite students on a tour of the Wimpy Kid studio, followed by a drawing demonstration and a Q&A, giving students a chance to ask questions about his books and illustrations.

Registration Information

• Limited to first 1,000 registrants
• Recording available within 24 hours for those unable to attend live
• Use the NOTIFY ME form to receive the recording link if you are interested but cannot attend the live event.
• Register if you plan to attend the live event with your class/es. (This will be popular and registrations are limited, so please be kind and only register if you know you can attend.)

We all want to get our students to think deeply about important ideas, but that goal requires preparation, and preparation requires time. No matter what or where we teach, it can feel like we never have enough. But we can reclaim some of our precious time by reusing existing resources in new ways that promote deep thinking and learning. One easy, overlooked way to accomplish this goal is with our presentation slides, and it’s a method that requires less preparation, not more. Read more from Edutopia.

In this webinar, Facing History and our partners at the Civic Imagination Project consider how to leverage principles of civic education to empower students to envision a better world.

As technology makes it increasingly easy to manipulate images, students need to understand the ethical dimensions of consent in digital spaces. This lesson from Common Sense Education explores how creating and sharing altered images without permission impacts trust, respect, and personal boundaries. By examining real scenarios, students develop critical thinking skills about digital consent that will help them make responsible choices as both creators and subjects of digital content.

Annotation — regardless of whether it’s done in a print or digital format — integrates reading and writing in a way that strengthens the impacts of both, seeding greater comprehension and ongoing inquiry into the text in question. Decades of research show the positive benefits of annotation for reading comprehension, the ability to analyze ideas, and the skill to communicate those ideas in writing. Read more from K-12 Dive.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, heat waves. Natural disasters happen all over the world and can lead to loss of life, population displacement, infrastructure damage and harm to the environment. Understanding how and why these unexpected events form helps improve response and mitigation. A new interactive map from RetroReport gives students context on the causes, effects and long-term impact of disasters across the globe since the 18th century.

Schools like Bow Memorial School in New Hampshire are leading efforts to implement structured literacy programs for middle-grades and high-school students struggling with foundational reading skills. These programs use systematic and targeted instruction with the goal of addressing gaps in decoding and word recognition, areas traditionally targeted in earlier grades but now recognized as persistent challenges for older students. Read more from EdWeek.

NCTE is bringing teacher expertise to the forefront in the development of a scalable framework for responsible AI use in English language arts instruction, courtesy of a national grant from Google.org, the company’s philanthropy.

The groundbreaking initiative centers ELA teachers as decision makers, following NCTE’s proven cohort model. A dozen groups comprising four teachers and one facilitator each will engage in sustained, collaborative professional development to deepen understanding of AI’s possibilities and constraints, facilitate implementation, and generate practical resources, including peer-reviewed lesson plans for ELA instruction.

NCTE is inviting cohort applications from ELA teachers in grades 6–12 who want to shape the future of AI in the field. Apply by Tuesday, January 13, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Cohort work will begin in March, and participants will receive a stipend in addition to funding to attend the 2026 NCTE Annual Convention in Philadelphia. More information available here.

District Google accounts (including email) are blocked by default from international locations. The Tech Dept is happy to add anyone to an exception group when they are traveling. Here's how to request this access:

• Open the GAPS IT Helpdesk
• Login in the top right corner
• Select Forms
• Select Security > Access | Foreign Travel

GAPS staff and students have access to the following Spanish-language research resources:

• Informe Académico - Una coleccion de revistas hispanicas con textos completos.
• aulaPlaneta Banco de contenidos

Libro.fm offers FREE audiobooks to educators, and this month's selections are here.

ELEMENTARY RESOURCES | SECONDARY RESOURCES