The Bammy Awards.....Honoring Educators and What We All Bring To Young People

Last September I had the amazing honor of going to Washington D.C. to be honored at the First Annual Bammy Awards as part of the BAM 100.  They identified the most influential members of the "Twitterati" and honored 100 of us at the Bammy Award Ceremony on September 15th. 

It was such a special night and meant so much to be honored with the people who influence me every day.  I took back the experience to my school in Van Meter, Iowa and shared the stories of others knowing this would also inspire my community too.  

                                 

A few months ago Bam Radio Network opened up nominations for this years Bammy Awards.  I was happy to receive an email that said I was nominated in the new category of "School Librarian".  I was so moved and humbled to read the nominations from colleagues and friends from around the country and within my school, parents, and even one of my students.   

On May 29, 2013 the Final 115 Bammy Award Nominees were announced.  This is the official press release from Errol St. Clair Smith...

You can read it here too.

I am honored to be one of five finalists for the School Librarian Bammy Award.

The other four finalists are all very dear friends of mine and amazing teacher librarians.  To be included in this group is truly a honor.  And to look at all of the teacher librarians who were nominated for Bammy Awards is amazing too.  In our profession we have such incredible people surrounding us all the time.  It is one of the best parts of being a teacher librarian....Our tribe is simply the best.

In September, the 2nd Annual Bammy Awards Ceremony will take place again in Washington D.C.  I look forward to spending time with all of the wonderful people at the awards.

Thank you to everyone at Bam Radio Network for lifting up and saying thank you to all of the educators that make a difference in the lives of our young people each and every day.

                               

You Will Love These “Breakfast Serials” . . . a place that blends literature and technology in exciting ways!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Linda Wright. She is the CEO and publisher of the amazing serial publishing and technology companies called Breakfast Serials and InstantSerials.com.

When I was at the Patricia Polacco professional development author event at Mackin Educational Resources my friends Vicki and Steve Palmquist, two of the co-founders of Children's Literature Network, told me that I just had to meet Linda.  They knew we would have a lot to talk about and that I would love Breakfast Serials.

Linda and I met online one day and she told me all about Breakfast Serials and showed me around the website.  It was fascinating and a wonderful resource that every teacher should know about.

Here is what I learned from Linda about Breakfast Serials original serials and InstantSerials.com.....

Linda first told me how Breakfast Serials came to be.  The Newbery Award medialist Avi wrote a serialized novel in 1996.  Linda then built on Avi's serialized novel to create this company and expand on his original idea.

Instant Serials is an online publisher and technology platform that creates digital reading experiences with Breakfast Serials literature—stories told over a period of time in successive episodes. 

We’re online. On demand and always secure. 

5 reasons to try Breakfast Serials in your classroom.

1. We lead the industry in serial publishing and serial delivery services. InstantSerials.com is an online InstantSerials.com was developed to innovate and foster independent reading in classrooms and living rooms. Our serials are dynamic creations by the best writers and illustrators. All created for a family audience. Before e-books and the Web truly existed, our serial titles were exclusively published in print newspapers around the world. 

This imprint, called Instant Serials, still exists. www.breakfastserials.com 

2. Our serials may be customized to your needs. Because we stream serial stories (rather than sell physical or electronic books) we’ve built a story format and delivery service to support independence. That means you can choose a title and schedule story episodes to fit your timetable. 

Readers can also design the look of each chapter as the art and text are dynamic.
http://www.instantserials.com/tour_how_to_use_stories.aspx2

3. You can integrate reading groups in minutes, not days. We stream stories to reading groups one episode at a time. You schedule the release dates of each episode. The story unfolds at the same pace for everyone. No reader can jump ahead. Moreover, our software keeps track of each participant and reminds readers when new episodes will be released. While the reading group is sharing a story, Instant Serials’ platform serializes the group’s discussions. This way, your students get to share their thoughts and have their writing read by others as the story unfolds.
http://www.instantserials.com/tour_how_to_connect_with_group.aspx 

4. Robust management tools enable sophisticated control of reading group discussions by the teacher. 

Common Core Standard teacher’s guides have been created for each title. 
http://www.instantserials.com/common_core_standards.aspx 

5. We provide a solution that fits all budgets. 

 - To preview our literature sign up for free. 
 - Your account also entitles you to set up one free reading group (any size). 
 - Regular group pricing is $5.95 per story/group (e.g., we’ll synchronize and stream episodes to your students—anywhere)

I enjoyed learning about Breakfast Serials and InstantSerials.com with Linda.  They are definitely something all students and teachers will love.

When she had me go to a serial to see how interactive and personal the reading experience was I was definitely hooked.  You can go to The Fighting Group shown above to see why the home page of their website states....

Breakfast Serials just aren't read, they're consumed. 

You can go to the "Sample Chapters" too.

As you can see, breakfast serials are another great place for all of us to check out this summer and share with our students and teachers in the fall.

This is one place that will definitely get them excited about reading.

What A Very Special Virtual Field Trip From Madison County, Iowa To Los Angeles Means To All Of Us

Hagan and his friends at Van Meter got out of school on May 24th.  One of Hagan's favorite things to do every day is to feed his sister Brianna's horse, Roman.  He gives Roman carrots, apples, corn cobs and makes sure he has water every day.  He always comes right over to Hagan to see what he has.

One night I was talking to my friend Arturo Avina on Facebook.  I was telling Art that we live in Madison County where The Bridges of Madison County was filmed.   It is just a little different from where he lives in California.   Since I have gotten to know his wonderful little kindergarten students over the last couple of months, Art and I thought it would be special to Skype with each other for a virtual field trip to our place out in the country.

Art and his kindergarteners at Olympic Primary School in Los Angeles just got out of school yesterday so it worked out perfect since Hagan and I were home.  We were excited that they were going to visit Roman and our place in Iowa.

We used Skype to connect so I could use the Skype app on my iPhone.  I loved seeing their little faces all ready to visit and see what we had to show them out in the country.  We first showed them Roman and our dog Charlie.  Hagan fed carrots to Roman and told them what else he liked to eat.

After we showed them around, Art's students had lots of questions for Hagan and I.  They were some of the very best questions I have ever been asked.  We heard...

Do you a cow?  Do you have a pig?  Do you ride your horse?  

Is there a farmer there?  

And the cutest question at the very end....

Do you have a crawfish? 

It was so much fun to talk to them about Iowa and the animals we have.  I also told them about my dad Paul and brother Ryan.  They are farmers in eastern Iowa and raise lots of crops and hogs.  

Next year I would love to Skype with Art's students from their farm or even from the field in a tractor.  A real live farmer would be very special to bring to his classroom and students.  

One of the things I will remember the most from this whole school year was when the little boy in the red plaid shirt said, 

"Thank you Miss Shannon.  We will miss you."  

That meant so much to me.  To know that we are all important and special to each other even though we live over 1,000 miles apart and have never met in person.  That is what all of this is all about.  

It just shows we can all make a difference by making these connections with others no matter where we are at.  Art and I became friends on Twitter, our students connected, and this is just the beginning for all of us.  

Thank you friends.....You mean so much to me and you made such an impact on me this year.  I will miss you too. 

You can read all about our first connection in the post How One Amazing Movie Created By Our New Kindergarten Friends In LA Made A Difference At Our School.