Recently, we had two different content area teachers come in for activities. We decided to create game activities for the kids. The 6th grade math teacher asked me to design a lesson to let the kids practice multiplying decimals. The 8th grade reading teachers both wanted to do an overview of the Golden Sowers (our state's award nominees). For the games, I mainly wanted the kids to be able to be engaged, have options, and work in teams. Even though everything we are doing this year is through the "COVID-19 lens" it is still important for me to find ways for the kids to work in groups. In the library, we are able to spread out our tables to allow 25-30 kids at a time be in groups that aren't in very small spaces. Plus, all of our materials were laminated so they could be wiped down at the end of each period for sanitation. 

First up, our math game!
The teacher's only request was for the kids to practice multiplying decimals. I did a few searches on some teacher sites I follow and ended up deciding I wanted to do some sort of a board game. After looking at some templates available online, we went with a bingo board game. 
Here was the template I started with for the board game: 

As you can see, it was completely editable, which was perfect for what we wanted. You can find the original board game HERE. I ended up making 4 versions (a set A, set B, set C, and set D) so we had multiple game boards going at once. In addition to the board game, the kids also needed a bingo card. Those I created on my own in Google Docs, just using a simple table. 

If I did it again, which I think we will, I would edit this to add in a FREE space in the middle. As it was now, the kids could either get a bingo with 4 across, 4 diagonal, or 5 down. 

How to play:
Each table group got 1 board game and 2 bingo cards. 
The first team rolled the dice and moved their game piece on the board to a box with a problem. Both players tried to solve the problem, and they checked their work by finding the answer on the bingo sheet. If the answer wasn't there, the problem needed to be reworked. Once they found the answer, they marked out that square. Then the other team took a turn. The first team that got to a bingo, won. 

For COVID purposes: 
We laminated all sheets and that way we were able to wipe them down at the end. The kids used Vis-a-Vis markers to mark the bingo squares, and all the dice could be wiped down between classes as well. 

Overall, this game went really well and the kids enjoyed it. 

It has been a LONG TIME since I posted on here. One of my goals for this school year is to utilize this space more effectively. 

This week, the library blog is going to recap a few of my favorite reads from the summer. If you're looking for a new book to read, check some of these out. 

Many thanks to EdelweissPlus and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a top-notch read. I was intrigued by the premise (a high school senior history class is given the assignment to research and debate Hitler and the Nazi's use of the Final Solution for Jews during WWII) and wondered how the topic would be handled. The content was well written, the ideas posed were thoughtful, and the idea of inclusivity and understanding went beyond the issues faced in the 1940s and covered issues from contemporary society. The language and the issues posed were also appropriate for readers in middle school, which I was worried about only because the characters in the story are seniors. This did not impact the story and there was nothing graphic that I would be concerned about my 7th and 8th grade students reading.

First purchase material, especially for collections where readers are interested in Holocaust literature and/or realistic fiction. 

(the above review was originally posted on my Goodreads page)

Many thanks to EdelweissPlus and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

So, Jackson continues to be at the top of her game. This book did NOT disappoint, and I had some pretty high expectations going into it. Jackson's earlier works Allegedly and Monday's Not Coming have been some of my favorite reads, and I love how you are always on the edge of your seat reading her books. As I was reading this one, I texted my coworker and told her she needed to pick it up and start reading (actually, I dared her to read the first chapter and then try to walk away from it). She asked me the next day if my jaw dropped at the end. I said it did, especially the last line. Loved it. Highly recommend.

Enchanted has always loved to sing, and now she wants to try to make something of that talent. She goes to a talent audition, and while she doesn't make the cut, she is introduced to Korey Fields, the megastar. He recognizes her talent and they begin texting. The only problem: she's 17 and he's 29. So he says things need to be a secret. And she thinks she loves him. He convinces her parents to let them go on tour, and his controlling behavior begins to spiral out of control. Chanty can't call her parents. She hasn't heard from her best friend Gab since the fight they had before she left (although, no one else seems to remember Gab the way she does). And even when the cops come to do welfare checks, she Chanty knows better than to say anything. Because Korey has connections everywhere and to everything.

Told in a split narration style of Now and Then chapters, this is an engrossing, raw look at what happens when we don't believe Black girls. Highly recommend. 

(this review was originally published on my Goodreads page)