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Enter to Win a FREE Copy of "Moviemaking in the Classroom" by Jessica Pack or "Be You" by Peter H. Reynolds

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Enter to Win a FREE Copy of "Moviemaking in the Classroom" by Jessica Pack or "Be You" by Peter H. Reynolds

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https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfs1lYm9EQ5sqp9B4Neex-vHKxk4aKw4rgYHmdipwKMuNNW0w/viewform

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Choose a character to animate.

Pick from a wide range of characters - become an animated unicorn, fox, robot, and more. Try out any of the people, animals, or imaginative creatures to see how they fit with your audio. This quick, easy, and streamlined animation tool lets anyone make animated characters with no prior experience needed.

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Animate Your Audio for Free | Adobe Express Animate Characters

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Quickly and easily animate a character using just your voice with the free Animate from audio tool. Record your voice, choose a character, and watch your animation come to life. Download your animation to share across all your digital destinations.

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Who's in the Room? Introduce Yourself...

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Who's in the Room? Introduce Yourself...

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AnswerGarden " Causes of Chronic Absenteeism

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AnswerGarden is a new minimalistic brainstorm tool for online brainstorming, real time audience participation and classroom feedback.

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Data gathered by non-profit Attendance Works reveals that 29.7% of students, nearly 14.7 million, were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school .

Preliminary data for the 2022-23 school year shows minimal improvement, with an overall chronic absenteeism rate of 27.8% in the 11 reporting states. This number is concerning, given that research has revealed weaker academic performance and executive functioning skills in classrooms with higher absenteeism rates. Chronic absenteeism leads to lower graduation rates, underscoring the urgency for transformational work to help address its root cause: disengagement. Over our team's 40 years of experience in school transformation, our leaders have found three main components to help improve disengagement and combat absenteeism. Those components are: fostering positive relationships, creating supportive school cultures, and improving stakeholder engagement.

Fostering Positive Relationships

When students feel connected to their teachers and peers, they are more likely to engage in learning. By fostering a sense of belonging, students feel valued and motivated to attend school more regularly.

Supportive School Cultures

A solid school culture provides a safety net for students, addressing academic, social, and emotional needs. Students with a robust support system are better equipped to navigate challenges and overcome obstacles, reducing the likelihood they will miss school. Supportive environments can also help identify underlying issues that may contribute to a student's decision to skip school, allowing for early intervention and targeted assistance.

Stakeholder Engagement

Positive relationships and a supportive culture extend beyond the classroom to involve parents, community members, and school staff. Collaborative efforts ensure a holistic approach to addressing absenteeism, involving all stakeholders in finding solutions and providing necessary resources.

MGT has successfully assisted schools across the nation in addressing disengagement by providing strategic initiatives to boost attendance, elevate graduation rates, and reduce instances of disciplinary referrals.

In one example, our team was selected by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to assist its schools in need of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) under the State's federally approved plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). During the first quarter of engagement, in advance of building a collaborative and data-centric planning process, our team completed an analysis of each school's strengths and areas of opportunity in school culture and effectiveness of current instructional practices. We then established annual goals for student achievement and school culture/climate, with each campus receiving support based on the unique needs of their school. They were also provided with systems and training to promote the sustainability for these initiatives and goals.

Within the first two years of our partnership, (11/16) of schools with the CSI status achieved school improvement gains that allowed them to exit turnaround status. 60% also increased their 5-year graduation rates and 83% of schools experienced a reduction in school dropouts. Additionally, 100% saw a reduction in both In-School & Out-of-School Suspensions. During the second year we were engaged with Dillard Middle School, they ranked as one of the top 11 schools that exceeded growth expectations. This was the first time in their history that they achieved this level of growth. In addition, Bessemer Elementary was ranked as 9 th/126 schools that demonstrated growth in 2020/2021, with an overall growth index of 4.33% within the first two years of working with us. The project has been successful on many accounts, but the work is not done.

In confronting chronic absenteeism, we know it demands more than acknowledgment - it requires collective action.

The call for transformation in our education system echoes loudly, urging schools to embrace innovative solutions like those our team provides. If you're interested in learning more about the impact and process of developing meaningful relationships with students and building a supportive culture, register for our upcoming FREE webinar on the subject.

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Combatting K-12 Absenteeism Through Connection

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Using evidence-based methodology, the team at Step By Step Learning® (SBSL), an MGT company, partnered with leaders to implement science of reading programs designed to improve teacher effectiveness and student performance for at-risk children at Bethlehem Area Schools in Pennsylvania.

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An unprecedented wave of chronic absenteeism has spread across the country. New data from the U.S. Department of Education show striking findings at the school level: In 2021-22, two-thirds (66%) of enrolled students attended a school with high or extreme levels of chronic absence. This means at least one of five students in their school was missing almost four weeks throughout the school year.

These exceptionally high levels of chronic absence are an enormous increase from levels before the Covid-19 pandemic, when only a quarter (25%) of all enrolled students attended schools with high or extreme chronic absence. Not only is teaching and learning more challenging when large numbers of students are frequently missing class, such elevated levels of chronic absence can easily overwhelm a school's capacity to respond.

Turning the tide requires all of us to work together - at state, district, school and community levels- to avoid blame and instead partner with students and families to address the issues that keep them from showing up every day. Fortunately, numerous evidence-based interventions are available that can be tailored at the local level.

Released through Ed Data Express, the national data show that nearly 14.7 million students (29.7%) were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year. The jump in absences means that roughly 6.5 million more students were missing 10% or more of school days, when compared with the school year prior to the pandemic.

As this table shows, how much chronic absence rose varies by state. These findings are similar but slightly different from estimates offered earlier in August based upon data released by 40 states by Professor Thomas Dee of Stanford University.

And while many had anticipated that daily attendance would return to levels seen before Covid-19 closed schools, early data from the 2022-23 school year reveals that chronic absenteeism has remained extremely high. Read more about 2022-23 data in this short blog post.

A close look at 2021-22

Clearly the return to in-person schooling was far from easy. In the 2021-22 school year, significant outbreaks of Covid-19 occurred throughout fall and winter. Students were missing extended numbers of school days due to being quarantined. Some schools returned to virtual instruction for some students -or all students - for periods of time.

Many students struggled with untreated health needs and unstable transportation as well as increased family and work responsibilities, especially those in high school. Too many students experienced trauma, with over 1 million losing a grandparent and over 200,000 families losing a primary caregiver. After months of isolation, re-establishing positive school climates and helping students develop the skills to resolve conflicts was not easy. Staffing shortages made building relationships with students and families and ensuring engaging curriculum especially difficult. Anxiety grew as students struggled to keep up with learning as well as forge connections to peers after extended periods of absence. In addition, myths about the unimportance of missing school may have been heightened by parents' and students' experiences with virtual schooling during the pandemic. All of the root causes of chronic absences worsened during this time.

National research shows these extremely troubling increases in chronic absence are associated with significant declines in student achievement and threaten efforts to recover from the pandemic.

Overcoming this attendance crisis is not a short- term endeavor. Rather, ensuring all students have an equal opportunity to learn in the aftermath of the pandemic will require strategic and long-term investments aimed at reconnecting and re-engaging students and families in school. Reconnecting with both students and families is critical for putting in place meaningful solutions to support academic success and re-establishing a norm of attendance every day across the nation.
Stunning increases in schools
The new data yields additional critical insights at the school level that can inform the development of solutions. The most striking finding is the extraordinary shift in the extent to which schools, as a whole, are affected by chronic absence. In 2021-22, two-thirds of enrolled students, (32.25 million), attended a school with high levels (20-29% of students were chronically absent) or extreme levels (30% or more were chronically absent.)

This is an enormous increase from the 2017-18 school year when only a quarter (25%) of all enrolled students attended schools with high or extreme chronic absence. As a result, the chronic absence wave has spread, and many more students and schools are, for the first time, experiencing high and extreme levels of chronic absence. (Please note that an analysis of the 2018-19 school year is not provided because school level data was not available for that year.)

By 2021-22, 43% percent of schools had extreme levels of chronic absence. Elementary schools were especially affected with extreme chronic absence jumping from 7% to 38% of all elementary schools. See table below.

By 2021-22, the number of elementary schools with extreme levels of chronic absence far exceeded high schools (19,828 vs. 11,778). See table below.

Most of this increase occurred in regular education schools (vs. schools focused on special education, vocational education or alternative education) which experienced a four-fold increase in the number of schools with extreme chronic absence, from 10% to 41%. See attached spreadsheet.

Such a rapid increase in the level of chronic absence easily overwhelms a school's capacity to respond. Increased chronic absenteeism rates in 2021-22 meant that an elementary school with typical enrollment and a chronic absenteeism rate equal to the national average for elementary schools had about 100 chronically absent students, a similar middle school about 150, and a similar high school about 200. Such high numbers of chronically absent students are beyond the capacity of a single social worker or counselor to address.

Unaccustomed to such significant numbers, many schools may not have had in place an effective tiered approach to improving attendance. As a result, not only were more students chronically absent, but fewer chronically absent students may have received the support and responses that would reduce chronic absence, especially given that Covid-19 was causing illness among teachers and the pandemic deepened already existing teacher shortages.

The sheer magnitude of the number of chronically absent students could also create the incorrect impression that missing a few days of school is not a problem, resulting in a relaxed attitude towards getting kids to school everyday.
How can we respond?
Turning back this wave of chronic absenteeism must be a national, state, district, school, and community priority because it affects the success of most, if not all, efforts to help students recover and thrive in the aftermath of the pandemic. These high levels of chronic absence demonstrate the urgent need for systemic responses that rebuild a culture of daily attendance by investing in the underlying positive conditions for learning in schools that motivate showing up while also removing barriers to attendance. This means we must redouble actions to create physically and emotionally healthy and safe learning environments while also cultivating a sense of belonging, connection and support for every student and family. We must offer relevant and engaging learning experiences as well as provide flexible and meaningful opportunities for students who missed out on extended periods of school to learn, gain credits and graduate. We must invest in staff health and well-being, address staffing shortages, and leverage the "people power" of community partners as well as youth themselves to ensure the bandwidth exists to support our students and families despite challenging conditions.

We don't have to start from scratch, rather we can build upon what has been learned about effective responses to chronic absenteeism over the past decade or more. See for example, the Attendance Playbook and Learnings from the Grad Partnership with interventions that work.

We must advance programmatic and policy solutions, including for example, community schools, that help districts and schools address the challenges that make it hard for students and families to get to class and affect their ability to learn even when they do show up. These include, for example, the lack of health insurance and health care, unreliable transportation, unsafe paths to school, food insecurity and unstable housing. We can also establish community-wide campaigns that re-establish daily attendance in school as a top priority and convey to everyone why it matters for student well-being and success. The size and scale of the challenge merits and requires an all hands-on-deck approach.

To be effective, these systemic approaches must also recognize the strengths families, students and communities bring to the table, as well as their day-to-day realities. Doing so requires we avoid counterproductive punitive approaches that alienate students and families.
This is the first of a three-part series unpacking federal chronic absence data. Stay tuned for our next installment that will investigate chronic absence related to poverty, ethnicity, geography and student group. By Hedy Chang, Executive Director, Attendance Works; Robert Balfanz, Director, Everyone Graduates Center, Johns Hopkins University; and Vaughan Byrnes, Senior Research Associate, Everyone Graduates Center, Johns Hopkins University.

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Rising Tide of Chronic Absence Challenges Schools - Attendance Works

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An unprecedented wave of chronic absenteeism has spread across the country. New data from the U.S. Department of Education show striking findings at the school level: In 2021-22, two-thirds (66%) of enrolled students attended a school with high or extreme levels of chronic absence. This means at least one of five students in their school ...

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As almost all school people know by now, the number of public school students who are chronically absent has ballooned. Our analysis showed chronic absenteeism at almost 30 percent or 14.7 million students during the 2021-22 school year, nearly double prepandemic levels. They remained high in 2022-23, according to data available from states.

This attendance crisis is having a significant and broad impact on learning, given that two-thirds of enrolled students attended a school with high (from 20 percent to 29 percent) or extreme (over 30 percent) levels of chronic absence. Chronic absenteeism at these unprecedented levels affects the learning experience of all students, even those who show up every day. When chronic absence reaches high levels, the churn in the classroom makes it harder for teachers to set classroom norms and to teach and harder for peers to learn.

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress reveal a strong association between recent declines in academic performance and rising levels of absenteeism, a finding that reinforces earlier research.

Chronic absence is also both an indicator and a warning sign of educational inequities. Before COVID-19 caused school buildings to close and schools to shift operations, students of color and those living in poverty already saw higher levels of chronic absence. During the pandemic, these same families were more likely to experience illness, death, trauma, and economic hardship-which make showing up to school more difficult. And students living in low-income communities typically have less access to resources that help them make up for lost learning opportunities.

The problem is grave and yet, based on our extensive work with states, districts, and practitioners across the country, we see a clear road map for school communities to reduce chronic absence. A first step is recognizing the link between school engagement and attendance. If students and families do not feel engaged and connected to their schools, they are more likely to be chronically absent. At the same time, if students frequently miss school, they are less likely to experience the positive learning experiences and relationships that motivate showing up every day.

Here's the work that comes next:

Restore the belief that showing up to school every day matters for student well-being and academic success. After extended periods of interrupted and distance learning, families may mistakenly believe attending school in person doesn't matter because students can work from home to make up for what they missed in the classroom. But this overlooks the significant benefits students gain from being at school. We have developed messaging that takes into account today's reality and urge everyone in the community to help convey that Showing Up Matters for REAL because it offers opportunities to

Build Routines that reduce stress and create a sense of safety and security.

Increase Engagementby helping students to connect with peers and school staff.

Access resourcesincluding meals, physical and mental health services, and enrichment activities including sports, clubs, music, and after-school and summer programs.

Learnmoreby helping students gain proficiency in reading and math and graduate from high school.

Address the erosion in the positive conditions for learning crucial to motivating daily attendance. To nurture a sense of belonging, connection, and support, schools can structure daily opportunities for students to connect with others through activities such as morning greetings, breakfast in the classroom, peer mentoring, or smaller learning environments. To promote physical and emotional well-being, schools can encourage healthy habits at home and in the classroom, ensure access to health screenings and services, and provide clear guidance about when to go to school or stay home when a student experiences a symptom of illness. Equally important, schools can offer relevant and challenging coursework, establish community internships that lead to future careers, and connect students to fun and enriching preschool, after-school, and summer programs.

Avoid punitive responses and focus on positive problem-solving when absences do occur. What improves attendance is partnering with students and families to identify and address the root causes that lead students to miss school in the first place, whether they are barriers to getting to school, negative school experiences, or a lack of connection. Too often, the initial reaction to missing school is to blame the child or their family for not caring enough to make school a priority. This response can make it difficult to find a solution because it causes the student and family to feel alienated and distrustful. When schools and community partners start with respect and listening to students and families, they can use insights gained to tailor support and draw upon family strengths to develop solutions.

Use data-informed district and school teams to guide action and identify effective practices. By regularly reviewing attendance and chronic-absence data by grade, school, and student population, teams can determine who is struggling in order to target supports. Teams can also identify if a particular grade, classroom, or school has comparatively better results and could be a source of practices worth replicating elsewhere.

Finally, invest in a long-term, multiyear approach. Consider the Connecticut experience. Prior to the pandemic, the Connecticut education department had made significant investments in improving attendance by collecting accurate and publicly available data, offering easy-to-use state guidance promoting a prevention-oriented, multitiered attendance approach, and working across agencies. When the pandemic struck, the department shifted to monthly collection of attendance data, which allowed the governor to notice as early as January 2021 that chronic absence had increased significantly. The response was the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, wherein home visitors help families establish trusting relationships with school staff, encourage regular attendance, and assist families with summer placements and after-school learning.

An evaluation found the attendance for students served by LEAP improved, on average, by 15 percentage points. While Connecticut's journey is not over, it is starting to pay off: Chronic absenteeism rates declined in the state from just under 24 percent in 2021-22 to 20 percent in 2022-23.

Now is not the time to accept high chronic absence as a new normal. Ensuring all students have an equal opportunity to succeed requires redoubling our efforts to engage students and families in learning and restoring a routine of attendance every day.

Editor's note: In conversation with the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Education Week Opinion sought writers to explore important issues that surface when NAEP scores are released. How should educators understand those issues, and what should they look for from the reading and mathematics tests being taken now, slated to be released in January 2025? This is the second essay in the series.

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How We Can Fix Chronic Absenteeism (Opinion)

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Experts on school attendance lay out five steps to ramping up family and student engagement.

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Storytelling Saves the World is a podcast about the power of digital storytelling and how to harness its magic in your classroom. Find out more about how YOU can integrate student movie-making into…

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Welcome to the The Edge, an ISTE Community Leaders podcast about innovative learning, transformational technology, and stories of creativity featuring voices you don't normally hear. Join us each month as we journey to "The EDGE", where the future of learning is happening now!

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Welcome to the The Edge, an ISTE Community Leaders podcast about innovative learning, transformational technology, and stories of creativity featuring voices you don't normally hear. Join us each month as we journey to "The EDGE", where the future of learning is happening now!

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"Be You" Script Template [Use this first line.] I was born to be so many things. [Pick any 6 of the following sentence starters...] I am ready because I _____. I am curious because I _____. I am adventurous because I _____. I am connected because I _____.

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Praise for Be You! : "An inspirational picture book offers life advice for readers who want to be themselves... this book is a gorgeous guidebook for those seeking encouragement while encountering life's challenges... What is remarkable about the book is that even though the instructions and the brief sentences explaining them are at times vague, the illustrations expand on them in ways readers will find endearing and uplifting... Both beautiful and inspiring as graduation gift or guide to life." -- Kirkus Reviews "Reynolds (Say Something!) is back in full affirmation mode, exhorting readers to be themselves... any reader feeling the pressure to conform to expectations may find great comfort in knowing this book is on a nearby shelf, at the ready to offer up good counsel." -- Publishers Weekly Praise for Say Something! :

"A motivational must-have for every collection." -- School Library Journal

"In this new effort, Reynolds shows readers a variety of ways a voice can be used, listened to, and heard to make a difference... Reynolds' hand-lettered text, set in white text bubbles against a mix of bright backdrop colors and patterns, deftly works with before-and-after illustrations to show the change that children can effect. This book's encouragement to kids to find their voices can also be used to start a conversation about how they can make a difference in their world." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Peter H. Reynolds always manages to walk a delicate line with his books - make that a couple lines: weighty but not weighed down. Universal yet kid-centric. No easy feat." -- Travis Jonker, School Library Journal

"Capture[s] the beauty of words and the wonder of sharing them with others... enchanting." - Kirkus Reviews

"Packs a powerful punch... capture[s] both the joy of learning and the power of kindness." - School Library Journal

"The message of acceptance and patience comes through clearly, and the exhortation to 'carve your own path' and 'show the world who you are' will be appreciated by anyone who has ever felt misunderstood." - Booklist

"Celebrates individuality, self-expression, and the joys of being a dreamer... a liberating validation of dreaming as restorative, comforting, and powerful, while giving kids full license to be themselves." - Publishers Weekly

"A sweet gift to praise spirited individuality, this choice encourages readers to dream big. Let those sparkles fly!" - Kirkus Reviews

* "Ish... encourages readers to see the world anew." - School Library Journal , starred review

* "Simplicity itself, like the dot in the title, this small book carries a big message." - Booklist , starred review

* "In this engaging, inspiring tale, Reynolds (illustrator of the Judy Moody series) demonstrates the power of a little encouragement... Reynolds pulls off exactly what his young heroine does, creating an impressive work from deceptively simple beginnings." - Publishers Weekly , starred review

* "With art that seems perfectly suited to the mood and the message of the text, Reynolds inspires with a gentle and generous mantra: 'Just make a mark.'" - School Library Journal , starred review

"It may speak to formerly artistic young readers who are selling their own abilities short." - Kirkus Reviews

PETER H. REYNOLDS is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many books for children, including Happy Dreamer , The Word Collector , Say Something! , Be You! , and Our Table . He is also the illustrator of When Thing Aren't Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni. His books have been translated into over 25 languages around the globe and are celebrated worldwide. In 1996, he founded FableVision with his brother, Paul, as a social change agency to help create "stories that matter, stories that move." He lives in Dedham, Massachusetts, with his family.

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Be You! [Reynolds, Peter H., Reynolds, Peter H.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Be You!

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Equal parts heartwarming, funny, and empowering, this stunning photography book celebrates kids' favorite things about themselves.

An award-winning photographer asked children, "What is the best part of you?" Their answers accompany striking black-and-white photographs in this sometimes funny, sometimes moving, deeply personal book. A great lead-in to discussing body image and self-esteem with young readers, this beautiful work showcases a diverse range of kids and the confidence they all have about their bodies.

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The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words

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The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words [Ewald, Wendy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words

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Moviemaking in the Classroom - Book Trailer

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Moviemaking in the Classroom - Book Trailer

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"Moviemaking in the Classroom" Book Preview

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In the post-pandemic era, teachers tell us that their elementary students are struggling with being part of a learning community - and lacking critical SEL, mental health and wellness supports. Teachers are also grappling with their own challenges - recovering from pandemic stresses, working with challenging schedules, and feeling overwhelmed.

But, the good news is that schools now have a low-stress, ready-to-implement solution to help their students - Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles for Elementary Student Success, designed in collaboration between the SEL & mental health experts at Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) and FableVision/Reynolds TLC.

Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles offers a unique blend of the PEAR approach to student advisories - also known as "circles" - and the globally-acclaimed storybooks by #1 New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. Peter's books (The Dot, Ish, Say Something, Be You, etc.) are paired with key student development areas, such as resilience, mental health, belonging, and youth voice, all of which play a critical role in overcoming, growing and thriving through adversity.

Incubated at McLean Hospital and Harvard, PEAR has been at the forefront of researching the development of resilience in educational settings with expertise around the challenges educators and youth face today - and is already providing implementations of its wellness advisories for high school students.

Now elementary educators can enjoy this same framework, but custom-tailored for earlier grades levels. To that end, the Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles program has been carefully designed to:

Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles is perfect for busy teachers who will enjoy how little preparation time is needed to roll out the program, and students will find these Story-Powered Circles engaging as they integrate the award-winning picture books of New York Times #1 best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds.

Currently, the Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles program offers fifteen days of activities using Peter's books:

Anchored in PEAR's Clover Modelof youth development, the program provides hands-on extension activities to support your school's SEL framework. The Clover Model - also known as a Developmental Process Theory (DPT) - supports four domains of development: active engagement, assertiveness, belonging, and reflection. Essentially, the Clover Model helps us consider the impact of physical, cognitive, and social development on the ways young people learn, behave, and interact with others, and how to align with their natural development to help build the social-emotional competencies they need to thrive.

Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles makes delivering these critical components of human development easy, seamless and fun.

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PEAR Connect & Thrive - FableVision Learning

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In the post-pandemic era, teachers tell us that their elementary students are struggling with being part of a learning community - and lacking critical SEL, mental health and wellness supports. Teachers are also grappling with their own challenges - recovering from pandemic stresses, working with challenging schedules, and feeling overwhelmed.

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Best-selling author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds founded FableVision Learning with a mission to champion creativity in education. His goal is to ignite and inspire educators, students, and communities by emphasizing the significance of creative thinking and the impact of ideas.

FableVision Learning offers a range of programs, from mini-courses to large events and shared storytime sessions which are all designed to spark joy, foster creative thinking in learners of all ages, and ignite a love of learning.

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The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity

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From The Dot to The Word Collector, educators across the country have activated books by Peter H. and Paul A. Reynolds. At the Reynolds Center we are cheering you on and are excited to share FREE resources for you to use in your classroom. Collecting all the books by Peter H. Reynolds? Grab your checklist.

Click on the image below to download the Peter H. Reynolds Collection Themes Poster.

The Dot

Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Candlewick

About: Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself. But Vashti can't draw - she's no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. "There!" she says.

That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti's journey of surprise and self-discovery. That special moment is the core of Peter H. Reynolds's delicate fable about the creative spirit in all of us.

About International Dot Day: International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot on September 15, 2009. Each year on International Dot Day - with the help of people just like you -the inspiration continues.
Join the Dot Club here!

Resources: The Dot/Ish Classroom Guide

Ish

Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Candlewick

About: Drawing is what Ramon does. It's what makes him happy. But in one split second, all that changes. A single reckless remark by Ramon's older brother, Leon, turns Ramon's carefree sketches into joyless struggles. Luckily for Ramon, though, his little sister, Marisol, sees the world differently. She opens his eyes to something a lot more valuable than getting things just "right." Combining the spareness of fable with the potency of parable, Peter Reynolds shines a bright beam of light on the need to kindle and tend our creative flames with care.
Resources: The Dot/Ish Classroom Guide

Sky Color

Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Candlewick

About: Marisol loves to paint. So when her teacher asks her to help make a mural for the school library, she can't wait to begin! But how can Marisol make a sky without blue paint? After gazing out the bus window and watching from her porch as day turns into night, she closes her eyes and starts to dream.

Resources: Sky Color Classroom Guide

Say Something

Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Scholastic

The world needs your voice.
If you have a brilliant idea... say something!
If you see an injustice... say something!

In this empowering new picture book, Peter H. Reynolds explores the many ways that a single voice can make a difference. Each of us, each and every day, have the chance to say something: with our actions, our words, and our voices. Perfect for kid activists everywhere, this timely story reminds readers of the undeniable importance and power of their voice. There are so many ways to tell the world who you are... what you are thinking... and what you believe. And how you'll make it better. The time is now: SAY SOMETHING!

Resources: Say Something Speech Bubble Activity ﻿, Dream It! Write It! Say it! Teacher Guide

The word collector

Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Scholastic

About: In this extraordinary new tale from Peter H. Reynolds, Jerome discovers the magic of the words all around him -- short and sweet words, two-syllable treats, and multi-syllable words that sound like little songs. Words that connect, transform, and empower.

The Word Collectors: Join other Word Collectors across the country who are using the power of words to change the world. Visit The Word Collectors to share your story.

Themes: Using words to connect, transform, and empower

Resources: Dream It! Write It! Say it! Teacher Guide

Rose's Garden

Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Candlewick

About: A sweet fable dedicated to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy that celebrates the spirit of community, the beauty of nature, and the power of faith and imagination. After traveling the world in her fantastic teapot, Rose is ready to put down roots. She sets about planting flower seeds in a neglected corner of a bustling city. And then she waits - through rain and cold and snow. Rose waits, never doubting that the garden she envisions will one day come to be. With a simple narration and lovely, fanciful illustrations, this luminous picture book resonates with readers of all ages. Author-illustrator Peter H. Reynolds dedicates it to the matriarch of the Kennedy family - herself the namesake of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a series of gardens, plazas, and tree-lined promenades.
Resources: Make-Your-Own Flowers

Sydney and Simon: Full Steam Ahead!

Written by Paul Reynolds
Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Charlesbridge

About: Sydney and Simon are twin mice on a mission. They want to enter their flowers in the neighborhood flower show, but the flowers in the window box are wilting in the city heat, and the window is jammed. How are they going to get water to their blossoms so they'll live and flourish in time for the show?
Sydney and Simon are lucky to be growing up in a curious and creative family and are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, and record their findings through writing, art, music, and video. Their mother is a scientist and their father is a poet. Their family motto is: "When the going gets tough, the creative get going."
Utilizing the S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) philosophy of learning, this brightly illustrated story shows how an interdisciplinary studies model helps Sydney and Simon achieve their goals. In a practical, fun, and hands-on way, young readers will be inspired to interact with their own natural learning skills and start experiencing the world-and their education-in a whole new way.
Resources:

Sydney and Simon: Go Green!

Written by Paul Reynolds
Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Publisher: Charlesbridge

About: During a class field trip to the Aquarium, Sydney is upset when she realizes that a green sea turtle has been harmed by garbage that made its way to the ocean. She must convince Simon that even if others don't intend to litter, the garbage everyone puts in a trashcan may accidentally get swept into sewers, streams, rivers, and possibly end up in the ocean.
The twins collects data on the trash habits of their household and school and find they are all part of the problem! They need to figure out a way that their family, their neighborhood, and their school can cut down on garbage production and make better use of their discarded items.

sydney and simon: To the moon!

Written by Paul Reynolds
Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Publisher: Charlesbridge

About: The chance to meet astronaut Kris Kornﬁeld is a dream come true for twins Sydney and Simon. But ﬁrst they have to come up with the most creative project about the Earth's moon. While Sydney's work is all about the art, and Simon's is all about the data, neither seems creative enough to win the prize. But when they put their heads together, they incorporate S.T.E.A.M. thinking and come up with a winning idea. The third installment in the Sydney & Simon series, this kid-friendly story makes science concepts accessible and exciting.

Written by Paul A. Reynolds and Peter H. Reynolds
Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Atheneum

About:
It's time for this year's Going Places contest! Finally. Time to build a go-cart, race it-and win. Each kid grabs an identical kit, and scrambles to build.
Everyone but Maya. She sure doesn't seem to be in a hurry...and that sure doesn't look like anybody else's go-cart!
But who said it had to be a go-cart? And who said there's only one way to cross the finish line?
This sublime celebration of creative spirit and thinking outside the box-both figuratively and literally-is ideal for early learners, recent grads, and everyone in between.
Resources: Going Places Activity Guide

The Water Princess
Written by Susan Verde and Georgie Badiel. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books Based on supermodel Georgie Badiel's childhood, a young girl dreams of bringing clean drinking water to her African village
Acclaimed author Susan Verde and award-winning author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds have come together to tell this moving story. As a child in Burkina Faso, Georgie and the other girls in her village had to walk for miles each day to collect water. This vibrant, engaging picture book sheds light on this struggle that continues all over the world today, instilling hope for a future when all children will have access to clean drinking water.

Resources: The Georgie Badiel Foundation encourages educators and community leaders to incorporate Georgie's life story, The Water Princess, to engage, educate, and inspire students to become global citizens and join our mission. For more information about service-learning projects and fundraising campaigns, please contact Katherine Moran Villone, Director of Education at The Georgie Badiel Foundation: kathy@georgiebadielfoundation.org .

I AM Book Series
Written by Susan Verde. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds Published by Harry N. Abrams
The I AM series, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds and written by Susan Verde explores what it means to have human experiences in the world. It is perfect for children of all ages and continues to influence readers around the world.

The series includes four books:

Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Candlewick

About: Ask yourself where it is you want to go. . .
It is often said that life is a journey, and it's true. But sometimes it's hard to know which path to follow, when signs point in so many directions. In this beautifully illustrated book, Peter H. Reynolds once again encourages readers to observe, to wonder, and to consider diverging from the well-worn path-to pursue their dreams. Originally published ten years ago, The North Star has had a profound effect on its many readers. This edition, featuring all-new art, celebrates the book's own decade-long voyage connecting people around the world. It has inspired classroom activities, a musical, and thousands more thoughtful journeys.

Resources: Constellation Mapper, Hanging Star Template

Happy dreamer

Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Scholastic

About: While the world tells us to sit still, to follow the rules, and to color inside the lines, Happy Dreamer celebrates all those moments in between when the mind and spirit soar and we are free to become our own true dreamer maximus! In Peter's signature voice and style, this empowering picture book reminds children of how much their dreams matter, and while life will have ups and downs, he enlists readers to stay true to who they are, to tap into their most creative inner selves, and to never ever forget to dream big!
Resources: Happy Dreamer Story Starter Project Dream It! Write It! Say it! Teacher Guide Happy Dreamer Classroom Guide

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TLC Books & Resources - The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity

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From The Dot to The Word Collector, educators across the country have activated books by Peter H. and Paul A. Reynolds. At the Reynolds Center we are cheering you on and are excited to share FREE resources for you to use in your classroom. Collecting all the books by Peter H.

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The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity

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Stories That Matter, Stories That Move

In 1996, Peter H. Reynolds founded FableVision as a social change agency to help move the world to a better place by creating "stories that matter, stories that move." At FableVision Studios, they create mission films that turn emotionally and socially complex topics into approachable messages that touch hearts and change minds.

Keepers of the flame

This animated poem was created by Peter H. and Paul A. Reynolds as a tribute to teachers and their vital role in nurturing the learning spirit in every child. We hope it inspires conversation and ideas towards improving our educational system.

The blue shoe

The Blue Shoe is a fable which can be used in primary grades to discuss true friendship. Excellent for higher grades to spark meaningful conversations about diversity and tolerance, as well as metaphor and story. This original story, written by FableVision's Peter H. Reynolds, has won awards in over 40 festivals around the world.

He was me

He Was Me is a quiet story about the inner child in all of us, and the eternal struggle to retain our sense of self in a busy world. In the film, as a man waits at a bus stop in the rain, his inner child is brought poignantly to life as he reflects on his past and ponders his future.

Above and beyond

Above & Beyond is a story about what is possible when communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity take center stage in schools and transform learning opportunities for all kids.

The Reflection in me

The Reflection in Me follows the impactful experience of a child going through the practice of self-love and acceptance. The film seeks to promote the message of having a positive self-image and unconditional love. The film's goal is to empower children of all ages to find the courage to look inside and love themselves as they are.

Our Tree: A Story of Growing Care

Our Tree, created for the United Way of Massachusetts and Merrimack Valley, is a moving story about how compassion, creativity, and collaboration can spark transformational innovation and change. In this allegorical tale, good, caring people face seemingly insurmountable challenges brought about by circumstances beyond their control.

I'M HERE

This short film, based on an original story and art by Peter H. Reynolds, movingly conveys the loneliness a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder often experiences, and the life-changing effect each of us can have in breaking through that solitude

Classroom Tools: Activity Guide

Living forever

Living Forever is Peter H. Reynolds' story of a young boy seeking the artist who inspired him. A charming illustrative tale revolving around inspiration and creativity, the fable is dedicated to everybody who has contributed something to the world and to those who benefited by those contributions.

The Testing Camera

Peter H. Reynolds' animated short, The Testing Camera is a whimsical poke at high-stakes, standardized testing and a reminder that real assessment is as easy, and - at the same time - as challenging as getting to really know the gifts and talents of every child.

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TLC Films - The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity

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In 1996, Peter H. Reynolds founded FableVision as a social change agency to help move the world to a better place by creating "stories that matter, stories that move." At FableVision Studios, they create mission films that turn emotionally and socially complex topics into approachable messages that touch hearts and change minds.

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Moviemaking in the Classroom - ISTE Bookstore

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Moviemaking in the Classroom - ISTE Bookstore

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We help educators around the world use technology to solve tough problems.

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Written by an award-winning classroom teacher with years of experience integrating moviemaking into curriculum, this book offers quick-start lesson plans for any content area and grade level, helping students amplify their voices and effect change through moviemaking.

Our world hinges on storytelling and the ways in which stories can be told are always evolving. For students to become future-ready, confident creators of original content, they need opportunities to share their stories. Moviemaking helps students showcase their learning, process their lives and connect with others in a meaningful way.

Moviemaking in the Classroom breaks down the process of digital storytelling to help teachers plan efficient and effective instructional sequences. The book provides guidance on how to purposefully build visual and audio literacy skills to improve student work and increase student efficacy in the creative process. Also included are practical suggestions for removing barriers from the storytelling process, such as how to provide more opportunities for students to tell their stories during a single academic year.

This book:

Shows teachers how to create efficient and effective lesson sequences with digital storytelling in mind, particularly in a blended learning environment.

Supports teachers who are new to digital storytelling by showing the impact and importance of providing students with multiple opportunities to tell their stories.

Offers project ideas for teachers already implementing digital storytelling in their classes and shows how to streamline workflow and improve their professional practice.

Supports distance and remote learning through a full chapter on strategies for applying these practices to a distance learning environment.

Fosters diversity, inclusion and student empowerment by showcasing student examples on topics including racism, death and illness, immigration, gun violence and pollution.

This book provides insight, inspiration and practical ideas to empower teachers of all content areas to implement moviemaking projects with their students using best practices.

Audience: 3-12 educators

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Moviemaking in the Classroom: Lifting Student Voices Through Digital Storytelling

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Moviemaking in the Classroom: Lifting Student Voices Through Digital Storytelling [Pack, Jessica] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Moviemaking in the Classroom: Lifting Student Voices Through Digital Storytelling

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Julie Merritt Stewart

K-8 STEM Director

Parker, Colorado