Wendy Garland is the School Librarian at Avery School in Dedham.
In the fall, several events and ideas crossed my path and contemplating their beauty, I found a way to weave them together. What follows is the story of how a journey with a librarian and a Lego inspired a celebration of my students’ heritage.
Shortly after Dreamers by Yuyi Morales was published I read it and fell in love. I knew this was a book I HAD to share with my students. The powerful story and exquisite drawings would work for all grades. I definitely saw this as a book for our Mock Caldecott. This would be a book that all could enjoy and many could relate to. I have a very diverse school and our students come from many different countries. I read it and put it aside while I contemplated how I would use this book in our library.
Shortly after Dreamers by Yuyi Morales was published I read it and fell in love. I knew this was a book I HAD to share with my students. The powerful story and exquisite drawings would work for all grades. I definitely saw this as a book for our Mock Caldecott. This would be a book that all could enjoy and many could relate to. I have a very diverse school and our students come from many different countries. I read it and put it aside while I contemplated how I would use this book in our library.
In the meanwhile, a team of teachers and our PTO joined forces to sponsor an International Night at our school. I wanted to find a way to celebrate our heritage in our library. My thoughts returned to Dreamers but I didn’t get very far because my time and energy was soon transported to the Middle East.
I flew to the United Arab Emirates to present with librarian Todd Burleson, at the ALA conference in conjunction with the Sharjah International Book Fair. When I landed, I met Todd and Lego Travel Buddy (LTB) at the airport and our adventures began.
I flew to the United Arab Emirates to present with librarian Todd Burleson, at the ALA conference in conjunction with the Sharjah International Book Fair. When I landed, I met Todd and Lego Travel Buddy (LTB) at the airport and our adventures began.
Photo by Todd Burleson (used with permission)
Lego Travel Buddy is a global collaboration project created by School Library Journal’s 2018 School Librarian of the Year, Ali Schlipp. It is a new spin on Flat Stanley, where he/she travels and photos are taken and shared. I had no idea how LTB would soon influence our adventures and help us to see things in new ways. When Todd and I weren’t presenting, we were exploring the culture, religion, and food with LTB. I enjoyed watching as Todd worked his photographic genius.
Todd returned home to create a comical book about LTB’s adventures. As a way to share my experiences, I shared the book with my students. They connected with LTB and I realized that I had stumbled on the key ingredient to my heritage project. I had a book to get us started. I knew that ultimately I wanted to celebrate our various backgrounds, but I needed a vehicle to do so. A Lego mini-figure was just the tool to make this work.
On Day 1, we read Dreamers and wrote where we were from on large pieces of paper (graffiti style). I told students that we were celebrating where we were from - near and far.
On Day 1, we read Dreamers and wrote where we were from on large pieces of paper (graffiti style). I told students that we were celebrating where we were from - near and far.
On Day 2 we went digital. I had students locate and save an image from their country they were celebrating. They also chose a Lego mini-figure and took its picture against a green background (I have a stack of pizza boxes painted green for this).
On Day 3, we used the DoInk Green Screen app to place LTB in the celebrated country. We then shared these with each other. In an ideal world, I would have taken this one step farther and had students add their name and country, but time was ticking and we needed to move on.
My takeaways
I found some students frustrated with the lack of options of pictures from their country using Pics4Learning, but we were able to find an image for almost everyone using these copyright-friendly images.
I was concerned about how I was going to get everyone successfully using the green screen app, but I worked with a small group of students and then sent them out to teach the others and they were fantastic leaders and teachers.
This felt just-right on several fronts. We read a beautiful book, poured over the artwork, connected to our own lives, and used technology to create an original celebratory piece to share with others. This was a beautiful celebration, inspired by Todd Burleson and Ali Schlipp. I took a virtual spin on an idea, and used it to celebrate my students’ heritage. This experience was yet another reminder of how sharing experiences in our libraries can impact others. My teaching world is a better place because of the connections I have made. Teach, share, and connect - we are stronger together!
I found some students frustrated with the lack of options of pictures from their country using Pics4Learning, but we were able to find an image for almost everyone using these copyright-friendly images.
I was concerned about how I was going to get everyone successfully using the green screen app, but I worked with a small group of students and then sent them out to teach the others and they were fantastic leaders and teachers.
This felt just-right on several fronts. We read a beautiful book, poured over the artwork, connected to our own lives, and used technology to create an original celebratory piece to share with others. This was a beautiful celebration, inspired by Todd Burleson and Ali Schlipp. I took a virtual spin on an idea, and used it to celebrate my students’ heritage. This experience was yet another reminder of how sharing experiences in our libraries can impact others. My teaching world is a better place because of the connections I have made. Teach, share, and connect - we are stronger together!