I've shared before that back in January, Heather Turner and I began moderating educator chats for Teacher Librarians (and those who love them!) over on Bluesky. It's been so much fun and it reminds me a lot of the "golden age" of social media - before the billionaires took over. In those days, social media felt brimming with possibility and for a lot of us, the ability to connect with and learn from other educators, for free, was transformative. It's been a joy to see the library community grow and flourish again on this new platform. Each week as we gather to share resources and ideas I'm reminded of just how powerful community is in all its forms.
Transliteracy Learning In The Library and Beyond!
This week's chat focused on creating transdisciplinary units that integrate design thinking and inquiry across all subject areas. You may have also heard this type of instructional design referred to as cross curricular or interdisciplinary. No matter what you call them, by blending real-world problem-solving with exploration, these units encourage critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. What's more, these are the types of learning experiences that stick with kids beyond the lesson or activity. Plus, they have the extra bonus of helping librarians establish themselves as experts at more than simply checking out books.
All of that said, because there currently isn't an easy way to archive chats on Bluesky, I'm using this post as a way to curate some of the resources I shared during our conversation... plus a few other goodies that I found (or have been working on) since.
Resource Roundup! Virtual Field Trips
As I mentioned during the chat, back in the day, I found field trips to be an excellent way to incorporate interdisciplinary learning. Let's use a fictional field trip to a local art museum as an example:
Subject | (Potential) Objectives |
ELA |
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Math |
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Health + PE |
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Art |
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Social Studies |
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Music |
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Library |
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Student Trip Advisor: Library Edition!
As luck would have it, last week I ran across this virtual tour of famous libraries from around the world on Padlet. I wasn't sure what (if anything) I would do with it at the time, but as I was thinking about transdisciplinary units, an idea began to form. So... I made a copy of the existing PAdlet, added about 10 more libraries + fields in each post for the library's website and a virtual tour.
After that, I created this activity to accompany the virtual field trip. The idea being that kids would produce a travel guide designed to convince a specific audience that one particular library was the most epic. To complete the activity, students would need to use math, geography, an understanding of local culture, etc., to produce their final guide. I also tossed in some product choices to help kids think about the best way to share their learning. In my mind, this unit is appropriate for grades 5+ but of course, you can adapt it for the learners you serve. Download this activity for free here.
The Great Debate: National Parks Edition!
After the chat was over, I started to think about how field trips are also a form of connection. They help us better understand the world beyond our own noses. They connect us to cultures and ideas that we may not experience every day. And they help us better understand the world around us and our role in creating the kind of world we want to live in.
With that in mind, I couldn't help but think about National Parks in the US and current threats to their funding. Washington State, where I live, is home to three of the most well known National Parks in the country: Olympic, North Cascades, and Mount Rainier. There are very few spots in our state where mountain peaks from one of these parks is not visible. Indeed, I'm guessing that most public school kids in our state visit one of these parks at one time or another. The idea that one or more of these parks may be in danger of closing is devastating.
All together, there are 429 National Park sites across the US, which got me wondering about a potential transdisciplinary unit focusing on these national treasures and whether or not they deserve our care. So... I created another Padlet. This one features 50 or so pins for individual National Parks. For each pin, I included a brief description of the park, a photograph of the site, a link to the park's website and a virtual tour and/or live webcam. I tried to make sure that the parks I chose were representative of:
all geographic regions of our country
diverse ecosystems and wildlife
varied and inclusive stories and historical experiences.
When thinking about the unit itself, I envisioned learning that culminated in a debate related to whether or not funding for US National Parks should be maintained or reduced. This could be accomplished through a Socratic Seminar, a Lincoln-Douglas style debate or some other format entirely. I created these materials to support this work. Because the previous unit I created skewed a bit younger, I created this one with learners in grades 8+ in mind. However, again, feel free to adapt these materials for the learners you serve. Download these activities here.
Tech Enhanced Products
Although I envisioned a more old school approach to the culminating activity for this unit, there are plenty of ways that kids could use technology, in meaningful ways, to demonstrate their learning. Here are a few of my ideas. I'm sure you can think of others.
Book Creator: Learners could use Book Creator to create their own graphic novel that captures what they've learned about National Parks and their final position on the unit's essential question.
Shapegrams: Learners could use the Statue of Liberty (A National Park site!) Shapegram to include a number of optional modifications, (such as a plaque, a flag, speech bubbles, etc). Each modification could be designed to capture what they've learned about National Parks and their final position on the unit's essential question.
Padlet: Learners could use Padlet to create a podcast that captures the debate/discussion between 2 or more students. They might also use it to capture interviews with park rangers, local politicians or people in their community who have a connection to the National Park service. Another idea would be to use Padlet to create a timeline of the history of National Parks that captures what they've learned about National Parks and their final position on the unit's essential question.
Canva: Learners could use a design tool like Canva to create infographics that capture what they've learned about National Parks and their final position on the unit's essential question.
Factile: Learners could use this tool to create a Jeopardy style game that features categories and questions that reflect what they've learned about National Parks and their final position on the unit's essential question.
Again, I'm sure you can come up with other/better uses of technology for this unit. That said, regardless of the tech, I would also build in an opportunity for learners to reflect on their experience with this learning. And it probably comes as no surprise that I'd use Padlet as the tool for asking kids to reflect on questions like:
What was your favorite part of this unit?
Share at least one thing you learned about National Parks that you didn't know before?
If you could do this unit again, how would you approach it differently?
What's one thing you would like me to know about how this unit affected you?
Bring on The Books!
Two years ago, I read this awesome graphic novel about our National Parks; it quickly became one of my favorite books of the year. Here's the description from the publisher:
Let this graphic novel be your time machine--experience history like never before! Our past is only the beginning with History Comics. In this volume, The National Parks: Preserving America's Wild Places, turn back the clock to 1872, when Congress established Yellowstone National Park as an area of unspoiled beauty for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.
Meet the visionaries, artists, and lovers of the American wilderness who fought against corruption and self-interest to carve out and protect these spaces for future generations. See for yourself how the idea of National Parks began, how they've changed, and how they continue to define America.
This got me wondering about other books related to National Parks, so I did a quick search on Bookelicious, and turns out... there are quite a few! Needless to say, any/all of these great titles could be added the unit as resources for further exploration.
Giving-up Billionaires For Lent (and beyond!)
Finally, let me wrap up this post with an unrelated story. I recently saw a post from Erin Bow on Bluesky in which she said she was "giving up billionaires for lent." Although I am not a religious person, I love the idea of making the commitment to reduce my contributions to platforms owned by billionaires. Put another way, I feel good about committing more of my resources towards small businesses.
If this resonates with you, I'm sure you can think of plenty of local, independent bookstores and libraries to patronize. Still... please also enjoy a special discount of 20% off any books you purchase (including those related to National Parks!) from my friends at Bookelicious. This is a small company, with a big heart... and I love them! Just use the code JENNIFERLAGARDE when checking out. Note: I do not make any money from the sales, but I am delighted that you get to save some!
#TLSkyChat: Join us. Won't you?
I hope you will consider joining us for a future #TLSkyChat! We post topics and questions in advance, so checkout what's coming up and make plans to be a part of these fun and informative conversations. I hope to see you there!
