The Scout Report -- Volume 25, Number 17

The City Nature Challenge offers readers a fun and educational excuse to go outside and take pictures of their local flora and fauna for science (and to defend their city's honor). This annual citizen science project began in 2016 as a friendly rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Since then, it has grown into an international "bioblitz-style competition where cities are in a contest against each other to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people." This year's City Nature Challenge takes place April 26 - April 29, 2019, with the results announced on May 5, 2019. Visitors to the site will find a map showing the numerous participating cities worldwide, as well as a list with links to each city's project website for further details. Educators at all levels may want to check out the Education Toolkit, which includes teaching resources organized by age group for learners from kindergarten to adults. No previous experience is required, and all that is needed to participate is a free iNaturalist account. Readers whose cities are not currently participating can sign up to start organizing for the next competition via a Google Forms link at the bottom. [JDC]

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Teachers and students of earth science and physical geography, as well as the generally curious, may find this educational resource on plate tectonics helpful. This resource comes from the Geological Society of London, a nonprofit professional organization founded in 1807, making it the world's oldest geological society. On the main page, visitors will find an interactive world map that can be toggled to show the different types of tectonic plate boundaries and their locations, as well as the global distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes. From this map, readers can click on eight numbered pins to view case studies of various representative plate margins illustrated with short animated videos. These case studies can also be reached via the plate margins link at the top of the page. Plate Tectonics also features a section specifically focused on the tectonic history of the UK. This resource also includes the history of plate tectonics as a science, a concise explanation of the basics of plate tectonics, and a glossary of relevant geological terms. Students may find the test your knowledge section helpful; educators should check out the teachers' zone, where they will find downloadable worksheets, examples of exam questions, and links to other useful resources. [JDC]

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The internet abounds with high-quality educational videos that could be great for kids, but sifting through the chaff to find the wheat can become overwhelming. The Kid Should See This (TKSST) helps solve this quandary by "connect[ing] busy teachers and parents to a growing library of smart, short, and super-cool, 'not-made-for-kids, but perfect for them' videos that can be watched in the classroom or together at home." TKSST was founded in 2011 by Rion Nakaya, a video producer by training who curates this resource's content with the help of her two children, who are currently 8 and 11 years of age. Here, visitors will find a collection of over 4,000 short videos that are "selected to contribute to a kid-friendly corner on the internet that doesn't underestimate what children can learn or what they might be interested in." The videos cover a wide range of topics, all of which can easily be browsed and searched via categories on the main page. TKSST places special emphasis on STEAM topics, particularly those that "are often misunderstood, like evolution, climate change science, and clean energy solutions," and it also aims to spotlight diversity in STEM fields. [JDC]

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Readers curious about medieval British history may want to check out the British Library's new resource on the Anglo-Saxons. Launched in February 2019, this ongoing digital project focuses on the time period from "the end of Roman rule in Britain to the Norman Conquest of England" and covers "who [the Anglo-Saxons] were, where they came from, their culture, their influence on modern-day Britain, and more." As of this write-up, this resource features 18 accessibly-written articles on such diverse topics as the Battle of Hastings, the Old English language, and Anglo-Saxon science. Each article is accompanied by multiple images from the British Library's collections, with more than 100 collection items highlighted in total. Readers can also learn about historical figures from this time period, including William the Conqueror; Queen Emma of Normandy; and the monk and historian Bede, author of the 8th-century Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Additionally, visitors can watch six short videos on a variety of historical and archival topics, such as using modern medical technology to scan ancient gospels. This digital resource was inspired by the British Library's in situ exhibition Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, and War, which ran from October 2018 to February 2019. [JDC]

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Shatter Rupture Break is part of a set of digital exhibition catalogs that the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) is making available. There are currently 12 catalogs in the collection and it is expected to grow. Shatter Rupture Break documents an exhibition held at AIC from February 15, 2015 to May 3, 2015. It is the first in the Modern Series, which is intended to utilize materials from the AIC's permanent collection to bring out ideas and issues of importance in the modern era. Part II, Go, was held in 2017. Shatter Rupture Break includes photographs, paintings, collages, and textiles from the first half of the 20th century. Works are arranged in several broad areas that reflect the modern world: Urban perception, The fragmented Body, A fractured psyche, and Pieces of the world. For example, Alfred Stieglitz's photographs of Georgia O'Keefe's hands, neck, feet, head, and torso appear in The fragmented body section, while Kurt Schwitters' collages, made shortly after World War I, appear in Pieces of the world. Schwitters said of his art: "Everything had broken down in any case, and new things had to be made out of the fragments." Using the digital catalog, it's possible to view all the works as large plates, explanatory texts, and representations of the installation walls. [DS]

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Children's librarians, school librarians, and parents may really enjoy the knowledge and programming ideas shared on Lisa M. Shaia's blog Thrive After Three. Shaia, a children's librarian since 2005, regularly posts ideas for increasing literacy through storytimes, clubs, and other programs designed to make reading a fun and engaging endeavor for children. One of Shaia's most recent blog posts includes a graphic from Scholastic's Kids & Family Reading Report that details how reading for fun rapidly decreases in children between ages 8-9. Ideas for educators and librarians to help encourage pleasure reading include making eye-catching displays that specifically draw in kids in that age group, informal BYOB (bring your own book) book clubs, partnering with parents and community members, etc. Other notable posts include Shaia's recent month-long program called the Mary Poppins Club, which included reading the classic P.L. Travers story aloud combined with watching short clips of the 1964 film. Students also played a game comparing scenes in the book with scenes in the movie. Shaia is also an accomplished author; interested visitors can read about her works via the about me tab, along with a list of blog categories to browse through. [JLB]

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Librarians, teachers, caregivers, and parents may appreciate this extensive collection of storytime ideas from the Association of Children's Librarians (ACL) of Northern California, made available here in their online journal Bayviews. Visitors will find hundreds of ideas organized into broad categories with each category containing more specific themes such as penguins, movies, astronauts, and African-American music. The three most recently updated themes are featured on the main storytime page and the four latest additions to each category are shown on this page as well. Readers may also view each category's entire collection, where they will find dozens of storytime themes organized alphabetically with the dates of their additions visible for easy reference. Each storytime theme includes books to go along with that theme: authors, titles, and brief descriptions of several children's books are listed, along with a tag indicating the intended age range. Themes also occasionally include links to craft projects, songs, or other supplementary resources. The ideas in this collection were compiled by Penny Peck, a children's librarian with more than 30 years of experience and a lecturer in the School of Information at San Jose State University. Those interested can subscribe to the ACL's blog for email updates. [JDC]

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Latinxs in Kid Lit is a tremendous resource to turn to for book reviews, resources, and discussions about Latinxs in children's literature and Latinix authors. Book reviews are categorized into picture books and early readers, middle grade, and young adult, with the most recent blog post on any topic being featured on the site's homepage. As of this writing, the most recent blog post features a review of the book Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World by Gary Golio, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez. The reviewer, Lila Quintero Weaver, appreciates how the book explains how Santana developed his own sound: "...To put some perspective on his contribution [to music] as a Chicano, he was among the first to fuse blues-rock with Latinx instruments and rhythms, sometimes accompanied by lyrics in Spanish. In the mostly white world of rock and roll, Santana's Latinidad stood in sharp relief, and his rise came at a time when Latinx performing artists rarely achieved notoriety on a national scale." In addition to book reviews, visitors to the site can read about annual winners of the Pura Belpre award, read short bios of contributors and guest bloggers, see a list of related e-resources related to diversity in children's literature, and read about how to submit a consideration for a book review all via tabs at the top of the site. Latinxs in Kid Lit was recently named a Great Website for Kids by the ALSC (Association of Library Service to Children), a division of the American Library Association. [JLB]

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For any adults seeking to encourage a love of books in children, KidLit TV will come as a welcome boon in today's multimedia-focused world. This resource uses video and podcasts to foster kids' literary and artistic inclinations and to promote children's literature. Visitors to KidLit TV will find a wide-ranging array of reading-oriented content for children, including three shows that can be streamed online: StoryMakers, Read Out Loud, and Ready Set Draw!. For times when listening is more appropriate than video, KidLit Radio offers podcasts that can be downloaded as well as streamed online, with each episode focused on a different children's book. KidLit TV also includes a section on crafts and activities inspired by children's books. Additionally, the book trailers section offers short video trailers highlighting new and upcoming children's books. There is also a section for grown-ups discussing "educational, inspirational, and entertaining resources for your kiddos." KidLit TV was founded by filmmaker Julie Gribble, who leads a diverse team of authors, teachers, and illustrators, and it was also named one of the American Library Association's Great Websites for Kids. While visitors of all ages are welcome to enjoy this resource, KidLit TV is primarily targeted towards younger children. [JDC]

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Children's books can offer a great deal to slightly older learners as well; in this multi-session lesson from ReadWriteThink (see the 7-17-2015 Scout Report), high school students "plan, write, illustrate, and publish their own children's picture books" over eight 50-minute sessions. Students begin by reviewing their favorite books from childhood in small groups using a provided guide "to gain an understanding of the creative process and the elements that help make a children's book successful." Subsequent sessions incorporate journaling, brainstorming exercises, and interactive digital tools to help students plan out their own children's stories, as well as small group presentations where students "pitch" their story ideas and provide written constructive feedback to each other. In later sessions, students create rough storyboards of their children's books and manually bind these storyboards into finished books. As a suggested extension activity, students may also visit a kindergarten classroom and read some of the best books to younger children. Numerous printable grading rubrics, worksheets, and handouts are included. This fully-developed, standards-aligned lesson unit was published by the National Council of Teachers of English and written by Junius Wright, a European literature and creative writing teacher at the Academic Magnet High School in Charleston, South Carolina. [JDC]

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Students and learners who use typewritten notes may want to check out Sans Forgetica, a free "downloadable font that is scientifically designed to help you remember your study notes." Released in October 2018, Sans Forgetica was developed using a theory of cognitive psychology known as "desirable difficulty" to be just a little more difficult to read, the idea being that this "prompts your brain to engage in deeper processing." This font was created by an interdisciplinary team of psychology and design researchers (including the famous typographer Stephen Banham) at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Here, visitors can see a demonstration of the font and watch three short videos explaining the science behind it and how it was made. Sans Forgetica can be downloaded as an OpenType font file for both Mac and PC computers, and a Chrome extension to convert in-browser text to Sans Forgetica is also available. [JDC]

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Mukurtu is a free content management system (CMS) that describes itself as "a grassroots project aiming to empower communities to manage, share, narrate, and exchange their digital heritage in culturally relevant and ethically-minded ways." This open-source platform was developed in conversation with indigenous communities, creating a tool that empowers communities to create digital archives that meet their cultural needs while also enabling them to share their culture online. Its core features include traditional knowledge labels, community records that "provide space for multiple cultural narratives," cultural protocols that allow indigenous communities "to determine fine-grained levels of access to [their] digital heritage materials based on [their] community needs and values," and a feature that lets users import and export items while preserving their metadata. Under the showcase tab, readers will find links to seven existing Mukurtu sites as examples of how this CMS can be implemented. Mukurtu is a Drupal-based CMS with an accompanying iOS mobile app allowing users to create and upload content on the go. Mukurtu is developed and maintained by the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation at Washington State University, and it is supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, among others. [JDC]

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We last featured The Pirate Tree in the 11-11-2016 Scout Report, and this project continues to be a great resource for finding books for children and teenagers that engage with social justice issues.

Librarians, youth workers, educators, and parents may be interested in The Pirate Tree, "a collective of children's and young adult writers interested in children's literature and social justice issues." With regular editors and writers as well as a number of guest writers, The Pirate Tree features synopses of recently published books, author interviews, and book reviews. Each entry includes a number of tags that allow visitors to search for related books on specific topics of interest. Tags include, for example, historical fiction, environment, gender, disability, peace, and family, to name just a few. As the diversity of these subject tags highlights, The Pirate Tree is committed to featuring a wide variety of books across all genres. Reading levels range from picture books to young adult fiction.

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