May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month started as Heritage Week in May of 1979, and it became Heritage Month in May of 1992. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

Thank you to our Junior High Librarians for featuring these resources:

The Islamic holy month Ramadan begins the evening of April 13 in the U.S.

Some resources from the Junior High Libraries:

Our Special Education Department in Wylie ISD would like to share this resource to help each of us understand and recognize the abilities and uniqueness of individuals with Down Syndrome.

March is Women's History Month
"The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history."

From https://womenshistorymonth.gov/

Read about influential women in history at each of our libraries!

 

Elementary and Intermediate School Libraries:

Junior High School Libraries:

Why Is February Black History Month?

• History.com has curated a collection of videos for Black History Month, including “The Origins of Black History Month.” 
• Time’s article entitled “This is How February Became Black History Month” provides a detailed account of the events leading to Black History Month.

Celebrating Black History Month

• Poets.org features 12 Poems to Read for Black History Month. Each poem is short in length but powerful in message, and each poem contains both information about the poet who wrote it and an accompanying commentary on the poem by a contemporary poet.
• Black Culture Connection from PBS has 10 Little Known Black History Facts 
• Scholastic’s list of 28 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month includes ideas and activities for students pre-K through 12th grade.
• PBS’s Teaching Your Child About Black History
  "Instead of shying away from hard truths, parents can explain that a long time ago, people were separated by the color of their skin. Some people did not think that was fair, and men and women of all races united to make a change. This is a straight-forward example that teaches empathy, cooperation, and the commonality of a shared goal. It is also a way to teach children how to connect their personal experiences with the larger world." - Nefertiti Austin
• Black Inventors A to Z
  About.com's biographical guide to African American inventors also contains links to additional content including African American patent holders and a trivia quiz.

Recommended Books

(Click the pictures to get to the books.)

Corretta Scott King Award Books

"The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.  The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood."

-from the American Library Association

Wylie ISD Library Books Intermediate Level:

Wylie ISD Library Books Junior High Level:

Wylie ISD Library Books High School Level:

Students and Teachers can access digital reading on Sora to read, learn and be inspired!

And check out this great site by our ProQuest Database resource on the triumphs and struggles of African Americas:

The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides.

How to Remember - Join the Conversation

Share your reflections about International Holocaust Remembrance Day on social media using #WeRemember.

From The International Holocaust Remembrance Museum https://www.ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day

Junior High Resoruces:

Intermediate School Resources:

In January, we celebrate the leadership and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King was a pastor, father, and civil rights leader who life was cut short.  The work and words of Dr. King must not be forgotten or stopped.

Use these resources to learn more:

Intermediate Resources:

Junior High Resources:

High School Resources:

Click to learn about Diwali!

Intermediate School and Junior High students: consider reading Gordon Korman's WAR STORIES or Lauren Wolk's WOLF HOLLOW and learn what it means to be a veteran and how to honor our soldiers.

Click the book covers to read an excerpt.

As students celebrate many different holidays in the month of December, our libraries strive to provide material to help you celebrate and learn!

Hanukkah Resources

St. Lucia Day Resources

Kwanzaa Resources

Christmas Resources

Dia de los Muertos is NOT Halloween.  The Day of the Dead is not dark and spooky, but bright, fun and full of life.  This Mexican holiday celebrates the ancestors we have lost.

Read more to learn more!

November is Native American Heritage Month!

"The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges." --from the National Congress of American Indians http://www.ncai.org/

Read to learn about the past and present treatment and struggles of our American Natives.  Read to celebrate our indigenous culture.  Click below to see some of the fiction and nonfiction books your Wylie ISD Libraries own to help students learn and celebrate.

Or click on these titles to read some title from our Junior High Libraries.

 

Wear and share orange to show that we are together against bullying, and united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.

Visit the Pacer website to learn more! https://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/unity-day.asp

Your Intermediate School Librarians recommend these titles:

Junior Librarians have shared great resources on preventing bullying:

"Dyslexia is a neurological condition caused by a different wiring of the brain. There is no cure for dyslexia and individuals with this condition must learn coping strategies. Research indicates that dyslexia has no relationship to intelligence. Individuals with dyslexia are neither more nor less intelligent than the general population. But some say the way individuals with dyslexia think can actually be an asset in achieving success." --from the International Dyslexia Association, https://dyslexiaida.org/ 

One way to understand dyslexia and how it affects our friends, is to read about characters who cope with this condition.

Check out these titles from your Wylie ISD Libraries:

Do some research on Dyslexia and other conditions that effect learning on our databases:

Take a look at other databases to search HERE.

"The month of October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month where we celebrate Down syndrome and let everyone know our abilities and that we are capable of doing anything we set our minds to." - from the National Down Syndrome Society https://www.ndss.org/ 

Read to know, understand, and celebrate all differences!! These are new titles that we recommend for reading as a family!