Sunday, March 27, 2016

March is National Women's History Month


This is the first year that I can remember connecting that March is Women's History Month.  All of a sudden all of my third grade students were coming into the library and checking out biographies of famous women to use for a research project. It finally hit me that there was a connection.  One of my favorite things about being in a school library is that I get to make connections between events such as Women's History Month and work that students are doing in the classroom and in the library. The really fun part is getting to share those connections with my students.

This month, I discovered a new book that made all sorts of connections and the 2nd grade and I had a great time discussing and working with some of those ideas.  Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh,  tells the story of a woman scientist who was the first person to create a map of the ocean floor.  While sitting and reading through the book for the first time I thought, "Wow, this book would be great for Women's History Month. Wow, this book would be great to share with 2nd grade because they are working on geography and mapping right now in the classroom."  It is fun to find a book that connects so many areas into one great story.


I read this book to my second grade classes and we talked about Marie Tharp and her love of maps. Students had a chance to make their own maps of the Upham Playground and practice using colors and labels just like Marie Tharp did with her revolutionary map of the ocean floor.