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"Politicians behaving badly, #MeToo and a shift you can feel in the ether means that we are all talking about consent. Having these conversations in a developmentally appropriate way with children, however, can be tricky and it can be hard to know where to start. Books are a great gateway into these discussions and the following list might help you on your way. Whether you are looking for a picture book to share with a child, a book to teach a specific topic in a school setting, something a child can read by themselves and discuss with you later or a book to leave casually in the path of a teenager in the hope they pick it up and read it, we have some suggestions for you."

One of a number of interesting activities that could be offered in a makerspace. In this two-part activity, students design and build Rube Goldberg machines. This open-ended challenge employs the engineering design process and may have a pre-determined purpose, such as rolling a marble into a cup from a distance, or let students decide the purposes.

One of a number of interesting science activities that could be offered in a makerspace. In this two-part activity, students design and build Rube Goldberg machines. This open-ended challenge employs the engineering design process and may have a pre-determined purpose, such as rolling a marble into a cup from a distance, or let students decide the purposes.

There's a TED Talk I've been showing my students for the last couple of years called "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Adichie. In this amazing TED Talk, Adichie warns us how stereotypes are formed, prejudices take root, and discriminatory behaviors occur when "one story" is told about a group of people with whom we have limited contact or understanding. Although it is convenient to accept a single narrative as a "universal truth" to be applied to all members of a group, it is very dangerous. So dangerous and powerful, in fact, that entire genocides have been committed using this very tactic.

Read Like a Girl is a community partnership for the literacy advancement of girls and is a combined endeavour led by Mt Alvernia College and St Rita's College, in partnership with Riverbend Books. This project encapsulates a calendar of reading events aimed at instilling a foundation and love of reading in the college communities and more broadly among girls everywhere.

"This first step into doodling for learning has opened up an extensive new classroom practice for Freedman. She's been encouraging students to take visual notes for only a little over a year, but she's seen it help some students tremendously. Now she dedicates about five minutes a day for a month to sketchnote practice. She gives students lots of choices in how they want to do it -- on a whiteboard, on a digital tablet, or with paper and pencils. The point is to give them dedicated time to familiarize themselves with how they might express themselves visually."

"In contrast to typical readers, fact-checkers move laterally rather than vertically, opening multiple browser tabs to validate claims and checking who is behind a site before continuing to read the initial page. They recognize that they're at a disadvantage if they stay within a website, so they cross-check information across many sites to get a second-or even a third, fourth, and fifth-opinion. It's a modern approach to identifying misinformation online that Wineburg says should be much more commonplace in schools."

"I know many teachers have tried some version of this activity. I want to add my voice to theirs: this is a F.U.N. way to get students talking about what they have read and what they might want to read - both important factors in helping students of all ages develop their identities as readers. A clear explanation of how speed dating with books operates, educational value and a brief video clip of secondary students selling the favourite books.

"I know many teachers have tried some version of this activity. I want to add my voice to theirs: this is a F.U.N. way to get students talking about what they have read and what they might want to read - both important factors in helping students of all ages develop their identities as readers. A clear explanation of how speed dating with books operates, educational value and a brief video clip of secondary students selling the favourite books.

"Reading isn't generally considered a dynamic activity, but students who participate in a StoryWalk get to not only hear a great story but stimulate parts of their brain that are normally at rest when they sit down with a book. Instead of snuggling up in a cozy reading spot, readers are presented with colorful pages from an illustrated book, displayed one-by-one on stakes as they stroll along an indoor or outdoor walking path. Readers are able to take their time and reflect on the subtle nuances of the story, make inferences about what may happen next, and have co-constructed conversations with any walking partners."

Leadership is far from a science. Many would even argue that it is more of a form of art. Since effective leadership means different things to different people, I wanted to dive a little deeper into this debate to glean a better understanding as to what great leaders do. It consists of a convergence of art and science.

"StoryMap JS is a free tool that students can use to create a story map in a manner similar to Google's My Maps or the old Google Tour Builder. It is much easier for new users to master.  StoryMap JS enables students to tell stories through a series of slides that appear on a map. Each slide is matched to locations that you choose on your map. Each slide in your story can include images, text, and hyperlinks. "

A project is a multistep activity undertaken by an individual or group to achieve a particular aim. With that broad definition there's a lot of project-based learning happening in schools these days. Some is better than others and there are a lot of variations: some thin, some deep; some teacher-led, some student-driven; some with clear deliverables, and some very open-ended.

A Digital Novel (2012) ... set in a technology saturated near future, Inanimate Alice tells the story of a girl called Alice, merging text with animation, videos, music and games to explore what it means to conduct your life online. Requires user action to drive the story forward.Uses text, images, music, sound effects, puzzles and games to illustrate and enhance the narrative. Each a self-contained story, the chapters become more complex as the narrative unfolds reflecting Alice's age and competency as she develops towards her calling as a game animator and designer. See the Teacher's Notes for information on using this title with students.

A range of questions kids might ask, added to regularly. A question followed by a detailed answer - questions provide a great springboard for independent inquiry and the answers provide a great model for information writing.

A bibliography is an alphabetical list, by author, of the sources (books, journals, websites, etc) you have used to research and write your assignment. A bibliography usually includes information such as the author, title, publisher and date. An annotation is a concise summary and/or evaluation of the value or relevance of each source. An annotated bibliography combines these two elements and provides bibliographic information plus a summary and/ or evaluation of each of the sources you have used. An annotated bibliography may be one part of a larger assessment item.

"Libraries should be a right in schools. We must give pupils the opportunity to go to a quiet place to do extra study or to choose a book to read. It is particularly important to children from deprived areas. Opening a library door helps children open their mind. For many, books are too expensive and a library allows students to borrow them." Includes links to research and further reading.

Get The Research is a fairly small search engine that is focused on helping people find academic articles. A search on Get The Research will yield a small summary of the searched topic and a list of published academic articles. The articles in the search results will be a mix of open-access articles and paywalled articles. You can filter results to show only open-access articles.

"Digital native' is a term increasingly used in public discourse to describe the generations of young people who grow up surrounded by digital technologies. The term suggests that young people intuitively know how to use technology and hence have no need for digital education or training. This paper outlines the issues connected with this assumption and provides evidence to demonstrate that it is a dangerous fallacy. Young people do not inherently possess the skills for safe and effective use of technologies, and skills acquired informally are likely to be incomplete. The failure to provide youth with a complete set of skills in a formal manner leads to a new digital divide between digital lifestyle skills and digital workplace skills. The lack of proficiency in the tools needed for today's workforce contributes to an increasingly lost generation, who are unable to realise their full potential as learners, employees, entrepreneurs or citizens using digital technologies."

"If you're not sure which books do or don't count as historical fiction, you're not alone. No one agrees on a definition! I don't even agree with myself, because I hold two opposing opinions. On one hand, I think books that illuminate a specific moment in history count as historical fiction, even if that point in time is very recent. But when I'm in the mood to read a historical novel, I'm thinking about a particular kind of book. "

The power of a good book. It doesn't matter what age you are, there's nothing quite like losing yourself in a good book. But, did you know that reading for enjoyment is also associated with higher academic achievement? A recent large scale study concluded reading for pleasure has 'a powerful influence on children's learning', particularly in developing vocabulary, but also on spelling and maths skills.

A beuatifully crafted infographic in chapters that explore the range of benefits in reading. A list of references at the end is particularly useful. 82 delicious layers, 12 hours of work dedicated to those who adore reading and books. Feel free to share it, and if you wish to make a print of this for educational purposes, read directions on the bottom of the page. .

A beautifully crafted infographic in chapters that explore the range of benefits in reading. A list of references at the end is particularly useful. 82 delicious layers, 12 hours of work dedicated to those who adore reading and books. Feel free to share it, and if you wish to make a print of this for educational purposes, read directions on the bottom of the page. .