Pat Mora's Blog, page 29

Interview with the 2016 Mora Award Winner, Sonia M. Sotomayor Early College High School

I’m honored to interview the winner of the 2016 Estela and Raúl Mora Award on my blog. Congratulations to librarian Carolina Castillo and her Día team from the Sonia M. Sotomayor Early College High School in Pharr, Texas.

How did you first become interested in Día and how long ago was that?
Día has always been a big part of our libraries at Phaar-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PSJA). We PSJA librarians love to celebrate El Día de los niños, El Día de los libros, whether it is exp...

The Little Free Library in El Paso

Since Día promotes daily creative literacy activities and initiatives, Pat sends a shout out to her friend and Día supporter librarian Lisa Lopez-Williamson and to Día Dynamo Dr. Joseph Rodríguez for their recent UTEP honor.

UTEP President Diana Natalicio honored Herrera Elementary librarian Lisa Lopez-Williamson with the newly established President’s Meritorious Service Award Tuesday at Magoffin Auditorium. Read more.

Dr. Joseph Rodríguez, UTEP President Diana Natalicio and Lisa Lopez-Willia...

A new NCTE blog and website: #WhyIWrite

Día partner NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) celebrates the National Day on Writing every year on October 20. This year they’ve launched a brand-new website and blog to help sustain the momentum beyond one day, and into the entire year. They invited Pat to contribute a blog post: in Peck, Peck, Peck she shares #WhyIWrite.

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October 20: National Day on Writing

Every October 20, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) celebrates the importance, joy, and evolution of writing through a tweetup, using the hashtag #WhyIWrite and events hosted by thousands of educators across the country. Find ideas and more on NCTE’s website.

The post October 20: National Day on Writing appeared first on Pat Mora.

November 2: A Day for Remembering

In this special bilingual picture book for children, Pat creates an origin myth in which she imagines how the Mexican custom of remembering deceased loved ones–El día de los muertos or the Day of the Dead–came to be. With tender illustrations by Robert Casilla that depict Bella and Mamá Alma’s loving relationship, this book will encourage children to honor loved ones, whether by writing stories and poems or creating their own remembering place.

Curriculum extensions:

Invite students to share...

Teen Poetry to Share for Teen Read Week

October 9-15, 2016 is Teen Read Week, sponsored by the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). This year’s theme is “Read for the fun of it!”

We hope you’ll include some poetry in your Teen Read Week celebrations:

Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love

My Own True Name

Both were written especially for teens, and you can find poetry resources and activities to use with the books.

The post Teen Poetry to Share for Teen Read Week appeared first on Pat Mo...

October is National Reading Group Month

The Women’s National Book Association celebrates October with National Reading Group Month. You can find resources and tips for celebrating the bookjoy of shared reading on their website.

Pat’s family memoir, House of Houses lends itself to thought-provoking reading group discussions. Here are some questions for exploration:

In what ways is House of Houses like and unlike other memoirs you’ve read? Why do you think memoirs have become such a popular genre? Name the person you connected to m...

October celebrations

October 4: The Feast of St. Francis
Inspired by Saint Francis’s own reverence and love for animals, Pat’s book The Song of Francis and the Animals celebrates the celebrates the tender relationship between the beloved saint and the animals whom he adored.

October 5th: World Teachers’ Day
World Teachers’ Day is a UNESCO initiative, devoted to appreciating, assessing, and improving the educators of the world.

Pat shares some insights for teachers from her book ZING! Seven Creativity Practices...

Congratulations to the 2016 Mora Award winners!

Pat’s parents, Estela and Raúl Mora, her sister Cissy and Pat

Sonia M. Sotomayor Early College High School in Pharr, Texas, will receive the 2016 Estela and Raúl Mora Award, an honor given by Pat and her sister in partnership with First Book. This year, the award recognized schools that held literacy activities during the month of April in celebration of Children’s Day, Book Day; also known as El día de los niños, El día de los libros; or Día. The award will provide $1,000 in credits to the Fi...

Grand autumn days!

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