Ellen Bees

I am a middle school teacher with a passion for sustainability and human rights. Opinions are my own.

Canadian

Books for Red Dress Day

May 5th is Red Dress Day, a day that brings awareness to the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. In Canada, Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are more likely to be the victims of violence due to racism and the ongoing effects of colonialism.

Antiracism

Exploring Books by Black Poets in Middle Years

This month two of my classes have been exploring novels-in-verse by Black authors. In part, this was to recognize Black History Month, with many of the stories focusing on different points in history. Other books included Black characters in contemporary settings that offered a range of different themes and topics,

Media Literacy

Google AI Overview and Teaching Critical Thinking

This school year, I decided to teach a unit on online search skills to my grade six class. Using a set of lessons from CTRL-F, we learned about the difference between search engines and social media, how to use search terms to effectively find content online and how algorithms work.

Media Literacy

Killer Underwear Invasion!

Killer Underwear Invasion: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories, by Elise Gravel, offers engaging lessons on media literacy for elementary school students and beyond. Using Elise Gravel's signature illustrations and humour, the book explains fake news, the consequences of disinformation, why people believe fake news

Courage

Books about Book Bans

Over the past few years, worrying trends of book censorship have emerged, with challenges to books in schools and libraries increasing markedly since before the pandemic. This year, the American Library Association indicated that 414 attempts were made to censor library materials from January to August 2024, while 1,128

Environment

Indigenous Ingenuity

Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge, by Deidre Havrelock and Edward Kay, is a nonfiction book that focuses on the technological knowledge and achievements of Indigenous people from Turtle Island with a focus on precontact societies. The book is divided into various topics, such as transportation, medicine,

Antiracism

Continental Drifter

Continental Drifter, by Kathy MacLeod, is a graphic novel memoir about the author's childhood where she navigates two different worlds. With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy feels like she doesn't quite fit in with the other kids in her Bangkok neighbourhood. She dreams

Indigenous

Memoirs, Truth and Reconciliation

In September to start the school year I have my class focus on identity and memoir writing. This serves as a good introduction, since it allows us to get to know each other and explore various writing routines we'll use throughout the year. Since September ends with the

LGBTQ

Homebody

Homebody is a graphic novel memoir about Theo Parish's life as a nonbinary person. This coming of age book shows how they navigated their own identity and came out as a transgender and nonbinary. They called this process "coming home to myself wherever that may be"

Graphic Novel

Dungeon Club

It is a pleasure to find books that connect with students' interests, so I was delighted with the Dungeon Club series by Molly Knox Ostertag and Xanthe Bouma. This graphic novel series initially focuses on main characters Olivia and Jess, two friends who enjoy the role playing game Dungeons

Media Literacy

Using Pop Culture to Teach About Misinformation

Students need to learn new skills to help them navigate the social media landscape they inhabit. One skill I spend time teaching my grade seven students is how to identify examples of misinformation and disinformation online. As outlined below, there are many types of misinformation and disinformation. While teaching about

LGBTQ

Hazel's Theory of Evolution

Hazel's Theory of Evolution, by Lisa Jenn Bigelow, is a middle grade novel that focuses on friendship and dealing with trauma. In Hazel's last year of middle school, she starts at a new school due to her house being rezoned. She is determined to fly under

Environment

Climate Change Fiction for Middle Years

Climate change is an overwhelming topic. It is important for students to learn about it, but some approaches can provoke eco-anxiety and lead many students to feel disconnected from the environmental crisis. Until recently, it has been difficult to find fiction that allows students to engage with the reality of

LGBTQ

Books for Trans Joy in the Middle School Classroom

March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility. Transgender students deserve to see themselves represented in the books they read and they deserve affirming stories that bring joy. Here are some joyful books that I recommend for the middle school classroom and beyond. * The Cardboard Kingdom, by Chad Sell - This

Antiracism

Graphic Novels by Asian Authors - Improving Representation in my Classroom Library

I have the feeling that students are looking for mirror books that reflect their own experiences as Asian Canadians. As a result, below are four new graphic novels that reflect in different ways the experiences of Asian students at my school.

Environment

Not the End of the World

When I first started teaching about climate change in social studies over ten years ago, my starting point was typically the evidence of climate change. My class would check out resources like NASA's Climate Time Machine to better understand the evidence that demonstrates the climate is changing. I

Peace

The Ogress and the Orphans

I have a soft spot for fairy tales. As Neil Gaiman wrote, "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." For this reason, The Ogress and the Orphans, a middle grade novel

Media Literacy

Accountable: Supporting students in an online world

Debating whether or not to ban cell phone sidesteps a much more important discussion focused on how schools, communities and government can act to help young people engage respectfully and purposefully in their digital spaces.

Courage

Rolling Warrior

I have been trying to introduce more books that focus on people with disabilities into my classroom library, since there is a large gap there. Rolling Warrior: The Incredible Sometimes Awkward True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/

Graphic Novel

Books about Japanese Incarceration in WW2

Recently I have been trying to update the novels in my human rights literature circle, focusing on themes relating to power and privilege. These days there are a wider selection of human rights themed books to choose from, ones where the author's own experiences or history help inform

LGBTQ

Queer History in Middle Grade Books

Earlier this month, a presentation was made to a school board in Manitoba requesting the need to set up a committee to evaluate books in school libraries, particularly focusing on books about transgender youth. Happily, the community came out in force against this idea and the motion was voted down.

LGBTQ

Thanks A Lot, Universe

Thanks A Lot, Universe [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49202852-thanks-a-lot-universe], by Chad Lucas, is a book I would like to put in the hands of every boy as they enter middle school. The novel has a lot to say about friendship, mental health, standing up for others and being

LGBTQ

The Pants Project

I help to facilitate my middle school's Gender-Sexuality Alliance. This year, we've decided to pursue different projects that celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community. One project we've decided to undertake is to organize a book club that focuses on a book with 2SLGBTQ+ characters. After asking

Education

Students are not software

Recently I have been hearing more about teaching sprints. For those who are unfamiliar, a teaching sprint is a process where a team of teachers pick a focus, something they would like to work on improving as a team. They spend two to four weeks practicing a strategy or technique

Courage

Thirst

Thirst, by Varsha Bajaj, focuses on Minni, a girl who lives in the poorest part of Mumbai and faces the consequences of a water crisis.