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Today is Wangari Maathai’s birthday! Wangari Maathai was the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Seeds Of Change: Planting a Path to Peace, which tells Wangari’s story, continues to be one of the most popular books that we publish!

In honor of Wangari Maathai’s birthday and upcoming Earth Day later this month, here’s a list of the many fantastic resources and ideas available to educators who are teaching about Wangari Maathai’s legacy and using Seeds Of Change: Planting a Path to Peace:

Elementary School:

• In teaching standard 9 of the ELA Common Core, have students analyze two biographies about Wangari Maathai to build knowledge and compare the authors’ approaches. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Project created a lesson for students to compare a Wangari Maathai biography with Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.
• School Library Journal’s “Curriculum Connections” e-newsletter features a lesson plan using Seeds Of Change to explore what it means to be a global citizen.
• Kid World Citizen shows teachers how to teach cause and effect with Seeds Of Change.
• Lee & Low Books’ classroom guide includes teaching tips, interdisciplinary activities, and a range of literal to inferential questions.

Middle School and High School:

• Seeds Of Change won the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustration in 2011. The Committee Chair and Book Jury have prepared activities and discussion questions for Seeds Of Change in the 2011 Discussion Guide for Coretta Scott King Book Awards, P. 20-21.
• Have students read and discuss author Jen Cullerton Johnson and illustrator Sonia Lynn Sadler’s joint interview with Lee & Low, which covers the environment, their travels, and Wangari Maathai’s achievements.
• After introducing Wangari Maathai with Seeds Of Change, delve deeper with the Speak Truth To Power human rights education curriculum, a project of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. They present an in-depth exploration on Wangari Maathai, the Green Belt Movement, and sustainability issues.
• In teaching standard 7 of the ELA Common Core, have students evaluate how Wangari Maathai is presented in a documentary compared to the Seeds Of Change biography. PBS’s documentary on Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement, Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, contains a classroom section full of video modules, handouts, and lesson plans.

What did we miss? Let us know how you are using Seeds Of Change in your classroom!

Purchase a copy of Seeds of Change here!

Further Reading:

Remembering Wangari Maathai

Planting Seeds of Change Around the World

Compiling Rigorous Thematic Texts: Books Set in Kenya

Reading for the Earth: Ultimate Earth Day Resource Round Up

Book List: 11 Children’s Books About Human Rights

10 Great Women of Color Whose Stories You Should Know

School Library Journal: Inquiry and Integration Across the Curriculum: Global Citizenry

Kid World Citizen: Introduce Kids To Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai: “Mama Mati”

Jill Eisenberg, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators. 

The Apollo XI moon landing celebrated its 45th anniversary this past Sunday. First Book is celebrating this momentous event with some of our favorite space-inspired books:

 1. Almost Astronauts: Thirteen Women Who Dared to Dream
What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape–any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age.

2. Discover Science: Solar System
Solar System is the perfect introduction for young readers to the endlessly fascinating topic of space and the vast, mysterious worlds that make up our solar system. Discover the activity of the flaming prominences of the sun and the bubbling volcanoes of Venus. Examine the apparently lifeless craters on the moon, Saturn’s swirling rings, and giant Jupiter’s great red spot. Marvel at space travelers such as the comet Halle-Bopp, mighty meteorites, and the Spirit and Viking space probes on their missions to Mars. Budding astronomers will be intrigued and enthralled by the strange and diverse worlds that make up our solar system.

3. Out of This World: Poems and Facts about Space
The mysteries of the universe and the science of space exploration are perennially popular subjects, and Out of This World is a wonderful introduction. Amy Sklansky has written evocative poems about planets and stars and rockets and moon landings and satellites. Each poem is supported by additional facts and explanations in the margins. Stacey Schuett brings it all to life with color-soaked skies and beautiful perspectives in her fabulous paintings.

4. Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #6: Space: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #8: Midnight on the Moon
How did the universe begin? How hot is the sun? How long does it take to get to the moon? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Magic Tree House Research Guide: Space, Jack and Annie’s very own guide to the secrets of the universe. Including information on stars, planets, space travel, life on other planets, and much more!

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the Apollo 11 crew inspired a generation to reach new heights. Now Buzz is  inspiring readers – young and old. Check out his new science fiction book, “Encounter with Tiber” in this week’s Humble Book Bundle. Special thanks to Buzz Aldrin, Humble Bundle and Open Road Media for their support of First Book.

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