Fifth Graders Use a Hackathon to Tackle a Real-Life Environmental Issue

            In this Elementary School Journal article, Adiv Gal (Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts) describes how fifth graders in a rural school in northern Israel studied the interaction of two species of birds competing for nesting space in the roofs of school buildings. Starting in 2015, one species, the lesser kestrel, which had lived in the area for decades, was being displaced by another, the common myna, which is one of the world’s most invasive species (myna were introduced to Israel in the 1990s as pets and then established a population in the wild).

            As part of an ecology curriculum unit, students took notes on a burgeoning conflict between the two species:

• Mynas displaced kestrels from their nesting boxes, reducing available spaces to nest.
• Mynas stole food from kestrels during chick-rearing time, decreasing chicks’ supply.
• Mynas attacked kestrels midflight, preventing them from reaching their nests.
• Mynas knocked down kestrel chicks as they waited for food.
• Mynas sometimes killed and fed on kestrel chicks. 

The result was a marked decline in the kestrel population around the school.

    As students observed this interaction and drew on what they had learned about ecology, they began to ask ethically related questions: Should the school get involved in the conflict between these two species? Was it right to take the side of the kestrels? After all, the myna did not choose to be an invasive species. Was there a way for the two species to coexist peacefully?

            Teachers seized the opportunity to help students go beyond the standard ecology curriculum and explore real-life science that was unfolding right before their eyes. Teachers decided to implement an 8-hour hackathon as the culminating activity, using 21st-century technology to address the age-old question of survival. Students worked in small teams in their classrooms, equipped with laptops and internet access, with ornithology experts on hand to help. Teams did online research, thought through effective approaches to the myna/kestrel conflict, and built models of their proposed solutions. Teams then presented their findings and recommendations in a plenary meeting, followed by a gala dinner, with outside experts there to comment on the solutions.

            Teams came up with four possible technological solutions to the problem, each making use of a camera that could distinguish between the myna and kestrels:

• Water is sprayed on myna when they approach nesting boxes.
• The sounds of a hawk are played when myna approach.
• The mynas’ nesting box entrances are closed.
• A dummy of a hawk will jump out of a small hiding place when mynas approach. 

Gal says the hackathon was a great success, engaging students and building a number of skills: creativity and innovation, flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and interdisciplinary skills, productivity and accountability, leadership and responsibility, critical thinking and problem solving, ethical reasoning, collaboration and communication, media and information literacy, use of technology, and science knowledge.

            “The teachers also benefited from this innovative approach,” Gal concludes. “They were able to move beyond traditional pedagogical techniques and explore new teaching methods that engage students more deeply. The hackathon required them to facilitate learning rather than simply deliver information, guiding students through complex problem-solving processes.” 

“Holistic Education Through Hackathon” by Adiv Gal in Elementary School Journal, June 2025 (Vol. 125, #4, pp. 549-575); Gal can be reached at adiv.gal@smkb.ac.il. See Memo 813 for related ecology activity involving birds flying into a school’s windows.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1095 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.

A Novel Way for Teachers to Get to Know Students

            “Positive student-teacher relationships are the foundation of meaningful school experiences,” say Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, Lupita Romo-Gonzalez, and Damhee Dee Dee Hong (University of California/Santa Barbara) in this Elementary School Journal article. They describe how a small predominantly Mexican-American school district in California gave families in grades 4-6 a Fujimax Polaroid camera, film for 20 photographs, a small photo album, step-by-step instructions on how to use the camera, and information on the ethics of taking pictures and getting permission from subjects. Students were asked to take photos of their lives outside of school, including family members and how they spent their time, and consider sharing albums with their teachers and talking them through the photos. 

            Students were enthusiastic about the project; for many, it was the first time they had taken physical, non-digital photos. They appreciated being able to decide what to photograph and who would be allowed to see their albums. Kids snapped photos of family members, friends, stuffed animals, snow globes, gems from Mexico, computer games, piggy banks, decorations, religious artifacts, decorations for Muslim holidays, pets, favorite foods, books, and themselves as they engaged in various activities.

            “With 20 photographs to capture their lives,” say the authors, “the students in our study had to make choices about what to include and what to leave out. Although many students disliked the limitations on the number of photographs they could take and named people, places, or things that were missing from their albums, by and large, they felt well represented by the photographs they took.” In interviews, students said they loved the opportunity to do a show-and-tell for teachers about their homes, families, interests, and culture. One sixth grader had photos showing his interest in paleontology and hoped his teacher would make a curriculum connection. 

            “Educators and school leaders can take these results as a starting point from which to design and launch their own context-specific initiatives,” say the authors, “– using photographs, videos, drawings, or other means of personal expression – to increase teacher understanding of students in ways that center student agency.” 

“Building Classroom Relationships Through Photovoice” by Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, Lupita Romo-Gonzalez, and Damhee Dee Dee Hong in Elementary School Journal, June 2025 (Vol. 125, #4, pp. 675-700); Sattin-Bajaj can be reached at carolynsattin-bajaj@ucsb.edu.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1095 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.

Shaping the U.S. History Curriculum in a Contentious Time

            In this article in Time, James Kloppenberg (Harvard University) pushes back on the recent assertion that the U.S. history curriculum has been rewritten in a way that replaces “objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” That’s not correct, he says, but it is true that since the 1960s, the curriculum has moved beyond the previous emphasis on America’s heroic achievements on the world stage to a more nuanced and balanced narrative. 

            “Historians have been asking different questions and probing other dimensions of our past,” says Kloppenberg. “Combining old and new methods, including the discovery of previously unknown sources and the use of statistical analysis, historians digging in the archives have uncovered solid evidence concerning the expansion of freedom for many Americans and the denial of freedom for many others. The experiences of enslaved Africans, women, Indigenous people, ordinary soldiers, owners of small businesses, and countless other Americans have emerged from a generation’s painstaking research into a new light.” 

            The revised curriculum is entirely compatible with telling the story of the nation’s myriad accomplishments and being “a flag-waving patriot with an abiding love of the U.S.,” as Kloppenberg describes himself. “But to see American history as simply a narrative of heroism would be a lie unbecoming of a great nation,” he says. “Telling Americans only those parts of our complicated history consistent with preconceived notions of American grandeur is unacceptable to everyone who cherishes our nation and its history.”

            But aren’t historical facts just facts? It’s not that simple, says Koppenberg. “From the almost infinite array of information historical actors leave behind them, historians put together interpretations consistent with recognized rules of evidence and reasoning.” There are heated debates about those interpretations in peer-reviewed journals, and what emerges needs to be backed up by facts and documentation. “Although entitled to their opinions,” he says, “historians are never entitled to their own facts.”

“The Truth and Sanity of American History” by James Kloppenberg in Time, July 7, 2025 (Vol. 206, #1-2, pp. 22-23); Kloppenberg can be reached at jkloppen@fas.harvard.edu.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1094 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.

Children's Books About World War II

             This School Library Journal feature provides a curated list of books on World War II covering under-explored events, figures, regions, and angles: 

Picture books: 

• Twist, Tumble, Triumph: The Story of Champion Gymnast Agnes Keleti by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitsky, illustrated by Martina Peluso, grade 1-3
• Violin of Hope by Ella Schwartz, illustrated by Juliana Oakley, grade 2-4 

Middle grades:

• Scattergood by H.M. Bouwman, grade 4-7
• Fighter in the Woods: The True Story of a Jewish Girl Who Joined the Partisans in World War II by Joshua Greene, grade 3-7
• When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman, grade 3-7
• Lifeboat 5 by Susan Hood, grade 4-8
• At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom by Erin Entrada Kelly, grade 4-8
• Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan, grade 5 and up
• The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri, grade 3-7
• The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, grade 6-10
• Wolves at the Door by Steve Watkins, grade 5 and up 

Young adult: 

• The Ballerina of Auschwitz: Young Adult Edition of the Choice by Edith Eva Eger, grade 8 and up
• The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming, grade 8 and up
• Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros, grade 9 and up 

Graphic novels:

• Pearl by Sherri Smith, illustrated by Christine Norrie, grade 7 and up 
• Song of a Blackbird by Maria Van Lieshout, grade 10 and up 

“Life During Wartime: A Curated List of Untold World War II Stories” in School Library Journal, June 2025 (Vol. 71, #6, pp. 42-45)

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1092 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.

H.454 "While some damage may be irreversible..."

         "While some damage may be irreversible, the midterm elections might be a place where an electoral message could be delivered, and seriously ought to be. The legislative vote was close enough and unpopular enough with much of the general public that the leg might feel the need to reconsider if people lost their seats as a result of their actions. This was the problem with opposition to Act 46. Very few legislators lost their seats over their votes, even when they were against the interests of their constituents. This atmosphere of impunity is a broad problem and needs rectification."

                                                                                                Jack Bryar, 

                                                                                                Grafton, VT

                                                                                                June 18, 2025

                                                            

Books About the Immigrant Experience

            In School Library Journal, author Cynthia Levinson recommends books for educators and students on immigration: 

Books for educators: 

• America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States by Erika Lee
• Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education by Jessica Lander
• Democratic Discord in Schools: Cases and Commentaries in Educational Ethics, edited by Meira Levinson and Jacob Fay 

Books for middle and high school: 

• Becoming Naomi León by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj
• Caramelo and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
• Made in Asian America: A History for Young People by Christina Soontornvat and Erika Lee
• Mamie Takes a Stand: The True Story of Mamie Tape, a Chinese American Girl’s Fight for School Rights by Marie Chan, illustrated by Sian James 
• They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles 

Picture books: 

• Free to Learn: How Alfredo Lopez Fought for the Right to Go to School by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Mirelle Ortega 
• I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough and Grace Lyn, illustrated by Julia Kuo 
• Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh 
• Without Separation: Prejudice, Segregation, and the Case of Roberto Alvarez by Larry Dane Brimmer, illustrated by Maya Gonzalez 
• Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by Julie Leung, illustrated by Chris Sasaki
• Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar 
• The Sole Man: Jan Matzeliger’s Lasting Invention by Shana Keller, illustrated by Stephen Costanza
• Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo 
• Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin 

In their own words: 

• Ánh’s New Word: A Story About Learning a New Language by Hanh Bui, illustrated by Bao Luu
• Finding Home: Words from Kids Seeking Sanctuary by Gwen Agna and Shelly Rotner 
• The Home We Make by Maham Khwaja, illustrated by Daby Zainab Faidhi 

 “Immigration Stories” by Cynthia Levinson in School Library Journal, May 2025 (Vol. 71, #5, pp. 12-14)

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1089 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.

Helpful Post from Michael Moore

"This morning I have been pondering a nearly forgotten lesson I learned in high school music. 

Sometimes in band or choir, music requires players or singers to hold a note longer than they actually can hold a note. In those cases, we were taught to mindfully stagger when we took a breath so the sound appeared uninterrupted. Everyone got to breathe, and the music stayed strong and vibrant. 

Yesterday, I read an article that suggested the administration's litany of bad executive orders (more expected on LGBTQ next week) is a way of giving us "protest fatigue" - we will literally lose our will to continue the fight in the face of the onslaught of negative action. 

Let's remember MUSIC. 

Take a breath. The rest of the chorus will sing. The rest of the band will play. 

Rejoin so others can breathe. 

Together, we can sustain a very long, beautiful song for a very, very long time. You don’t have to do it all, but you must add your voice to the song. 

With special love to all the musicians and music teachers in my life."

- Michael Moore