For some, the reading of picture books is considered an activity exclusively meant for young children in lower grades. In a recent professional development session for Library Media Educational Technology Specialists in secondary schools, Celia Powell, Cindy Moyle, and Cherie Anderson gave a multitude of reasons to rethink this bias, showing how picture books can be used in junior high and high school classrooms (and even with adults) to engage students and support curriculum in virtually all content areas. 

Picture Books in the Secondary Curriculum

Celia Powell, District Technology Specialist and Team Leader, and Cindy Moyle, District Library Specialist for Secondary Schools, shared the following presentation on ways to use picture books with secondary students for engagement and learning. Follow the link to click through their presentation, which includes links to numerous other resources on using picture books in teaching both younger and older students.

Picture Books in the Secondary Curriculum (Sway Presentation)

Picture Books in the Secondary – Book Talks

Joined by Cherie Anderson, District Technology Specialist and Team Leader, they then presented a series of quick book talks on great picture books, both new and old, fiction and nonfiction, suggesting  specific ways each title could be used in secondary classrooms. We’ve included the list of the books they shared below, as well as a video of a small portion of their book talks.

Picture Books in the Secondary – Book List

This article was also published on Granite Media, our library media program website: https://www.granitemedia.org/2018/05/presentation-teaching-with-picture-books-in-secondary-schools/