Spark Imagination by Bringing D&D to the Classroom

By Kade Wells, Advance Middle School English Teacher and Founder of BuildingHeroez.com As Dungeons & Dragons approaches its fifth decade, its influence remains larger than ever. With more than 50 million fans worldwide, D&D continues to inspire fans of all ages with the power of collective imagination. “[In my time running games for students, I’ve

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This Story Matters: An Intellectual Freedom Discussion with NCTE Affiliates

As the school year begins, teachers and students are facing challenges to their intellectual freedom like never before. From state legislation to executive orders to school district policies to administrator actions, book bans are at an all-time high, and teacher shortages are affecting every corner of the nation. But as a K-12 educator, you do

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DK’s Banned Books Profiles the Most Controversial Texts Throughout History

While censorship of one form or another has always plagued society as the definitions of what is “acceptable” in published works have shifted over time and all over the world, book bans and challenges in the US have doubled between 2020 and 2021, according to the American Library Association. This surge in challenged books is

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Finding Your Place in the World: Lessons for Reading and Writing

As educators, we know how important it is to give students access and opportunity to books that provide “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” (Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop). It’s vital that we support every student and help them address issues they confront both in and out of the classroom. Finding those books and creating lessons

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Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, Publishing November 15, 2022

We’re delighted to announce that Penguin Random House will publish former First Lady Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, available November 15, 2022. In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, #1 bestselling memoir Becoming, Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly

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2022 Secondary Education Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and non-fiction from across Penguin Random House’s publishing divisions and distribution clients. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts, Social Studies, STEM, and Professional Learning. These new

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A Monthly Update from Penguin Classics: Marvel Edition

The Penguin Classics Marvel Collection is finally here! These specially curated comic book anthologies present the origin stories and seminal tales of key Marvel characters by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and other historic Marvel creators. The series serves as a testament to Marvel’s transformative impact on graphic fiction and icons and stories across popular culture.

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PRH and WNDB Announce the 2022 Creative Writing Award Winners

Penguin Random House, together with We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), is excited to announce the winners of the 2022 Creative Writing Awards. Five exceptional public high school seniors from across the country have been chosen winners of the 2022 Penguin Random House Creative Writing Award in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, a national grassroots organization that advocates for diversity in

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What is a “Classic?” Educator’s Guide Now Available

In honor of their 75th anniversary, Penguin Classics has partnered with #DisruptTexts, a renowned education organization that works to create a more inclusive, representative and equitable language arts curriculum for K-12 students. Facilitated by Penguin Random House (PRH) Education, this partnership includes a number of new initiatives focused on connecting with, and supporting, educators through

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Dolen Perkins-Valdez on her new novel, Take My Hand

“I believe that in order to heal, we must remember. Once we remember, we acknowledge. Once we acknowledge, we can take more significant action.”   Watch Dolen Perkins-Valdez discuss her inspiration for writing Take My Hand:   Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend intends to make a difference, especially in her African

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Facts into Fiction: How genealogy and local history enriched the narrative of What Sammy Knew

By David Laskin   After a long career successful in narrative nonfiction (The Children’s Blizzard, The Long Way Home, The Family), I decided a few years ago to jump the fence to fiction. My first novel, What Sammy Knew, is the story of a high school senior named Sammy Stein who, in the first months

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PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

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