El Paso, Texas Keynote Speaker - Bee Happy
Archive: this announcement describes a visit planned for February 28, 2023. Links, products, and distribution references are historical; check current availability.
Bee Happy: Original El Paso School-Visit Announcement
The original announcement introduced behind-the-scenes material about Unicorn Jazz books, songs, characters, puppets, singers, and more:
The original announcement identified this behind-the-scenes video as being from Adkison Elementary School:
The original article included an acknowledgement of Teacher Pam Quevedo.
Use the El Paso setting as a starting point for a geography discussion: locate Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico on a map, then compare landscapes, communities, and regional food traditions.
Lisa's Author Journey Since the Pandemic
For a local-history activity, students can choose an El Paso landmark or community story to research, compare sources, and share what they learn. Population figures and historical details should be checked against dated sources before use in class. Eye See You Choosing Kindness: Story and SongUnicorn Jazz & Col. Ben Narbuth Elementary School Author Visit
The original announcement planned an in-person presentation by Unicorn Jazz author Lisa Caprelli for February 28, 2023, at Col. Ben Narbuth Elementary School, as part of the World Read Across America Tour. The original announcement connected the school visit with academic, artistic, athletic, and interpersonal learning. These themes can prompt classroom discussions about finding a voice, trying creative activities, and supporting classmates. The planned presentation focused on finding a voice, a theme in the Unicorn Jazz stories, and sharing ideas from the children’s picture book series. Original Announcement: Col. Ben Narbuth Elementary
The original plan for the in-person visit included a short video from "Unicorn Jazz Presents The Thing I Do (show trailer)" children’s show, described in the original announcement as appearing on Amazon TV & KidsBeeTV. The original program plan and linked resources included:
- Advance book-order forms for Ben Narbuth Elementary were part of the announced plan.
- Reading, writing, and behind-the-scenes material from the Unicorn Jazz book series
- For reading and discussion, the original announcement linked to the Unicorn Jazz book one- storytime and the Unicorn Jazz Friendship song to get familiar with the characters and stories themes of friendship, belonging, kindness, social-emotional learning.
- The original announcement also linked to learning resources for Unicorn Jazz
- View resources for THE THING I DO book
- Music-video resources were linked at UnicornJazz.com/songs
- A classroom question-and-answer session was part of the announced plan.
- The original announcement described an educator’s guide with coloring pages and activities, linked here.
- SEL learning packet
- The original announcement also mentioned Unicorn Jazz & Zebracorn puppets on Etsy.
Map Activity: El Paso, Texas, and Huntington Beach, California
Find El Paso and Huntington Beach on a map. Compare straight-line distance with a chosen road route, and discuss why travel time depends on the route and conditions.
El Paso Research and Discussion Prompts
- Explore how weather sources measure sunny days and sunshine hours. A day described as sunny does not mean 24 hours of sunlight.
- Choose a local historic building to research. Look for dated information about its architecture, materials, and preservation.
- Compare time zones on a current map and discuss how daylight-saving rules can affect the time shown for different places.
- The original announcement described El Paso as Lisa Caprelli’s hometown.
Thank you for your support of literacy and the joy of books and learning!
Col. Ben Narbuth Elementary School Video & Learning Resources
- Where Do Good Ideas Come From: a video referenced in the original classroom plan.
- Behind the Scenes Journey of an author during the pandemic: click here
- Skip a Step digital journal for students, view journal
- More for students interested in leadership: click here
- The Thing I Do Song Created by Students and Adults - watch
- Dance and Sing With Me Music Video by children actors/singers -watch