Library Links

"Content that might be of interest to Teacher-Librarians..."

22.4.15

Thinking ahead to Summer Reading

Tackling the "Summer Slide"
See the link above for a great LM-Net post about how one TL addresses the problem of "summer slide" (ie. kids not doing ANY reading over the summer break and losing ground in their ability level.)

The post refers to the "Which Reading Superhero Are You" reader preference assessment tool on www.abookandahug.com - and walks TLs through a lesson plan to get kids planning how they will find good books over the summer. (Read the post and check out the website too!)

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21.4.15

Highlights Kids Magazine

Highlights Kids on EBSCO and website
(You'll need your school ID and PW)


Select from a wide choice of children's stories to read with your Elementary class.  The "Arizona Zone" features Dear-Abby-style letters with advice and suggestions, available in text (and audio via magazine website.) Search for topics via the EBSCO site - articles are available in PDF format, and the lexile level is indicated too.

Magazine website:
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20.4.15

"Count on the Learning Commons" - Ontario ASCD newsletter

The Learning Commons is built for "reaching every student"
Anita Brooks Kirkland and Carol Koechlin write about the importance of SLLCs in fostering inquiry and collaborative learning (p.5-7):

"As our world continues to spin out new ways of working, playing and learning together one thing you can count on is the Learning Commons. Why? The very nature of the Learning Commons approach is responsiveness to changing needs. .... The 'learning' is fostered by instructional design of collaborative problem solving, projects, experimentation and inquiry leading to new ways of thinking and knowing, creativity and innovation." (... follow the link to read the complete article.)

The article is followed by an excellent bibliography.
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The spiritual rituals of five five-year-old children

A brief, wordless reflection on faith and prayer
"Around the world, familiar routines shape our days and weeks: waking, washing, dressing, eating and, for many people, praying. Whether Islam's Friday prayer, Judaism's Saturday Shabbat service, Christianity's Sunday worship, Hinduism's daily puja, or Buddhism's mantras, religious rituals are marked by distinct practices and beliefs, but do they share something more fundamental? And when you're too young to fully grasp the tenets of your religion, what significance do they hold? Observing the spiritual rituals of five children aged five around the world, Five is a brief, wordless reflection on faith, prayer and the rites that can bind us."

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The librarian bonus

Get the most bang from your staffing dollars
Image source (by Jennifer LaGuarde aka Library Girl)

On his Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson always has a way with words!

"If you hire a professionally trained librarian and give them tech integration responsibilities, you get an experienced teacher who is knowledgeable about technology and how it can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom, can do a little trouble-shooting, and can offer professional development experiences on the use of technology. And you get..." (much much more -> read the article for the complete list of competencies!)

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16.4.15

Anita Brooks Kirkland talks about Library Learning Commons

The SLLC model -> a powerful enabler
Anita Brooks Kirkland, K-12 consultant and past president of OLA, speaking about SLLC (school library learning commons.) Read the entire interview by following the link.

"[...] I'm spending quite a bit of time these days working with teacher-librarians, teachers and principals on our new national standards document, published by the Canadian Library Association. Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada describes the place of the school library learning commons. "A learning commons is a whole school approach to building a participatory learning community. The library learning commons is the physical and virtual collaborative learning hub of the school. It is designed to engineer and drive future-oriented learning and teaching throughout the entire school.".[...]"

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15.4.15

BrainStuff: Videos to grow your mind

Short videos on a range of science topics. (Not all are appropriate for school, but there are some good conversation starters and brain food!)

*Some advertising on the site.
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Book Clubs and Lit Circles

Materials to support Book Club discussions.
  • A BookClub outline from ReadWriteThink: LINK
  • Lit Circle ideas from B. Coley: LINK
  • Some French materials to explore: LINK (occasional typos on .docs to fix up, preview before using)
  • If you prefer not to assign fixed roles, use the following sheets to record students' thinking so they remember what they want to share with their group (download links): FR docx, FR PDF, Eng docx, Eng PDF.
G-docs Quick view: FR, ENG

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14.4.15

On teens, their phones & shifting communications landscapes

How teens manage their lives online
"This week Pew Research Center released Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015, a report that should have relevance to all of us who work with young people.  Unlike Pew's previous surveys, which involved representative samples of teens interview by phone, this one was conducted online. These data are useful for us in deciding how we reach the young people we love and in understanding how they themselves manage their lives online."

Read Joyce Valenza's complete post for a good summary of this document.
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Fun National Poetry Month Apps and Resources for Teens

Poetry is all around us!
"April is in full swing, which means National Poetry Month is upon us. Teachers are already planning units and themed studies surrounding verse. We librarians are the ones that they come to for new ideas. "Do you have any suggestions?" they ask. This is when you smugly smile and say, "As a matter of fact, I do!"...."

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YouTube for the Tween Crowd

Educational content for Middle School
"Several years ago, the school district where I work finally unblocked YouTube, and a whole world of opportunity was opened. There is so much educational content available on YouTube, and much of it is useful to the tween crowd. I'd like to start by highlighting several channels that have incredibly useful educational content (with the caveat that, like all useful content, you need to view it through the lens of your community.)"

Read the article to explore some great links.
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13.4.15

Audio Books & eBook Downloads

Listen to some classic titles, read aloud.
"Loyal Books" has inventoried public domain audio books available for online listening and/or downloading. Many titles can also be downloaded in epub and mobi formats. Materials drawn from Librivox, Gutenburg and other sources. (some ads appear on the site.)

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Printable Comic Strip Templates

A great selection of storyboards
"On this page you'll find free printable comic strip templates in various panel layouts. The files are provided by donnayoung.org, home to thousands of high quality free printables. (Typically the cartoonist will draw his own panels as needed, but for the budding cartoonist, some pre-drawn cartoon templates might be just the thing s/he needs to get started.)"

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Cool Text: Titles and signage made easy

Need a genre sign or promo text?
"Cool Text is a FREE graphics generator for web pages and anywhere else you need an impressive logo without a lot of design work.  Simply choose what kind of image you would like. Then fill out a form and you'll have your own custom image created on the fly."

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Create and Share Custom Reading Lists in NoveList

Share your lists
Are you using NoveList to create a title list to share with a teacher or other TL? It's easy to use NoveList folders to create custom book lists to share with anyone. View this Youtube tutorial for a quick overview.

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New Ways to Find "LibraryReads" in NoveList

The monthly top ten books that librarians love

These are primarily adult titles, but there is the occasional YA title. Good for your personal reading lists!
"[...] LibraryReads is a feature that highlights the "top ten books published this month that librarians across the country love". Back when LibraryReads first started, the NoveList team decided to make these monthly lists a priority, and provide read-alikes for every LibraryReads book suggested. [....]  It is now easier to find LibraryReads books in NoveList. Each book (going back to the first one in 2013) has been tagged as a "LibraryReads Favorite."

You'll find NoveList under the Visual Tab in your Destiny catalog.
Here is a link to all the 2015 Favourites so far: LINK
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L'écriture de la M à la 3e année

Guide d'enseignement efficace de l'écriture:
"Le Guide d'enseignement efficace de l'écriture, de la maternelle à la 3e année, 2005, propose des situations, des stratégies et des ressources pratiques qui permettront aux enseignants de la maternelle à la 3e année d'offrir un programme d'écriture équilibré et efficace."

Writing strategies and practical resources for K-3 teachers.

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Star Wars - Epic Yarns - Felt books

Needle felted versions of the 3 original Star Wars movies
"We've taken our felting talents to a galaxy far, far away! On April 14, 2015, Chronicle Books, in conjunction with Disney/Lucasfilm, will be releasing three volumes in a new series called Star War Epic Yarns, featuring 12-word, needle felted versions of each of the three original Star Wars movies. Take advantage of Chronicle Books' pre-order offer here."

Scroll down the page to see a "making of" video. In a bit of local colour, some of the scenes featured in the books where taken in Vancouver BC.

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10.4.15

25 Adult Books For Fans Of YA

Check out these titles
If you love YA, then these adult titles might just appeal to your reader sensibilities. While some of the themes might not work for every high school setting, there are some gems here.

Row 1:
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
 
Row 2:
6. Feed by Mira Grant
7. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
8. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
9. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
10. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
 
Row 3:
12. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
13. Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
14. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
15. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
 
Row 4:
16. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
17. The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
18. The Stand by Stephen King
20. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
 
Row 5:
21. Golden Boy by Abigale Tarttelin
22. Dare Me by Megan Abbott
23. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
24. Goliath by Tom Gauld
25. Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

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Battleship Template

"You sunk my battleship!"
Use the A-J, 1-10 coordinates to practice math, French vocab or chemical equations. Students play Battleship and rehearse concepts learned in class.

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