READ poster idea

Create "READ" posters of your staff and students

Snap a picture of a staff member reading in their natural environment. Import the pic into BigHugeLabs and use the motivational poster template. (I chose portrait mode).

http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php

You can change the message, the subtitle and the colours to match the photo you've chosen. Your finished product can be printed "letter size" on a colour printer, or used on a webpage. (If you want to pay for it, BigHugeLabs will even print a real poster for you and mail it.)

You can make this even more fun by using the SmartBoard software (Notebook). Import a staff picture, use the "Set image transparency" feature to remove a single colour background and then superimpose it on a second image. (ie an amazing background - cliff edge, Everest, Pamplona, etc.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2p3MqXaMlI 

The final combination result can be captured as a screen shot and uploaded to BigHugeLabs and used with the poster template.

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WebPath Express - now search by Lexile

Want to make your Webpage searches more useful?

Destiny's WebPath Express searches a database of webpages carefully selected by Follett. These results are ranked by age/grade-level and tagged with topic terms, type of resource (ie. biography) and come with a short description of the site. You also have the option of restricting by domain, language, format and source. What's new is that you can now sort your search results by Lexile.

Access the eLibrary from the Destiny page, and choose "WebPath Express" from the left-side tabs:

Run a search on your subject of interest, and then in the results, select the Lexile range you want, and click the "Get Results" button. This should help you find more usable websites.

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Dictionary of Canadian Biography - added to HS Visual Tab

"A biographical reference work for Canada"

http://www.biographi.ca/en/

"There are now almost 8,500 biographies on this website, comprising the complete contents of volumes I to XV, which describe the lives of those whose deaths or whose last-known activities occurred in the years 1000 to 1930. Also included are entries on voyagers whose verifiable dates precede 1000 – Saint Brendan (Bréanainn), Eirikr Thorvaldsson (Eric the Red), and Herjólfsson Bjarni – and more than 70 biographies of individuals who died after 1930.

Secondary schools will notice the addition of the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online" to Destiny's Visual Tab. (Also viewable in French) The complete work will span 1000AD to 2000. Content from Volume 16 is currently being added and the remaining volumes (up to 22) will be added over time.

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Mathematics and Science in SD38 - Janice N's blog

Want some great Math and Science ideas?

http://blogs.sd38.bc.ca/sd38mathandscience/

Janice shares some of the work she has been doing in Math and Science. Many of her ideas incorporate iPad apps as a way of representing learning and documenting findings. (Some of her video content is still on her original blog: http://sd38mathandscience.blogspot.ca )

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Grade 7 shelf anyone?

What are your Grade 7s reading?

Some TLs are building a shelf to entice Grade 7 readers and give students something to look forward to in their last year of Elementary school. What defines a Grade Seven Shelf? "Edgy but not too edgy! Socially relevant! Controversial (maybe just a bit), lots of drama, challenging themes ....etc. etc." What are your criteria? Share the titles you label Grade Seven Only and help your colleagues generate a must-have list.

Some possible cadidates:

• http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/grade-7
• http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/grade-7-shelf
• http://www.shelfari.com/groups/84781/lists/read
• http://www.shelfari.com/groups/96404/lists/read
• https://www.librarything.com/tag/grade+7
  

See also: MiddleShelf Digital Magazine

Middle Shelf is a digital review magazine about books for middle grade readers and features author interviews, reviews, excerpts, and more

http://www.shelfmediagroup.com/pages/introducing-middle-shelf.html

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Creating a Culture of Reading!

We're All In This Together

http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/were-all-in-this-together-by-emily-meixner/

How do we create a culture of reading? Emily Meixner offers some important steps we can take:

".... The truth of the matter is, we can't really establish a culture of reading in schools unless everyone is on board, unless everyone is, at some point or another, visibly a reader.  From the administrative offices to the library to classrooms to the lunch room to the locker room, we have to become one big team with one very explicit mission: to prove to students that when it comes to reading, we're all in this together.  We're totally and fully and happily in cahoots with each other...."

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