Library Links

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

25.4.15

10 libraries to visit with Google Street View

Helping you feel the magic of the library
Scroll down the page to view tours.

"We've picked 10 libraries for your convenience. Start the tours in the embedded windows shown below. Click in the upper right corner to switch to full screen view. Being inside a library with Google Street View is something totally different from seeing a picture. You can look around, move along the shelves, reach the section with your favorite category. And, yes, you can even read the book! Google Street View is an unexpectedly good companion in helping you feel the magic of the library. Any library."

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24.4.15

Children's literature - video presentation

Develop literary consciousness in students
"Children's literature - Dr Alyson Simpson (University of Sydney) - To develop literary consciousness as well as good spelling, fluency and comprehension, Simpson believes that strategies like modelled, shared and silent reading allow time to for students to engage with books for pleasure as well as learning. She sees that teaching reading is important through all grades and that, to achieve all literacy goals, teachers need to actively lead children to read a wide range of texts and respond in different ways. (19 mins)"

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Authentic First Peoples Resources For Use in K-7 Classrooms

An educationally useful list of authentic texts
A reminder that this resource is available as a download from FNESC.

"This guide (updated 2012) has been created to help the BC elementary school teacher make decisions about which of these resources might be appropriate for use with [his/her] students."

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23.4.15

"Scales on Censorship" - blogging about selection, etc.

Reading Freedon, Censorship and Labeling
Pat Scales is the former chair of the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee. She blogs about censorship and selection issues for School Library Journal. Her advice is sure to provoke some thinking on these issues. Check back for a new post every couple of months.

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Interview with an Elem TL

100scopesnotes Blogger shares
Travis Jonker is interviewed about his work as an Elementary School Librarian.

"Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee."

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Eat your favourite book

Edible book contest


Joe Hardenbrook walks readers through the steps he uses to run an Edible Book Festival.

For additional ideas, take a look at the LibraryThing contestant page:

"Our FOURTH Annual Edible Books Contest featured some truly impressive and delicious treats. Contestants submitted dishes inspired by works spanning decades and genres, sometimes even in one submission!"

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Finding a good book blend

Mix your genres and find a new title!
Blender mixes up genres in adult titles to help readers discover new combinations. (Not all results will be appropriate for Gr 8-12, so this may be more for the TL than the student!)

"The Blender is a tool meant to help readers find books that include more than one genre. Using the Blender is easy -- simply pick two or three genres you are interested in and click the "BLEND" button. [...] The database, currently numbering over 500 titles, is not meant to be a definitive list of every blended genre title. [...]  Instead, it gives readers a starting point in exploring the blend. Some are personal favorites, some are popular titles."

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22.4.15

The inconvenient Indian : a curious account of native people in North America

Looking for a Study Group title?
Do you want to learn more about First Nations issues?  DRC has 7 copies of "The inconvenient Indian : a curious account of native people in North America" by Thomas King. This title is a required read for teacher candidates in the PDP program at SFU and a recommended title for UBC students.

The book comes with a reader's guide and print interview with the author to deepen your discussion. Borrow a single copy to read on your own, or borrow them all to discuss with colleagues. It has received rave reviews!

Discussion guide:
Interview with the author:

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First Nations Pedagogy Online - Storytelling

Resources to teach about storytelling

"This site is the culmination of a project funded by BC Campus that allowed two education experts, Sylvia Currie and June Kaminski (Anishinaabe), representing Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and Kwantlen Polytechnic University to create an online resource that builds on research, consultation, and community-based activities. This site provides best practices and support for online learning initiatives that are intended for aboriginal students, elders, educators, curriculum developers, and educational leaders.

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"Music in a Lifetime" inquiry project

Collaboration between the music teacher & the teacher-librarian
"The Wellington Winds has a story to share with you; a story that might help you answer these big questions. We invite you to use the ideas and resources on this website to connect your musical life at school with the world of possibilities that music opens up to you in life."

There is a write-up about this program by Anita Brooks Kirkland:

"The resource uses an inquiry approach that puts students' questions at the centre of learning. Students exploring the website are invited to develop questions, explore the resources, and formulate their own ideas. Teachers may use the curriculum connections we suggest to guide student inquiry."


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Free Gaming Platform to Teach Digital Citizenship

Play to learn digital literacy and citizenship skills
"Common Sense Education has released Digital Compass, a free, interactive gaming platform created to help sixth- through ninth-graders learn digital literacy and citizenship skills.[...] Digital Compass addresses cyberbullying, privacy and security, creative credit and copyright, information literacy, Internet safety, digital footprint and reputation, self-image and identity, relationships and communication in an animated choose-your-own-adventure game."

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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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