Library Links

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

5.3.15

Intelligent Machines: Robots in Film and Teen Fiction

Fantastic fiction for teens who love sci-fi
"Catch the eye of teens who love movie and TV robots with a lineup of book titles that run diagnostics on coming-of-age themes and personhood conundrums while also providing plenty of gear-turning, technology-pushing, cyborg-centered action."

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YALSA - top ten

Teens nominate and choose their favorite books
"The Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in 16 school and public libraries around the country.  Readers aged 12 to 18 vote between August 15 and Teen Read Week, and the winners are announced the following week.

Some other teen reading lists to peruse.
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4.3.15

The Man Who Turned Paper Into Pixels

"How computers really work."
"It was the change that no-one saw coming: the idea that we could take a book, a painting or a song and send it through cables and wires and even thin air to the other end of the world - and it would be identical on the other side. But this idea underpins everything about the Information Age we live in. This short video essay explores what that idea is and tells you about the man who figured it all out. Computers are everywhere and control almost every aspect of our lives. In the next 6 minutes you'll find out how they really work."

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2.3.15

Shadow Puppet + PicCollage = Idea share!

"From the idea files of Mr Hunt":
Chris Hunt, a TL in BC, uses his iPad to create short 2 minute video messages to share book or curriculum ideas with his staff. An eventual goal is to collate these links on his library website (Many are applicable to both the teacher and parent community.)

Here are some recent offerings:
He uses Pic Collage to layer a few photos of book covers, imports the image into the Shadow Puppet app and records his voice describing the books and how they might be used. The link to the finished "video" can be shared via email or posted on a webpage, etc. Short and sweet, easy to create, great for advocacy and marketing!

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26.2.15

In Defense of Read-Aloud by Steven Layne

Make the most of an essential literacy practice
Preview the entire book online! (registration is optional)
In Defense of Read-Aloud by Steven Layne challenges and inspires teachers of all grades and subjects to make the most of this essential literacy practice. Includes valuable tips on preparation, book selection, and how to read with expression to engage students.

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The Nonfiction Minute

Short pieces of nonfiction on a wide variety of topics
An interesting text, an audio file of that text being read aloud, a pic or two and an associated Youtube video - all on the same topic!

"You will find short pieces of nonfiction on a wide variety of topics, written by outstanding nonfiction writers for children. And the best news is—it's all free and waiting to be used by you and your students. So get to know really good nonfiction writing.

The archives cross-index the entries by topic and author. If you want to send students to the link for a particular day, click on the title of the "article" that interests you and then copy the url for that specific entry.  

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23.2.15

Tips to Create Positive Vibes in the ESL Classroom

An atmosphere that fosters comfort and confidence
"To reach the ultimate learning objective – communicating in English – students must engage with the language by using it, and they need an atmosphere that fosters comfort and confidence to facilitate this engagement. Here are a few tips:

1. Give students the opportunity to get to know you.
2. Give students the opportunity to get to know each other.
3. Ensure students are comfortable making mistakes.
4. Maintain a sense of confidence and honesty.

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How-To: Link Images to QR Codes

Eliminate extraneous text or ads
Monica Burns offers a useful tip on how to link directly to images using QR codes. This is great if you want to create a gallery walk, or present an anticipation guide, or provide conversation/story starters without all of the extraneous text or ads students often find on a website. Find a great image? Right click to view the image by iteslf and simply link a QR code to the image file directly. (Monica does a quick walk-through on her blog post of how to do this.) Students will then see just the image when they scan the code with their device.

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19.2.15

inklewriter - Interactive Stories made easy!

Bring interactive stories to the classroom
"inkle is looking to bring interactive stories to the classroom, and give teachers free and simple get-stuck-right-in software to use with their students. From within a web-browser, the inklewriter will let students make and play interactive stories with no programming required."

Here's an enthusiastic review: LINK
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Book Displays to Attract Reluctant Readers

Use stealthy display tactics!
Ellen Norton shares her solutions for reaching potential readers who, by their nature, are reluctant. (Click link above for full article.)

"Some of my most successful displays have been about things I never thought would attract readers. The children I see picking up these books are often ones who I don't know well, who haven't approached the reference desk to ask for suggestions, and who typically aren't excited about the prospect of picking out something to read.  Using stealthy display tactics allows us to (sneakily) help these children find their new favorite book...."

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A Catch-up Guide to Insurgent -> the movie is coming

Key words, people, and places to know!
Jennifer Stubben Hatch gives her take on the 2nd book in the series.

"Coming soon to theaters is Insurgent, the 2nd book in Veronica Roth's wildly popular Divergent series. If you don't remember plot points or (gasp) haven't read it, this catch-up guide will review the most important details and offer you ideas for lively discussions with your library patrons."

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Next BCTLA Webinar - Feb 25th

BCTLA 2015 Webinars - the last Wednesday in Feb, April, and May - 4-5pm.
next one up -> : Feb 25th -> Using EBSCO Magazines for Differentiation & French Language Instruction. ‪http://www.bctf.ca/bctla/info/pro-dev.html …

Sign up and join in.
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16.2.15

Le site "Peintre-analyse"

Un site très visuel
Ce site offre un bref résumé de la vie de plusieurs artistes célèbres et ainsi que des vidéos qui illustrent leur art ou mouvement. Le site affiche beaucoup de publicités, mais donne un bon aperçu de l'oeuvre des grands peintres. Utile pour le prof qui veut montrer une sélection de tableaux. (Visionnez avant de montrer aux étudiants. Toutes les images ne sont pas appropriées pour tous les niveaux.)


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Roll the dice

Quick dice roll webapp
This site offers an easy-to-use dice throwing interface for classroom use. (Pick one die or many.) Works great on iPads or iPhones. Use the dice for choosing groups, making a selection on a game card or as a way of randomizing conversation starters, etc. (Some more ideas here.)

For fun, look at these "image dice" sets you can print and make:

And here's an iOS app ("Make Dice") that uses either text or pics - hook up to your projector - have fun! ($3.49)

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Tips for Improving French Skills at Home

Français à la maison!
1. Watch your favourite movies—in French!
If you bought the DVD in Canada, there will likely be a French subtitles option.

2. Listen to French music.
iTunes has a French channel that features francophone artists of all kinds: pop, jazz, rock, or hip-hop!

3. Vocabulary Flash Cards.
Choose 10 new French words per week and create flashcards in Quizlet. Test yourself a couple of times each day. At the end of the month, review all of the words for the entire month. Quizlet sample.

4. Check out or download some French books!
Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Hunger Games, are all available in French! You'll be amazed at how much you can understand, especially if you've already read the English version! Your local library will have some titles or you can buy print or electronic versions online.

Adapted from "10 Tips for Improving French Skills at Home"

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FSL: French Phrases and Sayings that are used in English

"You may already be speaking French!"
Students may be surprised to learn that many everyday "English" words are actually French. "Café, filet mignon, cul-de-sac, genre, etc." can often be heard outside the French classroom. Sharing some of these with your FSL students might let them see how much "la belle langue" has influenced English!

Also: here's a great poster to download and print, or share on your class webpage:



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13.2.15

Freedom to Read Week

Reaffirm your commitment to intellectual freedom
February 22-28, 2015
->How to celebrate, kits to order, posters to print, ideas for educators and more...

"Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

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Nautilus Magazine -  “science, connected."

Sciences, culture and philosophy in one place
A thought-provoking, beautifully presented web-magazine: long-form articles that are a delight to read!

"Each month we choose a single topic. And each Thursday we publish a new chapter on that topic online. Each issue combines the sciences, culture and philosophy into a single story told by the world's leading thinkers and writers. We follow the story wherever it leads us. Read our essays, investigative reports, and blogs. Fiction, too. Take in our games, videos, and graphic stories. Stop in for a minute, or an hour. Nautilus lets science spill over its usual borders. We are science, connected."

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Quotes From Children's Books to make us think

Life lessons from children's literature
Some of these quotes might make an inspirational display for your library.

"It's interesting how some of life's greatest lessons can be found in children's literature. And chances are that we did not realize this back when we were kids. Sometimes it's only when we're older that we learn to fully appreciate and understand the poignant words from our childhood entertainment."

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Old books reborn as art - TED.com

Beautiful, unexpected sculptures made from books

TEDYouth 2014 · 6:06 · Filmed Nov 2014

"What do you do with an outdated encyclopedia in the information age? With X-Acto knives and an eye for a good remix, artist Brian Dettmer makes beautiful, unexpected sculptures that breathe new life into old books."

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