English Language Learners + Graphic Novels Beginner’s Mind Recently I had a powerful if uncomfortable experience. I spent a month in Italy taking Italian language lessons. Learning a New Language These English language learners are an integral part of our library program. Stephen Krashen and the Input Hypothesis Once again, our library and literacy champion, Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus, University of Southern California, has supplied the research to support what I observe in these students. Graphic Novel Collections When I became a middle school librarian fourteen years ago, our graphic novel section was limited to a few Simpsons comics and Calvin and Hobbes. Notes Henkin, V. and Krashen, S. 2015. Author: Sara Stevenson I’m a reader, writer, swimmer, and a public middle school librarian. Categories: Blog Topics, Collection Development, Community/Teacher Collaboration, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models
"The Good Stuff": Why Arguments about YA Matter Years ago, after weeks of urging teachers to come to me for student book recommendations, an English teacher dropped by to take me up on my offer. I asked her what kinds of books she wanted for her 8th graders. “Good books,” she replied promptly. And then, looking over her shoulder as if checking for the library police, “None of that Young Adult literature…just, you know, the good stuff.” At a conference a few years later, a high school librarian lowered her voice and leaned towards me. Despite the increasing popularity and improving reputation of Young Adult (YA) literature, there are still teachers and librarians who aren’t big fans. In the past, I have stopped myself from evangelizing about YA. However, I eventually began to wonder what else might be going on when people say that they love or hate YA. Pop Culture Battles over YA Literature Arguments over YA’s merits are not limited to professionals. Whatever we think about YA, it is clear that it matters. The Power of YA Literature
How to Reach the Dormant Readers Can Books Compete with VR? Dormant vs. Reluctant Readers As with most things Donalyn Miller (a.k.a. The Book Whisperer) writes, I wish I had thought of it. The “Haters” How did they become that way? Remember: it’s their space! The Reader’s Advisory from Hell It goes something like this, and yes, I’ll use Johnny because it’s more often Johnny than Susie. Me: “Johnny, what are you reading now?” Johnny: “Nothing. Me: “What are you interested in?” Johnny: “Nothing.” Me: “Do you like sports? Johnny: “No.” Me: “What about funny books? Me: “Well, what are you interested in?” Me: “Oh, so what do you do in your free time?” Johnny: “I don’t know. Me: “What about graphic novels? You can see where this is going, right? Love those graphic novels! Solutions? 1) Variety in library collections. 2) Full-frontal book displays. Full-frontal displays 3) Be trendy. Meeting Kwame Alexander with fellow English teachers 4) Don’t go it alone. To get this buy-in is a constant effort. Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire
Why this superintendent is banning homework — and asking kids to read instead By Valerie Strauss By Valerie Strauss Answer Sheet Analysis Analysis Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events July 17 at 11:09 AM (iStock) Elementary school students in one Florida school district are going to find a welcome new — but controversial — policy when they return to school for the 2017-2018 school year next month: no traditional homework. They are being asked to do one thing to help them academically: Read for 20 minutes a night. Heidi Maier, the new superintendent of the 42,000-student Marion County public school district in Florida, said in an interview that she made the decision based on solid research about what works best in improving academic achievement in students. (That may seem like something of a no-brainer, but in the world of education, policymakers are notorious for making a great deal of policy without knowing and/or caring about what the best research shows.) local answer-sheet true
South Asian Narratives to Help Children Embrace their Cultural Backgrounds and Identities - ALSC Blog We sit down, look around, and know it. We know we’re the only women of color in the room. We know we are the only Pakistani women of color majoring in Special Education within our program. After three years within our undergraduate program, we noticed the lack of South Asian literature within the classroom libraries we were observing during our clinical experiences. We have defined South Asia to include the countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Children’s Literature ranging from Pre-K through 8th grade. Book List Budhos, Marina Watched (grades 6+) This novel is about Naeem, a Muslim teenager who is from an immigrant Bangladeshi family and living in Queens, New York. Budhos, Marina Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom & Science (grades 8+) This informational text is about the history of sugar, trailing from India to Europe to the Americas. Husain, Shahrukh The Wise Fools (fables/folktales of Islam, gr. 1-5)
“They Kind of Rely on the Library”: School Librarians Serving LGBT Students Shannon M. Oltmann, Assistant Professor, School of Information Science, University of Kentucky Oltmann, Shannon M. “They Kind of Rely on the Library”: School Librarians Serving LGBT Students. Journal of Research on Libraries & Young Adults 7 (2016): n. page. Web. Abstract This research examines school librarians’ perspectives on collecting LGBT materials. Introduction LGBT students are in nearly every high school in the United States. Previous literature has examined the occurrence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)[vi] resources in school libraries. The current study is a follow-up to Oltmann, which analyzed the holdings of high school libraries in two different states, one in the South and one in the Northeast. In addition, library and information science (LIS) research on LGBT resources has only touched lightly, if at all, on bullying of LGBT teens. Research Questions This research sought to address the following research questions: Literature Review Role of School Librarians
Welcoming Rainbow Families in the Classroom: Suggestions and Reco...: Ingenta Connect As Mother's Day approached, Kayden's (not his real name) first-grade classroom prepared for the celebration in the same way as many classrooms across the United States. The teacher instructed each child to create a card and handprint collage to bring home on the Friday before Mother's Day. As Kayden industriously worked to make the perfect card, his teacher circulated the room. She stopped by Kayden's desk and gently corrected him as he printed "Happy Mothers' Day" on his card. "Kayden, sweetheart, the apostrophe goes after the 'r' and before the 's.' No Reference information available - sign in for access. No Citation information available - sign in for access. No Supplementary Data. No Data/Media No Metrics
Article Finding Clipart and Photos for Print and Multimedia Projects This month, I am going to share something that my students frequently ask me for. I create a lot of multimedia projects and handouts. My students always want to know where I get the pictures and clipart that I use for educational projects. Quite frankly, finding free images for projects can be time consuming. Sometimes changing the settings on Bing and Google to find appropriate images does not yield the results that I want. So, I am sharing a list of free websites. This is my disclaimer. References PIRO4D. (2017). November 2017 Professional Development Opportunities Title: Finally, A Guide to Parent Engagement That Works Every Time! Organization: EdWeb.netDate: November 1, 2017 @ 4:00 PM EDTDescription: We all know that parent engagement in their child’s education is key to successful growth, but consistently engaging parents is at the top of the list of teacher frustration. Title: Fostering Student Collaboration Through Coding Title: It’s SOCIAL Media, not a Commercial Message Like this:
The Four Basic Ebook Models for K-12 Libraries | N S R This is the second article in a three-part series on ebook business models in K-12 libraries. In the first article, we looked at what a business model is and at the four main kinds of ebook business models that K-12 librarians need to know about. In this article, we will look at each of the four basic models in more depth and glance at some examples of them. We will not attempt to compare product offerings in depth, but I will mention an example or two of each model. Because ebook technology is still in its early stages, the platforms and feature sets of each offering change rapidly, so any comparison is bound to be a snapshot at best. If there is enough interest in an up-to-date comparison, I may write a series of comparison articles after this series has been completed. As you read, keep in mind that ebooks are not simply digital versions of printed books. Let’s start with consortial purchasing. Ebooks as Printed Books: The One User/One Copy Model This model has many variations.
Getting Personal with Books How do we encourage teens to come back to reading for fun? For my high school library, getting personal with books has made all the difference. Part of the answer lies in knowing your specific patrons and collection and matching students to books that might draw them in. Another part of the answer lies in choosing programs and promotions that might engage your teen readers. Research from Common Sense Media shows that as students grow through adolescence they spend less time reading for fun. If you ask a teacher in any grade level or content area what one of the largest barriers they face is, they will invariably tell you it is time. Personal book shopping is a school-wide library program where I hand-pick 4 books for each participating student based on their answers to a few short questions. I then stack the books together, tie them with string, and attach a tag that has the student’s name on it. Work Cited Common Sense Media. 12 May 2014. Author: Elizabeth Pelayo Like this:
Celebrate Science: Behind the Books: The Nonfiction Family Tree If you’re a longtime reader of Celebrate Science, you may remember that back in 2012 and 2013, I spent a lot of time trying to develop a Nonfiction Family Tree. This effort to categorize and understand the various kinds of nonfiction and the interplay among them was heavily influenced by the ideas of such nonfiction thought leaders as Marc Aronson, Myra Zarnowski, Sue Bartle, and Mary Ann Cappiello. Eventually, I gave up on the family tree and started to think about other ways to classify nonfiction, but recently I decided to take a fresh look at the tree analogy, and I came up with something that I think is worth sharing: Traditional Nonfiction At one time, nonfiction books for children routinely included dry, stodgy expository writing—prose that explains, describes, or informs. Browse-able NonfictionThanks to Dorling Kindersley’s innovative Eyewitness Books series, the 1990s brought remarkable changes to traditional expository nonfiction. Narrative Nonfiction Active Nonfiction
Resources for Creating Book Trailers Creating Book Trailers A trailer for The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce. The trailer was created by Jarod Lambert and his son Charles (age 6). What are book trailers? Chance and Lesesne (2012) define a book trailer as "a visual representation of a book. Commercial conceptualizations of video book trailers are valid and have their place as they serve a valid and specific function: to sell specific books. Given the varying purposes assigned to book trailers, we will focus on the methodology of creating trailers. What about using book trailers instructionally? Talk of book trailers tends toward publisher, teacher, and librarian creation of trailers as a means of advertising books to various audiences. Sample Book Trailers From Carol Johnson at Buckalew Elementary Trailers saved as PDFs from PowerPoint files. From Third Grade Students at Coulson Tough Elementary (K-6) The Spider and The Fly by Tony DiTerlizzi Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendack References
From Refugees to Voting Rights, Books to Inspire a Just, Inclusive Society Information gathered by the Southern Poverty Law Center indicates that hate incidents and other forms of oppression have risen as a direct result of the 2016 campaign and election, as have anxiety and fear among students and teachers from marginalized groups. The Bank Street College of Education’s mission states, “we seek to strengthen not only individuals, but the community as well, including family, school, and the larger society in which adults and children, in all their diversity, interact and learn.” The Bank Street Credo, authored by our founder Lucy Sprague Mitchell nearly a century ago, talks about developing “flexibility when confronted with change and [the] ability to relinquish patterns that no longer fit the present” and “gentleness combined with justice in passing judgments on other human beings” in children and adults alike. Immigrants/Immigration I’m New Here by Anne Sibley O’Brien, illus. by author. Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale The Sun Is Also a Star Hidden