All Reviewed Books Search Our Site Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter.Sign Up! Advertisements: In Times Past an eBook by Carol Hurst and Rebecca Otis Integrating US History with Literature in Grades 3-8. Enliven your US History curriculum! Teach US History using great kids books. More Info By Carol Otis Hurst!! Rocks in His Head. Pick up your copy of Carol's Award Winning Picture Book! More Information. You can help fund this site at no cost to you! School Library Journal | The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens Take the Plunge: STREAM By SLJ on October 8, 2017 Leave a Comment Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, 3PM-4PM ET / 12PM-1PM PT Add an “R,” Reading, to STEAM and ramp up student learning. In this free session, you’ll glean insight from STREAM practitioners and tips on integrating science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, and math.Register Now! Meet Education Hurdles Head On: Tips and Tools for Success! By SLJ on October 6, 2017 Leave a Comment Helping teachers access a wide range of quality content for classroom assignments and lesson plans can be overwhelming. Bringing Coding to the Library Makerspace By SLJ on October 4, 2017 Leave a Comment In this timely webinar, you’ll learn about best practices for introducing coding to your library makerspace and how you can support coding initiatives in your school or district.
To Read or Not to Read! Creating a Book Talk What is a Book Talk? A book talk is like a short T.V. commercial, advertising a book. The goal is to get the reader interested so they want to read your book! How to Give a Book Talk • Look at the audience • Speak loudly so all can hear. • Talk about the characters, the problem in the story, or some interesting information. • Read a small part of the book to interest the readers To Prepare: • Choose a book that you think others would like! • Read the book so that you are comfortable sharing what you know about it. • Practice! Here’s a list of activities that allow a student to show understanding of a book and that might be enjoyable. Activities to use for Book Talk Project: 1. 2. 3. Activities to use for Book Talk Project:
Getting started with Destiny Library Manager Getting started with Destiny Library Manager Destiny brings all your library automation together on one server: circulation, cataloging, searching, and reporting. It is completely browser-based — providing access to your library from virtually anywhere. This document guides you through accessing Destiny and performing the initial setup tasks. It includes the following sections: Opening Destiny Bookmarking Destiny Logging in to Destiny Changing your password About browser settings and navigation Building your database If you are converting from Circulation Plus/Catalog Plus If you are importing your patron and title records Setting up your site Setting up your calendar Setting up your loan policies If you converted from Circulation Plus-Catalog Plus If you imported your records Destiny’s default loan policies Understanding access levels What’s next? If you need installation instructions, see "Installing Destiny" in the documentation provided with your Destiny installation CD. Bookmarking Destiny . Click
Teach Code in 2015 Use your role as a teacher to expose the youngest students to America's hottest career path. Watch the short video to learn why. Resolve to teach just a little code before the last day of school because: 1. You don't even need a computer! Code.org uses "unplugged" tutorials that teach the basics of computer science without a digital device. 2. Code.org offers fun workshops, with resource giveaways, for teachers of students from kindergarten through fifth grade. 3. Code.org visitors can make Elsa and Anna of Arendelle create intricate snowflakes with a little math and blockly (beginner code), help an Angry Bird get the pig, or code their ownFlappy Birdgame to play on a smartphone or any digital device. Want more easy coding activities? 4. Use your influence for just one hour (try a math or science period) between now and the end of the school year to make even the youngest kids creators of technology, rather than just consumers!
Manifesto for 21st Century Teacher Librarians | Teacher Librarian Editor’s Note: This article was originally published as a Tag Team Tech column on www.voyamagazine.com. It has been reprinted and reproduced numerous times and in many places. We are making it available here to ensure that all of our readers have seen it. Manifesto for 21st Century Teacher Librarians By Joyce Kasman Valenza October 2010 A couple of summers back a young school librarian, fresh out of library school, asked a very honest question at one of our state retreats: We’re all doing different stuff. Well into the 21st century, it is clear that the concept of modern teacher librarian practice is not clear. What I know for sure is that if the Joyce who graduated from library school in 1976 (and again with a school specialty in 1988), heck, if the Joyce from the 2007/2008 school year, were to visit my library today, she would be stunned by the differences in my/our practice. And in my humble opinion some aspects of emerging practice are nonnegotiable. Reading Information Landscape 1. 2. 1.
What Is Creative Commons, And Should You Use It? Did you know that most images, music, and other media on the internet are not free to reuse for your own purposes? In most cases, unless you have permission to use these kinds of content, doing so is illegal. This is where the Creative Commons license comes in. The system allows creators to share their work online freely with others, imposing only minimal restrictions on its use. Let's take a look at what Creative Commons is, how to interpret a Creative Commons license, and what "non-commercial use" means. What Is Creative Commons? Creative Commons is the name of an American non-profit company that releases copyright licenses to the public at no cost. The reason that Creative Commons (CC) licenses exist is to provide creators with an easy way to define how other people can use their content. The Creative Commons organization provides a variety of easy-to-understand licenses that content creators can freely use. Creative Commons vs. Not all content is CC-licensed. Next is Share-alike (SA).
Free To Use and Share: Resources To Help Teach Kids (and Adults!) About Copyright and Creative Commons I've gotten a few requests lately for resources on how to teach kids (and adults!) about copyright. I've written before about how I don't think any lesson on copyright can be effective without an emphasis on creative commons and helping students choose licenses for their own work. Still, there are plenty of good resources out there to help start these conversations or that can serve as reminders as you help create a culture of creativity and attribution at your school. To that end, I've also written before about how much love Edcanvas - a tool which recently changed its name to Blendspace. Enjoy! Direct link to this blendspace.