School Library Monthly

Championing the Possibilities

In this volume year of SLM, we will continue to gather ideas that focus on instructional solutions - ways that school librarians can help classroom teachers identify learning and teaching methods that are meaningful and joyful.

The End of an Era . . . Falling Off a Cliff

School librarians can be instrumental in the kind of "new learning" that is championed by organizations such as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Conference Board, Corporate for Working Families, and the Society of Human Resource Management: * Critical thinking/Problem solving * Information Technology Application * Teamwork/Collaboration * Creativity/Innovation * Diversity The American Association of School Librarians published its own standards in 2007 mirroring such skills and capaci...

Deep Learning Through Concept-Based Inquiry

Because concepts are broad, they have potential for transfer across settings; if students study the Pilgrims of the 1600s, they learn about them as a concrete and specific topic; if they study immigration, they learn about an abstract idea that has endurance across a variety of specific examples. * Universal in application. Because concepts are universal, students construct understandings that apply in other settings, and provide ways of seeing their world that will apply not only in school ...

Awakening and Building Upon Prior Knowledge

A text or multimedia excerpt, picture book, artifact or physical object, or inventory walk of materials (Klentschy 2007) all provide basic information that can help learners create mental roots. Liz Deskins, J. W. Reason Elementary, Hilliard, OH Customizing Options to Fit the Need For K-3 students, I'll use interactive Web sites, images, maps and video on the Smart Board, audio recordings, or physical artifacts to trigger connections to past curriculum.

Awakening and Building Prior Knowledge with Primary Sources: See, Think, Wonder

Student Assessment/ Reflection: Because the purpose of this lesson is to build student enthusiasm and excitement about the project to come, and for the teachers to gain some understanding of students' current knowledge and curiosity in order to make the forthcoming inquiry work more resonant, there is no formal assessment.

Learning About Abraham Lincoln Using Fiction and Nonfiction Materials

Connecting to AASL's Standards for the 21st-century Learner. * Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning (1.1.2). * Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions (1.1.4). * Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning (1.1.6). * Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth (4.1.1). * Respond to literature and creative expressions of idea...

Leaving Dewey Behind: Nonfiction Reorganization

For me, it came down to what was best for the students at our school. Since most of our students browse for their books, it made sense to organize the library to fit their search style. Since our yearly nonfiction book order is not substantial, we could reprocess all our new purchases in house by changing their coding in the catalog and printing new spine labels. Since this is a learning process, we know we may run into other problems in the future, but we are ready to tackle them as they ...

Let's Take a Weather Trip

Connecting to AASL's Standards for the 21st-century Learner. * Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge (1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.6). * Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge (2.1.1,2.1.3). * Pursue personal and aesthetic growth (4.1.3). The school librarian and classroom teacher check for understanding by having the students trade their weather card with another student and whispering the name of the card to that student.

Tweacher (N): The Twitter Enhanced Teacher

[...] they can create an excellent study guide, complete with pictures and hyperlinks to helpful Web sites. [...] the practice of using Twitter in a controlled, learning context is a great way to begin teaching students about using social networking sites and Web 2.0 tools responsibly.

Against the Odds

Different forms of poetry, substantive paragraphs of fascinating facts, and striking linocuts hand-colored with watercolors describe how 14 species, beginning with bacteria (3.8 billion years old) and concluding with how human beings (a mere 100,000 years old), managed to survive the ages and why they still thrive. The first in a six-book series, Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School, sets the stage for a mystery sparked by a dying custodian at Ben's school who slips him a 1783 coin...

Children and Subcultures: Stepping Into New Worlds

Group members may be bonded by race, religion, culture, language, lifestyle, occupation, interest or hobby, economic struggle, or political concerns. [...] they are of different races and genders, growing up in different decades. Both groups teach survival skills, provide a strong sense of identity, use distinctive words and expressions, have inspiring stories to tell, and celebrate memorable and extraordinary heroes.

Primary Sources in Your Back Pocket

[...] I have jumped at every invitation to help others understand the power of teaching with primary sources. [...] when you click on "Share" from the Teaching History Web site, you will see a list of 287 linked options!

Critical Friends Groups: Learning Experiences for Teachers

Challenges such as outdated learning materials and teaching practices, inadequate teacher training, too little value placed on out-of-school learning, disputes about reform, or lack of significant structural changes in education become blockades to change. School librarians have many topics at the forefront of professional concern - continuing challenges to intellectual freedom, support of literacy development and unique reading contexts across the grades, effective and meaningful integratio...

Information Specialist and Leader-Taking On Collection and Curriculum Mapping

In this way, the school librarian learns what units are being taught as teachers share tidbits of the events happening in their classrooms and as they plan units with the school librarian. Since day one of the school librarian's tenure at the school, he/she understands that in order to work with the teachers, a sense of trust must be established.

Resource Roundup for Your Personal Learning Network

Once upon a time, my personal learning network (PLN) consisted of colleagues in common advisory meetings, professional journals in print format, other attendees at conferences, and mailings from professional associations. School Library Journal. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com Tech & Learning. http://www.techlearning.com/ Voya. http://www.voya.com/ (also on Facebook) Professional Associations American Association of School Librarians (AASL). http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/ind...

Digital Storytelling: How to Get the Best Results

According to the survey, Animoto was the easiest to use of the three applications. Out of seventy-six comments pertaining to weaknesses about Animoto, the top five weaknesses mentioned were the lack of flexibility/lack of creative control/ lack of personalization (thirty comments), the limitation of images allowed (five), difficulties or complaints about setting up educators' accounts (five), the application is Web-based only (five), and the final product has a canned/cookie-cutter look. Th...

From Libraries to Learning 'Libratories:' the New Abc's of 21st-Century School Libraries

[...] librarians are frequently leaders in promoting this kind of learning in their schools. Twenty-first century libratorians will need to provide project management and communication design expertise to both teachers and students involved in these collaborative projects and to guide project teams to the appropriate informational, community, and human resources needed for successful project outcomes.

Er: Essential Reads for September-October 2010

Ross Todd, Associate Professor, Rutgers University, and Director, Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries Kuhlthau, Carol C, Leslie K. Maniotes, and Ann K. Caspari. Learning in the 21st Century (Libraries Unlimited, 2007; 978-1591584353). * Todd says, Noted researcher Kuhlthau has teamed up with a curriculum specialist and a museum educator and to create this foundational text on Guided Inquiry, a dynamic, integrated approach to teaching curriculum content, information liter...

We Are Not Alone

I fought off such reading programs as "Accelerated Reading," attempting to hold on to the sanctity of boys and girls making educated choices about what books to read and not making those choices based on a reading level on die spine of the book. Sharing Another key component to advocacy is to share knowledge and experience with others, whether it is on campus, at district-level staff developments, mentoring new librarians, or presenting at an annual conference. A collaborative effort betwee...

Welcoming America's Newest Immigrants: Providing Access to Resources and Services for English Language Learners

An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights points out the responsibility of school librarians in this area stating, Schools serving communities in which other languages are used make efforts to accommodate the needs of students for whom English is a second language http: //www. Supporting Students' Academic Achievement Debbie, a school librarian in Pennsylvania, describes the unique position of school librarians to assist ELL, can play a vital role in acting as liaisons with other teach...

Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities made up approximately 13.8% of the student enrollment in elementary and secondary public schools nationwide in the 2005-2006 school year (National Center for Education Statistics 2006). Since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL-94 142) in 1975, the federal government has mandated that students with disabilities receive special education services.