Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

Guided Inquiry Design: The Put-It-All-Together Chart Previous GID posts: #1, #2 As part of our decision-making process for choosing Guided Inquiry (GI), the three librarians (ES, MS, HS) scheduled weekly meetings to read/discuss both of the Guided Inquiry Design books. (If you can only buy one, definitely get the Framework one. Aside from nuts and bolts of the process, much of our discussion focused around how the model fit with IB philosophy, the Learner Profile, and our individual sections. A big part of GI is research centered on student interests. Once we'd finished reading/discussing, we felt we still needed a deeper understanding, so we broke up the various steps, and each of us gave a presentation summarizing how it all fit together.

5 Series You Probably Missed as a Kid (But Should Read as an Adult) In my freshman year of college, I learned that a kid down the hall had never seen Star Wars. None of it. He had actually never heard of Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader or R2-D2 — I don’t know how; he seemed normal enough. Once my roommates and I overcame our shock, we plopped him down in our common room for a marathon viewing: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, with no digital enhancements — the complete series, at the time. We sat like anthropologists, observing our perfect test subject, completely silent to avoid spoiling anything, watching him discover this strange new world. By the time we got to the most famous line, the line, the spoiler it’s virtually impossible not to hear at some point growing up — “Luke, I am your father” — the look on my friend’s face was one of pure wonder. As adults, it’s easy for us to feel that everything fun is already finished, that all the worlds have already been thoroughly mapped, especially when it comes to books. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Social Emotional Learning / Welcome About SEL Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a process through which children and adults develop the fundamental skills for life effectiveness. These are the skills we all need to handle ourselves, our relationships, and our work effectively and ethically. Everyone strengthens their social competencies to connect across race, class, culture, language, gender identity, sexual orientation, learning needs and age. SEL Core Competencies (OUSD SEL Standards) There are five core SEL competencies that can be taught in many ways across many settings. Self-Awareness - The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. Self-Management - The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations — effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself.

10 Authors for Elementary School Social Studies Teachers to Know The Common Core State Standards are being rolled out this fall, and teachers around the United States are looking for ways to incorporate more nonfiction books into their lessons. I have been devoting this week to helping teachers find excellent nonfiction books to incorporate into their lesson plans. On Monday, I discussed the main goal of the Common Core language arts standards and the role of nonfiction children’s literature in helping teachers meet this goal. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. In Tuesday’s post about science texts, I recommended sixteen picture book series. 1. Books: Those Rebels, John and Tom, Walt Whitman: Words for America, The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, What to Do About Alice? Lexile: 550-970Grade level: K+ 2. Lexile: 580-780Grade level: K+ 3. Lexile: 850-910Grade level: K+ 4. Lexile: 380-1050Grade level: 1+ 5. Books: Apples to Oregon, Sky Boys, Annie and Helen, A Boy Called Dickens, Michelle, John Adams Speaks for Freedom, Susan B. Lexile: 590-950Grade level: 1+ 6. 7. 8. 9.

Six Back-to-School Goals for Teacher Librarians | Tech Tidbits Librarians can jump-start the school year by setting some essential goals. Here, teacher librarian Phil Goerner tackles his top six objectives and lays out a plan for achieving these goals, which range from creating new maker space projects to engaging teachers in professional development. Collaborate with teachers I think this is one of the most important parts of our jobs. I know it always takes a while to build momentum in the fall and get into classrooms. One of the best ways for me to get started is to stay organized. I’m working on “sneaking” into as many classrooms as I can to line up team teaching jobs, demonstrate a tech tool, or just to promote the library resources. Promote the library Letting teachers and students know about the library resources is vital in the fall. Take a lead on professional development Wow! Meet with clubs For our book club, student leaders and I help all members create Goodreads accounts to share their reading. Engage in making Celebrate “freadom”

Best Graphic Novels Long dismissed as a less serious art form, graphic novels have finally started to gain more mainstream credibility over the last 20 years. There are many, many excellent examples out there, but if you’re looking for a place to start, start here! The world of the graphic novel is one that spans a wide range of authors, artists, styles, and subject matter, and this primer covers all the bases. Blankets by Craig Thompson Clocking in at 592 pages, Blankets may not be a light graphic novel (physically or stylistically), but Craig Thompson’s autobiographical coming-of-age story is sweet and dreamy, covering the profoundly intense experience of falling in love for the first time, questioning your faith, and negotiating your relationship with your siblings.

Top 10 Reasons to Participate in March Book Madness by Tony Keefer Happy Valentine’s Day Nerdy Nation! When I was awarded the Valentine’s Day post here at Nerdy, I instantly began building a list of my all time favorite kissy books. When I was awarded the Valentine’s Day post here at Nerdy I started thinking about love and books, books and love. And since nothing says love for books like arguing over good books, I, along with some of my friends, am inviting you to participate in March Book Madness. Over the past few years my class has thoroughly enjoyed every triumphant and heart-breaking moment of seeing our favorite books slotted into a tournament bracket. During a #titletalk a few months ago, one little tweet about the idea of March Book Madness lead to small group of Nerdy Book Clubbers (Franki Sibberson, Scott Jones, Erin Varley, Kristin Ziemke, Katharine Hale, Katie Muhtaris, Katherine Sokolowski and myself) wondered “What if we could create a web-based March Book Madness that would connect classrooms from all around the country?” Like this:

Around The World ARC Tours | Page 6 Summary: Whirlwind romance and breathtaking action continues in the sequel to Let the Sky Fall, which Becca Fitzpatrick called “charged and romantic.” Vane Weston is haunted. By the searing pull of his bond to Audra. By the lies he’s told to cover for her disappearance. By the treacherous winds that slip into his mind, trying to trap him in his worst nightmares. And as his enemies grow stronger, Vane doesn’t know how much longer he can last on his own. But Audra’s still running. With the Gale Force weakened by recent attacks, and the power of four collapsing, Vane and Audra are forced to make a choice: keep trusting the failing winds, or turn to the people who’ve betrayed them before. Donated by Damaris (NJ) Signups CLOSED– remember you can apply for all closed tours (to get a spot) by filling out the form! Blonde Reads (CO) Rc’d 2/5 Mail by 2/14 DC:9449009699938196932180 REVIEW Susan (TX) Rc’d 2/18 Mail by 2/25 DC: 9114 9010 7574 2564 7289 29 REVIEW Have you read the first in the series?

School libraries and learning – the research Academics, library associations, government agencies and others around the world are publishing very interesting and useful research about school libraries, learning and pedagogical models. Research also shows the the significant difference effective libraries can make to student learning outcomes. Contents Effective school library programmesNew Zealand research - school libraries and learningInternational research - school libraries and learningEducational trends and research into learning Effective school library programmes Several common, contributing factors to student learning and achievement occur in effective school library programmes: flexible schedulingeffective collaboration between library staff and teachersappropriate library staffing levels and opening hoursan up-to-date library collectionaccess via library ICT to online resourcesbeing well fundedbeing a well-used library. Key activities contributing to effective library programmes include: Read Evidence and Learning Outcomes

23 Books for Your Perfect Young Adult Summer Reading List Wandering into the young adult section of your local bookstore is never something to be embarrassed about — even if you haven't actually been a teen in years. In fact, if you've left high school behind, you don't have to read Beowulf between now and September, which frees up time to check out the YA titles below. And if you're really paranoid about fellow beachgoers judging your teen-title, there's always the anonymity of a cover-less ereader. Although, unless they're reading War and Peace surf-side, they're really in no position to criticize. Award Winners It's not really judging a book by it's cover if you judge it by the impressively shiny seals adorning its cover. 1. This is the story of "Shorty"-a 15-year-old boy trapped in a collapsed hospital during the earthquake in Haiti. 2. Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. 3. 4. 5. The Movies 6. 7. 8. 9. The Crossovers

How'd You Do That? Creating & Sharing Digital Flyers, Posters & Infographics. It's been almost 8 years since I created my first digital flyer for this site. Ever since, every time I post one, I get questions about how it was created. Over the years, the tools I've used to translate the thoughts swirling around in my head into a visual have changed, but some things haven't. Since I'm not a graphic designer, and have no training in this area, I've always landed on tools that were easy to use and free (or very cheap). Everything I've learned about these tools over the years has been gleaned through trial and error. For every success I choose to share, there were many failures that preceded it. That said, the very first digital flyer I ever made was inspired by the work of Carl Harvey. Eventually, I graduated from MS Word (sorry Bill!) These days, I use Canva almost exclusively as my creation tool of choice. Finally, let me just say that I've never, ever endorsed a product on this blog in exchange for any kind of compensation - and I never will.

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