Author and Common Core expert Kathleen Odean reveals great titles to tap as you work with the new standards.
Nonfiction as Mentor Text: Style | On Common Core
By on May 2, 2013 2 Comments
Authors of nonfiction for young readers model specific writing styles and techniques that demonstrate a command of the written word, engage and hook readers, and help to explain and contextualize important concepts.
Technology is Not the Goal | Tech Tidbits from the Guybrarian’s Gal
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
As librarians, our role is often one of instructional coach. We are called on to help teachers and students find solutions to challenges. Recently, a teacher asked for assistance in locating 35 iPads for a great lesson idea she had. She teaches Read 180, a class dedicated to helping struggling readers improve their literacy skills. She and two of her colleagues who teach our English Language Learners wanted to use the new app from Apple, iBooks Author, which allows you to create interactive, multi-touch books that incorporate captions, links, and even video. It’s a great tool, but we had a major problem—we don’t have any iPads.
Nonfiction for Teen Readers | JLG’s On the Radar
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
By the time students reach grade 12, the Common Core State Standards require that 70% of their reading should be nonfiction. In order to fulfill this requirement in content area subjects, students will need to read more than their textbooks. Luckily, nonfiction writers for teens continue to create amazing narrative nonfiction that supports science and social studies, and that our kids will want to read.
SLJ Resources for National Poetry Month
By on April 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
April is National Poetry Month, and SLJ has compiled a list of tools and creative ideas for celebrating. From poetry slam best practices to Common Core curriculum connections, this roundup is chock-full of ways to approach the poetic form with kids all year long.
Serving the CCSS and Youth | On Common Core: Part 6
By on April 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
What resources do librarians have in their collections that meet the goals of the Common Core initiative? How will the Common Core State Standards influence the decisions school and public librarians will be making as they continue to develop their collections? What specifically should educators be looking for in the resources they select? Join Kathleen Odean, librarian, speaker, reviewer, university instructor, and the author of guides to children’s titles as she discusses the books that engage children and meet the goals of the CCSS. Archive now available!
We Are Not Alone: National Curricular Reform Around the Globe | Consider the Source
By on April 18, 2013 Leave a Comment
In adopting the Common Core State Standards, U. S. educators are part of a larger educational reform movement. From England to Japan countries around the world are debating a national curricula. Why are so many nations considering one? And where does the impetus to do so come from? Marc Aronson ponders these questions in his latest Consider the Source column.
SLJ Reviews Gobstopper and Subtext: Apps that Enable Interactive Classroom Reading
By on April 15, 2013
The ability for teachers and students to embed their own content into digital texts, write notes, and get feedback on student reading—classroom reading just got a lot more dynamic. SLJ columnist Jeff Hastings test driives Gobstopper and Subtext.
National History Day—A Perfect Support for Common Core | Consider the Source
By on April 4, 2013 2 Comments
With its emphasis on research, learning, investigating, and arriving at one’s own conclusions, History Day is a perfect complement to the new education guidelines.
Flipping the Classroom: A revolutionary approach to learning presents some pros and cons
By on April 1, 2013 3 Comments
Flipping the classroom or library encourages students to learn at home through teacher-made videos, and frees up valuable class time to devote to discussions and exploring topics more deeply.
Meeting the CCSS Through Poetry | Professional Shelf
By on March 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
Can kids garner a passion for literature without Shakespeare, Silverstein, Salinger, or Sendak? Not in the opinion of the “lead architect of the Common Core Standards Initiative.” In celebration of National Poetry Month, we offer three titles that illuminate the intersection between the study of poetry and the goals of the CCSS.
Speak Up | Consider the Source
By on March 21, 2013 2 Comments
How are New York’s librarians doing when it comes to Common Core? Find out as SLJ columnist Marc Aronson talks to educators who are in the trenches.
Balancing Readability and Reading Fluency | On Common Core
By on March 12, 2013 1 Comment
Knowing the research behind text complexity is critical to understanding the Common Core’s call for more complexity, and how reading for pleasure fits in.
The Common Core and the Public Librarian | On Common Core: Part 5
By on March 11, 2013 3 Comments
School librarians across the country have been actively engaged in implementing the Common Core State Standards. More recently public librarians have joined the conversation, asking their colleagues what they need to know about the initiative and how it will affect collection development, homework help, and reference service. Join us for a chat with Olga M. Nesi, a regional coordinator with the New York City Department of Education, Division of Library Services, and Nina Lindsay, Children’s Services Coordinator at the Oakland Public Library, Oakland, CA as they explore the ways in which today’s professionals in public libraries are being called on to serve students in their libraries in light of the Common Core. Archive now available!
Coming Soon to a School Near You | Consider the Source
By on March 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
Common Core’s “Next Generation Science Standards” will be released this month, and although critics say the new guidelines still need work, they’re a step in the right direction.
Tech Tidbits from the Guybrarian: How Big Is Your Toolbox?
By on March 5, 2013 Leave a Comment
It may start this way: you’ve just finished the first lunch period, and because of today’s snow, there are massive amounts of students in your library—and a surprising number of them are on task. You’re just now welcoming a social studies class that’s here to work on a research project and use the laptop cart and many of your book club students are bursting through the door excitedly.
Inquiry and Nonfiction | On Common Core
By on March 4, 2013 4 Comments
Inquiry and nonfiction are closely related and books that explore the work of scientists can be ideal mentor texts as students develop skills that are essential for learning.
Pathways to Engaged Readers: Helping Students Reach Common Core Levels | On Common Core: Part 4
By on February 28, 2013 Leave a Comment
Join Mary Ehrenworth, the Deputy Director at the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University, and co-author of Pathways to the Common Core, as she explores creating a school culture of reading, the challenges and methods for getting just-right books into kids’ hands, increasing nonfiction engagement, and building structures for clubs and parent involvement through the central core of a school’s reading life— the library. Archive now available!
Maryland School District Copyright Policy Could Impact Teachers’ and Students’ Original Works
By on February 26, 2013 1 Comment
Earlier this month, Prince George’s County (MD) Board of Education made waves when it proposed a copyright policy that aimed to grant the district sweeping copyrights to works produced by staff and students, including lesson plans and digital apps. The proposal reignited widespread debate about the fairness of copyright guidelines in the K–12 arena. We caught up with Carrie Russell, the ALA’s copyright expert, to learn how educators can help preserve the rights of content creators in their own districts.
Patchwork Common Core Implementation Plagues the U.S. | Consider the Source
By on February 20, 2013 4 Comments
When it comes to putting Common Core Standards into action, there’s one word for where we’re at as a nation: patchwork. Marc Aronson points out what school librarians can do to remedy the situation.
