The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens
Is the Dewey Decimal System making it too difficult for young users to find what they’re looking for? At a virtual Twitter gathering Thursday October 11, librarians from the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, who have re-organized their library with a new system that they call Metis, responded to questions about Dewey’s flaws, its relevance in today’s world, and the best ways to encourage library usage among patrons.
From books and websites to apps, recommended resources on the American political process and the presidency.
It’s a boon year for students of Shakespeare and thespians: from Sourcebooks, Inc. and Touch Press come interactive resources that will change the way readers experience the Bard’s works. Sourcebooks has just released three titles in its “Shakesperience” series that promise to “transport readers from the page to the stage”: “Othello,” “‘Romeo and Juliet,” and “Hamlet.” Each iBook provides the text of the play along with insight from actors on their roles, audio and visuals of celebrated performances, and much more. Extensive commentary and notes, and video recordings of famed actors performing each of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets, are among the highlights of the stunning “Sonnets by William Shakespeare” from Touch Press.
“How to Rock,” a comedy series based on Meg Haston’s novel, “How to Rock Braces and Glasses,” premiered on Teen Nick in February. Pitched toward the “Drake & Josh” crowd, the show combines storylines centered around school and friendship issues with pop/hip-hop music performances and an upbeat be-yourself message.
School librarians and the Common Core (CC) have been my focus all year, and especially this fall. Sue Bartle and I have been holding one workshop after another with teachers and librarians, spreading our CC gospel and hearing their issues and concerns. The great thing about being out in the field is that I learn as much as I teach—and one spectacular example of that recently took place in Buffalo, NY.
OneVote 2012 is a student mock election held before the national presidential election. Launched by Channel One News, the program gives young people the opportunity to learn about the electoral process and the issues via interactive content as well as the chance to cast their vote for the next president of the United States from October 22–26. Prior to the election, Channel One News will offer news and other special segments to help teens make an informed decisions.
Sometimes ordinary people are able to do extraordinary things. Annie Sullivan thought of a way to teach a deaf and blind student to communicate. Charles Ives listened to the sounds of everyday life and created a new kind of music. Henri Rousseau became one of the most gifted self-taught painters in history. Sarah Winnemucca stood up against injustices and wrote the first autobiography by a Native American woman.
XBOOKS is a nonfiction language arts program from Scholastic for middle school students that offers informational texts in both print and digital formats that cover science and social studies topics. XBOOKS is an interactive program that features print and online components to build student proficiency in reading, writing, and thinking critically about informational texts. The program, developed and written by master teachers Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm and Laura Robb, aligns with Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
Alyssa Sheinmel, Adele Griffin, and other young adult authors came together September 29 at the sixth annual KidLitCon in New York City to discuss social media, the obligations authors have to their fans, and the challenges of interacting with an audience.
Amidst all the stories filled with angst, broken hearts, and vampires, books that make you laugh-out-loud are a welcome respite. This fall offers many selections for young readers that will tickle their funny bone. Be sure to read these aloud. We could all use a good laugh from time to time.
Complexity is a watchword of the Common Core State Standards. The clearly stated expectation is that students will be able to read increasingly complex texts as they move up through the grades. Aside from that, students will be required to complete more complex thinking tasks involving those same texts.
Every U.S. president had a mother. Most of them had children and pets. Combine these obvious, but often-unconsidered facts with a touch of humor and they spell can’t-miss booktalks.
The inspiration for SLJ’s September cover may be obvious, but it was a bit of a process—an adventure, if you will—to arrive at the finished product.
After considering the lineup of feature articles, as we do each month for the print edition, the editors selected the cover story: a first-person account of a school ereader program by Travis Jonker.
An elementary school librarian, Jonker has been documenting his foray into bringing digital readers to his students in a series of posts on [...]
When it comes to advocacy, school librarian Mike McQueen plays it big—wrapping his RV with stickers and signs to encourage his community of Jefferson County, CO, to vote in favor of two bond measures and save school libraries.
Pushing between snack time and reading group, Zack, a third-grade boy, ducks into our school library while another class is beginning to check out books.
Given that this is the first U.S. presidential election since apps have made their way onto most electronic devices, you might think there would be dozens of worthwhile products available on the topic designed for students. Think again.
Sure, there are plenty of apps devoted to November’s election, there just aren’t that many that explain the process to those too young to cast a ballot. Those listed here should get the conversation rolling about how we elect a President and the men who have held that the office.
SLJ talks to Carrie Russell, director of the American Library Association’s Program on Public Access to Information, about her book Complete Copyright for K–12 Librarians and Educators, a useful tool to help school librarians and teachers better understand copyright law.
First introduced in 1993 with Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, this iconic live-action TV series starring a group of teens able to transform into a team of color-coded costumed superheroes is still going strong. Power Rangers: Samurai, the show’s l8th iteration, premiered in 2011 on Nickelodeon, followed by 2012’s Power Rangers: Super Samurai (TVY7), a second set of episodes featuring the same characters.
Libraries in the United States and across the world are coming together to celebrate the American Library Association’s (ALA) 5th Annual International Games Day @ Your Library on Saturday, November 3. Beginning this year, National Gaming Day has been renamed International Games Day to reflect the interest of libraries outside of the U.S. It’s up to individual libraries how they celebrate this special day, but there’s lots of freebies for your library if you fill out a registration form.
Marc Aronson discusses a set of books that looks at the same moment in history from three different angles. Taken together, the three titles offer a more comprehensive picture of a time of invention and discovery than we’d typically get from an individual book: one title focuses on a remarkable genius; another on a breakthrough invention; and the third title, which explores a transforming theory, is really best seen as a moment in which circumstance, individuals, and technology converge to make change possible.
