Classroom & Curricula

American students’ skill levels in mathematics and reading have risen marginally since 2011, according to the National Center for Education Statistics . However, The Nation’s Report Card: 2013 Mathematics and Reading shows challenges to student success remain. Gains in reading have not quite kept pace with those in math, and achievement gaps are still evident between racial/ethnic groups and among states.

SLJ has compiled an expansive page of diversity resources—including materials on people of color, non-American cultures, LGBTQ issues, and disability—to help librarians better serve children and teens. From author interviews to collection development tools and from blogs to news coverage, these articles and reviews aim to give insight into issues that are becoming more relevant for kids each day.

If the "Harry Potter" books opened up fantasy for generations of readers, what will be the "gateway drug" for nonfiction readers? The author considers Jonathan Hunt's question.

Make It @ Your Library, in collaboration with Instructables.com and the American Library Association, has finally launched its searchable website, makeitatyourlibrary.org, for librarians seeking maker space ideas and projects. Make It @ Your Library—an initiative developed through the ILEAD USA program over the past year—aims to help librarians realize maker projects in their own communities at low cost.

Learning history is learning about the rise and fall of empires. And what type of stories are our students pursuing in their leisure reading? Could it be the rise and fall of empires? This author has some theories.

In SLJ's recent “Common Core and the Public Librarian” one-hour live webcast, Olga Nesi, regional coordinator for the New York City Department of Education, Division of Library Services, and Nina Lindsay, the children’s services coordinator for Oakland (CA) Public Library, discussed the national initiative and, in particular, what it means for public librarians.

Using Pinterest, online students at Rutgers have been curating boards for students on civil rights and robotics with the Common Core State Standards in mind. Take a peek at their efforts.

Christopher Harris believes that board gaming is a strong contender to become the “Next Big Thing” in schools. Yet no sector of education has laid claim to it. Could libraries be the place where gaming flourishes?

Librarian Jennifer Prince reviews BiblioBoard, a database offering ebooks, primary sources, and that can store locally created materials.