Classroom

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

With their emphasis on clear observation, logical thinking, and well-drawn conclusions, mysteries support many Common Core State Standards and lend themselves to an array of interesting writing assignments. These audiobooks are sure to spark student interest.