Have you heard the news? The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is requiring "the inclusion of effective school library programs in school improvement programs" (Congress.gov, 2016). This is undeniably a positive step in the right direction! As a school librarian, who has served in a wide variety of school districts, I have witnessed the negative effects of budget cuts, and how they have taken a toll on the school library facilities, and their programs. So, instead of programs growing and developing alongside curricular changes, they were indirectly being undermined. Ironically, at the same time this was occurring, there was a strong focus on data analysis in education as a means for improvement. So, why was the data on healthy library programs was being ignored? Studies found that up-to-date, professionally staffed library programs are a central component affecting students' achievement. This was and is contradiction which I find mind boggling.
If school embedded libraries are allowed to grow, they are integral to the school community - essentially acting as think-tanks, where students are encouraged to explore new ideas and ultimately help generate literate citizens who possess the ability to be critical thinkers. So, it's nice to see the pendulum swinging in the right direction. Your library should be the place which sparks learners' curiosity, ignites a passion for literature, and ideally a love of learning.
Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require the inclusion of effective school library programs in school improvement programs.
Defines an "effective school library program" as one that: (1) is staffed by a state sanctioned school librarian; (2) has up-to-date materials and technology, including broadband; (3) includes regular collaboration between teachers and school librarians concerning school reform efforts; and (4) supports the development of digital literacy skills.
Replaces the existing program under subpart 4 (Improving Literacy Through School Libraries) of part B of title I of the ESEA with a new program (Improving Literacy and College and Career Readiness Through Effective School Library Programs) awarding competitive three-year grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to develop and enhance effective school library programs. Makes LEAs eligible for such grants only if at least 20% of their students are impoverished.
Amends part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II of the ESEA to rename part A the Teacher, School Librarian, and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund. Requires states and LEAs to use funds under the program to train school librarians, and recruit and retain highly effective school librarians.
Just learned about an exciting new development, Open Ebooks.
available to children in need for free!
Check out this infographic, How Audio Promotes Literacy - nice stuff! I'm already a huge fan of the read-aloud format, and as far as I'm concerned read-alouds and audio books are 1st cousins. So, I was thrilled to discover an opportunity for free audio books being offered this summer from Sync at http://www.audiobooksync.com/. This promotion is specifically aimed at the young adult reader.
For 14 weeks (btw... they're already into week 5), Sync is giving away a new audio book PAIRED with a classic! Every week offers a limited window of opportunity for new downloads. Once the week is up, the window closes and a new set of audio books becomes available. All the listener has to do is download the Overdrive App to his/her device enabling download and access to your books. In addition, many public libraries have digital books which are compatible with this app, too. Now... there are NO EXCUSES for not reading a book this summer (even if you're reading it with your ears).
Just recently, a colleague asked me if I had heard about Mary Lee. Hmmm.... Mary Lee, Mary Lee? Nope - don't know her. Turned out, SHE is a Great White Shark who was recently visiting the Atlantic City area (and, I have to admit, I'm kind of glad we didn't meet).
So, after I learned about MaryLee, I checked out Ocearch.org. It's a collaborative open-source research organization that tags and tracks sharks, collecting and cataloging data - and Mary Lee is just one of the many streamlined swimmers contributing to this awesome catalog of knowledge. Ocearch.org is an interesting and interactive website, but... what makes it an outstanding resource is how it offers visitors user-friendly tools for making learning relevant and fun; just click on the education tab for access to cross curricular resources for grades 3-5 and 6-8 and check it out!
Whether you're a student looking to learn more about your favorite author, a teacher looking to enhance a lesson, or a librarian promoting children's and young-adult literature, then these resources are for you! Below are some of the best places to find authors' and illustrators' interviews. Listen to one or listen to more than one by the same author for a more in depth understanding of their work and inspirations.
Recently, I had the privilege of discovering the Cotsen Children's Library Bibliofiles. Library Director and host, Dr. Dana Sheridan, interviews popular children's and young-adult book authors providing a wealth of podcasts. Here is a sampling of some of her notable author interviewees: M.T. Anderson, ﻿Kenneth Oppel, Philip Pullman, Sharon Creech,﻿ Wendy Mass and Jeff Smith.
Occasionally, when researching materials for acquisition or content for lessons I have utilized the HarperCollins Children's Podcast Library. Check it out for yourself, they offer a nice array of up and coming stars to established favorites like: Neil Gaiman, R.L.Stine & Lemony Snicket.
Here's another great way to begin a unit or lesson...start by visiting Reading Rocket's Video Interviews page.
Finally, for an extensive list of authors and illustrator's interviews check out Scholastic Books: Teacher Resource Page.
If you didn't find the interview you were looking for, considering going directly to the source and check out the author/illustrator's website. Can you recommend an outstanding author interview? Which was your favorite? Share it here!
However you choose to use to this short, you can't lose. It's a winner and I predict it will invoke some incredible work.
The author line up is incredible with the many of the "rock stars" of the publishing world all descending in the same place! Saturday features: John Green, Taye Diggs, Ellen Hopkins, Sarah Dessen, Tom Angleberger... and this is only PART of the lineup. Sunday boasts James Patterson, Jacqueline Woodson, Brandon Stanton (Humans of NY), Brian Selznick and more! This might be biblio-nirvana! Although I must admit, as starstruck as I may be, I'm really looking forward to spending the day with my incredible daughter, a best friend and her awesome daughter - all book lovers! If you should see me in the crowd, please stop and say, "hello."
I tend to measure my days in terms of productivity - If I accomplished stuff, it was a GREAT DAY; if I didn't, well.... not so good. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that I take a similar approach to lessons I create. Not only do I need to convey information, and the standards which need to be met, but just as importantly... I ask myself how can I make it fun, relevant and easy to grasp. I try to create framework which allows students to link to prior knowledge - And it seems that frequently, students are already familiar with some aspect of the content which we are exploring, but often lack the vocabulary to identify it. One example of this approach was a lesson I created earlier in the school year, on literary genre, using Prezi (which is a fun and easy-to-use tool for presentation).
This lesson was designed to introduce book genres to 4th grade students. I included many media clips, to help illustrate the topics being discussed. Although, I must note that some of the clips aren't meant to be watched in their entirety since it is my experience that often lessons need to be tailored, time-wise. And, as a teaching librarian who's delivering the same lesson to different classes, I need to the ability to tweak it depending on my audience and allotted time slot for instruction.
Note: The last slide refers to a document which accompanied this lesson, called a Genre Tracking Sheet (you can also e-mail me at sdecaro@btwpschools.org for a copy). It basically consisted of a table, outlining the different genres. Students would fill it out, listing books they read under the corresponding columns. It asked for: title, author and a simple list of basic genre elements which the student identified in their book. After they had read 6 of the proposed book genres they would return the document and receive a certificate of recognition in honor of their achievement.
In April 2014, we offered pocket poems for National Poetry Month. They were surprisingly well received; but this year, I wanted to offer something which would engage students in the PROCESS of creating poetry. So... while searching for ideas, ironically I found my inspiration in the book, Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon (btw - it's an awesome book!). BLACK OUT POETRY!!!! We will offer random pages from a discarded book (along with instructions) for students to use to make their own works of art! Maybe, I'll share some examples of our students' work once it starts rolling in. In the meantime, check out my humble example!
I'm a huge fan of Common Craft videos and was excited to discover they created one called "Libraries in the Internet Age" which I've shared here. Often, I'm asked whether or not I think libraries are relevant in the Age of the Internet. My answer....SURE! Read any book on the history of the library and you'll quickly discover that libraries have been ever evolving (along with the role of the librarian) to support the communities they serve. So, with this current onslaught of information who better to be your guide than a librarian? Consider the Internet a “sea of information” and your librarian is there to help you navigate it.
Hi! I'm Stacey DeCaro, Middle School Librarian and moderator of EVERYTHING BOOKS: LIBRARY BLOG. Welcome to my blog! Feel free to contribute to the discussion.
Please check back frequently for new posts.