BEST PRACTICE![]() In a universe of educational theory about how children learn, the benefit of read-aloud is a fact. Over 10,000 reports from the U.S. Department of Education culminate to suggest that "the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children," and it should continue through the grade levels. So why shouldn't the the teacher-librarian be at the helm of cross-curricular improvement, reading aloud to every child in the school? Who better to model this technique for staff? This is the book shares the "why," the "how" and even the "what" that is needed to make it happen. Even if you already read-aloud, the great strength of this book is that it offers the documentation and research base to defend your best practice, which is so necessary in these NCLB days of assessment and documentation. Besides addressing common questions such as when to begin to read aloud and how books can compete with other glitzy, modern media, the book also includes a whole chapter of read-aloud "do's and don'ts, and a "giant treasury of great read-aloud books," and Jim Trelease's corresponding website supplements and updates the handbook so the approach always stays current and in context. Even if you have never read aloud to a class before, you can enjoy the confidence that comes with knowing you are being guided by the approach's greatest champion. ![]() This timely report, according to the report itself, "...brings together position statements from a variety of findings from nearly two decades of empirical studies that cite the measurable impact school libraries and library media specialists have on student achievement." Besides case studies from 19 states (and one province) and detailed documentation from reports in Illinois, Ohio and Indiana all underscoring the relationship between the school library and student achievement, the report includes a defense of the school librarian's role in No Child Left Behind, the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science's assertion for a need for state certified school librarians, and a bulleted list of traits of an effective school library. Since its release in 2004, this report has been distributed to over 200,000 administrators. Keep it on hand in case someone in your school system could use a peek, and in case your own sense of purpose needs to be fortified. Related resources for best practices: Artillery to add to your research-based arsenal. Lance, Keith Curry. "The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic Achievement." School Library Media Quarterly 22, no. 3 (Spring 1994): 167-170, 172. A landmark resreach report that has been come to be known as the "Colorado study" offers up this equation: big staff + wide selection of books + a media specialist playing an instructional role = success on tests (one measure of student achievement)! Useful for advocating for any of the addends that make up the sum. Miller, Donalyn. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. San Francisco: Wiley/Jossey-Bass, 2009. Another best practice, research-based treatise celebrating the value of free, unscheduled time to read, and the importance of children getting to choose their own material. Full review here. |
READER'S ADVISORY AND COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT![]() The author has undertaken the Herculean task of compiling this hefty volume of over a thousand annotated bibliographic entries, arranged by grade levels and genres and indexed by author/illustrator, title and subject. The author goes the extra mile to include related titles, "germs" (discussion starters, hints for sharing, weblinks and activities), and possible subject headings for topical connections. Introductory bonus "chapters" in these reference books invite exploration into topics such as how to use books across the curriculum, storytelling and reader's theater, "17 Things You Need to Know to Be a Great School Librarian," book evaluation and what it's like to serve on an awards committee. What differentiates this title from other resource books is that despite its dictionary-like girth and despite its encyclopedia-like wealth of knowledge, it has personality. You can feel Freeman's enthusiasm and heart on every page, and her desire to pass on everything she knows to you. Further, the variety of headings and extensive index makes it easy to locate a book, whether you're looking for a title in particular or hunting for an inscrutable storytime Snark. Boasting a professional vitae almost as long as her book, Freeman is a prolific children's book reviewer and a consultant for James' Patterson online reading advisory site, ReadKiddoRead.com, and using this book will help you feel capable about recommending age-appropriate books, even while you are still learning what's between the bindings. Also check out her prequels, Books Kids Will Sit Still For and More Books Kids Will Sit Still For. ![]() This author really did her homework in creating this resource of issue-related recommendations falling under such clear and helpful headings as sharing, bullies and teasing, feelings, fears, babysitters, stuttering, being gifted, boasting, lost teeth, honesty, sleepovers, self-esteem, adoption, moving, glasses, divorce, strangers, aging, illness, disabilities, death, teasing, making friends and many more. Each entry has publishing information, a line-long description of art style, and specific considerations for sharing (such as "read-aloud," "intermediate readers," "multicultural") followed by a succinct description of each book's content. With character education enjoying wide popularity in school curricum, and students (and teachers and parents!) contending with more social challenges than ever before, there are so many occasions for use, allowing even a novice librarian to seem expert in prescribing bibliotherapy when requested. So the next time you have an issue, don't reach for a tissue...grab this title instead! Related resources for reader's advisory and collection development: A bonanza of booklists. Lima, Carolyn W. Rebecca L. Thomas. A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books. Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. Teachers working thematically? Child wants a book on a particular topic? Go ahead, look up any old theme under subject headings, subject guides, bibliographic guides, title indexes, and illustrator indexes, and you'll find a nice long list of picture books that relate to the theme. This book is golden when it comes to helping teachers plan units, creating thematic story times, or trying to remember "that book about a train." Kidsreads.com. One of the snappiest places on the web to go to find out the most current releases in children's literature, with an especially helpful focus on "tween" reading (for 9-12 year olds). Besides very nice descriptions of the latest novels and updates on series books that are so useful for collection development, it's a source for author interviews, contests, a guide to how to make your own book club and regularly updated information about which books are being made into movies and what's coming out in paperback. Kid-friendly, this is a site that you and your students can use--and enjoy--together. Kidlitophere Central: The Society of Bloggers in Children's and Young Adult Literature. A cyber-collective of professionals and enthusiasts who regularly and critically review the best brand-spanking-new books for young people. Grab a nice cup of cocoa and spend an afternoon going though the blogroll to discover names and tastes you trust, and that you can visit regularly and add to your "reader" to stay current. |
PROGRAMMING AND PROMOTION![]() Yes, I know it's from 1983. Yes, I know it's out-of-print. But during a youth librarianship class, someone mentioned that she wished there was someone out there who still had the vim for children's literarure that the mother of children's libraries, Anne Carroll Moore, embodied. I think Bauer captures that energy in a modern context. The author of many inspiring and pragmatic resource books for teachers, this one is my most dog-eared, containing a little sampling of all of her best ideas and how-to's. She introduces skills and sources for standard library practices such as storytelling and booktalking, but also brilliantly presents ideas that are out of the box: creating museum-like exhibitions in the library based on children's own collections and interests, hosting poetry presentations, playing games, and even initiating a schoolwide "parade of books" that I was able to undertake successfully for many years with the help of her model. So many books about programming focus on the youngest child, but Bauer prepares her professional readers to create fun things to do for patrons across the grade levels. Another valuable aspect of this book that is hard to find elsewhere is that she addresses fundraising, and offers over thirty suggestions for earning money to buy books, even integrating programming as she goes (penny collections while celebrating Lincoln's birthday, for instance). This is a real-world librarian sharing her expertise and her contagious enthusiasm with great generosity. A thorough index will help you find just when you need when you can't savor the pages of this book like a visit with an old friend.
Related resources for programming and promotion: TheBestKidsBookSite.com. A busy portal to craft connections, fingerpplays and songs, this website is largely arranged by season but searchable by book title, book series, genre, character names, author, storytime themes, alphabet letter, craft type and storytime theme. Populated with suggestions that use templates and simple, inexpensive materials, you'll find that with the help of this site, most any reading can be made participatory, and can be followed by a hands-on creative response. Hamilton, Martha and Mitch Weiss. Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom, Second Edition. Katonah: Richard C. Owens Publishers, 2005. Storytelling is a fundamental part of good library programming, and this guide, full of exercises, games and techniques is aimed at creating curriculum for students but is equally effective at turning a librarian who feels like a zero into a storytelling hero. Very much step-by-step, the latest edition also comes with a DVD so you can see the tactics being demonstrated. The resource underscores communication over memorization. Teach yourself, and then you can teach others...even start a troupe, as the book suggests! Nancy Keane's Booktalks: Quick and Simple. Saying a few words that are short and sweet to get those pages turning and circulation numbers burning is an art form, and also a common part of library programming. To that end, check out this on-line database of over five thousand ready-to-use descriptive enticements for readers, to which librarians may contribute. One of the nice things about this resource is that you often have a choice of text; for example, look at Tomie DePaola's 26 Fairmont Avenue for a half dozen ways it was presented, and find the one that works best with your style. Though this link provides some basic tips, if booktalking is your passion you may also want to supplement with the inspiring guide The Booktalker's Bible: How to Talk About the Books You Love to Any Audience by Chapple Langemack (Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited, 2003). Upstart Library Promotions Catalog. Ever wonder where librarians get those cool bookmarks and posters? From reading-themed pencil erasers to snazzy reading logs and scout-like patches, this is the place. While reading should be its own reward, this resource at least keeps us moving in that direction, and the decorations are a delight for the frustrated interior-library-decorator on a tight budget. A division of the library supply company Highsmith, request an Upstart Library Promotions Catalog. |
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS![]() Related Resources for curriculum connections: No librarian is an island. Here are more tools for making love (and learning) connections with teachers and students. Book Links Magazine. A little more text-heavy and arguably little less fun to read in the bathroom, this publication from the American Library Association sports similar features, such as thematic bibliographies and links to the web, but also includes thoughtful articles and more in-depth interviews, very extensive and comprehensive annotated thematic bibliographies that will make you revered as an "expert" among faculty, and a knowledgeable recurrence of focus on award-winners. Like Library Sparks, there is a connection between content and standards on the last page. Publisher advertisements offer the opportunity to see what's new and "hot," and the au courant makes for the currency of this publication, which is helpful when it comes to grant announcements and keeping "cool" with the kids (you don't want to be the last one to know about the likes of Lemony Snicket or Spiderwick again, do you)? Editors of Chase's Calendar of Events. The Teacher's School Year: the Day-by-Day Almanac of Historic Events, Holidays, Famous Birthdays and More! Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. Every day is a teachable moment! Updated annually, this guide is more than a calendar, offering background information om topics, related links, and plenty of inspiration for thematic planning (a storytime for National Pig day on March 1st, perhaps?). Use it to create lists or calendars for teachers, include in library newsletters, inspire research in students, and the content is also dandy for "morning announcements" that start the day the library way! The Core Knowledge Sequence. It's helpful to have a broad overview of the kind of things children might be learning at different grade levels. Every school and district has its own curriculum guide, but if you've never taught school before, this guide might give you an overview of a sample educational trajectory. Formerly referred to as the controversial "Cultural Literacy" program, I don't care; I refer to it regularly regardless of what my school system mandates when looking for themes that inevitably connect to and support the work of my cohorts and the children we serve. |
![]() BOOK CHALLENGES AND CENSORSHIPCoping with Challenges: Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials from the American Library Association.Even on a desert island, there's bound to be some dude who doesn't agree with our selections. When a book is challenged, take a deep breath and surf on over to this website, which very clearly and systematically offers hints on communicating effectively whether one-on-one ("Greet the person with a smile. Communicate your openness to receive inquiries and that you take them seriously. Listen more than you talk") or while weathering a full media blitz ("Anticipate the standard "Who-What-When-Where-and-Why" questions and develop your answers beforehand. Keep your answers brief and to the point. Avoid giving too much information. Let the reporter ask the questions," remember, deep breath!). The site offers some very helpful sample Q&A's, key messages to reiterate to irate administration, how to introduce a reconsideration process, and very helpful hyperlinks to support groups and ALA Resources, including contact information for the very important Office of Intellectual Freedom and a direct link for "reporting a challenge." This site takes a tone more toward getting everyone on the same page rather than preparing for battle, because we already won the war. Remember the American Revolution, ya'll? Related resources for book challenges and censorship: more tools to assert the right to read. The First Amendment. Always good to know, this is the cornerstone of defense for inclusion of library materials. Texas Library Association Request for Reconsideration Form. Be prepared! When a parent challenges the presence of a book on the shelves, filling out a form is usually part of the response protocol. This one is especially nice, because in a friendly way it requires that the challenger actually examine the work as a whole and imagine others for whom the work might be suitable. Here's an example of a thoughtful question: "In [the book's] place, what work would you recommend that would convey as valuable a perspective of the subject treated?" A handy prototype to use or to tweak for your own community, this bit of homework might cool someone's jets long enough so you have time to gather your own thoughts. Challenged Children's Books. A handy list of the hundred most frequently challenged books of the last century, especially useful during Banned Books Week. (Hey, is that my book on there?! What the f*%#!) |
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY![]() |
TEACHING RESEARCH SKILLS AND MEDIA LITERACY FOR THE 21st CENTURY![]() Related resources for teaching library skills: Your content doesn't have to play second fiddle to other subjects. Cohen, Sharron. The Mysteries of Research, Second Edition. Fort Atkinson: Alleyside Press, 1996. One of my favorite teacher-librarian books, this resource offers twenty-four narrative "mysteries" that students must solve using conventional, familiar materials such as the encyclopedia, atlas, dictionary, almanac and the Guinness Book of World Records. The mystery can be solved by discovering which culprit is presenting the most false information. The author's recent update, The Mysteries of Internet Research, is sure to be excellent as well, but I still covet my old-school copy, and cherish the opportunity for students to learn to use this engaging approach to discovering the more traditional analog materials that have served us for so long. Great for group work, too!RADCAB: Your Vehicle for Information Evaluation. A mnemonic for helping students to evaluate and begin setting criteria for the information they encounter in this time of "infobesity." While I personally find the actual conepts the letters represent to be a bit of a mouthful and brainful for the average fifth grader (relevancy, appropriateness, detail, currency, authority, bias...really? A kid is supposed to remember and contemplate all that?) it's a nice starting point for conversation and consideration. Plus, you can always put up the posters. MediaLiteracyToolbox.com. Children nowadays are exposed to more commercials, more visual and aural medium, and more complex messages from the media than any other generation. As information resource professionals, it may be considered part of our duty to help them navigate this kind of information as well, helping them to be conscious of the thousands of words which a picture may be worth. This kit contains media examples (tv commercials, magazine ads, movie scenes, website pages) and a discussion and activity guide for exploration, help young people to recognize "tools of persuasion" in the media, including bias, spin and misinformation, and get a general understanding of how media messages create meaning and plan on our own experiences and desires. Though a comprehensive tookit is available for purchase, three basic kits are available for free download. Also, check out the PBS Don't Buy It! site, As librarians, we must work towards an informed citizenry...even in elementary school! AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner. A wonderful lesson planning tool, this colorful, non-intimidating checklist from the American Association of School librarians will help you assess whether your program is preparing young patrons with skills for the future. |
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR CONNECTIONS![]() |