Library Links

"Content that might be of interest to Teacher-Librarians..."


18.11.11

Choices & Decisions - with teacher's guide

Taking charge of your financial life - (High School - Lessons about Money)
To order your Teacher's Guide, go to www.4edu.ca/tors/visa

"Thousands of Canadian math and business educators have already ordered their FREE copy of Visa's revised, re-designed and updated Choices & Decisions: Taking charge of your financial life since its launch in 2009. Offered free of charge, this Teacher's Guide includes lesson plans, quizzes, and student activity work sheets. Designed to help educators teach high school students how to manage their money, develop effective financial strategies, and achieve their financial goals, Choices & Decisions contains the most recent financial information available."

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Do you use Edmodo? Webinar Lessons

Video Webinars on How to use Edmodo

"At Edmodo, we help teachers make their classroom a community. It provides a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices. Our goal is to help educators harness the power of social media to customize the classroom for each and every learner."

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35 Notewothy Libraries from around the world - photos

The 35 Most Amazing Libraries In The World

Some beautiful public spaces that just happen to be libraries....

"College libraries, public libraries, private libraries, it doesn't matter, we think they are all awesome. With that in mind we've done hours of research trying to find the most interesting libraries in the world, and come up with these 35 that we thought were especially noteworthy. We've tried to balance our list between architecturally interesting libraries and libraries with interesting collections, but most of these libraries are actually fascinating in both respects. We'd love to spend a day in any of these libraries, and we hope you'll agree."

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17.11.11

Reading In the Middle Years - with Faye Brownlie

Reading  - Webcast Series
From 2004 -
A discussion of the top five factors that ensure maximum student learning, based on the research of Wang, Haertel, and Walberg.
1. Classroom Management
2. Metacognition
3. Background Knowledge
4. Home environment/ parental support
5. Student/teacher social interaction


2004 - #1 - Readers Who Read: What Helps Students Learn - Faye Brownlie
2004 - #2 - Key Ideas & Questions: Strategy and Model - Faye Brownlie   
2004 - #3 - Effective Literacy Instruction - Faye Brownlie      
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"Comics Are Good" - clip

Why Cartoons Can be an Important Part of Reading
This resource is from the series Reading Aloud New York Treats. Jon Scieszka, the best selling American children's writer and US Ambassador for Children's Literature meets graphic novelist Dan Goldman, who explains why he considers cartoons to be an important part of reading. Produced in 2008. (Some language)

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Self-Regulation Webcast - (early years)

"Self-Regulation... What is it and why is it important for learning?"

Dr. Stuart Shanker & Jane Bertrand discuss:
  • self-regulation and its importance in the early years and for lifelong success;
  • how self-regulation is connected to children's learning; and
  • evidence-based, practical classroom strategies to support children's self-regulatory skills in the early years.
The full webcast is available in 6 short video clips to support professional development. It is recommended that users watch the videos in order. Each section has a corresponding powerpoint presentation with questions to facilitate group discussion and/or personal reflection.

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A way to help teach plagiarism

A great video to help talk about plagiarism

"You've have done the talk, and hope it caught on.  You also know that students gravitate to online videos.  Here's a great vid to help with your talk about plagiarism!  And if you've never seen a Common Craft video, you'll be pleasantly surprised : )"  recommended by Naomi Bates

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Sir John A Day birthday bash

Sir John A MacDonald Day

This January 11th, celebrate our country's founding father by hosting a Sir John A Day birthday bash in your classroom! As classrooms across Canada celebrate Sir John A Day on January 11, 2012, share how your students marked the birthday and achievements of this critical figure in our nation's history. Document your event with video* or photographs** to show Canada how your class celebrated Sir John A's 197th birthday! (Register your class to win a contest too!)


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Wired - a big step in online copyright leadership

"Wired" Magazine places photos into Creative Commons

Wired has announced their intention of placing all their staff taken photos into Creative Commons.(Creative Commons is an initiative where copyright owners opt to share their work as a part of a larger collective.) The collection of photos Wired is choosing to add to the common library is exceptional, with HD photos of most every major technology event and figure over the past decade. Wired will share the photos on a dedicated Flickr stream.

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What words can teach us about culture...

What we learned from 5 million books [TED]

"Have you played with Google Labs' Ngram Viewer? It's an addicting tool that lets you search for words and ideas in a database of 5 million books from across centuries. Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel show us how it works, and a few of the surprising things we can learn from 500 billion words."

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16.11.11

ABCD-TF cards - Quick Feedback

Getting Quick Feedback "It's in the Cards"

If you want to do a quick check of how your students are doing, try using "ABCD-TF" cards. (Thanks Sara V)

Ask your students to make 6 cards, each with a big A, B, C, D, T (for True), F (for False) using menu cards.  When you need a quick sense of how kids are doing, you can ask a few multiple choice or true/false questions - students hold up their answer - you can see at a glance how they are all doing. (Makes for a good "exit" activity.)

You can also use playing cards for this. Have students bring the 1(ace), 2, 3, 4, and Joker from an old deck of cards. 1 through 4 are for multiple choice responses, the  Ace and Joker pair are for True/False.

Other card ideas?
You can also write student names on your own deck of cards and use them to randomize your order when calling on kids. [LINK]

See also


Use Cards for Math practice:

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14.11.11

Learning in the Age of Mobilism

Mobile Learning Wiki
"We are mobile. Mobile learning and Mobile life is not the next wave of the future. It is now."

SIGML is the ISTE special interest group that is an advocate for mobile learning worldwide, and promotes meaningful integration of mobile devices in teaching and learning in formal and informal learning environments. Members of SIGML include teachers, administrators, technology coordinators, university faculty and researchers, and representatives from profit and non-profit entities, including government.

Webinar - Learning in the Age of Mobilism
(Note: audio quality comes and goes.) 1hr - Actual presentation starts at 11m48.
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Use of digital texts in UDL

Digital Text, AT & Everything UDL
(archived webinar link on Elluminate) by Beth Poss, Chris Bugaj
Starts at the 38:20 mark

Join Beth Poss and Chris Bugaj as they explore how library media specialists can enhance the learning of all students by infusing Universal Design for Learning principles in their practice. They will highlight the use of digital text and other assistive technologies.

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eT@lking webinar series

Discussions Relating to Topical Technology Issues
"eT@lking is a weekly webinar series with sessions are aimed at educationalists from all areas/tiers of education and interested community members. The webinars are a mix of discussions relating to topical technology issues, resources and applications directed at education, through to formal presentations featuring a mix of local, national and global innovators, thinkers and practitioners."

While this is an Australian slanted site, the focus is on what Media Specialists (Teacher-Librarians) are doing in their schools. Previous sessions are archived on Elluminate for your listening pleasure.

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FSL-FI Homework Toolbox

A resource for FI/FSL students
(Thanks Diane)

"This site (by Rainbow School District) supports parents who have children in a "French Immersion" (FI) program and wish to assist them with homework in French. It is also a resource for FI students who require an accessible user friendly reference tool to help with homework. Learners and educators in other FSL programs will also find it helpful."

Helpful sections include:

  • audio files in French and English
  • video clips demonstrating instructional strategies
  • a reference guide for specific topics
  • a list of French language learning websites
  • general tips for learning French
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Informational Text and Multigenre Text Sets - webinar

Use multigenre text sets to enhance instruction
(1hr webinar - presentation begins at 8min39.)
Presenter: Jessica Fries-Gaither
Archived Recording: http://bit.ly/ScienceTextSets

"Join Jessica as she discusses the importance of using informational text in the primary and elementary grades, and how the creation and use of multigenre text sets can enhance your instruction. Recorded Thursday, August 26, 2010."

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Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle

Teach Climate Science Concepts

"Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is an online professional development magazine which focuses on preparing elementary teachers to teach climate science concepts while also integrating inquiry-based science and literacy instruction.

Structured around the seven essential principles of climate literacy, instructional and professional resources will take elementary teachers and their students past the superficial understanding and teaching of weather and the water cycle to a solid understanding of climate."

Sections: Stories for Students, Web Seminars, Interactive Activities, Literacy Lessons, Science Lessons, Unit Plan, Virtual Bookshelf, Digital Literacy in the Library.

Thematic Issues 
  • The Sun and Earth's Climate
  • Understanding Earth's Climate
  • We Depend on Earth's Climate
  • Earth's Climate Changes
  • We Study Earth's Climate
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Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears

Teach Polar Science Concepts

"Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears", is an e-zine which focuses on preparing K-5 teachers to teach polar science concepts while also integrating inquiry-based science and literacy instruction.

Includes podcasts, articles, webinars, and an e-book collection.
Each title is differentiated for K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 and comes in 3 formats (text only, illustrated book, and e-book). The e-books can be read online and are narrated with an audio "play" button.

The titles include:
        • The Inupiat of Alaska and their response to climate change
        • What it's like to live and work at the South Pole
        • Polar exploration
        • Animals that are adapted to life in cold polar oceans
        • The art and science of building igloos
        • How glaciers shape the landscape
        • Blue whales and a Southern Ocean food chain
        • The relationships between plants, insects, and animals on the tundra
        • Lichen – a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an alga
        • The life cycle and yearly migration of sanderlings
        • The life of an arctic wolf
        • Mt. Erebus – Antarctica's most active volcano
        • How dark and light objects reflect solar energy
        • Polar geology
        • Why ice floats
        • Antarctica's weather and climate
        • The aurora
        • Polar dinosaurs
        • The characteristics of the Arctic and Antarctica

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Graphic Organizers to print

Help Your Students Take Notes

58 graphic organizers in PDF format. (Note: Some of the graphic organizers may be filled out online and then printed.
  • Cause and Effect
  • Character and Story    
  • Compare and Contrast
  • Sequence, Cycle, Timeline, and Chain of Events
  • Vocabulary Development and Concept
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EBSCO Magazines for kids - clickable covers

Easy Access to Kids' Mags in EBSCO
[LINK]
In an attempt to make it easier to find suitable kids' magazines in EBSCO, I've put together a table with clickable covers for students and teachers. (I find it easier to view in Safari, but I think Firefox will work too.)

Accessing from school will take the viewer to the EBSCO landing page for each magazine. From home, you'll need your school ID and password (See your teacher-librarian)

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Animations on Info Lit

"Search With Success" - and more.
Acadia University has a number of fun, informative animations on a range of Info Lit topics. (See below) Some are even useful for upper intermediate students. Preview before using.

Credible Sources Count

Research It Right

You Quote it, You Note It

Search With Success

Sources for Courses