Library Links

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


13.6.13

NoveList Training 101

Be a NoveList power user.

EBSCO hosts a back-to-basics column called "NoveList Training 101". This regular feature is intended to provide quick tips and advice for NoveList newbies and veterans alike. This month, learn how to build Summer Reading lists and take advantage of the Read-alikes function!.

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NoveList Adds Tools for Finding Visual Appeal

Find books using the visual impact of illustrations

"Readers have a new tool for helping to discover books they love -- a new category of appeal terms called illustration appeals. These new appeal terms are now available in all NoveList databases (including NoveList, NoveList Plus, NoveList K-8, and NoveList K-8 Plus). Illustration appeals describe the visual impact of book illustrations. Are the drawings colorful and bold? Photographic? Or maybe dark and nightmarish? Having access to this information helps readers identify books with their favorite style of imagery. Readers who love highly visual genres such as graphic novels or picture books will now be able to pinpoint books that appeal to them visually.

Note: NovveList is available under the Visual Tab of your library catalog in Destiny

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Transforming BC's Curriculum - links for further information

New curriculum and assessment guidelines

As you know, the BC Ministry of Education is developing new curriculum and assessment guidelines. You will find on the linked page mentioned above, documents which summarize the work-to-date, and explain how the ministry is planning to implement changes to curriculum.

Documents on this page include:
  • Exploring Curriculum Design (PDF, 695KB)
  • Defining Cross Curricular Competencies (PDF 569KB)
  • Short summary of the transformation for parents, educators, and citizens: Overview (PDF, 54KB)
  • Enabling Innovation: Transforming Curriculum and Assessment (PDF, 3.71MB)
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Genius Hour: Passion-Based Learning - webinar

Develop your own inquiry question

"Genius Hour is a precious time, loved by all my students.  It is when they are allowed to develop their own inquiry question about whatever it is that they want to explore," so says Gallit Zvi (@gallit_z), one of our presenters.  Joining Gallit will be Denise Krebs (@mrsdkrebs), Hugh McDonald (@hughtheteacher), and Joy Kirr (@joykirr), who are all middle school educators.

"They will share the basic philosophy of Genius Hour or 20% Time, why you and your students should do it, some examples of Genius Hour projects, how this kind of learning informs all we do in the classroom, and scaling up Genius Hour to change the world and become part of the Choose2Matter and Quest2Matter movements.

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Inquiry Webinars - Sask Teacher-Librarians Association

"Constructing Understanding through Inquiry"

"Teacher-librarians Constructing Understanding through Inquiry" is a partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Saskatchewan School Library Association (SSLA).  The partnership invites educators to participate in the live webinar series for Inquiry.
(Look for the "Archive" link under each session for the recording link.)

Webinar #1 - Preparing for Inquiry
Presenter: Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm

Webinar #2 - Planning For Inquiry
Presenter: Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm

Webinar #3 - Assessing Outcomes in the Inquiry Context
Presenter:  Cheryl Erlandson, Director, Saskatchewan Professional Development Unit,

Webinar #4 - Bringing Inquiry to Life
Presenter: Carlene Walter

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Vidéos - Martine

L'héroïne de la série de livres - Martine

5 vidéos de 13 minutes chaque.

"Pour la première fois à la télévision, Martine, l'héroïne de la série de livres à succès. Petite fille rêveuse, curieuse, plongée dans ses joies, ses peines, ses questions, ses peurs et ses découvertes. Au programme donc de l'amitié, des aventures drôles ou émouvantes. Sans oublier Patapouf, le fidèle chien de Martine !"

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Storyworks Magazine

Dynamic, cross-genre lessons in magazine format
Storyworks is now available via the EBSCO mags icon in Destiny, under the Visual Tab of your library catalog.
(Note: access from school doesn't require a login. For home access, use your school ID and password.)

Each issue features:

  • Thrilling Narrative Nonfiction
  • Original Fiction - perfect for reading groups.
  • Readers Theater Plays
  • Paired Texts -   ie. a poem & a newspaper article, or an essay & a journal entry
  • Classic and Contemporary Poems
The scholastic website for the magazine has some extras to explore as well.
(Individual issue resources, whiteboard files, associated videos, audio of some articles)

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12.6.13

Registration Open for BCTLA Summer Institute (Aug. 27)

"The Power of Reading" BCTLA Summer Institute
August 27  - Eric Hamber Secondary School, Vancouver
Cost: $60.00

Registration and more information is now available at:  

Join BCTLA and USC Professor Emeritus Dr. Stephen Krashen, a well-known, international expert on the importance of reading.  Dr. Krashen is quick to advocate for school libraries as "the hottest tool in the  literacy kit".  Dr. Krashen will share insights into free voluntary reading and its importance for children's literacy development, the profound impact of poverty on reading, what international tests of reading can tell educators about reading improvement and the strong connection between second language learning and reading.  
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Podcasts to investigate

Want to expand your brain?
Here are a number of book related podcasts (along with a handful of culture and science shows.) Feed your brain on long walks, boring commutes and long afternoons on the beach! Listen on your iPad, PC or download to an iPod, iPhone or other mp3 player.

Reading and Books
ReadWriteThink - Teen recommendations

Culture
CBC - Ideas
CBC - Spark
New Yorker Out Loud

Science

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11.6.13

35 Vintage Library Posters from the New Deal Era

Posters to promote libraries, books and learning.



"Between 1936 and 1943 thousands of boldly coloured and graphically diverse posters were produced by the Work Projects Administration, established as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. These posters were designed to publicise health and safety programs; cultural programs including art exhibitions, theatrical, and musical performances; travel and tourism; educational programs; and community activities in seventeen states and the District of Columbia. Here is a selection of the posters produced to promote libraries, books and learning.

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Zen Pencils - inspirational quotes in cartoon format

Inspiring quotes, combined with a love of drawing

A great student project - illustrate lines from a poem or a quote from a notable person.

"Gavin Aung Than is a freelance cartoonist based in Melbourne, Australia. After working in the corporate graphic design industry for 8 years he quit his unfulfilling job at the end of 2011 to focus on his true passion, drawing cartoons. Gavin launched Zen Pencils at the start of 2012, a cartoon blog which adapts inspirational quotes into comic stories, and hasn't looked back since."

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50 Great Movies

Movies You Can Legally Watch for Free

There are many "free" movies streaming at this very moment thanks to their status as "public domain," ie. their copyright has lapsed and they are available for public consumption. There are some gems here that are worth watching.

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The Many Uses of Online Learning Webinar

50 Great Ideas in 60 Minutes

"Join host Mickey Revenaugh and our guest speaker, John Watson, founder of the Evergreen Education Group, as they discuss innovative ways of how online learning is transforming K-12 education.

(Originally aired April 18, 2012)

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Tools for Learning Schools

Crossing the Digital Divide

Glenn Maleyko and Howard Pitler share six lessons for getting teachers
to begin using technology in the classroom. They use the following questions to explore how to apply these lessons to your school or district.

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10.6.13

Online Book Clubs for Education

Book Club 106 - an open online book club

"Book Club 106 is an open online book club for educators that has been meeting weekly and so far has covered two books: Switch and What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning & Literacy. In this community conversation, we'll look at the whole idea of virtual or online book clubs: do they make sense, how do they compare with in-person book clubs, and are they catching on?"

Recording: (The actual session begins at the 9 minute mark) The full recording is at https://sas.elluminate.com/ and an audio mp3 recording is at http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/benrimes.mp3 and at http://www.futureofeducation.com.

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Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind

Books created a new path for this young woman

"What happens when a dream you've held since childhood ... doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach to reading in this lovely, personal talk about the magic of books."

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1ce Upon a Txt - Lingua Franca

New forms of writing or the end of civilization as we know it?

What do you think about "text talk"?

"All this is the stuff of narratology, where a complicated dialogue about how we beget and receive stories has gone on for many decades. ... The code switching called for when texters turn to formal written forms, and vice versa, resembles the tensions felt by fiction writers and students of fiction writing."

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IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music

Looking for music?

The International Music Score Library Project is a crowdsourced web site that indexes classical music scores. IMSLP currently has 68,300 works, 240,904 scores, 24,389 recordings, 7,667 composers, and 226 performers.

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Let My People Read by Donalyn Miller | Nerdy Book Club

Concerned about summer slump? A parent muses on reading lists.

What are we doing to great works of fiction?

"...While I understand that teachers are concerned about summer slide or summer slump, the documented decline in students' reading levels between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next, I question whether or not assigning specific titles and reading assignments accomplishes teachers' well-intentioned goals to keep their students reading over the summer months. As Penny Kittle says, "It's not rigor if they aren't reading it."

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Book Trailers from Books in Bloom

A fun literacy enhancement tool

Some book trailers to peruse...

"Book trailers promote books and reading in different ways and can be really fun literacy enhancement tools. You can use a great book trailer to introduce a book to a young reader. Then, after reading the book, you might initiate a discussion comparing and contrasting the book and the book trailer."

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Music in unexpected places

An impromptu concert - stuck on a plane

A quartet from The Philadelphia Orchestra (Juliette Kan and Daniel Han on violin; Che-Hung Chen on viola; and Yumi Kendall on cello), treat everyone to an impromptu version of Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 "American" Finale.

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