Library Links

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


24.9.15

Who, or Whom?

The "Comma Queen" explains grammar
"From The New Yorker comes "The Comma Queen" video series, which features Mary Norris talking about the finer points of language that come up again and again in our everyday writing. Some of it, no doubt, will come in handy. (Youtube Playlist here)"

==========



23.9.15

Drop Everything and READ! - Oct 26th

From the BCTLA DEAR committee
=======================
Here are some posters to use for DEAR this year.  Remind your colleagues that DEAR is October 26 this year.
(posters here -> LINK LINK)

Use this survey after DEAR to share your participation. http://goo.gl/forms/Ie6H1Nv923

Here are some ideas for how to grab some attention for DEAR. "DEAR- Notes for TLs"  

Don't forget to tweet out any activities using #rtla38, #SD38 and #bctla_dear

===================

9 Essential Skills | ABC Life Literacy Canada

The foundation for learning all other skills
"The Government of Canada has identified nine essential skills needed for the workplace. These skills are used in every job to varying degrees and at different levels of complexity. They provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change.

•     Reading Text
•     Writing
•     Numeracy
•     Document Use
•     Oral Communication
•     Working with Others
•     Computer Use
•     Thinking Skills
•     Continuous Learning

===============

Teach English Language Learners with Karaoke

Sing your way to English
"Jon Schwartz found that Karaoke is an incredible way to teach reading and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. You'll find so many ideas that you can use to teach reading (and any subject). This method can produce great results! The California state Senate named Jon "Tech Hero of 2011. Schwartz recently formed a nonprofit to develop the Rockademix (http://rockademix.org) curriculum that will enable teachers — even those without training in the arts — to use the visual and performing arts, tech and music to teach kids academics."

============

8 Must-Watch Documentaries for Artists & Designers

Design principles that affect our daily lives
Here are eight documentaries on graphic design that show you the "wonders of creativity". (The post embeds trailers, and gives links to the full films.) A design background isn't necessary to enjoy these offerings. I especially liked the feature on the font Helvetica (sounds nerdy, but it was fascinating.)

===========

22.9.15

In the Middle Books – great reads for middle-grade kids

Browse by theme or age range.
From Simon & Schuster: "Fun, fantastic books for kids in the in-beTWEEN stage! Welcome to in the middle books! Find great info on new and favorite series, download activities, and more!"

===========

Five-Minute Film Festival: Comics in the Classroom

Comics as an essential part of every child's reading list.
"In recent years, graphic novels have expanded beyond superhero storylines, and offer many teaching opportunities for educators who want to take advantage of their broad appeal and themes. Read on, and watch the videos below, to find out how to add some bam! to your classroom..."

===============


21.9.15

Current Events: bundled in a visual way

Browse the news visually
(Thanks for the heads-up, NS)

"View a color-coded [topic-block] page that shows trending news topics.  Buttons across the top allow you to narrow it to a specific country (including Canada) and buttons across the bottom narrow the topics (Technology, Sports, World News, etc.).  If you mouse over the map, you get a thumbnail that gives you the first sentence or two, an image, and the original source of the article (e.g. Globe & Mail).  Bonus: News stories from other countries are displayed in the country's language, so if you select "France" you get everything in French - looks like an excellent, authentic way to get in some reading practice."

Note: not iPad friendly

=========

The Canadian Encyclopedia - Terry Fox and Parasports exhibits

Two new virtual exhibits at TCE
Explore the lives of parasport athletes, and the legacy of Terry Fox with these two new exhibits. Text, images and videos. (Also available in French.)

============


LEGO Poetry Center @ Mrs Lodge's Library

"Build" original LEGO poetry
Get students to "build" original poetry using LEGO (Duplo) bricks. You can glue high frequency words or theme vocabulary to the blocks. Have students create "progressive" poems where they each add a word. Poetry towers are fun. Or match compositions to picture books - lots of possibilities. Don't forget to take pictures of the poems they create.

===========
===============

Shelving Game - iPad friendly too!

Shelving practice made easy
Use Mrs Lodge's Shelver game to put books in call number order.
"You have a choice of 3 levels. Click on a book with your mouse (or your finger on a touch device) and drag it into the correct order. When you think your books are in the correct order, click the Check My Shelf button at the top of the screen to see if you are right."

=========

Power Up : The essential guide to going 1:1

Be successful with tablets, notebooks, and BYOD
"The essential guide to going 1:1. Power Up is the book your teachers need to understand the changes in pedagogy, planning, classroom organization, time management, and collaboration that will help them be successful with tablets, notebooks, and BYOD. Includes a PD study guide and companion website filled with teaching resources. Preview the entire book online!"

See also the companion website: http://www.pluginpowerup.com

============