October, 2011

Blog Bits and Interesting Links

• 25 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning  - this is a great list of free web-based tools that are organized by application to the Standards for the 21st Century Learner
• 100 Things to Do With Books   - a very handy list of simple activities as an alternative to the traditional written book report.  Look here for some fun ideas for the upcoming Book Week!
• International Education Blogs - here is a page for you to bookmark that feeds blogs in the area of international education.  If you can suggest others, please let me know as I am seeking the best of the best for this page which is part of a LibGuide I am developing for teachers on global education.                        

Accelerated Reader Teams 

Take a look at the display in the lobby of the PS building!  The four AR teams for this year are posted there.  All students from grades two through five should be on one of the team lists.  This year we have the Fire, Earth, Water and Air teams to go along with our theme "Reading is Elemental!"  Please encourage your students to take AR quizzes on books they have read.  The quizzes need to be taken at school.

Upcoming Library Programming  

Two primary school library workshops for parents are now on the calendar:

• October 13 - The Virtual Library - Online Resources for Primary School Students (slides from the presentation are posted on the Primary School Library Moodle)

• November 1 - Multicultural Children's Literature

Each will be offered in the Library Computer Lab from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

  

Ebook Resources Great for Smartboards

Now that Smartboards are in almost all the classrooms, our Ebook resources are hopefully even more useful for teachers.  If you have not already explored Tumblebooks, Bookflix and Sylvan Dell, please take the time to do so.  You will be glad you did!  If you have questions or would like a preview from a member of the library staff, just let us know.  We will be glad to help!

Updated Library Schedule and Curriculum

The library schedule has been tweaked in a few places and an updated schedule will be posted by the Book Return in the PS building entrance.  The full curriculum will be available on the J: drive under Faculty - Primary - Subject Areas - Library.  Library planners for each unit will be posted by the Story Room door.

Changes for This Year

• No paper overdue notices this year!!  We hope this will make life easier for you (and for us and the parents).  We now have the capability to send overdue notices by email.  You may still receive questions about overdue books via the agenda.  Please forward all inquiries on to us.

• The juvenile reference books (with the exception of some atlases and encyclopedias) are now shelved with the other nonfiction books.  This is to encourage students to use the reference books.  It does not change the fact that they remain in the library (i.e. they do not "check out").  Juvenile reference books are marked J REF on the spine label.

Meet Archie!

I am working on a new library friend, digital that is, named Archie (to go with the design of arches on the Primary School side of the library).  To see Archie, look for a link on Moodle under Library - Primary Library.  Once he is fully actualized, Archie will be multilingual and he will know A LOT about the library.

Video Tutorials on Moodle

We know that you need library info at all times of the day and during the year, not just when we are able to offer a workshop.  So we plan to provide more video tutorials on subjects related to use of the library and library resources.  Topics such as the library catalog, using the netbooks, how to schedule library time, databases and ebooks are on the list for video tutorials.  Can you suggest others that you would like to see posted on the Primary School Library Moodle?

November, 2010

Library Moodle


The students in UPS are beginning to use the PS Library Moodle page for links to Noodletools and resources needed during library time.  Please take a minute to look at the PS Library Moodle -- you will find lots of content there related to the library program.  Also, if you would like to include links to POI websites, project rubrics, model documents, and so forth, I am happy to add them there for you.  Moodle is a great place for materials that the students might need to access from home because there is no password required.


Netbooks Available for Use in Library


The netbooks have been used by students in grades 2 through 5 this year. They are used quite frequently in the afternoons and throughout the day for AR quizzes, but often there are a good number available in the mornings, especially in the middle of the week.  Please feel free to make arrangements with me to use the netbooks in the library with your class during these times.  Prior notice is required, because the netbooks need to be set up in advance for you.
  
 Library Faculty Workshops


Parents learned about the library online resources, including our great new ones, and the catalog through the library workshops in October.  How comfortable are you with using these resources?  Would you like to know more yourself or to come in with your grade level team or language group to learn about resources particularly suited for your students?  Contact me to schedule a short workshop tailored just for you and your group. We can meet in the library or in a classroom either before or after school.


Stickers for Students - How to Access Library Resources from Home

At Luz Bella's suggestion, I made stickers listing step by step how to access library resources from home.  If you would like me to make stickers for your students, please let me know.  The sticker is about 3" by 3" and is perfect to place in the inside cover of the agenda where it will be handy.

Posters on Citation Format and Big6 TM

I have printed more posters of the grade level citation format that was agreed upon several years ago and more posters of the Big6 Research Process in the four languages of instruction.  Please let me know if you need any of these for your classroom.  Each classroom should have both of these posted where students can see them.

Accelerated Reader Teams

The students seem excited about reading for their teams and I am glad that teachers are interested in supporting AR through the classroom as well.  We have a list of each grade with all student user names at the circulation desk.  The passwords are the same as Xen this year to make it easier for students and us!  If you would like a report on participation by students in your class, please let me know.

How to Request New Books


To request books for your units or that you think the students would like, please go to the Primary School E Bulletin Board (via PS Library Moodle) or from the Primary School Library Resources page under Academics on the school website.  You will see a link for recommending new books in English, Spanish, French or German.  You will also see a separate link for recommending books in other mother tongues of  faculty or students.  These links open to a  form.  Requests submitted via the form go directly to our purchasing lists so this is the best way to be sure we will receive and retain your request.

May 2009

Interesting Resources to Explore this Summer

Some interesting online resources for you to explore as you think about unit planning for next year . . .

a. World Digital Library - This new offering has primary source materials from all over the world in multiple languages. A search of the resources can be refined by date, by country and by language. Take a look at this library which is promoted by UNESCO and is sure to grow in the future. Try out the time line feature -- pretty nifty.

b. Worlds of Words- Worlds of Words is a website created to bridge cultures and borders by promoting international children's literature for curricululm and global awareness. Kathy Short, for those of you who know of her, is the director of WOW. This website is nicely organized with a wealth of information that can be searched by country, age level or subject.

c. PYP Book Lists - Looking for books that align with the PYP curriculum? Here are some resources that provide lists of books by learner profile and various inquiry areas:

Australed

PYP Library (at Wikispaces)

Library Thing PYP List

Don't Forget to Check the Teacher Cart

We are still adding materials to the teacher cart just outside Dal's office. These are books and videos that we cannot use in the library collection for various reasons. Many of these items could be useful in the classroom. Please come by and take a look! At the end of the school year, we will donate these items so I urge you to make your selections now.

Student Book Checkout Ends May 15

The last day for student book checkout will be May 15 and all library books are due by May 22. Please remind students to return their library books by that date. Also, it would be great if you could have a classroom "scavenger hunt" for library books that are checked out to students. Library books checked out to teachers are not due until the end of the school year, so please hang on to those unit books until the unit is over. LIBRARY CLASS TIMES WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR.

Summer Reading - Where and Why?

Where are the lists?: The summer reading list is now on Moodle in the separate course category of "Summer Reading". Please remind students to check Moodle for their summer reading information.

Why read over the summer?: According to research that I read through a Georgia Department of Education publication, if we can encourage our students to read 5-8 books over the summer that:

1. they are interested in, and
2. are on their Lexile level

the effects will be the same as going to summer school.

The "Find a Book with Lexiles" website can help parents and students find books that meet the two criteria above. It is helpful to have the student's Lexile score, but the Lexile number is not required. A student can choose areas of interest and the website will identify books meeting the criteria and indicate nearby public libraries where the books may be obtained.

March 2009

Blog Bits

A few more interesting bits from the blogs:

a. Global Collaboration and Personal Learning Networks - detailed blog post by Julie Lindsay on "flattening" the classroom with global collaborations. Does this suggest a new concept of an "international school"?

b. New Fair Use Code of Practice - more on copyright for teachers by Wes Fryer, including a great Slideshare presentation.

c. Empty Praise - post by Kristin Fontichiaro features a video interview by Will Richardson with Carol Dweck on the danger of overpraising students as connected with the student's willingness to be a risk-taker. Gives examples of how to "praise the process" in a way that builds a growth mindset.

Stars and A Wish

Many thanks to all who shared suggestions for the library. Here is a summary of the suggestions that were made:

- more books in "diary" format
- more biographies
- more Eyewitness history books
- books addressing social and emotional needs of students
- more books in Portuguese
- more books about Native Americans
- more picture books about science
- more audio books
- more books from the countries of origin of our students

Another suggestion was to build more connections between the library and the arts.

I was delighted to receive these suggestions. Look for growth in these areas thanks to your thoughts.

Electronic Resources for Next Year

We will be renewing our library electronic resources subscriptions in April. As always, but especially in the current economic situation, we want to be sure to purchase resources that teachers and students like and will use. Many of our databases are purchased through our MISBO membership.

To see which databases MISBO is offering for next year and to access free trials of those resources, go to this MISBO webpage. Please let me know which MISBO databases you like the most.

We also subscribe to GALILEO for a number of our databases and buy several others, such as Bookwhere, Tumblebooks and World Book Online, separately. Any feedback on those resources would be much appreciated as well. We will also be looking at usage statistics to determine which resources are being utilized.

Thanks for your help in the selection process - this is your chance to speak up on what you like . . . and what you don't like.

PS Library Moodle

Some of you may not know that the PS Library has a Moodle page under "Library" (near the bottom of the list). There you will find electronic resources and citation information, as well as library lessons for particular units and links to resources. The PS Library E-Bulletin Board is also linked through the Moodle, so you can reach both areas from one portal.

If you have suggestions as to material to add to the PS Library Moodle, please let me know.

Visit by Paul Janeczko

Poet Paul Janeczko, award-winning poet and poetry anthologist, visited AIS on Thursday, March 5, and shared his books about poetry with our 4th graders. Students seemed particularly impressed with his concrete poems and with his strategies for journaling and idea generation. Visit the library to check out books by Paul Janeczko for this April, National Poetry Month!

Your Favorite Childhood Book or Poem?

What was your favorite childhood book or poem? I'd like to do a display of teacher favorites. Even better - please add several sentences about why you liked the book or poem. We did this a few years ago and the students really enjoyed seeing "who liked what".