Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Library Skills Power Points




This site covers all elementary library skills in power point. A library media specialist could use this one site to cover the majority of the library media frameworks. It is GREAT!!! Save this one!!!!





This site has books with ideas for library display, but you do not have to purchase a book to get an idea. It has a place to post photographs of displays. The photos can generate ideas and really get you jump-started!


Story Time Ideas

http://www.bayviews.org/storytime.html#Multicultural

Stumped for something new and creative for story time? This site has excellent ideas and links for story time. It is well organized in genres from animals to multicultural. I have used it many times and all activities have been a hit with teachers and students.

Adventures in Graphica - Resource Book


I purchased this book to help me prepare for the 2009-2010 school year. It has been well worth the cost and has helped me maximize the graphic theme. Drawing on recent research and his own success using graphica (comics and graphic novels) with elementary readers, literacy coach Terry Thompson helps teachers utilize this medium. He demonstrates how it fits into literacy frameworks and correlates with best practices in comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency instruction. His ideas provide great ways for motivating and engaging reluctant readers as well, which is one of the main reasons I chose graphics as my theme for this school year - all kids are standing in line to read the graphic novels!


Adventures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension by Terry Thompson




Comics teach Narrative Structure

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=223

I will begin the 2008-09 school year with the theme, "Get Graphic at Your Library". I will give each classroom teacher (K-5) a packet to lesson plans to incorporate the idea of graphic novels into their class. Ofcourse, these lessons must be correlated with the Frameworks and standards. Here is one of my favorite. Kids will be writing with this model before they realize they are working!

This lesson uses comic strip frames to define plot and reinforce the structure that underlies a narrative, as students write their own original narratives.The lesson uses a version of "The Three Little Pigs" fairy tale to demonstrate the literary element; however, any picture book with a strong plot would work for this lesson.

The Best of the Web for Teachers

http://www.teachers.teach-nology.com/

This site is the premiere web based resource for teachers. It is a web Portal for educators. The best I have come across for everything in one place. It covers everything from primary to higher education. I think of the many hours I have wasted searching -and this site covers it all. If one begins here, you know you are viewing quality and not wading through commercial garbage! I use this every time I do a technology inservice for teachers.

Picturing America




http://www.picturingamerica.neh.gov/

These are some of the best teaching materials available and they are FREE! This collection of art tells the story of our country. This unit can easily be incorporated into media literacy because it demonstrates the powerful messages that can be communicated by images. The images speak powerfully, inspire fresh thinking, and connects us to our past. Picturing America, an exciting new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. Through this innovative program, students and citizens will gain a deeper appreciation of our country’s history and character through the study and understanding of its art.

I encourage eveyone to order these free materials which can be easily done on the website. It will take 5-6 months to receive them, but they are well worth the wait.



Photo Story Cause And Effect

LACICauseAndEffectPhotoStory3.htm

Many classrooms still do not have computers, so the media specialist and or computer lab teacher have the chance to create high interest assignments such as Photo Story to capture student interest and give them the chance to practice their skills and display their knowdedge of a particular subject. As students create a cause and effect Photo Story, they produce a Photo Story that depects at least five cause and effect relationships which includes photos, texts, audio, and music.

Photo Story 3 tutorial

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/CIOPhotoStory3Tutorial612.htm

This tutorial is designed to assist a student in learning how to tell a digital story. I have used these mostly for social studies, however they can make meaningful projects for all subject areas. Students consider creating a photo story fun, therefore they practice and apply concepts they have learned witout feeling as if they are working!

Media Literacy Interactive Game

http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/buyingsmart/shoppingbag_1.html

PBS never fails as it consistently provides quality and meaningful learning activities that illustrate content and keep the student interested. This interactive game titled "Don't Buy It" gives the student "hands on" experience of the propoganda used in commercial advertising that is actually "false" advertising.

Media Literacy

As students are "plugged in" to cell phones, the internet, and various electronics, they are bombarded with messages from the media. The library media specialist will play an important role in introducing "media literacy" into the curriculum and maintaining its status as an integral part of the school literacy program. Students must be taught how to read these messages and understand how they effect their decision making such as how they spend their money, what political candiate they vote for, and how they view themselves and the world around them. Media Literacy.org is an excellent site that includes meaningful lesson plans and a rationale for teaching media literacy

www.medialiteracy.org

Monday, July 6, 2009

"Get Graphic at Your Library"


Capitalize on the popularity of graphic novels and comic books by choosing "Get Graphic at Your Library" as your back to school theme. Capture the interest and enthusiasm of your students with these posters and bookmarks available at The American Library Association store:




Multicultural Education


Multicultural education is built on the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, and human dignity as recognized in the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. When schools teach multiculturalism, they demonstrate to the community that they value and affirm cultural differences. School curriculum should address issues of racism, sexism, classism, and religious intolerance. Multicultural education challenges all forms of discrimination through the promotion of democratic principles for all students. It helps students develop a positive self-concept by providing knowledge about culture and history of diverse groups of people. Schools that value multiculturalism include and embrace families and communities and create an environment that reflects our democratic values.


Every Human Being Has Rights: A Photographic Declaration for Kids. The book is based on The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is published by National Geographic. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a document translated into over 330 languages that calls on all of us to work as hard as we can to guarantee a world of freedom and peace. The book grew out of National Geographic’s involvement with a group of statesmen that advocate global respect for human rights. The group of statesmen, The Elders, collaborated with the ePals online writing project to create the book. Each section of Every Human Has Rights contains a simplified statement of one of the thirty articles of the declaration, an ePals contest winner’s poem, and captioned photographs illustrating the right/freedom associated with the article from the declaration.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Make Your Own Comic

Looking for a way to entice your reluctant readers and writers? Introduce comic books and take advantage of the popularity and availability of graphic novels. Students can make their own comics at this website and it emphasizes tone and mood.

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com

children's literature website

This children's literature has great teacher resources that are teacher friendly and have meaningful activities - content rich. I have used it for library lessons and referred many teachers to it is well. It is one you will want to bookmark.

http://wwww.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html