Author Archives
NBCTeacher Librarian and author of "Understanding Government Information: a Teaching Strategy Toolkit for grades 7-12". Member of the CA State Library Services Board, and History Room Librarian at the Petaluma Regional Library [Sonoma County Library]. She welcomes all conversation.. give a holler!
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Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: using resources together to encourage critical thinking
Do good fences make good neighbors, as Robert Frost’s neighbor states? Walls are in the news today what with presidential candidates arguing over their immigration policies and suggestions for building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The U.S. isn’t… Read More ›
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Curiosity and Serendipity
One of the best things about libraries, both in person and online, is the possibility of discovering something interesting just by chance. Think about the time you headed to the fiction section containing your favorite author – Walter Dean Myers… Read More ›
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Library Serendipity Part 2
Walking down the hall in any busy school today brings us shoulder to shoulder with busy children laughing, crying, some barely dragging themselves to class, others running to get there first–all the energy and passion that is youth is right… Read More ›
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Library Serendipity. Part 1: Thank you Yale University and LOC
In my office at school, which sits in the middle of the library, there is a cardboard box filled to the brim with newspapers and magazines. Reader’s Digests from 1965, Look magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and local newspapers from… Read More ›
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What if…students asked their own questions?
Early last year I had the serendipitous opportunity to read a fabulous new [to me] book called: A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger. I say serendipitous because while I was looking… Read More ›
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The changing role of the school library
The changing role of the school environment—where students have access to tech all day long and inquiry assignments set each student or student group on their own learning trajectory—means that educators need to re-think how and where we work with… Read More ›
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It’s July. Enjoy!
If you’ve spent any time in front of the television lately, you’ve probably seen the MasterCard [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNjYn6k7vMA] commercial exhorting parents to take “one more day” of vacation. Apparently, “400 million vacation days go unused” by American workers. This most likely… Read More ›
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School Librarians Needed Instead of Instructional Coaches in CA
A recent article in EdSource (http://edsource.org/2015/classroom-coaches-critical-as-teachers-shift-to-common-core/) noted an increase in coaches in California school districts to assist with the demands of implementing the Common Core State Standards. One school mentioned in the article, Oakland Technical High School, appears to have… Read More ›