We, as school librarians, are often called the Inquiry Specialists. During library school, I (jmf) embraced this identity; however, I had a narrow definition of inquiry. Back then, I focused my attention on teaching students how to research and find… Read More ›
![By nohat silsor (Wikipedia-multilang-poster.it.pdf) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/wiki-120x120.png)
In which students get permission to play on Wikipedia! Many of the students I work with have non-verbal learning disorders. This presents a number of learning and social challenges. One of the biggest is that many of the students think… Read More ›
One of my favorite topics in library school involved storytelling. It was well before the advent of PowerPoint or digital storytelling and actually involved memorizing and telling stories to a live audience. I remember performing for my peers the classic… Read More ›
Students using a dictionary or thesaurus to look up synonyms has all but become a lost art. “Why do I need to learn this when I can go to dictionary.com and have it do it for me?” To encourage students… Read More ›
Should school librarians prepare students for the college transition? You are probably very familiar with the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner published in 2009. However, unless you work at a University, you may not be familiar… Read More ›
When people ask you what the most important thing to teach a child is, how do you respond? I (jmf) have heard some school librarians answer: + teaching young people how to read; + how to be curious about the world… Read More ›
One of the hardest battles I chose to fight when I opened my new elementary school library years ago was not what you might think. It was not with the new cadre of teachers who were uncomfortable with flexible access… Read More ›
Teaching middle school information skills has been fun and challenging. I learned early on that I could demonstrate the most beautifully designed, easy to use database, and the students will still go to Google. It’s what they know. It’s what… Read More ›
As either a seasoned regular to the educational field or a budding new rookie, we have all come to familiarize ourselves with the latest fads and buzzwords in education. Recently, common core, applied rigor, and a few others come to… Read More ›
I (jmf) have been serving as a summer school librarian in an Indianapolis, Indiana high school. In the brief moments that I have a break from the demanding teaching schedule, I have been updating the Information Center’s display cases. I… Read More ›