Once again it’s almost the end of the school year and time to pause and reflect on our pluses and minuses. We had a better year than anticipated, but like most districts we are experiencing more budget cuts along with declining enrollment…. Read More ›
By Susan D. Ballard, AASL Standards editorial board member, and Sara Kelly Johns, AASL Standards implementation task force member As the traditional academic year wraps up, we’d like to suggest a new riff on an old proverb: “People may think… Read More ›
Reading picture books that focus on historical figures or events can be an opportunity to see how the author represented the focus of the book. Pairing that picture book with primary sources can help students explore how these people or… Read More ›
Although I was super excited about the makerspace movement, my enthusiasm quickly faded as I realized expectations and reality can be very different. What started as a $50,000 educational shopping spree (thanks, TeacherPreneur Grant), had all but ended with two… Read More ›
Remembering things – like multiplication tables, grammar rules, or algebraic operations – can be made easier if there are interesting ways of learning them. Even as we embrace large ideas of learning, what needs to be learned includes many things… Read More ›
Are you looking for ideas to engage learners over the summer? I have a few to share, but you’ll need to enlist some help. Start with classroom educators. If any of the ideas below spark their interest, talk with reading… Read More ›
Concern about children’s and teens’ reading has been with us for hundreds of years. Mobilizing concerns about youth reading in order to spur activists and citizens to action has a long and complex history in the United States. Much lip… Read More ›
No matter how much we emphasize the importance of books and databases, the reality is our students are using the Internet for research and will continue to do so. The plethora of high-quality resources available online cannot be ignored. But… Read More ›
Social media overload is real. Being a connected educator can be overwhelming, especially if you have been given a ton of information at once. Do you ever wonder how colleagues stay so connected and make it look so seamless? Let… Read More ›
In my years as a librarian, I must confess that I had never had a winning team for Battle of the Book. Not. Even. Close. In fact I think a couple of times we came quite close to dead last…. Read More ›