Recently my daughter and I finished reading the heavy-hitting, middle-grade novel-in-verse Starfish by Lisa Fipps. My daughter’s words were flowing a mile a minute, the kind that make a librarian’s (and mama’s) heart sing. “This is the best book I’ve… Read More ›
Selling the Language of Poetry It’s hard to persuade teenagers to read novels in their spare time but when it comes to poetry, it’s an even tougher sell. Each year I teach poetry research lessons to English classes. Though I… Read More ›
Whether your library is virtual, in-person, or somewhere in between, there’s no doubt that these last two school years have been simply overwhelming. Connecting personally with our students in order to deliver them their next great read or resource has… Read More ›
Merriam-Webster offers a twofold definition of the word “resilience”: 1: the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress; 2: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune… Read More ›
Whenever I teach a research lesson to a class of high school students, I notice the lack of enthusiasm for the project they’re about to start. I find myself working hard to convince them that research is a rewarding endeavor… Read More ›
You know when you learn about a resource and say to yourself, “Ah, I wish I had learned about this before!” That is how I feel about Applied Digital Skills by Google for Education. Recently, I was fortunate enough to… Read More ›
Each year to promote students to read over summer break I create a Summer Reading Challenge board. The summer slide is real, and even with intermediate students they can lose a lot of what they gained as a reader over… Read More ›
We are currently living through unprecedented times. The global pandemic of COVID-19 has led, in many places, to abandoned streets, empty store shelves, and shuttered school buildings. Even though your school library space may be closed right now, your library… Read More ›
Anyone who has worked in a high school is familiar with senioritis, the syndrome that causes seniors to relax their academic efforts with the justification that they’ve worked hard for the past four years and deserve a break now. For… Read More ›
With the summer in full swing, I’m able to take a step back and reflect on the past school year in my high school library. My co-librarian and I accomplished a lot: we taught dozens of research classes, which included… Read More ›