We Make Our Library Great. Together. I’m the steward of the school library. It’s my job to make the library a place that reflects our learning community, and responds to the community’s needs. Since our population of users is always… Read More ›
Technology Integration
Create Your Own Graph: A Math Collaboration in 5 Steps
Recently, a second-grade teacher and I had the opportunity to work together on a project in math. Her class was finishing a unit on graphing and I recommended the book The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy. The book sparked… Read More ›
4 Thoughts from the Elementary School Library Tour
I had the opportunity to participate in the Elementary School Tour as part of the 2019 AASL National Conference on Thursday, November 14. During the tour, the group visited two elementary schools in Jefferson County Public Schools. We started our… Read More ›
Advocacy – Something for Everyone!
I want all school librarians to be advocates for school libraries. It’s not just during budget season, and it’s not just when your job is on the line. That’s too little, too late. It’s not “just one more thing” to… Read More ›
I Earned a Badge! Now What? 3 Reasons to Earn and Save Digital Badges and Micro-Credentials
I earned a badge! I love badges and micro-credentials. They’re so much fun to earn and a great way to show off your professional learning. But, why should you even earn them, and what do you do with all of… Read More ›
Summarizing with Dash: A Collaborative Project in First Grade
Recently, a first-grade teacher wanted to have her students use coding to create a summary. Her goal was to have students share a story and include how the main character developed as well as how the setting changed. She sought… Read More ›
Popcorn and the Power of a Great Book Trailer
There’s nothing like seeing a great movie in a theater. First of all, there’s the popcorn. Movie-theater popcorn is unlike anything you can microwave or cook on the stove. There’s the anticipation of a great film and spending 2 hours… Read More ›
Stuck on Standards? The School Librarian’s Role
In last month’s post “Stuck on Standards?” I highlighted two examples of how to implement the AASL Standard Framework for Learners. In both examples, I utilized the same lesson and standard frameworks, scaffolding each for different grade levels. Scaffolding is… Read More ›
On a Mission: Students with Exceptional Abilities Coding Music
Libraries Ready to Code (RtC) is an initiative of ALA that is sponsored by Google. This initiative focuses on the role of school and public libraries in providing opportunities for youth to develop computational thinking skills through coding activities and… Read More ›
The Ready to Code (RtC) Collection
There are 450,000+ open computing jobs across the United States, but only 35% of high schools teach computer programming (code.org, 2019). The American Library Association (ALA) wanted to understand and support libraries with information and resources related to computer science…. Read More ›