Your Library

Russo, C. T., & Swan, C. (2015). Your Library is the Answer: Demonstrating Relevance to Tech-Savvy Learners. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 978-1-59884-933-2

Publisher's Description

Today’s tech-savvy and digitally connected students present a new challenge for today’s school librarians. This book offers the 21st-century tools and know-how necessary for educators to appeal to and challenge students to learn—and to want to learn.

What are the best ways to motivate students to become engaged and develop a passion for learning? Can appealing to their desire for socialization and constant communication—attributes of their lives outside of education—via the integration of cutting-edge technologies and "new media" in the library or classroom serve to ignite creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking? This book shows how you can make use of non-traditional tools such as popular social networks, collaborative technologies, and cloud computing to teach information and communications technologies integrated with the school curriculum to improve student learning—and demonstrates how these same technologies can help you measure skills and mastery learning.

The book provides an easy-to-follow blueprint for using collaborative techniques, innovation, and teaching for creativity to achieve the new learning paradigm of self-directed learning, such as flipping the classroom or library. Readers of this book will find concrete, step-by-step examples of proven lesson plans, collaborative models, and time-saving strategies for the successful integration of American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards. The authors—both award-winning teachers—explain the quantitatively and qualitatively measurable educational value of using these technologies for core curricular and information and communications technologies instruction, showing that they both enhance student learning outcomes and provide data for measuring their impact on learning.

Features

• Includes innovative, practical lesson plans designed to promote problem solving skills, flexible thinking, and metacognition as well as an extensive bibliography of additional resources
• Addresses how to analyze quantitative and qualitative data to perform the assessment necessary to improve learning outcomes
• Provides essential information and guidance for K–12 librarians, technology integration teachers, and educators as well as school administrators
• Addresses key aspects of learning such as critical thinking, inquiry, learning spaces, blended learning, engagement, motivation, and Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Advocate and Manage
Chapter 1: Leadership
Chapter 2: Mission and Core Values
Part II: Socialize and Engage
Chapter 3: Environment: Culture and Climate
Chapter 4: Social Bookmarking / Participatory Learning / Collaborative Research
Part III: Communicate and Collaborate
Chapter 5: Collaborative Technologies and Cloud Computing
Chapter 6: GAFE: Google APPS for Education
Chapter 7: Online Blended Learning
Part IV: Network
Chapter 8: Establish Professional Learning Network
Part V: Use Standards
Chapter 9: Common Core
Part VI: Instruct
Chapter 10: Instruction
Chapter 11: Assessment
Chapter 12: PLCs
Part VII: Search
Chapter 13: Google Search: Strategies and Protocols
Chapter 14: Literacy: digital, reading, writing, numeracy and inquiry
Part VIII: Create
Chapter 15: Creativity and Curiosity
Part IX: Digitize: Publish and Produce
Chapter 16: Plagiarism
Chapter 17: Copyright and Intellectual Property
Chapter 18: Cybersafety
Part X: Innovate and Adapt
Chapter 19: New and Emerging Technologies
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Emergency Preparedness

Kaaland, C. (2015). Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery in School Libraries: Creating a Safe Haven. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 978-1-61069-729-3

Publisher's Description
When disaster strikes, school librarians can play a key role in keeping kids safe. This is the only book written specifically to provide school librarians with emergency preparedness and recovery tools as well as curricular tie-ins.

No school is immune to disaster, whether in the form of a natural event like a tornado or a tragedy like the violence that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The key to minimizing injury or death in an emergency is preparedness—something the school librarian is uniquely positioned to lead. This must-have book will show you how to be proactive in getting your school ready for the worst. It provides comprehensive preparedness and recovery plans, check lists, and curricular recommendations on preparedness that can be tailored to your individual library and community.

Covering natural disasters, human-made disasters, and school violence, the book shows you how to conduct drills, assess vulnerabilities and risk, communicate preparedness plans, and use bibliotherapy for disaster recovery. It also describes how your library can be a safe haven for students who feel disconnected, bullied, or otherwise disenfranchised. Although the book is primarily intended for school librarians, classroom teachers will also find many ideas here for helping students be better prepared for disasters, whatever their cause or severity.

Features

• Covers the impact of recent natural disasters on schools and addresses the changing landscape with regard to school violence
• Provides a guide to school emergency planning and ways in which school librarians can take the lead in making it a reality
• Features checklists, reproducible role-playing scenarios, and other aids for creating an emergency preparedness plan
• Lists equipment and resources the school library can provide during disasters
• Suggests curricular tie-ins and books you can use to work with students before and after a disaster or violent incident

Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Leadership During Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery
Chapter 2: Natural Disasters
Chapter 3: Human-Caused Disasters
Chapter 4: Communication
Chapter 5: Risk Assessment and Threats of School Violence
Chapter 6: Vulnerability Assessment for the School Library and Beyond
Chapter 7: Drill, Drill, Drill
Chapter 8: Emergency Planning, Emergency Kits
Chapter 9: Recovery
Chapter 10: Books That Heal, Books That Help
Chapter 11: Summary: The Library as Safe Haven
Appendix A
Appendix B: Sample Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Lesson Plans
References
Index

Getting Beyond Interesting

Nesi, O. M. (2012). Getting Beyond Interesting: Teaching Students the Vocabulary of Appeal to Discuss Their Reading. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 978-1-59884-935-6

Publisher's Description 

Make use of a detailed plan and ready-to-use lessons for teaching appeal terms and Book Hook writing to students. Getting Beyond "Interesting": Teaching Students the Vocabulary of Appeal to Discuss Their Reading is a practical application book that gives librarians all the tools they need to implement the teaching of both appeal terms and Book Hook writing and sharing. When students know how to write Book Hooks and have access to an easy-to-use system for allowing students to share Book Hooks, the result is greatly increased reading through the power of peer recommendations.

This book not only supplies a detailed plan for teaching appeal terms and Book Hook writing, but it also provides two extensive appendices containing all the black line masters and forms needed to implement these lessons. As a result, practitioners will be able to enhance their students' reading culture through increased sharing of reading—and most importantly, by empowering students with the ability to clearly define their reading preferences.
  
Highlights

• Provides practical and immediately usable material

• Includes resources such as a list of more than 300 picture books that can be used to teach appeal terms, a glossary of appeal terms, 106 Book Hooks written for YA titles for immediate use and more than 60 Hooks written for YA short stories, and a number of lesson plans and lesson ideas for teaching appeal terms and Book Hook writing

• Contains useful resources such as a Book Hook template, a reading survey based on appeal, and materials to make a proposal to administration for implementing the teaching of appeal terms and Book Hook writing through the English Department

• Includes a series of professional development workshops for English teachers, complete with all necessary materials for implementation 

•  Appendix materials also available on the included CD-ROM

eBooks for Elementary School

Cavanaugh, T. W. (2015). eBooks for Elementary School. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 978-1-61069-849-8

Publisher's Description
eBooks offer students as well as teachers, school and public librarians, and parents tremendous possibilities. This book explains how to expand and enhance the reading experience through the use of technology.

Today, eBooks are everywhere, and the use of digital learning materials is beginning to supplant traditional printed materials. As the world shifts to digital books, both teachers and students need to be comfortable and effective using materials in this format. This book helps you to apply eBook materials to existing curricula to create interactive educational activities and have access to more materials to support reading instruction, literacy, standards, and reading in the content areas.

Author Terence W. Cavanaugh, an expert on teaching with technology, describes numerous strategies for integrating eBooks into reading instruction and remediation for students in preschool through grade 6. He covers the hardware and software used, the wide range of formats available, and research conducted on the use of eBooks with students as well as how to access free resources such as digital libraries and special collections that make eBooks available for schools. The book also contains a chapter dedicated to using eBooks to help emergent or struggling readers.
 
Features

• Explains how any teacher or librarian can get started on the integration process of using eBooks as reading tools

• Covers all the key critical information regarding eBook use: the different formats of eBooks and readers as well as how to collect and hold eBook files

• Provides information on where teachers can get thousands of free digital books for their students to use, including text, audio, and video books

Think Tank Library Grades K-5

Boyd Ratzer, M., & Jaeger, P. (2015). Think Tank Library: Brain-Based Learning Plans for New Standards, Grades K-5. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 978-1-61069-990-7

Publisher's Description
Transform your library into a "think tank" by helping teachers create an active learning environment in which students question, investigate, synthesize, conclude, and present information based on Common Core standards.

The rigors of today's mandated academic standards can repurpose your library's role as a steward of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) at your school. This guide will help you help teachers present exciting, field-tested lessons for elementary grades K through 5, addressing developmental steps and individual differences in key competencies in the CCSS. Authors and educators Mary Ratzer and Paige Jaeger illustrate how brain-based learning helps students become deep, critical thinkers and provide the lesson plans to coax the best thinking out of each child.

This tool book presents strategies to help learners progress from novice to expert thinker; challenge younger students with questions that lead to inquiry; incorporate "rigor" into lessons; and use model lesson plans to change instruction. Beginning chapters introduce the basics of instruction and provide ideas for expert cognitive growth of the brain. Sample lessons are aligned with key curriculum areas, including science, social studies, music, art, and physical education. 

Features

• Includes relevant, rigorous, fun, and field-tested lesson plans for multiple disciplines

• Provides reproducible pages to allow librarians and teachers to easily use a lesson

• Offers a K–5 scaffolding approach to teaching information literacy skills

• Features graphical illustrations and practical schemas that explain, illustrate, and model how brain-based learning works

Table of Contents: 

Introduction: Why Thinking?
Chapter 1: Thinking and the Culture of Your School
Chapter 2: 22 Ideas for Turning Your Library Into a Think Tank
Chapter 3: Think Tank Libraries and Inquiry
Chapter 4: Thinking and the Common Core
Chapter 5: Wanted: Expert Thinkers
Chapter 6: If the Brain Could Talk
Chapter 7: Thinking and Information Literacy
Chapter 8: Thinking in ELA
Chapter 9: Thinking and Text Dependent Questions
Chapter 10: Thinking in Social Studies
Chapter 11: Thinking in Math
Chapter 12: Thinking in Science
Chapter 13: Think Tank Lessons
Chapter 14: The Primary Learning Years
Chapter 15: Primary K-2 Library and Classroom Lessons
Chapter 16: The Elementary Discovery Grades (3-5) Library and Classroom Lessons
Chapter 17: Think Tank Starter Kits: Lesson Building Block Ideas
Appendix
Bibliography
Index