Greetings!
I received a question about biographies and autobiographies last week. A reader commented that they are automating their school and realized in the process that they were fairly low on Biographies and Autobiographies. This is one of the big reasons that it is important to organize your library and automation helps a lot to point out where your particular ‘holes’ are. My reader’s comment was that although she could find many online, she didn’t have the time to proofread each one and wondered if I had any suggestions.
As far as biographies go, I would expect that they would not need to be proofread. If they are written for children, then they should be just fine. But here are some suggestions.
1. If your school does not have the biographical series The Childhood of Famous Americans, I would recommend them. They are written for middle grades and for the most part, children in 3rd - 6th grades could read them. The one drawback for them is that they are basically only the childhood with very little of what they did as adults to achieve fame. Positive aspects of this series is that it is continually reprinted though in different covers. The stories are in a bit larger print and the vocabulary isn’t difficult. Our junior high teachers usually do not accept these books for book reports since they are too easy for the upper grades.
2. There is a great set of books about Christian heroes called Heroes of the Faith. These are usually white covers with a burgundy strip at the top of the book. People include John Bunyan, William Carey, Fanny Crosby, Billy Graham, C. S. Lewis, Mary Slessor, Martin Luther, and more. These are published by Barbour Publishing.
3. There is a set of books called The Trailblazer Series. They are written by Dave and Neta Jackson and are great stories. I understand that some liberties are taken with the story by adding characters to the facts. However, the first page explains all this and the stories are very good.
4. There is a set of president biographies that our 3rd and 4th grade teachers like very much. It is the Checkerboard Biography Library. They are small books (approx.. 48 pp) with lots of photos and primary source materials.
All of the sets above do not need proofreading. If you need biographies, check your curriculum to see what biographies you need in the library and then order for the proper grade level. It is no use getting a set of books for 3rd and 4th graders of the presidents if only the 7th and 8th graders study them.
If your assignment is to read 200 pages about John Adams or another biography, know that the school library may only have shorter books about him. I recommend that students read from multiple sources to complete the 200 page assignment.
I hope that you have a wonderful week. Enjoy!
Audrey
PS. I am reading a biography about Abigail Adams that I am enjoying very much. What an intelligent woman she was especially in that time period when women were not formally educated.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Dayton Library
Greetings!
This post is short, but it could be very important to some of you. Last week I had a visitor from Dayton, WA, a small town within an hour’s drive from College Place. The church used to have a small SDA school years ago, but it closed and they are now wanting to ‘relocate’ the books that were used in the school. We had a nice discussion and I decided to go see for myself. Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit their library and help them a little. Maggie asked me if there were other schools that might be interested in the books. They are free and they would work with any school to get the books to them.
I would make a safe guess that nearly 90% of their books are SDA-published or Christian published. There are lots of mission stories and older SDA paperback books and they want to share them with anyone who needs or wants them. I would guess that if you have a particular want you could call and see if they have the book or books you want.
If you or a friend expect to be in this area at some point in the next five or six months, you can visit the church in Dayton and take away all the books you want.
I hope each of you have a blessed and restful Thanksgiving break. I’m looking forward to my son and his fiancée coming and also doing some sewing and quilting.
Audrey
PS. If you do get some books from Dayton, I would be very interested in knowing this. I hope you send me a quick email letting me know.
This post is short, but it could be very important to some of you. Last week I had a visitor from Dayton, WA, a small town within an hour’s drive from College Place. The church used to have a small SDA school years ago, but it closed and they are now wanting to ‘relocate’ the books that were used in the school. We had a nice discussion and I decided to go see for myself. Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit their library and help them a little. Maggie asked me if there were other schools that might be interested in the books. They are free and they would work with any school to get the books to them.
I would make a safe guess that nearly 90% of their books are SDA-published or Christian published. There are lots of mission stories and older SDA paperback books and they want to share them with anyone who needs or wants them. I would guess that if you have a particular want you could call and see if they have the book or books you want.
If you or a friend expect to be in this area at some point in the next five or six months, you can visit the church in Dayton and take away all the books you want.
I hope each of you have a blessed and restful Thanksgiving break. I’m looking forward to my son and his fiancée coming and also doing some sewing and quilting.
Audrey
PS. If you do get some books from Dayton, I would be very interested in knowing this. I hope you send me a quick email letting me know.
Monday, November 17, 2014
New Books
Greetings!
I have a few more new books for you to learn about.
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord is a wonderful book about a young girl who moves to a house on a lake in New Hampshire one summer. Her father is a professional photographer and Lucy wants to show her father that she is talented, too. As Lucy is getting used to the move, she meets Nate from next door. Nate’s family and his grandma Lilah, come to the lake for the summer every year. Grandma Lilah is an official Loon watcher for the Loon Preservation Committee and the children kayak out to check on the loons for her each day since she cannot get around like she used to. But Grandma Lilah has another problem – she is having ‘bad days’ where she cannot remember things and she gets frightened. Lucy and Nate try hard to help Grandma Lilah, but the time comes when they must accept the changes that are happening. Nate helps Lucy find pictures for a photography contest for kids. At first Lucy is just wanting to show her father what she is capable of doing, and deep down she knows that since her father is a judge, she is not eligible for the contest. But if she and Nate win the contest, they can rent a pontoon boat and take Grandma Lilah out to see the loons and make her summer.
There are a number of photography hints and ideas in this book wrapped in the story. Mix in some friendship issues and you have a great story.
We’ve all heard about Hurricane Katrina and the damage that was done and there have been some great stories about the people involved in the hurricane. This is a story about Armani who is about to turn ten years old and is planning her birthday party and boy is it going to be an event! Turning ten is a big deal to Armani because it means that she is older, and more responsible. But the hurricane comes and tears apart her plans and her world. This is a story of survival and courage in the face of not knowing what is going to happen or if she will see her family again.
Julie Lamana was working in Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina tore New Orleans apart and was one of the people helping displaced children through this tragedy. She had a unique view of the survivor’s experience and got the idea to write Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere.
Suzy’s little brother helps to save a neighbor by calling 911 and becomes a local hero. Everyone pays attention to him and not her. Her best friend is becoming interested in things that Suzy isn’t interested in, and Suzy feels left out. As the summer progresses, Suzy reads a book about Emily Dickinson and decided that she will just do exactly as Emily did. Emily wore long white dresses, so Suzy will wear long white dresses. Emily was a recluse, so Suzy will stay in her room and be just like Emily. Suzy writes letters and delivers them using a basket on a rope out her window – just like Emily. Suzy even refuses to answer to anything but ‘Emily’. It doesn’t take too long for Suzy to become bored with spending Another Day as Emily.
Eileen Spinelli has written this charming book in verse form, but as I read it, I forgot that it was in verse. I only remembered this when I took another look to write this blurb for you. The illustrations are more like occasional page decorations. There is a lot of white space and though the book looks ‘thick’, it reads quickly.
I hope you enjoy these three books. Have a great week.
Audrey
I have a few more new books for you to learn about.
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord is a wonderful book about a young girl who moves to a house on a lake in New Hampshire one summer. Her father is a professional photographer and Lucy wants to show her father that she is talented, too. As Lucy is getting used to the move, she meets Nate from next door. Nate’s family and his grandma Lilah, come to the lake for the summer every year. Grandma Lilah is an official Loon watcher for the Loon Preservation Committee and the children kayak out to check on the loons for her each day since she cannot get around like she used to. But Grandma Lilah has another problem – she is having ‘bad days’ where she cannot remember things and she gets frightened. Lucy and Nate try hard to help Grandma Lilah, but the time comes when they must accept the changes that are happening. Nate helps Lucy find pictures for a photography contest for kids. At first Lucy is just wanting to show her father what she is capable of doing, and deep down she knows that since her father is a judge, she is not eligible for the contest. But if she and Nate win the contest, they can rent a pontoon boat and take Grandma Lilah out to see the loons and make her summer.
There are a number of photography hints and ideas in this book wrapped in the story. Mix in some friendship issues and you have a great story.
We’ve all heard about Hurricane Katrina and the damage that was done and there have been some great stories about the people involved in the hurricane. This is a story about Armani who is about to turn ten years old and is planning her birthday party and boy is it going to be an event! Turning ten is a big deal to Armani because it means that she is older, and more responsible. But the hurricane comes and tears apart her plans and her world. This is a story of survival and courage in the face of not knowing what is going to happen or if she will see her family again.
Julie Lamana was working in Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina tore New Orleans apart and was one of the people helping displaced children through this tragedy. She had a unique view of the survivor’s experience and got the idea to write Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere.
Suzy’s little brother helps to save a neighbor by calling 911 and becomes a local hero. Everyone pays attention to him and not her. Her best friend is becoming interested in things that Suzy isn’t interested in, and Suzy feels left out. As the summer progresses, Suzy reads a book about Emily Dickinson and decided that she will just do exactly as Emily did. Emily wore long white dresses, so Suzy will wear long white dresses. Emily was a recluse, so Suzy will stay in her room and be just like Emily. Suzy writes letters and delivers them using a basket on a rope out her window – just like Emily. Suzy even refuses to answer to anything but ‘Emily’. It doesn’t take too long for Suzy to become bored with spending Another Day as Emily.
Eileen Spinelli has written this charming book in verse form, but as I read it, I forgot that it was in verse. I only remembered this when I took another look to write this blurb for you. The illustrations are more like occasional page decorations. There is a lot of white space and though the book looks ‘thick’, it reads quickly.
I hope you enjoy these three books. Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, November 10, 2014
High Interest, Low Level
Greetings!
Last week I received a request from a teacher who has a fourth grade boy with a low reading level. She wanted some suggestions for books that this boy might enjoy and also specified that he really likes dogs. I quickly realized that many of us have a very similar situation and so this week will be focusing on high interest, low level books.
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. This is about a young man who enters a dog sled race to try to win money to save his family farm. Reading level is about 3.2.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. The reading level is about 2.7 for the first book and ranges to just over 4.0 in the series. The books are fun, the premise is interesting, and kids usually devour them. They are about 150 pages, so they don’t look like a baby book either. If he hasn’t read any of these, I recommend that he start with book # 1 then go to any of the books after that.
Childhood of Famous Americans by various authors. These books have been around for many, many years. They have been reprinted in many different covers. I remember reading these with an orange cover and a blue/green cover. I have them in my library in those covers plus a red and white paperback cover. The plus of these is that they are basically true stories, biographies, and parents appreciate this. However, they are a little higher reading level – about 3.2 – 5.5 depending on the book chosen. Most school libraries have these books in them.
Beverly Cleary’s Henry Huggins, Henry and Ribsy, Henry and the Clubhouse, Henry and Beezus all have a boy as the main character plus his dog, Ribsy. Henry Huggins is the first book and this is when he acquires Ribsy. RL for these is about 4.2 – 5.6. High, but the interest is high also. Her book Socks is about a cat and is a 2.0 RL.
Horrible Harry series by Suzy Kline is fun, hilarious, and only about a 3rd grade RL. The books are thinner and look a little more childish, which can be a con.
The Kids of the Polk Street School series by Patricia Reilly Giff. This series is a good one for your boy. The Reading Level is only about 1.9 – 3.0 and the Interest Level is for 3rd – 5th grades. They are thin books and old. You may have them or can buy them in a used book store for cheap, but they are also available new.
You might be able to find a simplified “Lassie” book.
I have a set of very old books about dogs that seem to be fairly easy to read. They are by Margaret S. Johnson and Helen Lossing Johnson. There are about a dozen of these in my library and they are all about either dogs or horses. There seem to be more about dogs than horses. Vicki, Guide Dog is one title I noticed. They may be able to be purchased through a used online bookstore if you don’t happen to have them.
The Barn by Avi is about Ben and his siblings who build a barn to fulfill their father’s dying request. Reading level is a 3.0 and interest level is grades 5 – 12.
Superfudge by Judy Blume is the sequel to Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing about Peter and his brother, Fudge. Reading level 2.0 and Interest level 2 – 4. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is slightly higher.
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman is a shorter story that is similar to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court with a RL of 3.
Try doing a search for more books by entering “High Interest Low Level” and you will see many sites that have some great options.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Last week I received a request from a teacher who has a fourth grade boy with a low reading level. She wanted some suggestions for books that this boy might enjoy and also specified that he really likes dogs. I quickly realized that many of us have a very similar situation and so this week will be focusing on high interest, low level books.
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. This is about a young man who enters a dog sled race to try to win money to save his family farm. Reading level is about 3.2.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. The reading level is about 2.7 for the first book and ranges to just over 4.0 in the series. The books are fun, the premise is interesting, and kids usually devour them. They are about 150 pages, so they don’t look like a baby book either. If he hasn’t read any of these, I recommend that he start with book # 1 then go to any of the books after that.
Childhood of Famous Americans by various authors. These books have been around for many, many years. They have been reprinted in many different covers. I remember reading these with an orange cover and a blue/green cover. I have them in my library in those covers plus a red and white paperback cover. The plus of these is that they are basically true stories, biographies, and parents appreciate this. However, they are a little higher reading level – about 3.2 – 5.5 depending on the book chosen. Most school libraries have these books in them.
Beverly Cleary’s Henry Huggins, Henry and Ribsy, Henry and the Clubhouse, Henry and Beezus all have a boy as the main character plus his dog, Ribsy. Henry Huggins is the first book and this is when he acquires Ribsy. RL for these is about 4.2 – 5.6. High, but the interest is high also. Her book Socks is about a cat and is a 2.0 RL.
Horrible Harry series by Suzy Kline is fun, hilarious, and only about a 3rd grade RL. The books are thinner and look a little more childish, which can be a con.
The Kids of the Polk Street School series by Patricia Reilly Giff. This series is a good one for your boy. The Reading Level is only about 1.9 – 3.0 and the Interest Level is for 3rd – 5th grades. They are thin books and old. You may have them or can buy them in a used book store for cheap, but they are also available new.
You might be able to find a simplified “Lassie” book.
I have a set of very old books about dogs that seem to be fairly easy to read. They are by Margaret S. Johnson and Helen Lossing Johnson. There are about a dozen of these in my library and they are all about either dogs or horses. There seem to be more about dogs than horses. Vicki, Guide Dog is one title I noticed. They may be able to be purchased through a used online bookstore if you don’t happen to have them.
The Barn by Avi is about Ben and his siblings who build a barn to fulfill their father’s dying request. Reading level is a 3.0 and interest level is grades 5 – 12.
Superfudge by Judy Blume is the sequel to Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing about Peter and his brother, Fudge. Reading level 2.0 and Interest level 2 – 4. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is slightly higher.
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman is a shorter story that is similar to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court with a RL of 3.
Try doing a search for more books by entering “High Interest Low Level” and you will see many sites that have some great options.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
New Chapter Books
Greetings!
Let’s take a look at some new chapter books.
Andrea Cheng has written three wonderful books about Anna Wang who is Chinese and has struggles and adventures just like everyone else. Topics include adoption, school, friendship, and just life in middle school. Her books are a bit smaller size, slightly larger than 5 x 7 and have just under 150 pages. These are great chapter books for students in the middle grades, not too long, but not too childish either. I like the multicultural aspect. Each book contains a Chinese pronunciation guide for the words used in the book. The three books can be read independently of each other – they aren’t sequels, really. If you want to read them in order, then start with The Year of the Book, then go to The Year of the Baby, and end with The Year of the Fortune Cookie. Then you wait until April 7, 2015 when The Year of the Three Sisters will be released. I’ve read them all and am looking forward to that one.
I’m not sure if this book goes in the biography section or the story section. Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince with Elaine DePrince is the true story of a very young girl born in Sierra Leone and orphaned at a very young age. She decided after seeing a page from a ballet magazine that she wanted to be a ballerina. When she was adopted by the DePrince family along with another little orphan girl, both were given ballet lessons, but Michaela had the talent and the gift and the drive to go far. She starred in the documentary “First Position” about a ballet competition for young people. Now she is a member of the Dutch national Ballet in Amsterdam. I’ve decided. I’m putting it in the biography section and promoting it in class.
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman grabbed my attention when I read that an eleven-year-old girl cooks gourmet food and hates the fast food her parents bring home every day. When Gladys uses her father’s blowtorch in an attempt to delicately brown the top of a crème brulee, she sets the kitchen curtains on fire and is banned from the kitchen and anything food related. Through a series of events, Gladys receives an email asking her to be a food critic for the newspaper. The book is funny, clever, and at times I had to suspend my disbelief, but kids will enjoy it. It is also brand new and I didn’t notice any language issues in it. Win, win.
Another new book is by Ann M. Martin of the Babysitter Club fame. This one is titled Rain, Reign. What I found interesting was the fact that the main (mane) character, Rose (rows) is obsessed with homonyms and also has a diagnosis of high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome. The story is told from Rose’s perspective and helps children better understand this condition. Rose doesn’t have many friends except her dog Rain (reign). Throughout the book nearly every homonym listed has the others in parentheses like I have done (dun) here (hear). IMPORTANT NOTE: I must tell you that Rose’s father isn’t very supportive and yells at her for acting the way she does. He goes to the nearby bar most evenings after work, and this behavior is continued through the book. In one place he tries to beat the dog, but is unsuccessful. There is one or two instances of language when Rose’s father uses the word “Frickin’. However, Rose’s uncle is very kind to her and runs interference between her and her dad. I enjoyed the book, but I realize that many of you may not choose to get this one.
Take a time in history and put a young person in there trying to survive the situation and you have a story. Or rather, Lauren Tarshis has a story. Lauren Tarshis write the series that begins ‘I Survived. . .’ This series put out by Scholastic is very popular at our school. Each book contains about 100 pages and is written on a 4th grade reading level. The books so far include the Titanic, Shark attacks of 1916, Hurricane Katrina, Pearl Harbor, San Francisco earthquake, 1906, September 11 attacks, Gettysburg, Japanese Tsunami 2011, Nazi invasion, and Pompeii. Lauren also has written another disaster book titled “I Survived True Stories-Five Epic Disasters which include The Children’s Blizzard in 1888, Great Boston Molasses Flood in 1919, and the Henryville tornado in 2012 plus the Titanic, and the Japanese tsunami in 2011. Readers can also take a quiz on the scholastic website to test their own survival skills.
I hope you enjoy some of these books. If you find some titles that you want to share, please let me know and I will compile them in one email.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Let’s take a look at some new chapter books.
Andrea Cheng has written three wonderful books about Anna Wang who is Chinese and has struggles and adventures just like everyone else. Topics include adoption, school, friendship, and just life in middle school. Her books are a bit smaller size, slightly larger than 5 x 7 and have just under 150 pages. These are great chapter books for students in the middle grades, not too long, but not too childish either. I like the multicultural aspect. Each book contains a Chinese pronunciation guide for the words used in the book. The three books can be read independently of each other – they aren’t sequels, really. If you want to read them in order, then start with The Year of the Book, then go to The Year of the Baby, and end with The Year of the Fortune Cookie. Then you wait until April 7, 2015 when The Year of the Three Sisters will be released. I’ve read them all and am looking forward to that one.
I’m not sure if this book goes in the biography section or the story section. Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince with Elaine DePrince is the true story of a very young girl born in Sierra Leone and orphaned at a very young age. She decided after seeing a page from a ballet magazine that she wanted to be a ballerina. When she was adopted by the DePrince family along with another little orphan girl, both were given ballet lessons, but Michaela had the talent and the gift and the drive to go far. She starred in the documentary “First Position” about a ballet competition for young people. Now she is a member of the Dutch national Ballet in Amsterdam. I’ve decided. I’m putting it in the biography section and promoting it in class.
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman grabbed my attention when I read that an eleven-year-old girl cooks gourmet food and hates the fast food her parents bring home every day. When Gladys uses her father’s blowtorch in an attempt to delicately brown the top of a crème brulee, she sets the kitchen curtains on fire and is banned from the kitchen and anything food related. Through a series of events, Gladys receives an email asking her to be a food critic for the newspaper. The book is funny, clever, and at times I had to suspend my disbelief, but kids will enjoy it. It is also brand new and I didn’t notice any language issues in it. Win, win.
Another new book is by Ann M. Martin of the Babysitter Club fame. This one is titled Rain, Reign. What I found interesting was the fact that the main (mane) character, Rose (rows) is obsessed with homonyms and also has a diagnosis of high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome. The story is told from Rose’s perspective and helps children better understand this condition. Rose doesn’t have many friends except her dog Rain (reign). Throughout the book nearly every homonym listed has the others in parentheses like I have done (dun) here (hear). IMPORTANT NOTE: I must tell you that Rose’s father isn’t very supportive and yells at her for acting the way she does. He goes to the nearby bar most evenings after work, and this behavior is continued through the book. In one place he tries to beat the dog, but is unsuccessful. There is one or two instances of language when Rose’s father uses the word “Frickin’. However, Rose’s uncle is very kind to her and runs interference between her and her dad. I enjoyed the book, but I realize that many of you may not choose to get this one.
Take a time in history and put a young person in there trying to survive the situation and you have a story. Or rather, Lauren Tarshis has a story. Lauren Tarshis write the series that begins ‘I Survived. . .’ This series put out by Scholastic is very popular at our school. Each book contains about 100 pages and is written on a 4th grade reading level. The books so far include the Titanic, Shark attacks of 1916, Hurricane Katrina, Pearl Harbor, San Francisco earthquake, 1906, September 11 attacks, Gettysburg, Japanese Tsunami 2011, Nazi invasion, and Pompeii. Lauren also has written another disaster book titled “I Survived True Stories-Five Epic Disasters which include The Children’s Blizzard in 1888, Great Boston Molasses Flood in 1919, and the Henryville tornado in 2012 plus the Titanic, and the Japanese tsunami in 2011. Readers can also take a quiz on the scholastic website to test their own survival skills.
I hope you enjoy some of these books. If you find some titles that you want to share, please let me know and I will compile them in one email.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Thursday, October 30, 2014
New Books
Greetings!
I have some new books for you to take a look at. I hope you will find a few that tickle your fancy and you’ll stop everything to go purchase them. These books are picture books, but please don’t think that just because a book has pictures, it is for young children only.
This first one is about the origins of Juneteenth. In fact, it is a story about the first Juneteenth and freedom. If you aren’t familiar with this event, it is commemorated on June 19 and is recognized in at least 40 states according to the book. I like books that take real events and bring them to life. Check out All Different Now by Angela Johnson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis.
I had the wonderful opportunity to see Michelangelo’s David in person a few years ago, and when I saw Stone Giant by Jane Sutcliffe, I had to get it. I know that there will be some giggling at the one illustration showing the whole statue, but the story is wonderful. It helps us visualize what Michelangelo wanted when he started and finally completed forty years later.
Lois Ehlert has written a picture book biography of her life and her art process. She uses collage as her art and uses whatever she finds in her collages hence the title Scraps. Her descriptions of what she does as she works is very interesting and students will see yet another successful person working, self correcting and fixing until things are just right. Most children hate to ‘fix’ or edit their work, so it’s nice to let them see that this is part of the process.
Many years ago Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a story titled The Great Stone Face about a boy who spent his life gazing at the magnificent mountain hoping he would live to see the fulfillment of a local prophecy that “one day someone would be born who will look just like the Great Stone Face and will be the noblest person of his time”. Gary Schmidt has retold this great story of the young boy who by gazing at the mountain, became the noble person of the prophecy. It is yet another reminder that by beholding we become changed.
Pharoah’s Boat by David Weitzman is the story of the ancient boat built for Cheops, a Pharoah who died over 4,600 years ago. It is the story of the building of the boat, and the archaelogist who guessed that this boat was in the pit under another boat in 1954, but was unable to actually prove it until 1988 when tiny cameras wereinserted and the rotten timbers were first seen. Finally in 2008, they began to actually excavate the boat. Excavation will be complete in about another three or four years. This can be used in a study of Egypt, or a Bible lesson.
Mary was an ordinary girl, but she was able to make a change in her world. In this story of Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson, we meet Mary and her act of kindness that multiplied and continued on. Mary picked some blueberries and left them on a neighbor’s porch. The neighbor was so pleased that she made blueberry muffins and secretly gave them to five friends. The paperboy was one of those who got muffins and he threw the papers on the porch instead of in the bushes. The story continues on as people are made happy by an act of kindness continued. If you like this book, you might also like When Brian Hugged His Mother, which is a similar story.
The Black Rabbit by Philippa Leathers is about a rabbit who sees a large black rabbit and tries to hide from him. Students will enjoy the story as they are able to see that the black rabbit is actually the rabbit’s own shadow.
We have all heard stories about animals that have been lost and have found their way home. Lost Cat by C. Roger Mader is just that kind of story. Slipper, the cat, loves to sleep by fluffy slippers and calls her owner Mrs. Fluffy Slippers. One day Mrs. Fluffy Slippers moves to live with her daughter and in the mayhem of moving, Slippers was forgotten. Slippers chases the van but eventually is lost. She decides to adopt a new person. Slippers identifies the people she meets by the shoes they wear, so Mrs. Muddy Boots, Mr. Cowboy Boots, Mr. Big Boots and others are just not what Slippers wants. Finally, she sees Miss Shiny Shoes and follows her home. Miss Shiny Shoes led Slippers down the hall and opened the door. Who is there but Mrs. Fluffy Slippers! The illustrations are from a cat’s perspective and people are shown only by their shoes.
I am so happy to be able to share new books with you. Next week, I will have some chapter books to share.
Have a great week,
Audrey
I have some new books for you to take a look at. I hope you will find a few that tickle your fancy and you’ll stop everything to go purchase them. These books are picture books, but please don’t think that just because a book has pictures, it is for young children only.
This first one is about the origins of Juneteenth. In fact, it is a story about the first Juneteenth and freedom. If you aren’t familiar with this event, it is commemorated on June 19 and is recognized in at least 40 states according to the book. I like books that take real events and bring them to life. Check out All Different Now by Angela Johnson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis.
I had the wonderful opportunity to see Michelangelo’s David in person a few years ago, and when I saw Stone Giant by Jane Sutcliffe, I had to get it. I know that there will be some giggling at the one illustration showing the whole statue, but the story is wonderful. It helps us visualize what Michelangelo wanted when he started and finally completed forty years later.
Lois Ehlert has written a picture book biography of her life and her art process. She uses collage as her art and uses whatever she finds in her collages hence the title Scraps. Her descriptions of what she does as she works is very interesting and students will see yet another successful person working, self correcting and fixing until things are just right. Most children hate to ‘fix’ or edit their work, so it’s nice to let them see that this is part of the process.
Many years ago Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a story titled The Great Stone Face about a boy who spent his life gazing at the magnificent mountain hoping he would live to see the fulfillment of a local prophecy that “one day someone would be born who will look just like the Great Stone Face and will be the noblest person of his time”. Gary Schmidt has retold this great story of the young boy who by gazing at the mountain, became the noble person of the prophecy. It is yet another reminder that by beholding we become changed.
Pharoah’s Boat by David Weitzman is the story of the ancient boat built for Cheops, a Pharoah who died over 4,600 years ago. It is the story of the building of the boat, and the archaelogist who guessed that this boat was in the pit under another boat in 1954, but was unable to actually prove it until 1988 when tiny cameras wereinserted and the rotten timbers were first seen. Finally in 2008, they began to actually excavate the boat. Excavation will be complete in about another three or four years. This can be used in a study of Egypt, or a Bible lesson.
Mary was an ordinary girl, but she was able to make a change in her world. In this story of Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson, we meet Mary and her act of kindness that multiplied and continued on. Mary picked some blueberries and left them on a neighbor’s porch. The neighbor was so pleased that she made blueberry muffins and secretly gave them to five friends. The paperboy was one of those who got muffins and he threw the papers on the porch instead of in the bushes. The story continues on as people are made happy by an act of kindness continued. If you like this book, you might also like When Brian Hugged His Mother, which is a similar story.
The Black Rabbit by Philippa Leathers is about a rabbit who sees a large black rabbit and tries to hide from him. Students will enjoy the story as they are able to see that the black rabbit is actually the rabbit’s own shadow.
We have all heard stories about animals that have been lost and have found their way home. Lost Cat by C. Roger Mader is just that kind of story. Slipper, the cat, loves to sleep by fluffy slippers and calls her owner Mrs. Fluffy Slippers. One day Mrs. Fluffy Slippers moves to live with her daughter and in the mayhem of moving, Slippers was forgotten. Slippers chases the van but eventually is lost. She decides to adopt a new person. Slippers identifies the people she meets by the shoes they wear, so Mrs. Muddy Boots, Mr. Cowboy Boots, Mr. Big Boots and others are just not what Slippers wants. Finally, she sees Miss Shiny Shoes and follows her home. Miss Shiny Shoes led Slippers down the hall and opened the door. Who is there but Mrs. Fluffy Slippers! The illustrations are from a cat’s perspective and people are shown only by their shoes.
I am so happy to be able to share new books with you. Next week, I will have some chapter books to share.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Monday, October 20, 2014
Cataloging Challenges
Greetings!
I get lots of questions about how to catalog certain kinds of books. Today I’m going to focus on the types of books that we all have in our libraries.
We all have mission books. These books belong in 266. When I go to help organize a school’s library, we use the 266 on the top of the spine label and the first three letters of the author’s last name on the bottom of the label.
We all have devotional books. Devotional books are cataloged in 242. If you want to separate out devotional books from daily devotional books you can catalog the daily devotional books as 242.2. Check out your shelf of devotional books. Chances are that you have 20 or more of these. Depending on how you use them, you could easily weed a few of these. If your local church has a church library, give the ones that are for adults to the church and keep the ones that are geared toward youth and children. Any devotional by ‘James A. Tucker’ is a keeper. There are two that I often see in the libraries – Nature Quest and Glimpses of God’s Love. These short devotional stories can also supplement your science curriculum.
Likely you all have inspirational stories such as the Chicken Soup series, Taste Berries, and similar types of books. These are not devotional books, but they do have individual short stories in them by different authors and many students enjoy reading them. If you look in the book, you may notice that the Chicken Soup series is cataloged as 158.1and Taste Berries is cataloged as 242.63. Some of you want to put these type of books together which makes it easier for students to find. If a student likes the Chicken Soup books, he might notice the others on the shelf and decide to try those, too. The Guide’s Greatest stories is a collection of reprinted stories along a theme such as Adventure, Angel, Miracles, etc. The Shoebox Kids is another series of stories that is published by our SDA publishing house and is similar to the Guide series. Some libraries put them in 221 so they are in the Religion section. If this works well for your library, that is perfectly fine.
We decided to catalog these sets in 808.8 which is Collected Stories. So this section in our library includes the Uncle Arthur books, The Children’s Hour set (also by Uncle Arthur), Shoebox Kids, and Guides’ Greatest stories, Chicken Soup series, and Taste Berries here along with other books that have individual stories in them. This puts them nearer the 813 section which is the section that children usually gravitate to anyway.
Hint: Guide’s Greatest stories have been put together by different editors, so if you want to keep this collection together, choose one editor and catalog them all by that editor’s name. We chose ‘Pec’ because Lori Peckham was the first editor of this series. As more came along with a different editor, we continued using ‘Pec’ so the set would be shelved together. Keep this in mind for other sets that you want to keep together.
Let me know if you have any cataloging issues or shelving challenges. I’m happy to try to help you solve these problems and make your library easier to use.
Have a great week.
Audrey
I get lots of questions about how to catalog certain kinds of books. Today I’m going to focus on the types of books that we all have in our libraries.
We all have mission books. These books belong in 266. When I go to help organize a school’s library, we use the 266 on the top of the spine label and the first three letters of the author’s last name on the bottom of the label.
We all have devotional books. Devotional books are cataloged in 242. If you want to separate out devotional books from daily devotional books you can catalog the daily devotional books as 242.2. Check out your shelf of devotional books. Chances are that you have 20 or more of these. Depending on how you use them, you could easily weed a few of these. If your local church has a church library, give the ones that are for adults to the church and keep the ones that are geared toward youth and children. Any devotional by ‘James A. Tucker’ is a keeper. There are two that I often see in the libraries – Nature Quest and Glimpses of God’s Love. These short devotional stories can also supplement your science curriculum.
Likely you all have inspirational stories such as the Chicken Soup series, Taste Berries, and similar types of books. These are not devotional books, but they do have individual short stories in them by different authors and many students enjoy reading them. If you look in the book, you may notice that the Chicken Soup series is cataloged as 158.1and Taste Berries is cataloged as 242.63. Some of you want to put these type of books together which makes it easier for students to find. If a student likes the Chicken Soup books, he might notice the others on the shelf and decide to try those, too. The Guide’s Greatest stories is a collection of reprinted stories along a theme such as Adventure, Angel, Miracles, etc. The Shoebox Kids is another series of stories that is published by our SDA publishing house and is similar to the Guide series. Some libraries put them in 221 so they are in the Religion section. If this works well for your library, that is perfectly fine.
We decided to catalog these sets in 808.8 which is Collected Stories. So this section in our library includes the Uncle Arthur books, The Children’s Hour set (also by Uncle Arthur), Shoebox Kids, and Guides’ Greatest stories, Chicken Soup series, and Taste Berries here along with other books that have individual stories in them. This puts them nearer the 813 section which is the section that children usually gravitate to anyway.
Hint: Guide’s Greatest stories have been put together by different editors, so if you want to keep this collection together, choose one editor and catalog them all by that editor’s name. We chose ‘Pec’ because Lori Peckham was the first editor of this series. As more came along with a different editor, we continued using ‘Pec’ so the set would be shelved together. Keep this in mind for other sets that you want to keep together.
Let me know if you have any cataloging issues or shelving challenges. I’m happy to try to help you solve these problems and make your library easier to use.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, October 13, 2014
Library Policies
Greetings!
I received an email this past week from a librarian who had a question about policies. She commented that she was surprised by some of the books that she found in the library and also was surprised to NOT find certain books in the library. Recently at her school a couple of parents questioned books that their children checked out from the library. In discussing this with her principal, they decided to form a library committee to set up some standards for choosing books for their school. She then asked me if I had some kind of policy that they could use as a template instead of starting from scratch.
I responded to her and sent her the policy we use here at Rogers.
I thought that there might be a number of you who are new to your school or may have missed this information I sent a couple of years ago. I recommend that you do set up a library committee. You should include the principal, the person responsible for the library and a parent who is interested. Small schools could include both teachers since they would both need to know this information, and possibly the school board chairman. Large schools might include the librarian, a teacher from the upper grades, a teacher from the lower grades, the principal and a parent. Try to keep your committee small, three to five members, if possible. Since I am at a larger school, my committee consists of my assistant librarian, my principal, and an ad hoc teacher at the grade level the book is meant for.
When the committee first meets, talk about what you want your library to look like and go over a sample policy. I will include my policy and you can tweak it to fit your school. You can also search the internet for the library policies from other schools if you would rather.
I then recommend that you do a quick weeding in your library. Go through and pull anything that you feel may not be appropriate for your school. Use the Library Selection policy to guide you as you remove books. This should just be a quick weeding, and maybe take an hour or so. Before you actually discard the books, have members of your committee actually read them to determine if they are indeed inappropriate. I heard about a grandfather who browsed the school library catalog and sent word that there should not be any magic books or books about witches in the library and he was appalled to find both of these kinds of books in their library. Reading titles only could pull books like “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” which is a wonderful book that is NOT about witches. Searching the catalog for “magic” would bring up books with sleight of hand tricks. So, please check each book you have pulled or look through them to make sure they are really not appropriate for the library.
Now is the time to put your policies into place. I believe it is important to have a Reconsideration Policy. This is the policy to use if a parent or guardian complains to the school about a book that they feel should not be in the library. Have the parent fill out the form and then take it to the Library Committee for discussion. Be consistent with this. It would be tempting to take a look at the book, immediately tell the parent, “You’re right. I’ll take it out of the library immediately.” Likely you will know right then that the book should be removed, but I strongly recommend you have every parent who questions a book fill out the Reconsideration Form. Otherwise you will hear from them, “Why do I have to fill this out? You didn’t have Mrs. Smith fill one out.” If everyone fills the form out, it is your policy. You aren’t playing favorites; everyone is treated the same. This also keeps Grandpa from eliminating “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” on a whim.
The committee should meet to discuss each Reconsideration Form and then inform the parent of the decision.
I used to just pull any book that a parent complained about simply because I knew that the book should not be in our library, but a few years ago I found the Reconsideration Form and put that policy into place. I have yet to use this policy, but it is ready in case I need it.
I hope this is a help to you. Please let me know if I can help or answer any questions.
Have a great week.
Audrey
I received an email this past week from a librarian who had a question about policies. She commented that she was surprised by some of the books that she found in the library and also was surprised to NOT find certain books in the library. Recently at her school a couple of parents questioned books that their children checked out from the library. In discussing this with her principal, they decided to form a library committee to set up some standards for choosing books for their school. She then asked me if I had some kind of policy that they could use as a template instead of starting from scratch.
I responded to her and sent her the policy we use here at Rogers.
I thought that there might be a number of you who are new to your school or may have missed this information I sent a couple of years ago. I recommend that you do set up a library committee. You should include the principal, the person responsible for the library and a parent who is interested. Small schools could include both teachers since they would both need to know this information, and possibly the school board chairman. Large schools might include the librarian, a teacher from the upper grades, a teacher from the lower grades, the principal and a parent. Try to keep your committee small, three to five members, if possible. Since I am at a larger school, my committee consists of my assistant librarian, my principal, and an ad hoc teacher at the grade level the book is meant for.
When the committee first meets, talk about what you want your library to look like and go over a sample policy. I will include my policy and you can tweak it to fit your school. You can also search the internet for the library policies from other schools if you would rather.
I then recommend that you do a quick weeding in your library. Go through and pull anything that you feel may not be appropriate for your school. Use the Library Selection policy to guide you as you remove books. This should just be a quick weeding, and maybe take an hour or so. Before you actually discard the books, have members of your committee actually read them to determine if they are indeed inappropriate. I heard about a grandfather who browsed the school library catalog and sent word that there should not be any magic books or books about witches in the library and he was appalled to find both of these kinds of books in their library. Reading titles only could pull books like “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” which is a wonderful book that is NOT about witches. Searching the catalog for “magic” would bring up books with sleight of hand tricks. So, please check each book you have pulled or look through them to make sure they are really not appropriate for the library.
Now is the time to put your policies into place. I believe it is important to have a Reconsideration Policy. This is the policy to use if a parent or guardian complains to the school about a book that they feel should not be in the library. Have the parent fill out the form and then take it to the Library Committee for discussion. Be consistent with this. It would be tempting to take a look at the book, immediately tell the parent, “You’re right. I’ll take it out of the library immediately.” Likely you will know right then that the book should be removed, but I strongly recommend you have every parent who questions a book fill out the Reconsideration Form. Otherwise you will hear from them, “Why do I have to fill this out? You didn’t have Mrs. Smith fill one out.” If everyone fills the form out, it is your policy. You aren’t playing favorites; everyone is treated the same. This also keeps Grandpa from eliminating “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” on a whim.
The committee should meet to discuss each Reconsideration Form and then inform the parent of the decision.
I used to just pull any book that a parent complained about simply because I knew that the book should not be in our library, but a few years ago I found the Reconsideration Form and put that policy into place. I have yet to use this policy, but it is ready in case I need it.
I hope this is a help to you. Please let me know if I can help or answer any questions.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, October 6, 2014
Books about Legos
Greetings!
If your students are like ours, they love Legos. Many of our schools have Lego Clubs that meet after school and some of them prepare for the Lego Robotics weekend that is held at WWU.
I want to let you know about some of the Lego books that we have here. I often buy double copies of some of the books because they are used so much and checked out so often.
Short Version: Go to Amazon.com and do a search for “Legos” in Books. You will find a wonderful list of books to choose from. Many of them have the “Look Inside” feature which really helps to know what level it is.
Long Version: Here is a list of books to choose from. The students will love them.
1. Lego Architecture by Philip Wilkinson. $40.00 This is a stunning book filled with well-known buildings such as The White House, Brandenburg Gate, Big Ben, The Eiffel tower, Trevi Fountain, The Space Needle, and many more. Each building has information about the original building and then the Lego version of the building. One of our classrooms built many of the buildings and put them on display along with a quiz to see how many of them viewers could name.
2. The Lego Build-It Book Amazing Vehicles by Nathanael Kuipers and Mattia Zamboni. $19.95. If your students like cars and trucks, they will enjoy building an off-roader, a go-kart, a muscle car, a stroller, a pickup truck, a rescue truck, and more.
3. Totally Cool Creations by Sean Kenney. $19.99. This is actually three books in one – Cool Cars and Trucks, Cool Robots, and Cool City. The directions look like the ones that come with the Lego sets.
4. Cool Creations in 35 Pieces by Sean Kenney. $12.99. Each of the models can be built with just – you guessed it – 35 pieces. Not just 35 pieces, but the same 35 pieces will make the fourteen plus creations in this book. What a great challenge!
5. Extreme Bricks by Sarah Herman. $24.95. You probably have seen very large Lego creations such as the Space Needle built in Seattle, WA. It was completed in 2012 and took 15 years to complete. The Lego sculpture contains 55,000 Lego elements. That is just one of the record-breaking Lego projects from around the world found in this 236-page book.
6. The Lego Play Book by Daniel Lipkowitz. $24.99. This is a large hardbound book with loads of Lego creations and full color pictures. It is a great bargain for the price.
7. Getting Started with Lego Trains by Jacob H. McKee. $14.95. Kids who like trains and Legos find them both in this paperback book. Directions are similar to the ones that come with the Lego sets.
So, there you have it. Legos from the simple to the complex; a book for every Lego lover no matter his or her age.
Enjoy!
Audrey
If your students are like ours, they love Legos. Many of our schools have Lego Clubs that meet after school and some of them prepare for the Lego Robotics weekend that is held at WWU.
I want to let you know about some of the Lego books that we have here. I often buy double copies of some of the books because they are used so much and checked out so often.
Short Version: Go to Amazon.com and do a search for “Legos” in Books. You will find a wonderful list of books to choose from. Many of them have the “Look Inside” feature which really helps to know what level it is.
Long Version: Here is a list of books to choose from. The students will love them.
1. Lego Architecture by Philip Wilkinson. $40.00 This is a stunning book filled with well-known buildings such as The White House, Brandenburg Gate, Big Ben, The Eiffel tower, Trevi Fountain, The Space Needle, and many more. Each building has information about the original building and then the Lego version of the building. One of our classrooms built many of the buildings and put them on display along with a quiz to see how many of them viewers could name.
2. The Lego Build-It Book Amazing Vehicles by Nathanael Kuipers and Mattia Zamboni. $19.95. If your students like cars and trucks, they will enjoy building an off-roader, a go-kart, a muscle car, a stroller, a pickup truck, a rescue truck, and more.
3. Totally Cool Creations by Sean Kenney. $19.99. This is actually three books in one – Cool Cars and Trucks, Cool Robots, and Cool City. The directions look like the ones that come with the Lego sets.
4. Cool Creations in 35 Pieces by Sean Kenney. $12.99. Each of the models can be built with just – you guessed it – 35 pieces. Not just 35 pieces, but the same 35 pieces will make the fourteen plus creations in this book. What a great challenge!
5. Extreme Bricks by Sarah Herman. $24.95. You probably have seen very large Lego creations such as the Space Needle built in Seattle, WA. It was completed in 2012 and took 15 years to complete. The Lego sculpture contains 55,000 Lego elements. That is just one of the record-breaking Lego projects from around the world found in this 236-page book.
6. The Lego Play Book by Daniel Lipkowitz. $24.99. This is a large hardbound book with loads of Lego creations and full color pictures. It is a great bargain for the price.
7. Getting Started with Lego Trains by Jacob H. McKee. $14.95. Kids who like trains and Legos find them both in this paperback book. Directions are similar to the ones that come with the Lego sets.
So, there you have it. Legos from the simple to the complex; a book for every Lego lover no matter his or her age.
Enjoy!
Audrey
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Safe Searching Online
Greetings!
Do you have filters or filtering software on your computers at school? Google has some options that really do a good job with filtering out adult content. Just do a search for ‘ safe search’ and a box will appear at the top of your screen with instructions.
SET THE FILTERS: Go to settings and set the filter to Strict, then lock. You will need to input your Google account login and then you will be able to lock the settings. This should lock the filter across all Google domains. Please note that this will need to be done on all the web browsers you use. I set filters on Firefox, Explorer, and Chrome. If there is a way to set filters for the computer to include all the browsers, I don't know how to do this except to have filtering software.
SET THE HOMEPAGE: After this, I suggest you also use as your homepage Google Safe Search for Kids. Search for 'Safe Search Kids' or just 'Safe Search'. Click on the Google Safe Search link and copy the link. Use 'Options' to set the homepage.
You might wonder why I recommend you do both of these things. A number of years I set the homepage to YahooKids which was a safe search. However, many students in 5th and 6th grades would just type in “Google.com” and go straight to Google. It isn’t hard to change the homepage, so by setting the filter, it won’t matter if they use another homepage.
I learned something about Bing. I know a lot of kids like to use Bing here for a search engine. However, when I researched how to set filters in Bing, an article gave instructions, but at the end, they mentioned that there is no lock on the filter. Results are filtered, and a message comes up to say that if the user wants filters to be removed they need to go to settings. The user can remove filters apparently.
If you have filtering software at your school, you are likely covered, but these ideas are still worth thinking about. It might not hurt to have back-up. It also might be good to mention this to parents who may not have their home computers filtered for children.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Do you have filters or filtering software on your computers at school? Google has some options that really do a good job with filtering out adult content. Just do a search for ‘ safe search’ and a box will appear at the top of your screen with instructions.
SET THE FILTERS: Go to settings and set the filter to Strict, then lock. You will need to input your Google account login and then you will be able to lock the settings. This should lock the filter across all Google domains. Please note that this will need to be done on all the web browsers you use. I set filters on Firefox, Explorer, and Chrome. If there is a way to set filters for the computer to include all the browsers, I don't know how to do this except to have filtering software.
SET THE HOMEPAGE: After this, I suggest you also use as your homepage Google Safe Search for Kids. Search for 'Safe Search Kids' or just 'Safe Search'. Click on the Google Safe Search link and copy the link. Use 'Options' to set the homepage.
You might wonder why I recommend you do both of these things. A number of years I set the homepage to YahooKids which was a safe search. However, many students in 5th and 6th grades would just type in “Google.com” and go straight to Google. It isn’t hard to change the homepage, so by setting the filter, it won’t matter if they use another homepage.
I learned something about Bing. I know a lot of kids like to use Bing here for a search engine. However, when I researched how to set filters in Bing, an article gave instructions, but at the end, they mentioned that there is no lock on the filter. Results are filtered, and a message comes up to say that if the user wants filters to be removed they need to go to settings. The user can remove filters apparently.
If you have filtering software at your school, you are likely covered, but these ideas are still worth thinking about. It might not hurt to have back-up. It also might be good to mention this to parents who may not have their home computers filtered for children.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
BYOD
Hello!
I attended an NCCE convention and noticed that there was a lot of talk about BYOD or Bring Your Own Device. More and more students are bringing iPads, tablets, laptops, or smart phones to school and the rationale was to put to educational use the devices that students were using already.
The positive side to BYOD includes:
1. Students already own them, so the school does not have to provide them.
2. Students are also responsible for any problems that may happen. It is a personal device, not a school one.
3. Students know how to use it already.
4. It provides a 1:1 student to device ratio.
The job of teachers is to educate students that these can be learning tools, not just a device to text or play games on.
Of course, we know that there will always be problems with students having their own devices. I would expect that schools have filtering software installed for student protection, but teachers must teach students about internet safety and proper use of the internet, dangers of cyberbullying, and being safe with social media.
Are you ready to adopt a BYOD policy? Do you have a policy in place to help protect the school in case of misuse? If your students are bringing cell phones to school, what is your policy on this? These are things that we need to think about before we find ourselves in a sticky situation.
Check out the BYOD policies that other schools have and see what kinds of things they include.
If you already have a BYOD policy for your school, I would love to see it and compare with the one I am working on for my school.
Have a great week.
Audrey
I attended an NCCE convention and noticed that there was a lot of talk about BYOD or Bring Your Own Device. More and more students are bringing iPads, tablets, laptops, or smart phones to school and the rationale was to put to educational use the devices that students were using already.
The positive side to BYOD includes:
1. Students already own them, so the school does not have to provide them.
2. Students are also responsible for any problems that may happen. It is a personal device, not a school one.
3. Students know how to use it already.
4. It provides a 1:1 student to device ratio.
The job of teachers is to educate students that these can be learning tools, not just a device to text or play games on.
Of course, we know that there will always be problems with students having their own devices. I would expect that schools have filtering software installed for student protection, but teachers must teach students about internet safety and proper use of the internet, dangers of cyberbullying, and being safe with social media.
Are you ready to adopt a BYOD policy? Do you have a policy in place to help protect the school in case of misuse? If your students are bringing cell phones to school, what is your policy on this? These are things that we need to think about before we find ourselves in a sticky situation.
Check out the BYOD policies that other schools have and see what kinds of things they include.
If you already have a BYOD policy for your school, I would love to see it and compare with the one I am working on for my school.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, September 15, 2014
Teaching Dewey
Greetings!
I am teaching the Dewey Decimal Classification system to our students here during library classes. My assistant uses a great method using hand motions to help them remember the hundreds.
The Dewey Decimal System is arranged a little like a person growing up.
100’s - Who Am I? (Psychology)
Finger Motion: Hold up one finger and point to yourself.
When we are little, we think only of ourselves. The books in this section have information that a person might want to know about himself. Books on my thoughts or how I feel would be included in this section.
200’s – Who is My God? (Religion)
Finger Motion: Hold up two fingers and point up toward heaven.
As we grow a little older we start to wonder where everyone came from. These books explain the world and how it was created. Books on religions are located here. (Also books on Mythology, but we don’t usually include these in our lessons!)
300’s – Who is My Neighbor? (Social Studies)
Finger Motion: Hold up three fingers and sweep horizontally across the classroom including everyone.
Once you learn about other people, you want to find out more about others. What do they do and where do they live? Books on careers, jobs, holidays, folktales are located here. These books are all about the social world.
400’s – How Do I Communicate With My Neighbor? (Languages)
Finger Motion: Hold up four fingers and put them to your lips. I wiggle them because kids like movement.
Now that we know something about other people, we might want to communicate with them. We need to learn their language, so books on other languages are here.
500’s – Man Sees the Things God Made. (Pure Science)
Finger Motion: Hold up five fingers and sweep the room with your hand as you say “Everything God made.”
Books on science and nature are in this section. We learn about the heavens, the animals, and the world God made.
600’s – Man is Clever and Learns “How To’ Use the Science and Nature information to Work for Him. (Applied Science/Technology)
Finger Motion: Hold palm of one hand flat and use your index finger on the other hand as you would a tool to twist back and forth on palm. You have the five fingers of one hand (What God Made) plus the finger of the other hand (Man uses What God Made) to make six fingers.
Books on cars, airplanes, building bridges and other things, caring for your health, books on diseases, cookbooks, caring for pets; all these subjects are in here. This section is the “How To” section. The animal books are in the Pure science section, but caring for them (How To) is in the Applied Science section.
700’s – Man Enjoys Leisure Time. (Fine Arts)
Finger Motion: Palm of one hand is flat and the other hand used Index and middle finger as legs walking on the palm.
Since Man has learned to use science to work for him, he now has time to enjoy things like sports, crafts, music, drawing, and other hobbies.
800’s – Man Likes to Tell Stories About Himself. (Literature)
Finger Motion: Hold both hands like an open book with thumbs folded inside. Focus on this being stories to read for enjoyment, not informational.
900’s – Man Likes to Leave a Record of His Doings, Goings, and Comings. (History, Geography, and Biography)
Finger Motion: Hold your fingers as if around a ball creating a ‘globe’ for geography. (One thumb inside.)
000’s – General Information. This includes books like encyclopedias, media, newspapers, and books that have a lot of general information such as question and answer books.
Finger Motion: Hold up two fists (showing zero fingers) and say this is ‘General Junk’. You could use the term ‘General Information’, but the kids like the words ‘General Junk’ and they remember it which is the whole point.
This category has information that does not fit into just one Dewey number. For example, the encyclopedia has maps, history, science, biographies, and more. It can’t be cataloged into history because there is more than just history. Since there are so many kinds of information, it is cataloged in general information. Question and answer books also fit in this section. They have all kinds of information in them and there is no one place to catalog them, so they are general.
We start learning Dewey in Kindergarten in a very informal way. First and Second graders begin to learn the hand motions, and we do a review with Third and Fourth grades. Third and Fourth graders also participate in a Read Around the Library program. I have a card for each student and we encourage them to read from each Dewey section in the library. As they complete a book, we mark it off the card. In March just before spring vacation, I have a Dewey Celebration for all who have completed their Dewey card. Last year the card had sixteen spaces to fill, so there were at least sixteen books they read during the months from September through mid March. This year I am doing a Bingo card – very similar to last year, but there are twenty-four books to read. However, they will receive a prize for each Bingo they make. I hope that the smaller goals will encourage them to read from the whole card.
I hope these ideas help you with teaching Dewey to your kids.
I hope you have a terrific week,
Audrey
I am teaching the Dewey Decimal Classification system to our students here during library classes. My assistant uses a great method using hand motions to help them remember the hundreds.
The Dewey Decimal System is arranged a little like a person growing up.
100’s - Who Am I? (Psychology)
Finger Motion: Hold up one finger and point to yourself.
When we are little, we think only of ourselves. The books in this section have information that a person might want to know about himself. Books on my thoughts or how I feel would be included in this section.
200’s – Who is My God? (Religion)
Finger Motion: Hold up two fingers and point up toward heaven.
As we grow a little older we start to wonder where everyone came from. These books explain the world and how it was created. Books on religions are located here. (Also books on Mythology, but we don’t usually include these in our lessons!)
300’s – Who is My Neighbor? (Social Studies)
Finger Motion: Hold up three fingers and sweep horizontally across the classroom including everyone.
Once you learn about other people, you want to find out more about others. What do they do and where do they live? Books on careers, jobs, holidays, folktales are located here. These books are all about the social world.
400’s – How Do I Communicate With My Neighbor? (Languages)
Finger Motion: Hold up four fingers and put them to your lips. I wiggle them because kids like movement.
Now that we know something about other people, we might want to communicate with them. We need to learn their language, so books on other languages are here.
500’s – Man Sees the Things God Made. (Pure Science)
Finger Motion: Hold up five fingers and sweep the room with your hand as you say “Everything God made.”
Books on science and nature are in this section. We learn about the heavens, the animals, and the world God made.
600’s – Man is Clever and Learns “How To’ Use the Science and Nature information to Work for Him. (Applied Science/Technology)
Finger Motion: Hold palm of one hand flat and use your index finger on the other hand as you would a tool to twist back and forth on palm. You have the five fingers of one hand (What God Made) plus the finger of the other hand (Man uses What God Made) to make six fingers.
Books on cars, airplanes, building bridges and other things, caring for your health, books on diseases, cookbooks, caring for pets; all these subjects are in here. This section is the “How To” section. The animal books are in the Pure science section, but caring for them (How To) is in the Applied Science section.
700’s – Man Enjoys Leisure Time. (Fine Arts)
Finger Motion: Palm of one hand is flat and the other hand used Index and middle finger as legs walking on the palm.
Since Man has learned to use science to work for him, he now has time to enjoy things like sports, crafts, music, drawing, and other hobbies.
800’s – Man Likes to Tell Stories About Himself. (Literature)
Finger Motion: Hold both hands like an open book with thumbs folded inside. Focus on this being stories to read for enjoyment, not informational.
900’s – Man Likes to Leave a Record of His Doings, Goings, and Comings. (History, Geography, and Biography)
Finger Motion: Hold your fingers as if around a ball creating a ‘globe’ for geography. (One thumb inside.)
000’s – General Information. This includes books like encyclopedias, media, newspapers, and books that have a lot of general information such as question and answer books.
Finger Motion: Hold up two fists (showing zero fingers) and say this is ‘General Junk’. You could use the term ‘General Information’, but the kids like the words ‘General Junk’ and they remember it which is the whole point.
This category has information that does not fit into just one Dewey number. For example, the encyclopedia has maps, history, science, biographies, and more. It can’t be cataloged into history because there is more than just history. Since there are so many kinds of information, it is cataloged in general information. Question and answer books also fit in this section. They have all kinds of information in them and there is no one place to catalog them, so they are general.
We start learning Dewey in Kindergarten in a very informal way. First and Second graders begin to learn the hand motions, and we do a review with Third and Fourth grades. Third and Fourth graders also participate in a Read Around the Library program. I have a card for each student and we encourage them to read from each Dewey section in the library. As they complete a book, we mark it off the card. In March just before spring vacation, I have a Dewey Celebration for all who have completed their Dewey card. Last year the card had sixteen spaces to fill, so there were at least sixteen books they read during the months from September through mid March. This year I am doing a Bingo card – very similar to last year, but there are twenty-four books to read. However, they will receive a prize for each Bingo they make. I hope that the smaller goals will encourage them to read from the whole card.
I hope these ideas help you with teaching Dewey to your kids.
I hope you have a terrific week,
Audrey
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Kindles in the Library
Greetings!
Last year I was fortunate enough to win a Don Keele Award for my plan to put Kindles in the library. After using them for a year, I thought I’d let you know how the program is going.
I have been pleased with how the Kindle program has worked for us this year. We have had a couple of wrinkles, but for the most part, things are going very well.
Students must fill out a permission form each year. The form has three pages. Page one has the parent agreement giving permission for the student to check out a Kindle, accepting financial responsibility if lost or stolen or damaged, and the rules for Kindle Use and Care. I have a line for parents to print their name, then a signature line, then a line for the name of their child and a date. I don’t know all the parents and there are a number of parents with one name and children with another.
Page two – the back of the parent page – has the rules for Kindle use and care. Students may not lend Kindles to another student, they will not leave it unattended – in backpacks or lockers that aren’t secured or in desks in the classroom. They must return it on time and return it directly to the librarian. I ask that they hand it to me, not just put it in the book return box. Anyone could pick it out of the book return box and take it. They also promise not to change or alter any material on the Kindle. I have secure permissions that don’t allow this, but you never know.
Page three is a teacher permission page. Teachers know who is responsible and who isn’t. They mark one of three types of approval – may be checked out and taken home, may be checked out, but must remain at school in the classroom in a safe storage place when not in use, or check-out is not approved at this time.
When all three pages are signed and returned to me, I make a notation on the computer allowing Kindle check-out.
If a student needs a recharge during the check-out time, they may bring their Kindle to me for recharging, and then pick it up a few hours later.
I’ve had a few students not return the Kindle on time, and I make a note on the computer. This reminds me when they want to check one out next time and I can talk to them about it.
At first, the Kindles were out all the time, and students who wanted a Kindle had to wait. But as the year progressed, I noticed that many of the students who were checking Kindles out were mostly the same students. I had planned to purchase a few more each year until we had enough for a classroom, but I found that I didn’t need to do that. I usually have a couple available all the time, so I opted not to purchase more at this time.
I bought twelve Kindle Fire devices. I also purchased an Otterbox cover, a charger, and a two-year warranty for each KIndle. I set up a Whispercast account so I can manage all twelve from one account. One thing to consider is that if I want each Kindle to be the same as all the others, I need to buy twelve copies of a book and download onto each Kindle. I decided to do this so that if a student were reading a book on one Kindle, the next time they checked out a Kindle, they would not be assured that they would have the same Kindle. I thought it would make it much easier and it really has.
If I were doing this for a small school, I would use a ‘family’ account and get up to five Kindles attached to that account. Then you could buy just one book and all the Kindles would be able to access it. I have two Kindles on my personal account and my husband and I can read all the books on my cloud from either Kindle.
One unexpected thing happened which was kind of interesting. One first and second grade teacher had a lit set that was falling apart. We looked for replacement copies, and found them for about $4.00 including the shipping, but then saw that she could get them as a Kindle book for $3.00. She bought seven Kindle copies and we put them on seven of the Kindles which she then checked out for classroom use. That worked out nicely since it took just a few minutes to buy the Kindle book and download onto the devices.
So far I haven’t lost a Kindle and the students are enjoying them. I guess I can’t ask for more than that.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Last year I was fortunate enough to win a Don Keele Award for my plan to put Kindles in the library. After using them for a year, I thought I’d let you know how the program is going.
I have been pleased with how the Kindle program has worked for us this year. We have had a couple of wrinkles, but for the most part, things are going very well.
Students must fill out a permission form each year. The form has three pages. Page one has the parent agreement giving permission for the student to check out a Kindle, accepting financial responsibility if lost or stolen or damaged, and the rules for Kindle Use and Care. I have a line for parents to print their name, then a signature line, then a line for the name of their child and a date. I don’t know all the parents and there are a number of parents with one name and children with another.
Page two – the back of the parent page – has the rules for Kindle use and care. Students may not lend Kindles to another student, they will not leave it unattended – in backpacks or lockers that aren’t secured or in desks in the classroom. They must return it on time and return it directly to the librarian. I ask that they hand it to me, not just put it in the book return box. Anyone could pick it out of the book return box and take it. They also promise not to change or alter any material on the Kindle. I have secure permissions that don’t allow this, but you never know.
Page three is a teacher permission page. Teachers know who is responsible and who isn’t. They mark one of three types of approval – may be checked out and taken home, may be checked out, but must remain at school in the classroom in a safe storage place when not in use, or check-out is not approved at this time.
When all three pages are signed and returned to me, I make a notation on the computer allowing Kindle check-out.
If a student needs a recharge during the check-out time, they may bring their Kindle to me for recharging, and then pick it up a few hours later.
I’ve had a few students not return the Kindle on time, and I make a note on the computer. This reminds me when they want to check one out next time and I can talk to them about it.
At first, the Kindles were out all the time, and students who wanted a Kindle had to wait. But as the year progressed, I noticed that many of the students who were checking Kindles out were mostly the same students. I had planned to purchase a few more each year until we had enough for a classroom, but I found that I didn’t need to do that. I usually have a couple available all the time, so I opted not to purchase more at this time.
I bought twelve Kindle Fire devices. I also purchased an Otterbox cover, a charger, and a two-year warranty for each KIndle. I set up a Whispercast account so I can manage all twelve from one account. One thing to consider is that if I want each Kindle to be the same as all the others, I need to buy twelve copies of a book and download onto each Kindle. I decided to do this so that if a student were reading a book on one Kindle, the next time they checked out a Kindle, they would not be assured that they would have the same Kindle. I thought it would make it much easier and it really has.
If I were doing this for a small school, I would use a ‘family’ account and get up to five Kindles attached to that account. Then you could buy just one book and all the Kindles would be able to access it. I have two Kindles on my personal account and my husband and I can read all the books on my cloud from either Kindle.
One unexpected thing happened which was kind of interesting. One first and second grade teacher had a lit set that was falling apart. We looked for replacement copies, and found them for about $4.00 including the shipping, but then saw that she could get them as a Kindle book for $3.00. She bought seven Kindle copies and we put them on seven of the Kindles which she then checked out for classroom use. That worked out nicely since it took just a few minutes to buy the Kindle book and download onto the devices.
So far I haven’t lost a Kindle and the students are enjoying them. I guess I can’t ask for more than that.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, May 19, 2014
Christian Fantasy Reviews
Greetings!
I gave you a site for reviews last week from Common Sense Media. This week I will give you a website that reviews fantasy books from a Christian perspective.
Please note that this reviewer loves fantasy books and endorses most of the ones she reviews. She is a professional reviewer and receives most of the books she reviews free of charge. However, she tells the basics of what the book is about which what I feel is important. I don’t care for most of the fantasy books and really do not want to read them to find out about them. If I see my students reading them, I don’t know what is in the books and that makes me uncomfortable.
She also reviews what she terms as “Christian Fantasy”. I tried to see what her review is of Eragon which is a series I occasionally see students toting around here at school. It is not on her blog. In any case, it is someplace to get an opinion of someone who is an expert in her field.
Check out this website/blog to learn more.
http://www.christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/
Have a great week.
Audrey
PS. Don’t forget that you can get reviews on Amazon.com.
I gave you a site for reviews last week from Common Sense Media. This week I will give you a website that reviews fantasy books from a Christian perspective.
Please note that this reviewer loves fantasy books and endorses most of the ones she reviews. She is a professional reviewer and receives most of the books she reviews free of charge. However, she tells the basics of what the book is about which what I feel is important. I don’t care for most of the fantasy books and really do not want to read them to find out about them. If I see my students reading them, I don’t know what is in the books and that makes me uncomfortable.
She also reviews what she terms as “Christian Fantasy”. I tried to see what her review is of Eragon which is a series I occasionally see students toting around here at school. It is not on her blog. In any case, it is someplace to get an opinion of someone who is an expert in her field.
Check out this website/blog to learn more.
http://www.christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/
Have a great week.
Audrey
PS. Don’t forget that you can get reviews on Amazon.com.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Common Sense Media
Greetings!
I have a great website to help you evaluate books (and other materials) for your schools. It is called www.commonsensemedia.org
Common Sense Media has reviews for books, movies, videos, games, apps, music, TV, and websites. Here are some of the things you can learn from Common Sense Media.
Type in the title of the media you want to know about. Narrow options by using the filter on the left side of the screen. Check out the color-coded numbers indicating the age level the book is for. The colors are like a stoplight – green is good, yellow indicates caution, and red means no for the age. There is also a gray dot that says “Not for Kids” meaning not appropriate for kids of any age.
Beneath that information is a section titled “what parents need to know”. The sections include “Educational Value, positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism, drinking, drugs, and smoking.” Click on each to learn more specifics about that section. You can read reviews from parents and also reviews from kids.
Beneath that is a section that includes “What’s the story?”, “Is it any good?” “Families can talk about. . .” and “Book details”.
This is a good place to learn more about a book or other media so you can make a more informed decision.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
I have a great website to help you evaluate books (and other materials) for your schools. It is called www.commonsensemedia.org
Common Sense Media has reviews for books, movies, videos, games, apps, music, TV, and websites. Here are some of the things you can learn from Common Sense Media.
Type in the title of the media you want to know about. Narrow options by using the filter on the left side of the screen. Check out the color-coded numbers indicating the age level the book is for. The colors are like a stoplight – green is good, yellow indicates caution, and red means no for the age. There is also a gray dot that says “Not for Kids” meaning not appropriate for kids of any age.
Beneath that information is a section titled “what parents need to know”. The sections include “Educational Value, positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism, drinking, drugs, and smoking.” Click on each to learn more specifics about that section. You can read reviews from parents and also reviews from kids.
Beneath that is a section that includes “What’s the story?”, “Is it any good?” “Families can talk about. . .” and “Book details”.
This is a good place to learn more about a book or other media so you can make a more informed decision.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Summer Reading
Greetings!
Have you thought about summer reading? If you are interested in promoting a summer reading project for your students, I would recommend the Scholastic Read for the World Record challenge. We are going to try this program this summer at our school. Teachers need to register for a free account and then sign up their students.
Here’s what to do:
Log onto http://www.scholastic.com/summer/
Step one: Click red button that says “Register your students now”
Step two: a Scholastic.com sign in will pop up. It is bordered in red. You need to sign up for an account if you don’t have one. Click Sign Up Today.
Step three: Click Register Now for Teachers and Educators
Step four: Complete the registration and set up a password that you will remember. Select our school from the list and complete your profile.
Step five: You may have to exit the registration bordered in red at this time and click the red button again that says Register your students now. You should arrive at a blue page that says “Reading Under the Stars.” Teacher registration is now open. Since you are now a registered user, click “View My Dashboard”.
Step six: Now you can add a class. Choose a grade, name your class, and give the number of students. Then click the blue pencil under the column “Manage”. A list of name spaces and generated usernames and passwords will come up. Put the student’s first name in each space and print out your list so you will remember who has which username and password. (Don’t worry if you don’t print the list. You can always come back to this page and find the information here for you.) Don’t forget to save the information.
Set a goal for your school. I counted up the days between May 5 and September 5 and figured out how many minutes it would be if every student read 15 minutes a day. Then I set it a little higher to 500,000 minutes. What kind of goal will work for your school? Only you will know.
Have students begin reading on May 5 and have them keep a record of their reading every day. I recommend that you have students log on to the website and begin to record their minutes at school if possible so they get in the habit of doing this. The minutes the student reads will count toward the world challenge, but in order to count toward your school’s individual goal, parents must give permission so be prepared when students are asked for their parents’ email address or have them register at home with a parent to help. If you have students who don’t have access to the internet there are other options. There is an app for a smart phone with a reading timer and place to log their minutes. Students can also keep track of their reading on paper forms and all the minutes can be entered in at one time in September before the end of the challenge on September 5.
If you have any questions, contact Scholastic. They have been wonderful help to me.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Have you thought about summer reading? If you are interested in promoting a summer reading project for your students, I would recommend the Scholastic Read for the World Record challenge. We are going to try this program this summer at our school. Teachers need to register for a free account and then sign up their students.
Here’s what to do:
Log onto http://www.scholastic.com/summer/
Step one: Click red button that says “Register your students now”
Step two: a Scholastic.com sign in will pop up. It is bordered in red. You need to sign up for an account if you don’t have one. Click Sign Up Today.
Step three: Click Register Now for Teachers and Educators
Step four: Complete the registration and set up a password that you will remember. Select our school from the list and complete your profile.
Step five: You may have to exit the registration bordered in red at this time and click the red button again that says Register your students now. You should arrive at a blue page that says “Reading Under the Stars.” Teacher registration is now open. Since you are now a registered user, click “View My Dashboard”.
Step six: Now you can add a class. Choose a grade, name your class, and give the number of students. Then click the blue pencil under the column “Manage”. A list of name spaces and generated usernames and passwords will come up. Put the student’s first name in each space and print out your list so you will remember who has which username and password. (Don’t worry if you don’t print the list. You can always come back to this page and find the information here for you.) Don’t forget to save the information.
Set a goal for your school. I counted up the days between May 5 and September 5 and figured out how many minutes it would be if every student read 15 minutes a day. Then I set it a little higher to 500,000 minutes. What kind of goal will work for your school? Only you will know.
Have students begin reading on May 5 and have them keep a record of their reading every day. I recommend that you have students log on to the website and begin to record their minutes at school if possible so they get in the habit of doing this. The minutes the student reads will count toward the world challenge, but in order to count toward your school’s individual goal, parents must give permission so be prepared when students are asked for their parents’ email address or have them register at home with a parent to help. If you have students who don’t have access to the internet there are other options. There is an app for a smart phone with a reading timer and place to log their minutes. Students can also keep track of their reading on paper forms and all the minutes can be entered in at one time in September before the end of the challenge on September 5.
If you have any questions, contact Scholastic. They have been wonderful help to me.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, April 21, 2014
Biblical Narratives
Greetings!
Last week I mentioned a number of titles that are good for older students to read. Most of those titles were appropriate for students in grades 6 – 12. This week I want to focus more on titles for those same grades, but that are published by our SDA publishing houses or Christian publishers.
I have listed a total of 37 books that focus on individual Biblical characters and what their lives and their culture might have been like. Obviously these aren’t biographies, but these stories really help to bring Bible characters to life.
Some of these books will be better stories than others. One example is the book Martha and Mary by Ntihemuka. This was the first of her books that I read and I didn’t really like it much. The story switched between Mary’s childhood and adulthood back and forth and was difficult to follow. I decided not to read any more of her books. One day a student came and was waxing lyrical about Ntihemuka’s Mary book and loved it. After a short discussion, she talked me into reading Mary and I did like it a lot. So I should not have judged an author by just one book.
Another book that is likely on your shelves right now is the book Deborah by Heppenstall. This was printed in 1967 and I see this book in many of our school libraries. This is the story of the little captive maid captured and bought by Naaman. If you haven’t read it, pull it out and read it aloud to your class. You have time to read the book before school is out and you and the students will really enjoy it.
Some have asked where to catalog these books. I know that some of you put them in the 813 section and others put them in the 200’s. We have them cataloged in the 200’s. I suggest that you put the Old Testament people in 221.9 and the New Testament people in 225.9. I have a post on this blog with more information about this dilemma. Take a look at Feb 7 2012.
I hope you enjoy this list and find some great books to put in your library.
Have a wonderful week!
Audrey
Bruno, Bonnie – Secret Journals of Bible-time Kids published by FaithKidz
Vol. 1 – Abigail’s Secret Journal (The Exodus)
Vol. 2 – Rachel’s Secret Journal (King Solomon’s time and peer pressure)
Vol. 3 – Benjamin’s Secret Journal (Feeding of the Five Thousand and the problem of exaggerating)
Vol. 4 – Deborah’s Secret Journal (Zacchaeus and the problem of poverty)
Hawse, Alberta – Vinegar Boy (Christ on the cross)
Ntihemuka, Patty Froese – Zacchaeus, Martha and Mary, Mary (mother of Jesus), Woman at the Well
Traylor, Ellen Gunderson – John Son of Thunder
Gibbs, Noni Beth – Peter Fisher of Men, Malchus
Fivash, Terri – Dahveed series, Joseph, Ruth and Boaz
Morgan-Cole, Trudy J. – Esther Story of Courage (longer book), Esther Courage to Stand (shorter book), Deborah and Balak, Bathsheba, Lydia, Samson
Thomsen, Hester – Hagar
Heppenstall, Margit Strom – Deborah (captive maid of Naaman)
Booth, Bradley – Miracles of the Mantle (Elisha), Escape from Egypt (Israelites), Plagues in the Palace (Moses), Esther A Star is Born, Prince of Dreams (Daniel), Shepherd Warrior (David), Noah Chosen One, Noah End of the World, The Prodigal
Erickson, Lois N – Leah, Hannah
Dickerson, Ed – Torn (Jacob)
Petty, Thurman C. Jr. – Siege at the Gates, Fire in the Gates - Autumn House Publishing
Last week I mentioned a number of titles that are good for older students to read. Most of those titles were appropriate for students in grades 6 – 12. This week I want to focus more on titles for those same grades, but that are published by our SDA publishing houses or Christian publishers.
I have listed a total of 37 books that focus on individual Biblical characters and what their lives and their culture might have been like. Obviously these aren’t biographies, but these stories really help to bring Bible characters to life.
Some of these books will be better stories than others. One example is the book Martha and Mary by Ntihemuka. This was the first of her books that I read and I didn’t really like it much. The story switched between Mary’s childhood and adulthood back and forth and was difficult to follow. I decided not to read any more of her books. One day a student came and was waxing lyrical about Ntihemuka’s Mary book and loved it. After a short discussion, she talked me into reading Mary and I did like it a lot. So I should not have judged an author by just one book.
Another book that is likely on your shelves right now is the book Deborah by Heppenstall. This was printed in 1967 and I see this book in many of our school libraries. This is the story of the little captive maid captured and bought by Naaman. If you haven’t read it, pull it out and read it aloud to your class. You have time to read the book before school is out and you and the students will really enjoy it.
Some have asked where to catalog these books. I know that some of you put them in the 813 section and others put them in the 200’s. We have them cataloged in the 200’s. I suggest that you put the Old Testament people in 221.9 and the New Testament people in 225.9. I have a post on this blog with more information about this dilemma. Take a look at Feb 7 2012.
I hope you enjoy this list and find some great books to put in your library.
Have a wonderful week!
Audrey
Bruno, Bonnie – Secret Journals of Bible-time Kids published by FaithKidz
Vol. 1 – Abigail’s Secret Journal (The Exodus)
Vol. 2 – Rachel’s Secret Journal (King Solomon’s time and peer pressure)
Vol. 3 – Benjamin’s Secret Journal (Feeding of the Five Thousand and the problem of exaggerating)
Vol. 4 – Deborah’s Secret Journal (Zacchaeus and the problem of poverty)
Hawse, Alberta – Vinegar Boy (Christ on the cross)
Ntihemuka, Patty Froese – Zacchaeus, Martha and Mary, Mary (mother of Jesus), Woman at the Well
Traylor, Ellen Gunderson – John Son of Thunder
Gibbs, Noni Beth – Peter Fisher of Men, Malchus
Fivash, Terri – Dahveed series, Joseph, Ruth and Boaz
Morgan-Cole, Trudy J. – Esther Story of Courage (longer book), Esther Courage to Stand (shorter book), Deborah and Balak, Bathsheba, Lydia, Samson
Thomsen, Hester – Hagar
Heppenstall, Margit Strom – Deborah (captive maid of Naaman)
Booth, Bradley – Miracles of the Mantle (Elisha), Escape from Egypt (Israelites), Plagues in the Palace (Moses), Esther A Star is Born, Prince of Dreams (Daniel), Shepherd Warrior (David), Noah Chosen One, Noah End of the World, The Prodigal
Erickson, Lois N – Leah, Hannah
Dickerson, Ed – Torn (Jacob)
Petty, Thurman C. Jr. – Siege at the Gates, Fire in the Gates - Autumn House Publishing
Monday, April 14, 2014
Books for Junior High and High School
I have had some ask for ideas for books for older students. I know this can be difficult because the type of books that our junior high and high school students are reading right now are often not books that are appropriate for our schools. I’m sure most of you have noticed the heavy emphasis on fantasy, vampires, dystopian societies, and more in the young adult literature these days.
Unfortunately, it seems there is very little that is being put out by our SDA church that is interesting to this age group. I see mostly books for adults and books or reprints for the younger children, but we seem to be neglecting our earliteens and teenagers. If I have missed some books, please let me know.
However, I have found some books that I believe would be interesting to this age and also appropriate for our libraries.
If you don’t have the Dahveed series by Terri Fivash in your library, I would highly recommend these books as an immediate purchase. I used this for an advanced reading group of junior high students and they absolutely loved them! They bring the people of Biblical times to life. Written for adults, the books are nevertheless appropriate for grade 7 and above. I have had some younger siblings of the junior high read them as well, but they are also exceptional readers. Trudy Morgan Cole is also a great writer and her Esther book is really good. (Bradley Booth also wrote an Esther book that was used for the programming at a recent Oshkosh Pathfinder Camporee. His book is for the middle grades.) There are quite a number of books written about Biblical characters in recent years. I believe that most of them are well done and appropriate for our school libraries.
These authors are published by our SDA publishers.
Fivash, Terri Dahveed series, Ruth and Boaz, Joseph
Morgan-Cole, Trudy Esther and more
Rizzo, Kay D Chloe Mae series, individual titles (may be out of print)
Robinson, Glen If Tomorrow Comes
Edwards, Josephine Cunnington Swift Arrow, Alice Princess, The Enchanted Pillowcase
Carson, Ben Gifted Hands
These authors are published by another Christian publishing house or are about Christians.
Oke, Jeanette Love Comes Softly series, Canadian West series, other titles
Lewis, Beverly Amish books, other series books on various reading levels.
Jackson, Dave Forty to Life (suitable for guys)
Karon, Jan The Mitford series (novels about Father Tim - an Episcopal priest, his life and the people in his town)
Gulley, Phillip The Harmony series (novels about a Quaker minister, his family, and his congregation)
These books have proved to be popular with students at Rogers. Most of them are higher level reading and would be fine for high school students, as well.
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abby, etc.
Brink, Carol Ryrie Caddie Woodlawn, Magical Melons, etc.
Hiaasen, Carl Flush, Hoot, Scat, Chomp, etc.
Hobbs, Will Far North, Jason’s Gold, Jackie’s Wile Seattle, Crossing the Wire, etc.
Speare, Elizabeth George Sign of the Beaver, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Calico Captive
Bauer, Joan Hope Was Here, Rules of the Road, Best Foot Forward, Close to Famous, Peeled, Backwater, Stand Tall
Avi Stick to his historical fiction which are excellent. He also writes fantasy, but certain of his books may not be what you want in your library.
Horvath, Polly Everything on a Waffle, Northward to Home, A Year in Coal Harbor (new sequel to the ‘Waffle’ book)
DeFelice, Cynthia Nowhere to Call Home, Wild Life, The Missing Manatee
McManus, Patrick His books appeal to boys and are humorous
Meyer, Carolyn Recently I bought a few of her historical fiction about queens - Mary, Bloody Mary; Beware, Princess Elizabeth; Doomed Queen Anne; Duchessina
Rinaldi, Ann Also writes great historical fiction
Smith, Roland Peak, Storm Runners series, Zach’s Lie, Jack’s Run, Jaguar, Elephant Run, etc.
Right now I am reading a new book that won a Newbery Honor this year. It is called Paperboy and is about a boy that has a stuttering problem. I am about a third into the book and found one line where a neighbor yells at his drunk wife and tells her to get her drunk ass up to the bathtub. I am sorry that that is in the book because it is really interesting how the boy deals with his stuttering problem. So far, I just crossed the word ‘ass’ out. I’m sure that some may have a problem with the neighbors being drunk, too.
That is my list, so far. If any of you have found books that our older students really enjoy reading, please let me know. I have a list that I have complied and would really like to add to it.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Unfortunately, it seems there is very little that is being put out by our SDA church that is interesting to this age group. I see mostly books for adults and books or reprints for the younger children, but we seem to be neglecting our earliteens and teenagers. If I have missed some books, please let me know.
However, I have found some books that I believe would be interesting to this age and also appropriate for our libraries.
If you don’t have the Dahveed series by Terri Fivash in your library, I would highly recommend these books as an immediate purchase. I used this for an advanced reading group of junior high students and they absolutely loved them! They bring the people of Biblical times to life. Written for adults, the books are nevertheless appropriate for grade 7 and above. I have had some younger siblings of the junior high read them as well, but they are also exceptional readers. Trudy Morgan Cole is also a great writer and her Esther book is really good. (Bradley Booth also wrote an Esther book that was used for the programming at a recent Oshkosh Pathfinder Camporee. His book is for the middle grades.) There are quite a number of books written about Biblical characters in recent years. I believe that most of them are well done and appropriate for our school libraries.
These authors are published by our SDA publishers.
Fivash, Terri Dahveed series, Ruth and Boaz, Joseph
Morgan-Cole, Trudy Esther and more
Rizzo, Kay D Chloe Mae series, individual titles (may be out of print)
Robinson, Glen If Tomorrow Comes
Edwards, Josephine Cunnington Swift Arrow, Alice Princess, The Enchanted Pillowcase
Carson, Ben Gifted Hands
These authors are published by another Christian publishing house or are about Christians.
Oke, Jeanette Love Comes Softly series, Canadian West series, other titles
Lewis, Beverly Amish books, other series books on various reading levels.
Jackson, Dave Forty to Life (suitable for guys)
Karon, Jan The Mitford series (novels about Father Tim - an Episcopal priest, his life and the people in his town)
Gulley, Phillip The Harmony series (novels about a Quaker minister, his family, and his congregation)
These books have proved to be popular with students at Rogers. Most of them are higher level reading and would be fine for high school students, as well.
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abby, etc.
Brink, Carol Ryrie Caddie Woodlawn, Magical Melons, etc.
Hiaasen, Carl Flush, Hoot, Scat, Chomp, etc.
Hobbs, Will Far North, Jason’s Gold, Jackie’s Wile Seattle, Crossing the Wire, etc.
Speare, Elizabeth George Sign of the Beaver, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Calico Captive
Bauer, Joan Hope Was Here, Rules of the Road, Best Foot Forward, Close to Famous, Peeled, Backwater, Stand Tall
Avi Stick to his historical fiction which are excellent. He also writes fantasy, but certain of his books may not be what you want in your library.
Horvath, Polly Everything on a Waffle, Northward to Home, A Year in Coal Harbor (new sequel to the ‘Waffle’ book)
DeFelice, Cynthia Nowhere to Call Home, Wild Life, The Missing Manatee
McManus, Patrick His books appeal to boys and are humorous
Meyer, Carolyn Recently I bought a few of her historical fiction about queens - Mary, Bloody Mary; Beware, Princess Elizabeth; Doomed Queen Anne; Duchessina
Rinaldi, Ann Also writes great historical fiction
Smith, Roland Peak, Storm Runners series, Zach’s Lie, Jack’s Run, Jaguar, Elephant Run, etc.
Right now I am reading a new book that won a Newbery Honor this year. It is called Paperboy and is about a boy that has a stuttering problem. I am about a third into the book and found one line where a neighbor yells at his drunk wife and tells her to get her drunk ass up to the bathtub. I am sorry that that is in the book because it is really interesting how the boy deals with his stuttering problem. So far, I just crossed the word ‘ass’ out. I’m sure that some may have a problem with the neighbors being drunk, too.
That is my list, so far. If any of you have found books that our older students really enjoy reading, please let me know. I have a list that I have complied and would really like to add to it.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, April 7, 2014
Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys
Greetings!
I received a question recently regarding Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books and whether or not to put them in the school library. I know some of you will find this difficult to believe, but I actually have never read them. I have a vague idea of the storylines but really do not know much about the series at all. I went to the popular *Wikipedia to do some quick research.
I learned that the Nancy Drew series began in 1930 and The Hardy Boys began in 1927. Both series were created by Edward Stratemeyer and both were written by ghostwriters that use the pseudonyms Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon respectively. Nancy was portrayed as an independent teenager of about 16 years old and was graduated from high school. The Hardy Boys are also older teenagers. Their lives are fairly similar, they are affluent, and they have exciting adventures.
Big criticisms came from some racism and classism in the books between 1927 and 1959. I know that my parents did not buy Nancy Drew books for us and I suspect now that our SDA schools likely did not use them for those criticisms.
Between 1959 and 1980 both series were revised. The story lines were more modern and racist stereotypes were eliminated. Other revisions happened between 1980 and 2003. Romance for Nancy was included in the story lines and she is portrayed a bit differently. A little more violence is also included. Other teen books in this time period include romance and violence as well, so Nancy is just keeping up with the times. The Hardy Boys series also has become more violent. The boys carry guns and are involved in more violent cases. One writer comments that her instructions for the book she wrote involved a story line and each chapter must be full of action and have a cliff hanger at the end.
My guess is that parents or grandparents read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys when they were young, enjoyed the books and have suggested their kids read them. Then the students come to the library to find more.
I contacted the NAD to ask if they had a stance on Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. Carol Campbell – no relation – responded and said that the NAD has not taken a position on any particular books for Adventist schools. It is left up to the local school, teacher, or conference to determine what is appropriate. She suggested that if there is a question about a particular book, to read it first and judge its merit based on the new standards for literature selection. I will send them as an attachment for you to have.
Based on the information from Wikipedia and from the NAD, I would suggest that you not add these books to your libraries. If the books are a part of your library at this time, and you feel that you need to remove them, just do it and replace them with better books. We need to weed our libraries anyway, so this is just one place to start.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
*I know that for research purposes Wikipedia is not the best website to use but if all you want is to get a general overview, it is certainly a great place to begin.
I received a question recently regarding Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books and whether or not to put them in the school library. I know some of you will find this difficult to believe, but I actually have never read them. I have a vague idea of the storylines but really do not know much about the series at all. I went to the popular *Wikipedia to do some quick research.
I learned that the Nancy Drew series began in 1930 and The Hardy Boys began in 1927. Both series were created by Edward Stratemeyer and both were written by ghostwriters that use the pseudonyms Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon respectively. Nancy was portrayed as an independent teenager of about 16 years old and was graduated from high school. The Hardy Boys are also older teenagers. Their lives are fairly similar, they are affluent, and they have exciting adventures.
Big criticisms came from some racism and classism in the books between 1927 and 1959. I know that my parents did not buy Nancy Drew books for us and I suspect now that our SDA schools likely did not use them for those criticisms.
Between 1959 and 1980 both series were revised. The story lines were more modern and racist stereotypes were eliminated. Other revisions happened between 1980 and 2003. Romance for Nancy was included in the story lines and she is portrayed a bit differently. A little more violence is also included. Other teen books in this time period include romance and violence as well, so Nancy is just keeping up with the times. The Hardy Boys series also has become more violent. The boys carry guns and are involved in more violent cases. One writer comments that her instructions for the book she wrote involved a story line and each chapter must be full of action and have a cliff hanger at the end.
My guess is that parents or grandparents read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys when they were young, enjoyed the books and have suggested their kids read them. Then the students come to the library to find more.
I contacted the NAD to ask if they had a stance on Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. Carol Campbell – no relation – responded and said that the NAD has not taken a position on any particular books for Adventist schools. It is left up to the local school, teacher, or conference to determine what is appropriate. She suggested that if there is a question about a particular book, to read it first and judge its merit based on the new standards for literature selection. I will send them as an attachment for you to have.
Based on the information from Wikipedia and from the NAD, I would suggest that you not add these books to your libraries. If the books are a part of your library at this time, and you feel that you need to remove them, just do it and replace them with better books. We need to weed our libraries anyway, so this is just one place to start.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
*I know that for research purposes Wikipedia is not the best website to use but if all you want is to get a general overview, it is certainly a great place to begin.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Library Skills
Greetings!
Even if you have a very small library, you should be teaching library skills to your students. The good thing is that they don’t take a lot of time to teach and you are probably doing most of them anyway! Here are some library skills that students need to know.
HOW TO USE YOUR SCHOOL OR CLASSROOM LIBRARY
Your library may be organized a bit differently than other libraries and students need to know how to locate books in your school or classroom library. In my classroom I had books organized in baskets according to genre or author depending on the book. I had a basket for Berenstain Bears books, one for Magic Schoolbus books, and so forth. I labeled the baskets and students could easily return books to the correct basket. (Whether they actually DID return the books correctly is another story, but they could do it if so inclined!)
HOW TO USE A REGULAR LIBRARY
Keep in mind that students may also go to their local public library to find books and they need to know how to use the Dewey Decimal Classification System.
This year I reviewed Dewey with students in grades 3 and up and began teaching it to the first and second graders. I use a system with finger motions to help them remember the kinds of books that are found in each Dewey numbered section. I also made it into a bookmark for students to use and study. I trim construction paper to fit the copier and copy this onto construction paper. I like to use bright colors for this.
HOW TO BROWSE AND LOCATE BOOKS
Students rarely know how to replace a book on the shelf, so we teach them to use a shelf marker. The marker is put on the shelf like a place holder for the book while the student is looking through the book to see if he or she wants to check that book out.
HOW TO CHECK BOOKS OUT AND CHECK THEM BACK IN
What is your procedure for checking books out and then returning books? Make sure students know what the procedure is and have them practice if they need it. If you have students check books out themselves or check them in, make sure they know the procedure.
HOW TO USE THE CARD CATALOG OR THE LIBRARY CATALOG
Make sure students know how to use the card catalog or library catalog. If your library is automated, you need to teach them how to search the library catalog.
HOW TO CARE FOR BOOKS
Teach students to use a bookmark rather than lay an open book down on its pages. This is not good for the spine of the book and reduces the life of the book. I tell students that if they do this to their own books, that is their business, but since the library books do not belong to them, they need to use a bookmark.
Also teach students to handle books with clean hands, not to mark in them, and other ways to be careful with books.
THE PARTS OF A BOOK
The basic parts of a book are the spine, the covers, and the pages. You can go further and teach the title page, the dedication page, the publisher page, and I like to point out the end pages particularly when they are colorful and contribute to the inside of the book.
WHAT AN AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR DO
We teach students about what authors and illustrators do and students here are beginning to ask for books by a particular author and sometimes they recognize the artwork of a certain illustrator. You never know if this might encourage kids to write or illustrate books when they grow up.
HOW TO USE A DICTIONARY, ENCYCLOPEDIA, INDEX OR GLOSSARY
This is likely part of your language arts classes, but if not, it is something that students need to know how to do.
All of these library skills are life skills that will be used for the rest of their lives which makes them valuable to learn. I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, March 17, 2014
Genre Shelving
Greetings!
I recently read an article in the March/April issue of Library Media Connection about a school that decided to go to genre shelving for their fiction books. This librarian had some good reasons as to why she decided to go that route and I began to think about this a little bit further.
Genre shelving is where you put books of a kind together. The Historical Fiction books would all be shelved together, the Mystery books together, the Adventure books together.
Some of the reasons this is a good idea include:
• Many students really do not grasp the concept of organizing books by author’s last name. Many do not even know the author’s last name.
• The other Dewey sections have books of a kind organized together, (the science books are together, the math books, and so on), and students seem to think that this also applies to the fiction section.
• Students who like stories about horses would find them all together and can easily find more to read.
• Some say that the library is used more when genre shelving is used over the traditional Dewey 813.
I talked with my library assistant about this idea and we discussed the pros and cons of this in our library. We already knew the pros from the article and came up with our own list of cons.
• We are working to teach the Dewey system to the students so they will become more independent in other libraries. I tell the children that if they like to read books about training dogs then they will always find them in 636.7 in any library. So this is a skill that will be helpful in the future.
• When students leave our school, they will be back in a library that uses Dewey, so they will have to learn to use Dewey anyway.
• We feel that putting books of a kind together may hamper the discovery of ANOTHER type of book that students might find while searching for the type they want. Students often read only one type of book and ignore all other genres. Genre shelving would encourage this even more.
• The genres that the article mentioned were “Paranormal, Dystopian, Fantasy, Girl, Guy-books guys like, Mysteries, Real life, Classics, Humor, and Historical fiction. You will already know that the paranormal, dystopian, and fantasy genres would not be in our library anyway. Most of our books are Real life, so that one was also out. We don’t like the idea of separating ‘girl’ reads from ‘guy’ reads. Girls will usually read books about guys, but guys might resist reading a book about girls. Separating them would only highlight a section of books for the boys to avoid. So basically that leaves Classics, Humor, and Historical fiction.
Yet the students still come and ask for an adventure book or a mystery book. We have taught them how to use the computer library catalog and that often works, but still. . . We finally hit upon a solution that we feel would work in our library. We will purchase genre stickers to place on the different genres that are most requested in our library.
About two years ago we had a number of classes searching for historical fiction for book reports, so at the time we bought genre stickers for that particular genre and marked about 200 of the books for quick choosing. We also told the students that there were many more and if they had a question about a particular book, they could check with the librarian or their teacher to see if it would be acceptable for the assignment. So that genre is obviously one that we will continue using. Other genres we will mark will be Classics, Adventure, Horses, Dogs, Cats, Mystery, and Holiday. Then we will wait and see if there are others that reveal themselves as students ask for them.
We feel that this idea will help solve the genre problem, and still maintain the Dewey system, and the chance that students will happen upon another type of book while searching for a particular genre.
Have a great week. I’m off to order genre stickers!
Audrey
I recently read an article in the March/April issue of Library Media Connection about a school that decided to go to genre shelving for their fiction books. This librarian had some good reasons as to why she decided to go that route and I began to think about this a little bit further.
Genre shelving is where you put books of a kind together. The Historical Fiction books would all be shelved together, the Mystery books together, the Adventure books together.
Some of the reasons this is a good idea include:
• Many students really do not grasp the concept of organizing books by author’s last name. Many do not even know the author’s last name.
• The other Dewey sections have books of a kind organized together, (the science books are together, the math books, and so on), and students seem to think that this also applies to the fiction section.
• Students who like stories about horses would find them all together and can easily find more to read.
• Some say that the library is used more when genre shelving is used over the traditional Dewey 813.
I talked with my library assistant about this idea and we discussed the pros and cons of this in our library. We already knew the pros from the article and came up with our own list of cons.
• We are working to teach the Dewey system to the students so they will become more independent in other libraries. I tell the children that if they like to read books about training dogs then they will always find them in 636.7 in any library. So this is a skill that will be helpful in the future.
• When students leave our school, they will be back in a library that uses Dewey, so they will have to learn to use Dewey anyway.
• We feel that putting books of a kind together may hamper the discovery of ANOTHER type of book that students might find while searching for the type they want. Students often read only one type of book and ignore all other genres. Genre shelving would encourage this even more.
• The genres that the article mentioned were “Paranormal, Dystopian, Fantasy, Girl, Guy-books guys like, Mysteries, Real life, Classics, Humor, and Historical fiction. You will already know that the paranormal, dystopian, and fantasy genres would not be in our library anyway. Most of our books are Real life, so that one was also out. We don’t like the idea of separating ‘girl’ reads from ‘guy’ reads. Girls will usually read books about guys, but guys might resist reading a book about girls. Separating them would only highlight a section of books for the boys to avoid. So basically that leaves Classics, Humor, and Historical fiction.
Yet the students still come and ask for an adventure book or a mystery book. We have taught them how to use the computer library catalog and that often works, but still. . . We finally hit upon a solution that we feel would work in our library. We will purchase genre stickers to place on the different genres that are most requested in our library.
About two years ago we had a number of classes searching for historical fiction for book reports, so at the time we bought genre stickers for that particular genre and marked about 200 of the books for quick choosing. We also told the students that there were many more and if they had a question about a particular book, they could check with the librarian or their teacher to see if it would be acceptable for the assignment. So that genre is obviously one that we will continue using. Other genres we will mark will be Classics, Adventure, Horses, Dogs, Cats, Mystery, and Holiday. Then we will wait and see if there are others that reveal themselves as students ask for them.
We feel that this idea will help solve the genre problem, and still maintain the Dewey system, and the chance that students will happen upon another type of book while searching for a particular genre.
Have a great week. I’m off to order genre stickers!
Audrey
Monday, March 10, 2014
Cookbooks for Kids
Greetings!
One of my hobbies is cooking. I enjoy trying new recipes and tweaking ones that I regularly use. It seems that food and cooking has become more popular in the last ten years or so and has given rise to a couple of TV networks and cookbooks galore. Recently two different television cooking competition shows had child chefs competing for prizes.
COOKBOOKS
We have a great chance to introduce students to the joy of cooking for themselves and their families simply by placing cookbooks in our libraries for students to check out and use at home.
I really like cookbooks for children. I especially like when the directions are written simply and clearly with pictures to illustrate the process. Here are a few that we have at Rogers.
Paula Deen and other celebrity chefs have written cookbooks for children. These two have been quite popular at our school. Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook and Paula Deen’s Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set.
The Children’s Step-By-Step Cookbook is one that I particularly like. The illustrations are colorful photographs and the directions for each recipe are very easy to follow. You can see that my copy is mended and this is the best of two copies that I have!
If you want vegetarian cookbooks, here are two that are just for kids. Cooking with Herb the Vegetarian Dragon, The Jumbo Vegetarian Cookbook, (in the next photo) and Kids Can Cook.
The Sleepover Cookbook, The Ultimate Kid-approved Cookbook, and Tasty School Lunches are all great options, as well.
COOKING CONTEST
One of our classrooms has a number of aspiring chefs and a couple of months ago they wanted to hold a cooking or baking contest like they have seen on TV. After a lot of planning and scheduling, they held their Cupcake Bake-off here last Friday. They came up with a rubric for the judges to use regarding flavor, creativity, frosting constancy, and more. The whole class divided into teams and got baking in our Commons area. This happens to be right outside my office area, so I had to smell cupcakes baking all morning. Near the end of the morning I went to the office to get my mail and was handed a judging form and happily had to taste the cupcakes.
The kids had a great time and learned quite a bit along the way.
FOOD MAGAZINES FOR KIDS
I wondered if there were any food magazines for kids and went searching online. Can you believe it? There are three. Chop, Chop, Yum for Kids, and Ingredient. I ordered all three to try them out to see if they are something I could recommend and put in the library. I got Ingredient right away along with the back issues I ordered and I really like it.
The January/February 2014 issue has
• an article about clementine oranges
• a short history of the scurvy problem sailors had in the 1700’s
• New York City’s attempt to ban soda
• sesame seeds and where they come from
• traveling to Alaska and the experiences with wildlife and also the food
• a history of chewing gum
• a young chef (age 13) and her newly released cookbook
• the nose and the science of smelling and tasting
• the subtitle of Ingredient is “a magazine for kids curious about food”
• there are recipes, but they do not fill the magazine. This issue has four recipes.
If you are looking for a food magazine for kids, you might ask for a sample issue and try this one out.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
PS. I went to pull out all the children’s cookbooks to photograph for you, and had not realized how many we have. I DID NOT show you all that we have, but less than half of what we have. It is a little bit embarrassing, but I justified myself with the fact that we have a lot of students. I want to encourage you to have a few children's cookbooks in your library if you don’t already have some. Now, I really do not need any more children’s cookbooks, but if you have one that you think I might like, I’m sure I can talk myself into getting another!
One of my hobbies is cooking. I enjoy trying new recipes and tweaking ones that I regularly use. It seems that food and cooking has become more popular in the last ten years or so and has given rise to a couple of TV networks and cookbooks galore. Recently two different television cooking competition shows had child chefs competing for prizes.
COOKBOOKS
We have a great chance to introduce students to the joy of cooking for themselves and their families simply by placing cookbooks in our libraries for students to check out and use at home.
I really like cookbooks for children. I especially like when the directions are written simply and clearly with pictures to illustrate the process. Here are a few that we have at Rogers.
Paula Deen and other celebrity chefs have written cookbooks for children. These two have been quite popular at our school. Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook and Paula Deen’s Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set.
The Children’s Step-By-Step Cookbook is one that I particularly like. The illustrations are colorful photographs and the directions for each recipe are very easy to follow. You can see that my copy is mended and this is the best of two copies that I have!
If you want vegetarian cookbooks, here are two that are just for kids. Cooking with Herb the Vegetarian Dragon, The Jumbo Vegetarian Cookbook, (in the next photo) and Kids Can Cook.
The Sleepover Cookbook, The Ultimate Kid-approved Cookbook, and Tasty School Lunches are all great options, as well.
COOKING CONTEST
One of our classrooms has a number of aspiring chefs and a couple of months ago they wanted to hold a cooking or baking contest like they have seen on TV. After a lot of planning and scheduling, they held their Cupcake Bake-off here last Friday. They came up with a rubric for the judges to use regarding flavor, creativity, frosting constancy, and more. The whole class divided into teams and got baking in our Commons area. This happens to be right outside my office area, so I had to smell cupcakes baking all morning. Near the end of the morning I went to the office to get my mail and was handed a judging form and happily had to taste the cupcakes.
The kids had a great time and learned quite a bit along the way.
FOOD MAGAZINES FOR KIDS
I wondered if there were any food magazines for kids and went searching online. Can you believe it? There are three. Chop, Chop, Yum for Kids, and Ingredient. I ordered all three to try them out to see if they are something I could recommend and put in the library. I got Ingredient right away along with the back issues I ordered and I really like it.
The January/February 2014 issue has
• an article about clementine oranges
• a short history of the scurvy problem sailors had in the 1700’s
• New York City’s attempt to ban soda
• sesame seeds and where they come from
• traveling to Alaska and the experiences with wildlife and also the food
• a history of chewing gum
• a young chef (age 13) and her newly released cookbook
• the nose and the science of smelling and tasting
• the subtitle of Ingredient is “a magazine for kids curious about food”
• there are recipes, but they do not fill the magazine. This issue has four recipes.
If you are looking for a food magazine for kids, you might ask for a sample issue and try this one out.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
PS. I went to pull out all the children’s cookbooks to photograph for you, and had not realized how many we have. I DID NOT show you all that we have, but less than half of what we have. It is a little bit embarrassing, but I justified myself with the fact that we have a lot of students. I want to encourage you to have a few children's cookbooks in your library if you don’t already have some. Now, I really do not need any more children’s cookbooks, but if you have one that you think I might like, I’m sure I can talk myself into getting another!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Leveled books
Greetings,
A question that has been asked of me is how to level the books in the library or how should the leveled books be identified.
First, I don’t think that the books in the library should be leveled. I feel that the library is a place for discovery and if a student is limited to those books on his or her level, his or her interests may not be addressed. At our school there is one first grade boy who come to me every week almost without fail to ask for a book about ‘how to make’ something. “I want a book on how to make a cell phone.” “I want a book on how to make a rocket.” I want a book on how to make ___________.” Every week I get this question. He is interested in making things. The fact that I don’t have a book on how to make a cell phone does not deter him. He goes on to another topic. This child will invent something wonderful someday.
I also read about another primary grade child that was very interested in learning about ham radio. He found a book that was quite difficult for him to read, but he actually read the book though with some help with the big words. He learned a lot about ham radio, and his reading and vocabulary improved greatly.
If either of these children were limited to the books he could actually read, he would be bored and discover that the library is not a place to find what he wanted to learn about.
Now, I know that there is a place for leveled books, but I think that should be in the classroom. If your ‘school library’ is also your classroom library, try to find a separate place or shelf for the leveled books. Try to keep them separate from the library books. To make it easy for your students to locate their level, put a white sticker on the spine of the book with the number of the level. It will be easy to put all the 1’s together, the 2’s, and so on. You might think that colored stickers would work fine, but I see two minor problems with that. I can imagine children asking over and over “Which color am I supposed to be reading?” Yes, you could make a small sign to indicate which color goes with each level. But what about the student that is at a lower level from his or her peers? She is reading from the blue level (and everyone can see it) while the others are at the yellow level. A white sticker is less obvious and the written number instantly identifies the level.
One suggestion I have as to placement of the stickers whether you use white or different colors is to have them all in the same general area. If you don’t have spine labels on these books, put the sticker on the spine one inch from the bottom of the spine. The reason for the space of one inch is that books tend to become worn on the bottom of the spine and the stickers will also become tattered much sooner. If they are one inch higher, they will stay nice for a long time.
If you do have spine labels on these books already, then put the leveled stickers just above the spine label. This way they will all be nice and neat on the shelf and very easy to find.
These are just my opinions and suggestions. If you have found a way to accomplish this that works well for you, I would say to just keep doing what works. Don't fix it if it isn't broken.
Have a great week.
Audrey
A question that has been asked of me is how to level the books in the library or how should the leveled books be identified.
First, I don’t think that the books in the library should be leveled. I feel that the library is a place for discovery and if a student is limited to those books on his or her level, his or her interests may not be addressed. At our school there is one first grade boy who come to me every week almost without fail to ask for a book about ‘how to make’ something. “I want a book on how to make a cell phone.” “I want a book on how to make a rocket.” I want a book on how to make ___________.” Every week I get this question. He is interested in making things. The fact that I don’t have a book on how to make a cell phone does not deter him. He goes on to another topic. This child will invent something wonderful someday.
I also read about another primary grade child that was very interested in learning about ham radio. He found a book that was quite difficult for him to read, but he actually read the book though with some help with the big words. He learned a lot about ham radio, and his reading and vocabulary improved greatly.
If either of these children were limited to the books he could actually read, he would be bored and discover that the library is not a place to find what he wanted to learn about.
Now, I know that there is a place for leveled books, but I think that should be in the classroom. If your ‘school library’ is also your classroom library, try to find a separate place or shelf for the leveled books. Try to keep them separate from the library books. To make it easy for your students to locate their level, put a white sticker on the spine of the book with the number of the level. It will be easy to put all the 1’s together, the 2’s, and so on. You might think that colored stickers would work fine, but I see two minor problems with that. I can imagine children asking over and over “Which color am I supposed to be reading?” Yes, you could make a small sign to indicate which color goes with each level. But what about the student that is at a lower level from his or her peers? She is reading from the blue level (and everyone can see it) while the others are at the yellow level. A white sticker is less obvious and the written number instantly identifies the level.
One suggestion I have as to placement of the stickers whether you use white or different colors is to have them all in the same general area. If you don’t have spine labels on these books, put the sticker on the spine one inch from the bottom of the spine. The reason for the space of one inch is that books tend to become worn on the bottom of the spine and the stickers will also become tattered much sooner. If they are one inch higher, they will stay nice for a long time.
If you do have spine labels on these books already, then put the leveled stickers just above the spine label. This way they will all be nice and neat on the shelf and very easy to find.
These are just my opinions and suggestions. If you have found a way to accomplish this that works well for you, I would say to just keep doing what works. Don't fix it if it isn't broken.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Monday, February 24, 2014
Book Report Idea
Greetings!
I have a fairly short post for this week. I just got an idea for book reviews. So many times students do their assignments halfheartedly since no one really cares or sees them again. BUT . . . . what if you had them write out their book review and then post them on Amazon.com? They would be visible for others to see. Their opinions would help others when deciding to read that book or not. They would need to write it out first so it could be edited for punctuation and grammar, then typed into the Amazon website.
With one assignment students are composing, editing, using keyboarding skills, and internet skills.
If you or the parents of your students feel uncomfortable with the internet part of the assignment, one parent could enter the information for the students. Names can be pseudonyms to protect children’s identities.
What do you think? Can you think of any problems that I have missed? I like this because it can go for any age.
Have a great week.
Audrey
I have a fairly short post for this week. I just got an idea for book reviews. So many times students do their assignments halfheartedly since no one really cares or sees them again. BUT . . . . what if you had them write out their book review and then post them on Amazon.com? They would be visible for others to see. Their opinions would help others when deciding to read that book or not. They would need to write it out first so it could be edited for punctuation and grammar, then typed into the Amazon website.
With one assignment students are composing, editing, using keyboarding skills, and internet skills.
If you or the parents of your students feel uncomfortable with the internet part of the assignment, one parent could enter the information for the students. Names can be pseudonyms to protect children’s identities.
What do you think? Can you think of any problems that I have missed? I like this because it can go for any age.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Weeding Your Library
Greetings!
I must confess that I hate weeding in the library and really am not very motivated to do this. However, my library REALLY needs to be weeded, so I figured that if I send out the information in an email, I might be more motivated to begin doing this.
I think my main problem is that I see the whole library as one big section to weed. Maybe I need to look at one Dewey section to weed instead. Maybe I need to just set a time limit such as 30 minutes after which I can stop if I want to. I’ll have to come up with some way to accomplish this.
Oh, well. . .
Here are some basic weeding criteria for you to use in your library.
1. Weed out books that are torn, taped, yellowed, missing pages, damaged in some way, or dilapidated. If there are books that are used and loved in this condition, check to see if they can be repaired or replaced. It is actually fairly easy to replace most titles through a used book store or an online book store or Amazon.com.
2. Look at the old books. Determine if it is shelf worthy. Weed out those that aren’t useful to your library. Think about your audience, too. Consider weeding out books that are written for adults. Ask yourself if this book is one that YOU would be interested in reading. Is it something that is appropriate for your curriculum? Can you get a newer better copy that would actually be used?
3. Look at your E. G. White books. Do you need multiples of each copy? Have they been donated to you? I usually recommend that a small school keep one good set of the Testimonies and Conflict of the Ages set and one copy of each other individual book that you feel is useful to the school. Give the rest to your church library.
4. Take a look at your paperback books. How beat up are they? Are they shabby, warped, mutilated, or marked up? Replace any that are being used in your school.
5. Weed out books with very small print or poor quality pictures.
6. Weed out books that are outdated or have obsolete information. Think about technology, science, health, medicine, computers, and space. These things change quickly. Check the copyright date. If the book is more than 5 - 10 years old, you might want to double check the inside information.
7. Weed books with inaccurate or false information.
8. Weed duplicate copies. Do you need duplicates of the title? If you don’t, then keep the best one.
9. Encyclopedias can be weeded, too. How old is yours? If it is five years old or older, it is outdated. You might decide to go with an online encyclopedia if you aren’t already doing so.
Remember that you are making your library useful. If a book fits into one of the above criteria, but is something that is used by students or teachers, then don’t hesitate to keep the book.
Start a shelf of ‘Endangered Books’ and let students help you decide about books that you aren’t sure about. Most students will love being a part of the decision and will also take another look at the library. It brings a sense of ownership to them.
Let me know how you are doing on this.
I guess I need to get started now.
Audrey
I must confess that I hate weeding in the library and really am not very motivated to do this. However, my library REALLY needs to be weeded, so I figured that if I send out the information in an email, I might be more motivated to begin doing this.
I think my main problem is that I see the whole library as one big section to weed. Maybe I need to look at one Dewey section to weed instead. Maybe I need to just set a time limit such as 30 minutes after which I can stop if I want to. I’ll have to come up with some way to accomplish this.
Oh, well. . .
Here are some basic weeding criteria for you to use in your library.
1. Weed out books that are torn, taped, yellowed, missing pages, damaged in some way, or dilapidated. If there are books that are used and loved in this condition, check to see if they can be repaired or replaced. It is actually fairly easy to replace most titles through a used book store or an online book store or Amazon.com.
2. Look at the old books. Determine if it is shelf worthy. Weed out those that aren’t useful to your library. Think about your audience, too. Consider weeding out books that are written for adults. Ask yourself if this book is one that YOU would be interested in reading. Is it something that is appropriate for your curriculum? Can you get a newer better copy that would actually be used?
3. Look at your E. G. White books. Do you need multiples of each copy? Have they been donated to you? I usually recommend that a small school keep one good set of the Testimonies and Conflict of the Ages set and one copy of each other individual book that you feel is useful to the school. Give the rest to your church library.
4. Take a look at your paperback books. How beat up are they? Are they shabby, warped, mutilated, or marked up? Replace any that are being used in your school.
5. Weed out books with very small print or poor quality pictures.
6. Weed out books that are outdated or have obsolete information. Think about technology, science, health, medicine, computers, and space. These things change quickly. Check the copyright date. If the book is more than 5 - 10 years old, you might want to double check the inside information.
7. Weed books with inaccurate or false information.
8. Weed duplicate copies. Do you need duplicates of the title? If you don’t, then keep the best one.
9. Encyclopedias can be weeded, too. How old is yours? If it is five years old or older, it is outdated. You might decide to go with an online encyclopedia if you aren’t already doing so.
Remember that you are making your library useful. If a book fits into one of the above criteria, but is something that is used by students or teachers, then don’t hesitate to keep the book.
Start a shelf of ‘Endangered Books’ and let students help you decide about books that you aren’t sure about. Most students will love being a part of the decision and will also take another look at the library. It brings a sense of ownership to them.
Let me know how you are doing on this.
I guess I need to get started now.
Audrey
Monday, February 10, 2014
Book Awards
Greetings!
I know it is hard to find good books for kids. We want the books to be interesting, age appropriate, and have nothing in them that is worldly, has bad language, or fantastical creatures. Kids want books to be interesting.
Two medals awarded by the American Library Association are the Newbery and Caldecott medals. The books are chosen by committees and the winners are kept secret until a big announcement at the Midwinter ALA meeting. At the summer ALA meeting, the winners each give a speech at a big banquet. I was privileged to attend one of these banquets a few years ago and just by chance happened to sit at the same table with some of the Newbery committee members. I was thrilled beyond belief and even my husband was impressed. He has since had a little more appreciation for my interest in and knowledge of children’s literature. (happy face)
The Newbery Medal was established in 1922 and is awarded to the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year. Members of a committee read each nominee and actively discuss and ‘argue’ over the books until they finally agree as to the winner. They also specify other books that are worthy of attention and are Honor books.
Newbery books usually are not the kind of books that are mainstream such as Harry Potter or the vampire books. They are quality literature and are creative and well written. However, they still need to be read with an eye tuned for topics and language that may not be appropriate for our SDA schools. If you check the list, you will find many Newbery winners that are wonderful stories that you may have in your library already.
The Caldecott Medal was established in 1938 and is presented to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published the previous year. This past year – 2012 – 2013 – the Caldecott has been celebrating its 75th year. The process of choosing the book is very similar to the Newbery process and honor books are chosen. Caldecott books are usually appropriate for our SDA schools, but still need to be evaluated on a case to case basis.
For more information about these two awards and other awards given by ALA, go to http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia.
If you do a unit or study of award winners, don’t forget to include your local state award books, too. You might even have your own mock ‘Award’. Have students nominate their favorites. Put them on display long enough for other students to read them all, then have students meet to discuss which book they think is best. It will be an interesting debate. When one is chosen, stick your local school ‘award sticker’ on the book and put it in a prominent place. This will attract attention to the books and you might even attract some reluctant readers to the book.
I think I will do this at Rogers and let you know how it works out. If you also try it, please let me know how it works out.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation.
Audrey
I know it is hard to find good books for kids. We want the books to be interesting, age appropriate, and have nothing in them that is worldly, has bad language, or fantastical creatures. Kids want books to be interesting.
Two medals awarded by the American Library Association are the Newbery and Caldecott medals. The books are chosen by committees and the winners are kept secret until a big announcement at the Midwinter ALA meeting. At the summer ALA meeting, the winners each give a speech at a big banquet. I was privileged to attend one of these banquets a few years ago and just by chance happened to sit at the same table with some of the Newbery committee members. I was thrilled beyond belief and even my husband was impressed. He has since had a little more appreciation for my interest in and knowledge of children’s literature. (happy face)
The Newbery Medal was established in 1922 and is awarded to the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year. Members of a committee read each nominee and actively discuss and ‘argue’ over the books until they finally agree as to the winner. They also specify other books that are worthy of attention and are Honor books.
Newbery books usually are not the kind of books that are mainstream such as Harry Potter or the vampire books. They are quality literature and are creative and well written. However, they still need to be read with an eye tuned for topics and language that may not be appropriate for our SDA schools. If you check the list, you will find many Newbery winners that are wonderful stories that you may have in your library already.
The Caldecott Medal was established in 1938 and is presented to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published the previous year. This past year – 2012 – 2013 – the Caldecott has been celebrating its 75th year. The process of choosing the book is very similar to the Newbery process and honor books are chosen. Caldecott books are usually appropriate for our SDA schools, but still need to be evaluated on a case to case basis.
For more information about these two awards and other awards given by ALA, go to http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia.
If you do a unit or study of award winners, don’t forget to include your local state award books, too. You might even have your own mock ‘Award’. Have students nominate their favorites. Put them on display long enough for other students to read them all, then have students meet to discuss which book they think is best. It will be an interesting debate. When one is chosen, stick your local school ‘award sticker’ on the book and put it in a prominent place. This will attract attention to the books and you might even attract some reluctant readers to the book.
I think I will do this at Rogers and let you know how it works out. If you also try it, please let me know how it works out.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation.
Audrey
Copyright
Greetings!
This week we will start with a little quiz about copyright. Read the scenarios and see how well you do.
Questions:
A. A history teacher was teaching about World War 2 in his classes. One evening he was watching television and noticed that a great documentary was coming on and it would be a perfect addition to his teaching for the next day. He videotaped the documentary and used it in his classroom. Is this legal to do?
B. True or False. The drawings your students do are copyrighted.
C. True or False. It’s OK to copy things if you want to use them for educational purposes. You don’t have to worry about sources; it is fair use.
D. True or False. It’s OK to make copies of your computer software, music CDs, or movie DVDs.
E. Your 8th graders want to use a mix of songs during graduation. Is this legal to do?
Answers:
A. Yes, this is legal to do. There was no time to ask for permission. However, if the teacher wants to keep his copy and use it again the following year, he must then write for permission to use the entire work in his classes.
B. True. Intellectual property is defined as any original creative work that is tangible such as a writing, diagram, work of art, musical compositions, sound recordings, photographs, movies, computer software, and more. Copyright laws today apply as soon as the work is created. You don’t need to mark the work with a copyright symbol. All original creative works – student papers, drawing, etc. – are protected by copyright.
C. False. It is OK to copy things for educational purposes, BUT you still must cite your sources. Copyright law permits the teacher or student to use excerpts from a copyrighted work in a school paper without obtaining the copyright holder’s permission. Students and teachers must still cite their source to avoid plagiarism. Only a small percentage may be used for educational purposes. Students or teachers may not make copies for personal use or to exchange copies with other students.
D. True and False. This is kind of a trick question. It is OK to make a backup copy of your personal items in case one gets damaged. You will still have the original copy to use. However, it is not OK to share these copies with your friends. It is not OK to take your computer software and put it on your desktop, your laptop, and your kids’ laptops for everyone to use unless you are licensed for multiple use. It is OK to download purchased software on multiple devices if only one device will be operating at a time. For example, my husband and I both loved playing a game called “Zuma” a few years ago. He bought it for his computer and we took turns playing it. We would not have been legal if he also downloaded it to his laptop and both of us were playing it at the same time. At work, I have a copy of Microsoft Word on my computer. I am licensed through the school to use this. I can also download it at home so I can work at home and my files will transfer, but I don’t use my work computer at the same time I am using my home computer. The same thing goes for music. I can download my personal CDs on my computer, phone, and other players, but I cannot legally let my friends use my CD (or DVD) to download on their devices, too. If I give my CD to my friend, I must delete the CD from my devices.
E. Probably not. The music industry is very picky about this kind of thing. From all that I have read, you would need to contact the artist or the manager or the record company to check for permission. There are lists of songs that are in the public domain which could be used. It takes some researching to find songs that you would be able to use without contacting the industry for permission. It also takes a long time to hear from them, so if this is something that your school does, it would be good to start very soon.
Just in case anyone is interested, when our churches post the words to hymns or makes transparencies of songs to sing, they should be paying for the right to do so and citing the source.
It can get pretty sticky and some people may think that they won’t get caught. Unfortunately, this is probably true. You may not get caught. But more and more, copyright violators are being caught and sued. Average costs to settle out of court run about $4,500 or more. Copyright violators can also be prosecuted on federal criminal charges. Fines can be up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to five years or both.
It is my opinion that SDA schools and teachers should be doing their level best to follow the law. Our students (and their parents) need to see us being a good example. I know I am preaching here, but I always ask myself, “Do I want to be kept out of heaven for this?”
For more copyright information go to www.copyright.gov . For lessons for students on copyright go to http://ymiclassroom.com/lesson-plans/b4ucopy/ . These lessons can be downloaded and used with your students.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
This week we will start with a little quiz about copyright. Read the scenarios and see how well you do.
Questions:
A. A history teacher was teaching about World War 2 in his classes. One evening he was watching television and noticed that a great documentary was coming on and it would be a perfect addition to his teaching for the next day. He videotaped the documentary and used it in his classroom. Is this legal to do?
B. True or False. The drawings your students do are copyrighted.
C. True or False. It’s OK to copy things if you want to use them for educational purposes. You don’t have to worry about sources; it is fair use.
D. True or False. It’s OK to make copies of your computer software, music CDs, or movie DVDs.
E. Your 8th graders want to use a mix of songs during graduation. Is this legal to do?
Answers:
A. Yes, this is legal to do. There was no time to ask for permission. However, if the teacher wants to keep his copy and use it again the following year, he must then write for permission to use the entire work in his classes.
B. True. Intellectual property is defined as any original creative work that is tangible such as a writing, diagram, work of art, musical compositions, sound recordings, photographs, movies, computer software, and more. Copyright laws today apply as soon as the work is created. You don’t need to mark the work with a copyright symbol. All original creative works – student papers, drawing, etc. – are protected by copyright.
C. False. It is OK to copy things for educational purposes, BUT you still must cite your sources. Copyright law permits the teacher or student to use excerpts from a copyrighted work in a school paper without obtaining the copyright holder’s permission. Students and teachers must still cite their source to avoid plagiarism. Only a small percentage may be used for educational purposes. Students or teachers may not make copies for personal use or to exchange copies with other students.
D. True and False. This is kind of a trick question. It is OK to make a backup copy of your personal items in case one gets damaged. You will still have the original copy to use. However, it is not OK to share these copies with your friends. It is not OK to take your computer software and put it on your desktop, your laptop, and your kids’ laptops for everyone to use unless you are licensed for multiple use. It is OK to download purchased software on multiple devices if only one device will be operating at a time. For example, my husband and I both loved playing a game called “Zuma” a few years ago. He bought it for his computer and we took turns playing it. We would not have been legal if he also downloaded it to his laptop and both of us were playing it at the same time. At work, I have a copy of Microsoft Word on my computer. I am licensed through the school to use this. I can also download it at home so I can work at home and my files will transfer, but I don’t use my work computer at the same time I am using my home computer. The same thing goes for music. I can download my personal CDs on my computer, phone, and other players, but I cannot legally let my friends use my CD (or DVD) to download on their devices, too. If I give my CD to my friend, I must delete the CD from my devices.
E. Probably not. The music industry is very picky about this kind of thing. From all that I have read, you would need to contact the artist or the manager or the record company to check for permission. There are lists of songs that are in the public domain which could be used. It takes some researching to find songs that you would be able to use without contacting the industry for permission. It also takes a long time to hear from them, so if this is something that your school does, it would be good to start very soon.
Just in case anyone is interested, when our churches post the words to hymns or makes transparencies of songs to sing, they should be paying for the right to do so and citing the source.
It can get pretty sticky and some people may think that they won’t get caught. Unfortunately, this is probably true. You may not get caught. But more and more, copyright violators are being caught and sued. Average costs to settle out of court run about $4,500 or more. Copyright violators can also be prosecuted on federal criminal charges. Fines can be up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to five years or both.
It is my opinion that SDA schools and teachers should be doing their level best to follow the law. Our students (and their parents) need to see us being a good example. I know I am preaching here, but I always ask myself, “Do I want to be kept out of heaven for this?”
For more copyright information go to www.copyright.gov . For lessons for students on copyright go to http://ymiclassroom.com/lesson-plans/b4ucopy/ . These lessons can be downloaded and used with your students.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Copyright Part 2
Greetings!
Last week after I sent my post about copyright, I got some great questions. I am going to try to answer these to the best of my knowledge, but please remember that I am a teacher like you are and not a copyright expert. The information I give you is information that you could find on the internet just like I did. My only ‘advantage’ is that I am interested in copyright and have attended convention sessions and seen webinars on copyright. If you are interested in viewing a webinar about copyright, go to Common Sense Media (commonsensemedia.net), search for ‘Teaching Copyright and Fair Use to the Remix Generation’ and press enter. Then click on the ‘Webinars’ section. It was recorded November 13, 2013. The webinar is just about an hour long and should count toward your technology requirement.
One question I got was regarding using YouTube clips in church or school without permission from the artist. Is this OK? The short answer is yes, it is probably OK. Here’s why.
“People seem to think that because the public can access videos on YouTube, for free, the vids are in the public domain. (I suppose this follows from the “everything on the Internet is public domain” misconception.) They’re in a public space, true, and people don’t have to pay to see them, but that doesn’t affect copyright.
You do in fact retain copyright in your video when you post it to YouTube (that would be your video, not your Stephen Colbert clip). But by posting it you grant YouTube a license to do pretty much whatever it wants with your work. That includes sublicensing it to others and modifying it (making derivative works). The license terminates within “a commercially reasonable time” once you remove your work from the YouTube site. And you still own the copyright.” http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/10-misconceptions-about-the-public-domain.html
Another question was about something that many of our schools do. We make a PowerPoint with words to songs to project during a song service. Is this OK? Do we need to get permission to do this?
It looks like the short answer to this is, yes, it is OK if it is for a worship service. Here’s why.
The U.S. Copyright Law (Section 110 [c]) provides an exemption for performance and display of "works of a religious nature in a religious service." Many churches and ministries today need performance licenses from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC because they are performing or causing to be performed (playing) music in many non-exempt settings outside their religious services. The non-exempt performances or playing of music require licensing - concerts (non-ticketed), social and youth events, fund raisers, aerobics and dance classes, conferences, music-on-hold - really any time music is played or performed in your facilities outside a worship service.
One more thing. If you do use a song or the words to a song, and it is legally used whether it is for a religious service or song service, wouldn’t it be a good idea to give as much credit as possible? You may have noticed in our hymnals we give the author of the song and the composer of the tune if they are known. Why shouldn’t we do the same thing in our PowerPoints?
http://www.freeandlegaldownloads.com/resources/music_legal
What is the best way to check if a song is public domain? This is a hard question to answer because there are so many variables to consider. I guess that the best way to check for public domain is to contact the publisher of the music. That way you can get permission to use the song if you need it. Here is a website that I found with lists of songs in public domain and also lists of royalty free music. http://www.pdinfo.com/
Are movies shown at your school? If you have DVDs or videotapes for educational purposes, this is OK. But if you show movies for class parties, rewards, family events, school care programs, rainy day recess, or other things like this, you need to pay a fee in order to do this. It is a yearly fee and will cover all of the items mentioned above. The fee is $105.00 for schools with student populations up to 150 which would be nearly all of our schools. I know that it doesn’t seem like it should cost that much for a school that has less than 40 or 50, but it may be that the organization would make special pricing for our small schools.
However, if you show a movie for a fundraiser, this is not covered in the above umbrella policy. I understand that you must contact the distributor for permission to do this. This is the website for more information on the umbrella policy. http://www.mplc.org/page/dayschool
For your information, here is another site I found for information about copyright.
http://www.christiancopyrightsolutions.com/blog/category/Religious-Service-Exemption-US-Copyright-Law-Church-exemption
I hope this has been helpful to you. If you have copyright questions, I am happy to try to help you find the answers. But first, try typing in the information you want to know in the search box. Usually you will be steered toward webpages that will help you find the answer. If this does not help, please let me know and I will do my best to help you.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Last week after I sent my post about copyright, I got some great questions. I am going to try to answer these to the best of my knowledge, but please remember that I am a teacher like you are and not a copyright expert. The information I give you is information that you could find on the internet just like I did. My only ‘advantage’ is that I am interested in copyright and have attended convention sessions and seen webinars on copyright. If you are interested in viewing a webinar about copyright, go to Common Sense Media (commonsensemedia.net), search for ‘Teaching Copyright and Fair Use to the Remix Generation’ and press enter. Then click on the ‘Webinars’ section. It was recorded November 13, 2013. The webinar is just about an hour long and should count toward your technology requirement.
One question I got was regarding using YouTube clips in church or school without permission from the artist. Is this OK? The short answer is yes, it is probably OK. Here’s why.
“People seem to think that because the public can access videos on YouTube, for free, the vids are in the public domain. (I suppose this follows from the “everything on the Internet is public domain” misconception.) They’re in a public space, true, and people don’t have to pay to see them, but that doesn’t affect copyright.
You do in fact retain copyright in your video when you post it to YouTube (that would be your video, not your Stephen Colbert clip). But by posting it you grant YouTube a license to do pretty much whatever it wants with your work. That includes sublicensing it to others and modifying it (making derivative works). The license terminates within “a commercially reasonable time” once you remove your work from the YouTube site. And you still own the copyright.” http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/10-misconceptions-about-the-public-domain.html
Another question was about something that many of our schools do. We make a PowerPoint with words to songs to project during a song service. Is this OK? Do we need to get permission to do this?
It looks like the short answer to this is, yes, it is OK if it is for a worship service. Here’s why.
The U.S. Copyright Law (Section 110 [c]) provides an exemption for performance and display of "works of a religious nature in a religious service." Many churches and ministries today need performance licenses from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC because they are performing or causing to be performed (playing) music in many non-exempt settings outside their religious services. The non-exempt performances or playing of music require licensing - concerts (non-ticketed), social and youth events, fund raisers, aerobics and dance classes, conferences, music-on-hold - really any time music is played or performed in your facilities outside a worship service.
One more thing. If you do use a song or the words to a song, and it is legally used whether it is for a religious service or song service, wouldn’t it be a good idea to give as much credit as possible? You may have noticed in our hymnals we give the author of the song and the composer of the tune if they are known. Why shouldn’t we do the same thing in our PowerPoints?
http://www.freeandlegaldownloads.com/resources/music_legal
What is the best way to check if a song is public domain? This is a hard question to answer because there are so many variables to consider. I guess that the best way to check for public domain is to contact the publisher of the music. That way you can get permission to use the song if you need it. Here is a website that I found with lists of songs in public domain and also lists of royalty free music. http://www.pdinfo.com/
Are movies shown at your school? If you have DVDs or videotapes for educational purposes, this is OK. But if you show movies for class parties, rewards, family events, school care programs, rainy day recess, or other things like this, you need to pay a fee in order to do this. It is a yearly fee and will cover all of the items mentioned above. The fee is $105.00 for schools with student populations up to 150 which would be nearly all of our schools. I know that it doesn’t seem like it should cost that much for a school that has less than 40 or 50, but it may be that the organization would make special pricing for our small schools.
However, if you show a movie for a fundraiser, this is not covered in the above umbrella policy. I understand that you must contact the distributor for permission to do this. This is the website for more information on the umbrella policy. http://www.mplc.org/page/dayschool
For your information, here is another site I found for information about copyright.
http://www.christiancopyrightsolutions.com/blog/category/Religious-Service-Exemption-US-Copyright-Law-Church-exemption
I hope this has been helpful to you. If you have copyright questions, I am happy to try to help you find the answers. But first, try typing in the information you want to know in the search box. Usually you will be steered toward webpages that will help you find the answer. If this does not help, please let me know and I will do my best to help you.
Have a great week.
Audrey
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