When you want to build a snowman

Sometimes you simply take matters into your own hands!

If it's too warm for snow, and you cannot afford to travel to a wintery location:

Maybe you write a poem about snowmen.

Or paint a picture.

Create a sculpture.

Or, if stuck in an ugly boot after surgery:

It's Been Awhile

Sorry for the delay in postings, but December marks the end of the year as well as the end of the semester (not really, but since exams begin January 7th, all projects and research papers are due before our winter break!). That means multiple classes squeezing into the media center utilizing our cart of chromebooks and our desktop computers to meet the deadlines!

We have been in the spirit of the season with our decor. Inspired by the book trees posted all over social media, Ms. Cox and I, with the assistance of our first block TAs, used our discarded mini laptops to build our "Tech the Halls" display!

And, of course, this will not involve reshelving 800-1000 books when we take down the display!

We've also been able to display some new art, thanks to Mr. Brown's art classes. This time, we've added some sculptural art that includes body casting.

And, yes, that last picture has lights! The lights also blink if that setting is chosen.

More art!

And, finally, there is one more piece of "art" that is getting into the holiday spirit (or at least attempting to make something that is quite ugly and bulky look as good as possible...which I have yet to determine if it is possible...).  Introducing Rudy the Boot! He has aspirations for being a Reindeer!

Happy Holidays!

The Legend of the Thousand Cranes and Other Media Matters

"Would you like these?" a sophomore asks, showing me 3 origami paper cranes he has made at the end of SMART lunch.

"Why, thank you! I'll display them here at the circulation desk. Have you ever heard of the Legend of the Thousand Cranes?" A discussion of Japanese folklore ensues.

.....24 hours later.....

"I made you more. I'm going to make a thousand cranes. Where should I put this set of 100?"

And so began the collection of 1000 beautiful origami cranes in the media center. At first they sat on one window ledge behind the circulation desk (moved there after several students attempted to take a few on their way out the door), visible to all. Then they took up a second window ledge. And a third. And the fourth. And the area of the circulation desk by the printer.

I brought in clear glass vases, but each only held 50-60! They did make for beautiful displays. Finally I hot glued the cranes to a piece of 32' x 42' black foam board in a random pattern. It made for a beautiful piece of artwork, allows me to dust the windowsills, and the cranes are more visible to all in the media center! (Now the student is making another set of 1000 in order to create a new display board for an art contest!!!!) The small vase next to the picture is filled with metallic origami cranes.

The next "project" in the media center involved the shifting of the shelves. Many of our shelves (a few nonfiction, but mainly fiction) had reached their carrying capacity. This made it difficult to fit new titles in some areas which is NEVER a good thing in my media center so...with the aid of my ready and somewhat-willing media assistants we utilized some shorter shelves at the end of the nonfiction stacks, moved around part of the nonfiction, one shelf at a time while leaving a few strategically placed shelves empty for growth, and then were able to open up quite a few of the fiction shelves. This task was finished today to the joy of the assistants (and the media coordinator!).

My final project this week has involved the "installation" of my faux bulletin board. The design of this room does not lend itself easily to a bulletin board on the wall, which makes it more challenging for some of the displays I would love to do. Therefore I used one short shelf that is not in use (it used to hold graphic novels, but the collection grew too large and now is in a new area) to display student art and my "bulletin board". The tree was created by a student in an art class is made using magazine pages. Although there is one part not finished utilizing QR codes and book trailers, this is it so far:

Post Conference Highlights...Part II

One of the most anticipated sessions (for me, anyway), was the Poetry Slam session. Why? Well, I've always enjoyed poetry, reading and writing it, and I like performance arts. Pair the two together and....Poetry Slam!

The presenter works at a small K-8 school in Pitt County. Although she didn't believe anyone present would know the name of her school, I not only knew the name, but I have actually been to the school itself! While her ideas work well at a tiny school, they can definitely be adapted for our very large population.

Naturally, however, this creates a to-do list that will have to be put off until the spring semester. (Why put off anything that late? Well....next week alone is Early Release, Veteran's Day, and the ASVAB test. In 2 weeks is Thanksgiving. A few weeks after that? Christmas. We come back in January and jump into exams. Not a lot of time to get anything ready on the parts of the students or any staff members helping (plus there are the winter concerts and other events already underway!).

What could there possibly be to do? Well, when planning a slam, it helps to have the students introduced to poetry. This is most easily done in English classes, but not everyone takes English in the fall semester. If it could be introduced (it doesn't have to be in depth) at the beginning of the spring semester, that could give all interested students the opportunity to be thinking about poetry in preparation for an April slam. Then the following tasks are needed for a successful event:

1. Set date
2. Reserve space
3. Have video equipment, spotlight, stool for performers (if necessary), audience seating, etc. - this would not be a problem since we have an auditorium, but we would have to work around spring performance schedules!
4. Invite speaker/poet/headliner if planning to do so
5. Get donated prizes if desired
6. Promote early!!!!!
7. Get 3-5 judges
8. Get staff members to be the scorekeeper, timekeeper, photographer, videographer, slideshow tech, run sound/music, lighting, set up/tear down (students can do the last 6)
9. Create you tube channel if planning to show video of slam
10. Create google hangout if planning to stream live
11. Create slideshow to randomly introduce performers
12. Have google form for performers to fill out to use to create slideshow
13. Have something to entertain audience during transition moments between performers
14. Have M.C.

Now, the rules for a slam can be tailored for your school, but in general they would be something like:

1. It must be an original poem. 
2. It must be memorized.
3. Your performance (emotion, enthusiasm, gestures) is important.
4. Two-minute time limit.
5. No props, costumes, offensive language, or other person's poetry.
6. Group poetry is okay but it must have parts performed in unison and must be written together.
7. Poetry is judged by effectiveness, emotion, and performance.

Often if you have 5 judges, it can have an Olympic type scoring where the highest and lowest scores are dropped.

My thoughts on this? It can be fun, It might have to be done during a SMART lunch in some way, and it is not something to do solo...this is an activity that will be a lot of fun when shared with other people!

We Take A Break from Your Regularly Scheduled Blog Post......

...To Remind You of the Doodle 4 Google Contest!

Every year Google holds a really cool national contest for students in grades K-12. You SHOULD enter online, download, or print the entry form here.

You can create your doodle using a variety of materials which means it can be 3-dimensional if you would like! If it's not created on a computer, you will need to scan or take a picture of your doodle to enter it. Write a 50-word description of your doodle, and make sure you submit your doodle by December 7, 2015!

If your doodle wins, it will be featured on the doodle homepage for a day! You will also receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 Google for Education grant for your school.

(Corinth Holders High School Pirates: 

you are all incredibly creative....that's 

why we're creating our library art wall! 

You can win this!) 

You will also get to travel to Google HQ in California to meet the Google Doodlers and nominate a teacher to come on the trip. (No, it doesn't have to be me!) You also receive a Chromebook, an Android tablet, AND a t-shirt featuring your doodle!

There are also 4 National Finalists. If that happens to be you, then you will get to have your doodle in the Doodle 4 Google gallery, a $5000 college scholarship, a trip to Google HQ, an Android tablet, and a t-shirt with your doodle on it!

FINALLY, the remaining state and US territory winners will receive an Android tablet, a t-shirt featuring his/her doodle, and get to be in the Doodle 4 Google gallery.

Of course, all of the above winners also get a life time of.....

BRAGGING RIGHTS!

If you aren't motivated yet, check out our GoAnimate commercial, created by Mrs. Cox and me, featured on the October 30th Pirate TV episode!

Doodle 4 Google by Stephanie Rous on GoAnimate

NOW GET OFF THIS BLOG 

AND GET BUSY DOODLING!

(Then go read a book!)

I'm a librarian. I need to say that.

Post Conference Highlights...Part I

NCSLMA 15!

(For those who don't know, a group of school librarians/media coordinators attending a conference in North Carolina, and we call ourselves "N.C. Slamma")

I had the privilege of attending this year's conference with one of my best friends and fellow members of Librarian Royalty, Angela West. We made sure to peruse the conference sessions to divide up everything we wanted to attend in order to share knowledge and resources. I gathered too much for one blog post so I'll start with Friday's first session...

(Actually, I'll start with a quick shout-out to King's Crab Shack where we ate an incredible and affordable dinner Thursday night. Yum. Highly recommended yum. Back to the conference.)

My first session was #2JennsBookClub. No, I did not make a typo. The hashtag does belong! This is a Young Adult literature twitter book club! (Fun idea, right?) Started by two women who are both named....Jenn! The premise is that when a book is chosen, a day and time is announced with their book club hashtag. Everyone reads the book before the day of the "meeting". Then, the meeting starts with everyone giving a 140-character summary of the book. Then there are questions posted every 10 minutes. Q1 is answered with A1 at the start of the tweet, etc. All tweets included the hashtag for the book club and in one hour the book club ends. Everyone has to be succinct in their answers and it involves making every character, word, and thought count! Ideas were given on doing this even at the elementary level using grids on paper where students could only put one letter, punctuation mark, or use it as a space and do the same thing. This would allow everyone to participate without having that one or two students dominate the conversation or shy students too nervous to participate since its either online or on paper! The 2 Jenns club is actually for adults who love YA books, but definitely an idea that translates well to the media center setting. A week or so before each meeting the author of the book is contacted on twitter to let them know about the meeting too. Often the author shows up!

My second session was on Coding. Unfortunately, the presenter had set up her activities in the wrong room so we were unable to do the hands-on activities. She does a lot of coding introduction with kindergarten students. Her seventh graders created a "Winds of Change" garden, using QR codes and World War II research. Each Japanese-art inspired wind-chimed had a laminated QR code hanging from it. That led to the research done by a student on an event or a person who died in World War II. (Many were Holocaust victims.) The artwork was a great integration piece, and creating the website as a project gave students more practice at putting their research and technology skills to use. The garden became a talking point within the school and within the community as well.

Stay tuned for more about the conference!

Challenges of Copyright

Ah...copyright...the one thing (besides technology which doesn't always seem to be on our side) giving educators, librarians, and administrators headaches everywhere!

It would seem to be easy: you can't copy. You can't have public performances of movies or music. That's it in a nutshell. Right?

But...

This is education. In education, there is a way to utilize copyrighted items for educational purposes. This is the Fair Use Exemption. Unfortunately, in the technological and digital age, copyright is not as cut and dried as it was years ago.

For instance, we used to simply have textbooks, teacher ancillary materials (which were supposed to be copied: worksheets, quizzes, and the like), and workbooks (which were consumables so could never be copied). Now there are free printables on the Internet, teacher pay websites (where it is not always clear if the worksheet is to be purchased to be copied, or if one copy is to be purchased for every student), online textbooks with student materials (can these be printed, or are they only for digital use?), and so on.

Then, there were movies: only VHS, of course. These were rented by the school or owned and housed in the media center to be shown on a VCR/TV cart. Teachers had 45-50 minute classes and would need to rewind between every class so any videos being shown were short, educational films connecting the curriculum to a visual/audio format. Now, with the advent of the 90 minute block and digital media, the "rewind" chore of the past is not an issue and longer videos can be shown. With Smart Boards and DVD drives on computers, there is often no need for equipment checkout as well. There are also the numerous educational videos on YouTube and Discovery Education for teachers to enhance their curriculum.

Of course, music was played at one time in a tape player which often "ate" more than it played so very few teachers risked personal tapes and everything was "educational". Then CDs could be put in a CD player, allowing specific tracks to be played; teachers began bringing music from home. For years classical music was heard in many math classes after studies showed it might improve mathematical reasoning skills. With the Internet, music became more readily available through Pandora and other streaming sites.

But what meets copyright law? What breaks the law? What could potentially cost a teacher his or her job?

Well, through many different situations, I offer the following advice:

Regarding copies:

1. If the source says "Workbook" or "Student" anywhere on it, it is most likely a consumable, one-use only book. This means students are not to copy it on their own paper, it cannot be scanned onto a website or into Google classroom, or copied. Look on the bottom and the back of the title page and inside the cover. The back cover also sometimes has information regarding copy permissions.
2. If the source says "Teacher Resource", "Worksheets", or something similar, it is most likely intended to be copied. This means you should still check the above mentioned places for copy permissions.
3. If you are purchasing it off a pay-site like Teachers Pay Teachers, PLEASE read the site carefully. We need to support each other within our profession, not take items without paying for their use. If the item is intended to be copied, do not share it with other teachers but feel free to use with your students. If the item is one use only, you will need to purchase one for every student, EVERY YEAR.
4. When in doubt, ASK! There should be someone at your school who is familiar with copyright and fair use, often the media coordinator/librarian or technology facilitator. Don't copy until  you know it's okay to do so. This is not the time to "do first, ask forgiveness later" because breaking copyright law has legal and employment consequences. (Is that copy worth your job?)

Movies:

1. Copyright law regarding movies and the educational exemption is very clear: showing a "home use only" video (which is clearly marked on all VHS, DVD, and Blu-Rays) in the classroom is considered a "public performance". Buying the video gives you the right to use it personally only. HOWEVER, if it is shown in ONE classroom (not to multiple classes at once or over a video retrieval system) DURING face-to-face instruction by the teacher or instructor (NOT a substitute) in the NORMAL educational setting (i.e.: a classroom, not a charter bus), then you are allowed to show it. (Although check your school board policy. In my school system it is AGAINST school board policy to use a personally owned video in any format, even if you specifically purchased it for use at school.
2. The video cannot be a reward, to occupy students while you grade/do report cards, or because you are not ready to start the next unit (like on the day before a major holiday).
3. Many school systems have rules regarding the ratings system and whether or not Disney movies can be shown. In my school system it is school board policy that NO DISNEY MOVIES can be shown.    
4. One solution: utilize video sites like Discovery Education for your video needs if at all possible. If your school system does not use this resource, perhaps you can work with your media and technology department on getting a subscription for your school. 
5. Once again, ask yourself: For what movie are you willing to be fired and possibly lose your teaching license?

 Music:

1. This is a difficult one for most people because we listen to music in so many places: stores, our cars, restaurants. But to play music purchased for personal enjoyment (CD, MP3 file, Itunes, etc.) in the classroom means you are holding a public performance of the music.
2. Just a little over one year ago, a restaurant in Raleigh was fined $40,000 for having played TWO songs without public performance rights. Do you have that much money if you are fined?
3. Pandora recently contacted our school system and alerted the county office that playing Pandora for free in the classroom was a public performance and was not allowed. Remember, most school systems can and do track what students and employees do on school machines on the school servers!
4.  One solution: search for music in the "public domain" or in the "creative commons" because these are ALWAYS copyright allowed. Of course, the most up-to-date music won't be playing on your speakers, but there is some interesting music from by-gone eras to which your students can listen.
5. Can you guess what I'm going to recommend  you ask yourself? That's right. Always think: is the music you want to play (or your students are asking to play) more valuable than your job?

Here's a video made with the help of some wonderful library assistants to teach copyright to students:

Art and Novels (or should it be Novel Art?)

Collaboration between teachers is an important part of education these days. No longer is it the "old school" of teachers being an island of independent knowledge behind the closed classroom door. Collaboration is also a very important part of the media center.

This week will focus on two things. Can you guess?

Art.

Last year I collaborated with the art department regarding large paintings for the media center. These will be a permanent art display above the bookshelves. (One painting, done before I came, is already in place.) Three student submitted ideas were chosen last year, and the remaining three ideas will be selected from entries into a contest in the spring.

Canvas #1 is almost complete:

Canvas #2 is in the beginning stages of work so a picture of it is forthcoming. Once #1 is finished, the work on #3 will begin! I'm trying to determine the best way to give credit to the artists and all the students helping them with the 36" x 48" paintings. 

Here is the fascinating painting already in place.

Now for part two of this blog: novels.

Our English and Social Studies departments have always used novels within their classroom. This year, I have several teachers in other departments working on incorporating novels in the curriculum. They inspired the following video, in hopes of collaborating with teachers across the school in every department.

Budget Woes

As always, the wish list is much longer than the budget will allow. Knowing the budget amount from last year, I have been creating a wish list through one of my library vendors since last January. Students would ask for the latest in a series or for a book that had been lost in the past. Naturally, the list seemed to multiply itself overnight!

Today I received the news of my preliminary budget. Unfortunately, it is only one-third of the budget from last year. Obviously, the list is too long. Now how do I cut a list by two-thirds?

This was truly difficult. I kept the items teachers had asked for since it is for classroom instruction and will benefit a lot of students. However, that still left the vast majority of books on the list to look at and reduce.

What is on the original list?

• The continuation of the 3 most popular graphic novel series
• The books in the middle of 12 series that have been lost over time
• The continuation of 8 novel series
• Updated nonfiction books on topics used in a lot of research projects
• Highly recommended books students suggested
• And even more.

What is on the current list?

Well, I did keep the "in the middle" books since students starting a new series get frustrated when the books in the middle are missing. I postponed the nonfiction books until later since databases and reference books on those topics are available. As for the continuation books? We can only get one-third of what we need to finish out the series, but at least students will be able to continue them. Unfortunately, I could only get a few of the highly recommended books at this time. I tried to be fair and cut it all down by the "two-thirds" amount.

Naturally, budget concerns are always present in education. However, I know the only way to "fix" the problem is to raise taxes which then create budget woes for everyone, not just the library.

Advertising Books

How to advertise a book? Let me count the ways....

1. Bulletin boards or other wall displays. This would be great if I had a bulletin board! For many media centers, this is the easiest and most colorful way using book jackets and posters. Themes are easy to utilize for deciding what books to advertise, too.

2. Book displays. New books? Set them out for everyone to see! Banned Books Week? Go ahead a pull a few titles from the ALA list of the top 100. (Hey, if you've got the Harry Potter books and any by Mark Twain, you've got books from the list!) Maybe for October you would like to display mysteries, ghost stories, etc? Easy to do! Use the tops of the shelves and just set the books out with an introductory sign inviting students to "check them out"! (Be sure to let students know they CAN check these out...often students will hesitate since it is part of a display.) Downside? You may have to reshelve a lot of these books if you pulled too many!

3. Audio Book Talks. These little MP3 talks can be done by students on their favorite books. Tape them using mini-microphones, cell phones (where allowed), or any digital audio device. Then, upload to the media center's website! These are great for all students, but especially for younger students who can't read a book review yet. The personal recommendation helps a lot!

4. Book of the Day or the Week. If your school has any type of news broadcast, have a book of the day or week segment. This is also great to recommend a series or author. (And it's a great student involvement piece!)

5. Commercials. Whether the video uses still images and a narration or students use an animation program, commercials generate the most interest. (Students can even act out scenes if they would like and time allows! This is a lot of work, but has great results.) A commerical is only 30-60 seconds, so students have to learn to edit their ideas to get the most powerful infomercial on their book. Stay tuned for the library assistants' videos! Currently, the commercials are "works-in-progress"!

Classrooms - Discovery versus Google?

Most schools are now well into the digital world, adopting technology initiatives in many different shapes and formats. Our district is a "Google" world, and Google Classroom is a great alternative to Moodle, Edmodo, and other formats for organizing and assigning digital resources and tasks to students. With Google comes You Tube, Google +, Google Docs, and a whole lot of other things Google. Before we had Google, however, we had Discover Education (also known by some of us "oldtimers" as Unitedstreaming). Although not every school's faculty has been trained in recent years on this feature of Discovery Ed, it also has a classroom aspect for assigning videos, assignments, quizzes, and writing prompts.

So which is better?

On the one hand, Google is everywhere, and easy to log into since everyone in our district has a gmail account. With Google +, it's all linked together in our drives, and opening the classroom app is just a few mouse clicks away. The class discussion postings are private so all students can participate in them (unlike on a public discussion board where parental permission is required). Google forms can be used as quizzes to test comprehension of a topic, and embedding links, images, videos, etc. is incredibly easy.

So why even bother with Discovery Ed? Well, you never have to worry about the videos being blocked for one thing. That new iBoss and Guardian filtering system sure does make using You Tube a bit more challenging these days! All videos in Discovery Ed will play with no blocking (although previewing all videos in their entirety is a definite must). Discovery Channel shows, some from National Geographic and the History Channel, as well as a huge host of nonfiction video clips are all available for anyone in our system. You just log in and go! The videos can be bookmarked and organized in your account for easy reference next year too. This is all well known to most teachers who've been around for a few years. The classroom part is what most never knew existed.  All students are in the process of being updated (it hasn't been done due to some sync issues with Power School and the iCloud), and they just use their school log in to open DE. A teacher can create a class, enroll his or her students easily, and then create assignments for videos. These can be quizzes, discussion questions, and writing prompts. For some types of assessments, DE will even score the answers!

So, once again, which is better?

Why choose one?  I recommend using Google Classroom as the overall class setup. Then, make an assignment to log in to DE and watch the video clip, answer the questions, etc, just like any other assignment. This gives you and  your students the best of both worlds: the ease of Google with the videos of Discovery Ed...and you don't have to download, upload, or cringe that the software has been overzealous in its video blocking!

Introducing M.A.C.H.!

It's here (well, once the final piece arrives, but we're close enough)! Welcome to...

M.A.C.H.

(Makerspace At Corinth Holders)

Mondays: Engineering 

For this M. a. C. H., you will be able to choose:

• designing and testing virtual bridges
• creating rollercoasters and towers
• making mini-catapults
• and other feats of engineering.

Tuesdays: Animation

For this M. a. C. H., students will be assigned a student account for GoAnimate to: 

• Create animated videos using basic backgrounds and characters
• Learn to upload and design new backgrounds and characters
• Compete in the CHHS Oscars for Animation.

Wednesdays: Fashion Design

In this M. a. C. H., students will work on:  

• learning how to design with duct tape in order to enter the Stuck at Prom challenge
• compete in the Van’s shoe challenge representing Corinth Holders High School

Thursdays: Coding

In this M. a. C. H., students will use the Johnston County Schools access to code.org: 

• to learn basic block coding
• to learn Java Script coding

The Forensics Makerspace is on hold pending the acquisition of all the materials needed.

Sign-ups will start after Labor Day. You may, at this time, only select one M.A.C.H. to join so more students have a chance to participate. Each M.A.C.H. is limited to 16 students PER LUNCH due to seating and space limitations in the library nook area. Be sure to choose the correct SMART lunch!

New Books for a New Year!

Several years ago, my son came home with a supplemental novel for his English class. He was hesitant to talk about the book at first, and then he finally revealed to me he was reading a book about a girl who was raped. Not having read the book, I asked to borrow it, curious about how such a difficult topic was being presented in a novel. Once I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down. Afterwards, I told my son every man and teenage boy in America needs to read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

It has been awhile since a book affected me as profoundly as that one did. However, one of our new books takes the approach in a different manner and packs just as powerful a punch: All the Rage by Courtney Summers.

Imagine being a girl whose family is already the subject of negative gossip. Then, when assaulted by the sheriff's "golden boy", no one believes you. Do you fade into the background? Make a stand? Do something to stand out in the crowd? Now imagine you go missing on the same night as the town's most beloved teenage girl. The only difference is you're found. She is still missing. This book covers small town relationships without cliche as it addresses several dark subjects. Very well written and highly recommended!

Another book I highly recommend is Endangered by Lamar Giles. This book takes a look at cyber stalking and cyber bullying from a whole new angle: that of the vigilante trying to stand up for those who have been victimized. When the vigilante's secret identity is threatened with exposure, the question becomes how far to go to hide behind a screen name. When the situation turns deadly, the lines between justice and truth are blurred.

Finally, another book about competition, bullying, and ambition: Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton. Since I never did a lot of dance classes or competitions, I was unsure about reading a book centered on teenagers boarding at an elite ballet school. Don't let the ballet keep you from this book. Intrigue, injuries, bullying, assaults...all in the name of "healthy" competition. This book takes the term "cut-throat competition" to an entire new level as the boys and girls attempt to be one of the few stars of the stage.

I'm Ba-ack!

This has definitely been an event-filled summer, and now it's back to school for all of us! Today is a Digital Learning Training, a great chance to get my mind wrapped around technology and ways to help staff and students in the new year.

The makerspace plans are in the works, with a new possibility being explored. Watch this space and the website for the fundraising for our 3-D Printer! That will be a great addition to CHHS.

It's Summertime!

I realize it shows my age, but merely writing the words "It's Summertime"  brings to mind a song by the Fresh Prince (and album of the same name). Anyway...

What do librarians do during the summer? Well, this librarian travels, cooks, gardens, does numerous household chores, and, naturally, reads! Last month I took two weeks to cross a large number of tasks of the never-ending "needs to be done" list, including but not limited to painting the kitchen cabinets and the porch furniture. Although I don't have access to all the wonderful books in my library, I have taken the opportunity over the last month to re-read a few good favorites and to read two nonfiction books that have been very eye-opening. In a few days I start my Asian adventure by traveling to Vietnam! August will be filled with gathering information and resources for our Makerspace.

Hope you have a fun-filled and relaxing summer too!

End of the Year Reflections

Here it is! The last workday of the year!

Walking through the parking lot this morning, I realized that, for the first time in many years, I made it from January through June without missing any school days for being sick.

Wow!

I don't mean being at school while fighting off a cold (or bronchitis). Actually, I have had the healthiest six months of my 20 years of working in schools! And I still feel great!

Now that all the shelves are dusted, the blinds are closed, the counters clear, and the teachers are all checked off for having returned their materials, what have I learned this year?

From the first half of the year, at the elementary school:

1. No matter the planning, live streaming is not always going to go smoothly. Especially if the streaming code has one little number or letter wrong. Fortunately, it's a easy fix, even for fifth grade technicians.
2. Kindergartners can drive you batty, make you cry, and make you smile...all within one class period. Momar...you were one of the reasons I loved kindergartners. Thank you for the beautiful picture of me when you drew your favorite thing in the library.  It will remain on my desk for a long time.
3. When technology services "upgrades" the operating system, be prepared for the older devices to rebel. Especially in the middle of a research project in all upper grades. Fortunately, we could take turns on the desktops when the minis refused to start up.
4. You never realize how much there is to do until you create a manual explaining everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING!) the administration, faculty, parents, and students have come to expect. I don't think the 3-inch binder with 22 tabs was too long. Was it?
5. This is a great school, with a great staff and students. I'm thankful for my many experiences and for my students.

From the second half of the year, at the high school:

1. Wow. I thought my own teenagers were tall...I went from being taller than all my students to being shorter than the vast majority. It's nice to feel "petite"!
2. When one English teacher begins a research project, all English teachers will want to begin a research project. Creative and strategic scheduling is necessary to get everyone into the databases. And heaven help the schedule when we miss a week due to snow!
3. Very few teachers and students remember to use the e-books. Some serious advertising will need to take place next year, as well as staff training so these wonderful resources are used adequately.
4. You can learn to draw anything using You Tube. Several of my students worked on their drawing skills during SMART lunch. The number of ways to draw eyes is amazing.
5. Collaboration with the art teachers means phenomenal artwork to be displayed in the media center. One of the judging criteria: will I grow tired of it after the next ten years? (And in conjunction with this and #4: WOW! This school is FILLED with talented artists!)
6. This is where I have wanted to be for awhile. The wait has been worth it. I love working at this school with its great faculty and students. Arrrrgh! Go Pirates!

Hungry for a Good Book?

Ah, the last 2 weeks of school. This is that wonderful time of year when my days are filled with...

...exams.

Administering, proctoring, monitoring. EOCs, NCFEs, TMFEs, CTE....no matter the acronym, grade level, or duty assignment, it makes for some fairly lengthy days. (Unfortunately, the rules say no reading -gasp!- while exams are taking place.)

However, as I walked up and down the rows of tables, students diligently typing answers for online assessments or bubbling tiny circles with their #2 pencils, my gaze occasionally fell upon the fiction books in the center of the media center. And, then, a title would catch my eye. (For any and all aspiring writers, the title and how it's written on the spine can be very important. Forget fancy fonts...too hard to read at a glance.) Some titles, like Unbroken, The Trials of..., or Zombie ? did not attract much attention. Others, however, had me taking note of their location and returning to them once the testing session had concluded. As a result, I have enjoyed several books I might not have noticed otherwise. (That is the problem with over 22,000 titles: you can't read them all!)

How to Ruin My Teenage Life by Simone Elkeles:
I must admit, I had to stifle quite a few giggles since the students had been told by the test administrator to remain quiet. (Testing was still ongoing in the conference room of the media center.) Between the accidental fathering of puppies, the Israeli commando boyfriend, and everything else going on in Amy's life, I couldn't help but smile often during this book. Kudos to Ms. Elkeles for the fabulous voice she created for Amy. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her "How to Ruin..." series.

Geek High by Piper Banks:
Okay. I'll be honest. I had a preconceived notion of what this book would entail from the title alone. Don't you? Maybe a romance between the geek and the most popular kid at school? Stereotypes galore? Well......you don't always get what you expect. Another believable and funny book complete with mostly wicked stepmother, seemingly wicked stepsister, a school dance, the new school blog, and a host of characters who defy or embrace the label of "geek".  This book is also the first in a series so I have more reading to do!

New Books!

Since students are unable to checkout books this close to the end of the year, I got to read the newest books first. (Just one of many benefits to being the media coordinator!) This month's selections were very different from last month, and I'd like to talk a bit about them. First, all of them are realistic fiction (although one has some paranormal activity) with characters who do not fit in with their peers. That sounds like typical teen fiction, but these are not typical plots. In fact, not all the main characters are likable, but all generate sympathy from the reader over some of the things they have to handle in their young lives.

Boys Don't Knit (In Public) by T.S. Easton

Ben Fletcher is not a "normal" teen, thanks to a bizarre set of circumstances and his semi-delinquent friends, Ben must keep a journal (even though he already has a diary in order to stay sane with his slightly dysfunctional family), "give back" to the "victim" of his crime (even though she pelts him with various household items, including hemorrhoid creme tubes), and take a class at the local community center (of which his choices are limited to his dad's auto mechanics class, how-to use Microsoft office, pottery, or knitting). Through the same bad luck that follows him everywhere, he ends up in the knitting class where he discovers a talent to read the patterns and envision the mechanics of getting there. Naturally, however, he must hide this from his father, friends, bullies, and the girl he likes. It's a fun read that is actually targeted to guys.

Still Waters by Ash Parsons

Jason has very little positives in his life, with the exception of his little sister and a fearsome reputation as the guy you DON'T want to mess with. Having spent time in juvie for hitting a teacher and being thought of as "crazy" when he laughed after another student punched him, Jason cultivates this fear from his classmates as the only power he has in life. He takes a job being the "friend" of an incredibly spoiled, wealthy classmate in order to save enough money to escape his abusive father and care for his sister. There is too much that goes on to mention without spoiling the plot as it unfolds. Definitely well-written and worth the read. 

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

This book is told through the point of view of Amber, a teenager convicted of sabotaging her abusive step-father's truck and causing his horrific death, and Violet, a ballet dancer whose best friend, Ori, was convicted of murdering two of the other dancers in their studio. Through the eyes of Amber, we see the events leading to tragedy at the Aurora Hills juvenile girls' dentention center, including Ori's time there. Violet's viewpoint shows there's more to a person than how wealthy and talented she might be. When we learn what really happened the night of the dance recital and what occurred at the Aurora Hills tragedy, we also see the paranormal come into play. Sometimes, all is not what it seems and sometimes it is EXACTLY what it first appeared to be.

Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert

What would you do if your father is looking at the death penalty and it is your testimony that will secure his freedom or put him on death row? And what if you blame yourself for the events leading to that situation in the first place? Then, on top of that, you want to reconnect with the older brother you haven't seen in 10 years who is now your guardian, you are trying to make a bargain with God to keep your life together, and the high school baseball state championship rests upon your shoulder (literally since you're the pitcher). Could you hold it together? Will you tell the truth on the stand? Could you choose between God and your father? Braden faces all of those problems, and has to redefine the way he looks at himself, his family, and his faith. 

Makerspace and More

Although it's not yet the end of this year, in between all the EOY tasks I normally do, I am already looking ahead to next year! I keep reminding myself not to "wish my life away" by being impatient about the new school year prior to the end of the current one! (Plus, I have great summer plans so I don't want to skip July!)

The first thing I am eagerly awaiting is being one of the Digital Learning Coaches (DLC) for my school. I will get to spend time with different departments and other groups helping them utilize technology and introducing new technologies to them. Zaption, LitTrips, and DiscoveryEd classrooms will be the first topics, and there are many more after those! Working with staff is always rewarding because, ultimately, it also helps my students (and with a projected enrollment of 1811, I have a LOT of students).

Another exciting addition to my school is the implementation of MTAC. I was co-chair of MTAC (Media-Technology Advisory Council) at my former school for 8-1/2 years. Having a council of teachers to determine technology and media needs, especially after teachers return from conferences with new ideas, helps to budget for these needs and discuss the effectiveness of different tools and programs. This also will help teachers since they can present information to their rep and the reps will have some helpful troubleshooting tips for our existing technology.

Finally, my most exciting addition to the media center (pending final approval -- fingers crossed!) will be our Makerspace! (Makerspace is a learning environment that is student-directed for the creation, discovery, and innovation of S.T.E.A.M. activities. -Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.) Because a lot of students come to the media center for either A or B lunch every day to work on projects, study, do homework, and read, this is the perfect place to have students explore one of our four Makerspaces. (A different one each day, Monday thru Thursday. Fridays are reserved for something special!) The first four Makerspaces, decided upon with a lot of student input, will be Forensics, Engineering, Future Fashion Design, and Animation.

Forensics: learning how to take and compare fingerprints, blood splatter, DNA analysis, shoe and tire prints, and solving a mystery contest.

Engineering: CAD, designing bridges online, creating penny catapults, and more!

FFD: working on the Shoe of the Future Contest and the Stuck-at-Prom Challenge.

Animation: Using our GoAnimate accounts to create entries into the Pirate Film Festival!

Whew! Sound exhausting? Well, since students can only do one of those a semester, they will hopefully be excited every week to work on a project.

Oh, what about Fridays? Well...we are planning to start a Makerbot Academy donors choose page to get a 3-D printer. Students will have to sign up on Mondays for a printing slot (and pay for the materials...fortunately it will be a small printer so it won't be expensive). I'm SO excited about having that technology!

Keep watching for updates and how-to information regarding Makerspaces in the Media Center!

(Reminder to self...this year is going very well, and you're not ready to be done with it quite yet!)

Librarians to Watch Out For!

I have never figured out the stereotype of librarians: glasses, hair in bun, frumpy clothes, and an outrageously stern disposition who hate everyone and only live for the books and, maybe, a cat. True, I wear glasses. Sometimes I put my waist length hair in a bun. (And while I refuse to dress like my teenage daughter or students, I would like to think my clothes aren't too bad!) Plus, I enjoy interacting with students and expect the library to be quiet enough for others to concentrate, but not silent. I want people to visit my library! (And my dogs don't think to kindly of the neighbor's cats...but that's another story.)

Of course, then there's that OTHER stereotype. The one with librarians cast in the exact opposite of the first.  Where did that come from?

Well, if you look at our culture, you'll see both of those stereotypes plus a few more interesting characters portrayed in books and movies. (the strict Madame Pince in Harry Potter, murder-solving elderly Ivy Malone from Lorena McCourtney's Invisible series, Dr. Yanina Zenchenko in Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library -- the library itself is coveted by librarians everywhere with its robots who shelve books, holographic statues, and a holographic tiger wandering the aisles)  Noah Wylie's series of movies turn librarians into a cross between Indiana Jones and every big winner on Jeopardy! The spin off TV show, The Librarians, makes us into crime-syndicate fighting super hereos. (How do I apply?) And then there's this video by a New Zealand band, Haunted Love. I think every school librarian in the world wants those bookshelves...

End of Year Already?

Once May shows up on the calendar, the library becomes a slightly different place. Every year I wonder, where has the time gone? Is it already the end?

This year, thankfully, I am not alone with library inventory. (Technically I wasn't alone for the last 6 years, but one of us had to teach classes while the other worked the inventory tasks.) With the aid of all 7 assistants, we have been moving through the scanning of 22,000+ titles, putting things in order, and I've been able to complete my portion of the AMTR (Annual Media and Technology Report) for the state.

But other than those chores, how else does a high school differ from elementary at the end of the year? To begin with, during over a week of AP testing, I get to see some students who have not spent a lot of time in the media center since they have been displaced from their regular room. Then there is the large numbers of students struggling to finish the final research papers. We've actually had to rotate students on and off computers at smart lunch just to give everyone a chance to finish and print! I have very few "empty spots" on the calendar for classes as well. Don't worry, I'm not complaining! I enjoy guiding students to finding the correct sources, format their outlines and writing, and helping them make sure the works cited pages are complete.

In my spare time, I'm going through student applications for library science for next year.

Can't Wait Until Friday!

Yesterday was our county's annual Digital Learning Conference for all of the digital learning coaches to learn new techniques and resources. We, in turn, return to our schools and share these ideas with our faculty, teaching them how to utilize digital resources in the classroom.

My number one new favorite thing to use is...ZAPTION!

Zaption is a way to take video clips and short videos and make them interactive "tours". For instance, if we are able to have our One Book, One School project next year, youtube has the video of a great talk given by the author of the book. Clips of this video (it is over an hour in length) can be uploaded into zaption and then discussion and comprehension questions added throughout the tour. Students would sign in to watch the tour, and the video pauses at each question. Once they have submitted their answers, they can continue watching. Teachers can log in to see who has watched it, what their answers were, and see graphics about the answers to different questions.

Imagine knowing you are going to be out the day of a key lesson. Maybe the substitute will be able to teach it, but maybe not (especially if you teach calculus or physics!) so create a video showing the lesson, but insert questions to check for comprehension and attention. When you return, you will know who "got it" and who didn't.

There is also a gallery of tours you can use. In order to see  your students' responses or to add/change questions, copy the tour into your own account. It's really that easy.

www.zaption.com

It's National Library Week!

To celebrate National Library Week, let's discover some fun facts about libraries!

Did you know:

• There are more public libraries than McDonald's in the United States! 
• American students make about 1.5 billion visits to their school library every year!
• Reference librarians in the USA answer nearly 6.6 million questions every week! If all those people stood in line to ask their question, the line would stretch from Maryland to Alaska!
• The oldest continuously running library is in Sinai, Egypt: the S. Catherine's Monastery Library. It was built in the middle of the 6th Century.
• The world's largest library is the Library of Congress: 158 million items on over 800 miles of bookshelves.
• The most "borrowed" without being checked out book is the Bible, followed by the Guinness World Records Book.
• At some point in their lives, former Chinese dictator Mao Zedong, former First Lady Laura Bush, former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, author Beverly Cleary, and author Lewis Carroll were librarians.

 "10 Interesting Facts about Libraries." Library Outsourcing. Library Outsourcing, 2014. Web. 16 Apr.       2015. <http://libraryoutsourcing.com/10-interesting-facts-libraries/>.

 "10 Fun Facts about Our Nation's Libraries." New Victory Theater. The New Victory Theater, 17 July         2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. <http://newvictorytheater.blogspot.com/2014/07/10-fun-facts-about-our-

         nations-libraries.html>.

  "Quotable Facts about America's Libraries." American Library Association. ALA Library Champions,        2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.       

          <http://www.ala.org/offices/sites/ala.org.offices/files/content/quotablefacts2012_FINAL.pdf>.

Up to the Last Minute of Research

We've almost made it to Spring Break (even though it's been shortened due to snow.) And the media center is chock full of busy students researching up to the last minute today! To elaborate on the end of last week's post regarding finding sources (since many classes have been squeezing in the still fairly cold yet 137 degree media center):

Let's say you are working on a research project on the American Civil War. Perhaps you decided (or were assigned) a topic comparing the South's slavery laws with South Africa's apartheid laws of the 1980s-90s.

Your first stop in the research zone will probably be the Gale database or the Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) database. Despite the advanced search function, you cannot find an article about American slavery and South African apartheid. After several minutes of frustration, you have two choices: give up or figure out a new way of searching. Let's stick with number two.

Just because you cannot find an article (or 5 or 7 articles, depending on the required number of sources) does not mean you have a bad topic. It is very rare in life to find sources that give you exactly what you are looking for without more effort on your part. You just need to think at a higher level. In elementary school, you read the information and regurgitated it for your project. In middle school, you read the information, spit it back out and possibly added an opinion. From now on, you will take the facts and use them to support your theory while analyzing and synthesizing the information!

Find articles about slavery in the South. One might be on the history of the slave trade, another on the defense of slavery as given by the Antebellum South. Perhaps you can find an article that shows the effect of slavery on the family. Now search for South Africa and apartheid. You want to find articles explaining how the government established and defended this system. Most likely you will find articles showing the long-term effect on the cultures of the different ethnic groups and on the family structure.

Take notes on the articles.

Now start comparing the two systems. Are there commonalities in the effects? Did they politicians use similar or different defensive arguments? Were the laws regulating these systems similar or different?

And THAT is what you can write in your paper. (Just remember to properly cite those sources!)

Havin' a Hot Time in the Library This Week!

Whew! It's been hot in here this week.

What? You don't know what I'm talking about? Well, check out the picture I took yesterday of the temperature control panel:

Yes, that's right. According to the control panel, the CHHS Library-Media Center has topped Death Valley as having the high temperature for the day!

HOWEVER, in reality, the temperature started at 72.4. As the day progressed the actual temperature fell to around 60 degrees. This morning, the real temperature started at 50 degrees. By the end of first block, it had increased to a "balmy" 55!

The library, regardless of the temperature, has been full this week, and the forecast is bright for research projects. Therefore, let's talk about one way to find a source.

When one student had chosen a topic, and the teacher had approved it, she immediately headed to the databases. Within one database, however, she found it difficult to find the articles for her source. Why? After all, she typed in the key words from her topic. Together we talked about this. You see, she had a fantastic idea for her paper, but she thought she could only do a topic if journal articles showed up on that subject. I showed her how the articles she could use actually led her to be able to make conclusions supported by the articles, not written in the articles.

And that, I think, is why so many students feel research is a difficult process. When you are looking for a source that gives you the exact answer to your thesis, then you may end up stressed because that source doesn't exist! If, however, you gain information that allows you to draw conclusions and support those conclusions through the connections you can make, well, you are now on your way to writing excellent papers.

The student in question found more sources than she actually needed when using this method.

Fingers Crossed!

This week has been full of many things: research projects, new books, technology, and such. And then came the announcement: James Patterson is donating $1.25 million to public school libraries!

Immediately I knew what project I wanted to present to Mr. Patterson: One School, One Book. With a projected student population of 1811 for next year, and well over 100 staff members, it would take a very large grant to do this type of project. Students and staff are voting on their top pick for a book now, and next week the application will be sent in. Then...fingers crossed!

What is One School, One Book?

It's where everyone reads the same book.That's all.

Okay, it's a bit more than that. It's where everyone reads the same book and then discusses it. Thinks about it. Talks about it some more. There are no tests or projects, no grades. We will be having a lot of optional activities to encourage participation, SMART lunch discussion groups hosted by various staff members, twitter discussions, podcasts, PSA videos made by students about different concepts in the books. Why would we do this? What's the point? Literacy growth, a sense of community, encouraging reading for the sake of reading rather than for grades are just a few reasons.

Now all we need to implement this wonderful project is to receive the grant from Mr. Patterson. Like the title said: Fingers crossed!

Week Three, Round Three: Is Mother Nature Going to Win?

I am posting early this week in case the freezing rain predicted for tonight materializes and causes another delay or cancellation. This winter weather craziness reminds me of one of my earliest poems (circa. 5th grade):

Spring, spring

What a wonderful thing.

What a wonderful thing

Is spring.

Naturally, it went on with several stanzas of "-ing" words. Fortunately, my poetry improved in later years.

Now back to all the hungry bookshelf's events of the week!

Finally being back in school for days in a row, the media assistants have been quite busy with voice-overs for the library videos. The videos completed are on Copyright, Analyzing Websites, Using Databases, and Accessing E-Books on Follett Shelf. All of these can be found on the media center website, as well as on my "official" You-Tube channel.

After working with these seven fabulous assistants, I know one activity library science students will be doing next semester. If you would like to check out the videos, please visit http://www.youtube.com/user/SRous1

Ahhh...Time for...

Another post except we had another round of winter weather! This week's post will continue the book reviews as well as an update on animated videos.

First, thanks to some hardworking library assistants, there are two library videos in the final stages of production. (In other words, the students have finished the voices, and I have to get the animation and the music in place.) These soon-to-be finished videos involve following copyright and website analysis, two skills needed in our technology-oriented research these days. I hope to have them posted by next week's blog! (Along with the final two videos in the series: databases and e-books.)

Now for (drum-roll, please!) a book review:

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond: It's been years since the end of World War II and the Nazi-defeat of the Allied forces. Through the use of their genetically-enhanced super soldiers, the Germans rapidly turned the tide of that war and now control Europe and much of the United States. (The West Coast is controlled by the Japanese, and Italy received a token part of the U.S. as well.) While there are pockets of Resistance fighters, they find it hard to succeed at overthrowing the Nazis due to the newer classes of super soldiers. Now meet 16-year-old Zara, whose chaffs at the restrictions placed upon her because she is an American and because she is of mixed Japanese-American heritage. When it seems the Nazis are taking everything away from her, she must decide how far she is willing to go to fight back. She also must decide if she will accept help from the most unlikely of sources. This is not your ordinary "what if" book. Instead, the what-if's are interwoven with hints of science fiction, lots of adventure, and a great story line.

No School Means Different Kind of Post

Well, we braved the ice and cold...and the loss of 4 entire school days while the roads remained unsafe!

That means the normal Friday post about happenings near and around my hungry bookshelves could not take place. Having that time gave me the opportunity to catch up on some paperwork, mentor a National Boards candidate, grade media candidate portfolios, and spend time with my mentee without interruption. It also gave me the opportunity to read several new books which arrived, thankfully, just before the ice storm struck! Although I read 7 of the 27 new books, I am only going to review 3 of them here.

1. The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos: At first I wasn't sure about this book, and I almost put it into "group 2" so I would read it later. Luckily I stuck it in my bag at the last minute. The book starts as a college admissions essay of 250 words to "help" the NAP (Nameless Admissions Person) know more about Harry (Harbinger Jones). Needless to say, he quickly exceeds his word count as he explains about being almost struck by lightning (it hit the tree the bullies had tied him to), being addicted to meth at the age of 8 (for the pain of the 2nd and 3rd degree burns), and all that happened up to and through the summer after graduation (including making his first friend, being a member of a band - The Scar Boys, going on the road, and dealing with more than most of us will deal with in an entire lifetime). Great writing, powerful characters, and an intriguing plot make this a must read!

2. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: Imagine being 15 and having no memory of an entire summer. Imagine knowing something terrible happened to you, but you have no knowledge of what it could be. Then imagine returning to that place 2 years later, piecing together your own memories. This book is not a mystery, but you will be trying to "solve" Cady's search for the truth as you read it. Definitely a great read.

3. A Time to Dance by Padma Ventrakaman: Often when I see that a book (especially a longer one) is written in poetry, I'm slightly leery of it. Many times I have enjoyed novels written in poetry instead of prose, but sometimes it gets tedious to follow the plot. NOT THIS TIME! All I can really say is WOW. The plot itself is powerful, a young girl who competes in bharatanatyam dance - a classical spiritual Hinda dance - wins a huge competition and then loses her leg in an accident that same night. This might sound like a sad, melancholy story. It's instead a powerful, uplifting story even though the main character is sad, angry, frustrated and all the other emotions you can imagine feeling if you were in this situation. Another book I highly recommend.

Word Choices

"To be or not to be, that is the question."

Most students already know that if they take the words for their writing directly from a source then they have to use those little "marks" around the quote. By the time they are in high school, this is a fairly basic understanding, and they know to give credit for the quotation.

I have a dream of everybody getting along and living, working, and going to school together.

But what to do when you use the idea in someone else's work? Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't say that statement exactly, so now what? Many students would know, correctly, not to put the quotation marks around it. However, they often don't do what needs to be done. When students paraphrase someone else's words, sometimes they are not aware of the need to give credit for the idea in the same way they would for a direct quote.

And that is why I reinvented the wheel this week (with the help of a couple of wonderful library assistants). There are a lot of different resources out there about plagiarism, but I enjoy doing things my own way. That is why the newest video in my animation collection is on plagiarism. My hope is to give students an overview of how borrowing the written or recorded thoughts of another person, even if it's not word-for-word, can also be plagiarism if they do not use citations and show it is paraphrasing. So give credit where credit is due, cite within your work when necessary, and use your own original ideas the majority of the time!

Enjoy!

Historical Fiction versus Creative Nonfiction versus Nonfiction

So which is the best type of book for learning what life was like during a specific time period?

This week has been full of ACCESS testing, database searches, and play adaptations. On top of that, three blocks of students have needed a book involving American history prior to 1900. When students have come to me asking for assistance in choosing a book, I began the conversation with "Fiction or Nonfiction?" (The teacher had already discussed this assignment with me, and either genre was allowable.)

Most students, after asking about the differences, have chosen historical fiction. There have been some who preferred nonfiction. So, which one is better?

According to Roy Peter Clark at www.creativenonfiction.org, "writers of fiction use fact to make their work believable. They do research to create authentic settings into which we enter." (Issue #16) Meanwhile, authors of creative nonfiction are busy putting their own "poetic license" into scenes to make them read more like a narrative. Nonfiction, of course, can sometimes "stick to the facts" to the point where it becomes dry and dusty reading. (Personally, I really enjoy a lot of nonfiction; most nonfiction writers do not present the information and research like a textbook.)

Let's look at the benefits of each of these three types of writing:

Historical Fiction: the food, clothing, actions, mannerisms, surrounding events, etc. all mirror the truth. Because the characters are living in that time period, it can be easy to grasp the everyday life and experiences of the typical person. Often these are set during monumental events in history, giving the reader a bird's eye view of the event. Because it is, first and foremost, a story, it is easy to be swept away by the imagination and caught up in the lives of characters who seem real. This is great for remembering what happens in the plot as well as all those historical facts entwined in the plot. A great example of this is Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Killer Angels, a novel describing the events of the Battle of Gettysburg from the point of view of officers and soldiers in both armies. The research is impeccable, and one would think it is nonfiction. Moreover, the conversations and descriptions of emotions are fiction based on what these men wrote in letters or journals about the battle. 

Creative Nonfiction: This genre involves writing factually about an event, but including writing skills often used by novelists: beautiful imagery, literary devices, and lots of details. A work of creative nonfiction is going to read like a novel. The story flows from the page. Once again, that flow is what allows you to remember details about the events. There are no "characters", and the plot is completely real. Sometimes, as in Erik Larson's book, The Devil in the White City, the reader may come away from the book with a sense of disbelief. Could this really have happened? Isn't it fiction? Good research and good writing, plus wanting to tell the real STORY, makes a great book in this genre.

Nonfiction: Nonfiction is factual, but it doesn't have to be boring or dry. Unfortunately sometimes it is both. Often it is neither. The main difference between nonfiction and creative nonfiction is going to be how the same facts are presented. This is a more analytic approach to the subject matter. Who, what, when, where, how, and why without the embellishments. Many students, especially those with data-driven minds, will enjoy learning through this type of book the most. One can almost hear someone whispering, "Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts." 

Now down to the point of all this: which genre is best when learning about history? Which one do you think is best? If the object is to know a date, the names of people involved, and specifics about what occurred, nonfiction will suit just fine. If you want to feel as if you have been immersed in the time period? Creative nonfiction or historical fiction may fit what you are looking for. Look at the assignment, determine what you must learn from it, and choose the genre you will most enjoy! (And, as always, browse the shelves and read a page or two from a book that catches your eye if you don't have a specific book in mind. Just don't feed the bookshelf! M & Ms are great for librarians, but not for library books.)

Highlights of My Week

Anytime school goes from a "short week" to a "full week" you can never anticipate what the week will be like overall. Will everyone be exhausted by Wednesday? Do the events of the week energize you? See which type of week you think I had based on these highlights:

1. A student in the library with her English class had difficulty finding what she needed in the databases. Through a brainstorming conversation regarding her topic and what interested her the most about it, she fine-tuned the topic and successfully found great sources for her research.

2. Several students, with the help of two library assistants, are ready, willing, and able to help create some of the informational visual art to decorate the library.

3. During SMART lunch, a group of seniors mentioned their disappointment over not being able to walk across the stage since the cost of the cap-and-gown is out of reach. Through our discussion about courses of action, one student has taken the lead to try and develop cost-affordable options for all students who cannot afford the cap-and-gown. (Civics in action!)

4. Students have been working all week on presentations, researching and creating them in the media center. A new student who came mid-week to our school approached me to inquire about checking out books that will help him be the most successful in one of his core classes. (One day in class and he's looking at new ways to achieve success! I love it!)

5. What a great reaction by one student who was reading what she thought was the final book of a trilogy when I let her know the characters and story will continue in two more volumes. (And those books are already on an order list!)

6. A discussion with a student over the word "eclectic", and why it's a compliment when that word describes your reading selections.

7. Having a student struggling with a drawing until we were able to connect him with another student whose tips and talent helped finally get the teeth looking right. (Learning during SMART lunch is not confined to academics.)

8. The thank you from a student who needed a way to get his homework done without interfering with his two jobs or getting a good night's sleep.

These events don't include the fun and interesting conversations with some really great library assistants, having a very nice group of distance learning students with me at different points throughout each day, and my after-school library visitors who have the most impeccable manners and great senses of humor.

Next week's challenges will be different since new things will be happening near the hungry bookshelf. (But, please stop feeding the Skittles to the fiction bookshelves. They don't like the sugar like the ants do.)

Exams Are Over So Let the Real Fun Begin!

For those who have not been in a high school setting recently, exams are not the 2-a-day, 3-days-in-a-row they were "way back in the day". Due to a lot of different factors, including the different types of exams given, exam week now lasts a bit longer than a week. Needless to say (based on the title of this post), the new semester shall begin!

Already I have classes signed up to come to the media center for a variety of activities. This is the part of my job I enjoy the absolute most: working with teachers and students. Whether it is research skills, locating online sources, or exploring new areas of interest, the media center will be much busier now that classes are beginning again.

In collaboration with one teacher, I have a lesson ready to go regarding Google, Wikipedia, and reputable online sources, including a fun GoAnimate video. For another, I have a "how-to" lesson for online research. Altogether, it's going to be a great semester, and I'm looking forward to it!

My Students Are Taller Than Me!

After 8-1/2 years at the elementary school, I now have a lot of students who "look down" upon me. The transition to high school has not been difficult, but there have been quite a few new changes to figure out.

On January 2nd, I spent a lot of time opening and closing cabinet doors and drawers. At the circulation desk, there are 18 drawers. In the media office, there are 56 doors and 62 drawers. Yikes! After so much wasted time, I began organizing and labeling all doors and drawers that contained anything. Now, if there is no label, it's empty! My life has been much more simplified by this.

Once I finished those labels, I began labeling the shelves for the nonfiction section. 180 shelves, and no shelf labels meant I spent a little more time than I liked putting books away. As of today, that area of the library is finished.  Only 200 fiction shelves left to label. (I think this might take awhile!)

Although I don't believe in making big changes without taking the time to observe how things work, I did decide to do several things differently during smart lunch in order to preserve my sanity and the sanity of those around me. (Smart lunch is a 30 minute time period where students attend tutorials and clubs. Some students work on papers or projects that are due; others socialize.) The new guidelines will go into effect at the start of the new semester next week so we shall see how it goes.

I am looking forward to several new challenges at the high school level. Instead of teaching the very basic of research skills, I will be working with students and teachers to prepare students for college and careers. Also, I am looking forward to starting a book club and possibly a writing club in the fall. Next school year I will also get the opportunity to teach a library science course.

Fun times are ahead!