"New" Way to Research

Well, it may not exactly be new, but it is something that we are now presenting to students as a new way to search multiple databases, ebooks, and other electronic sources with one Boolean search.

Our state has a great resource for students, NC Wiseowl. This combines online databases, e-book collections, copyright-free resources, and more. In the past, students have needed to select their grade level and then their resource. Once finished with one resource, like Academic Search Complete, they would return to the main screen to select Academic One File or EBSCO E-Books.

Now, however, they can simply scroll to the bottom of the screen and use Wiseowl Discovery. Their entire Boolean search goes into one box and ALL resources are searched at one time! This is a great time-saver. Another great feature is only full-text articles appear, no abstract-only results.

Option #3 (Speed Dating)

With regards to my last post, I want to expand upon some ideas for using the library for free choice.

First, just telling a group of high school students to "go find a book to read" might not work with most teenagers. Why not? Well, too many will go for the shortest book they can find, or they fall prey to judging a book by it's cover art. Others will find a book that has been turned into a movie in hopes they can just watch the movie. Still others will wander a collection with 23,000 books (of which half are fiction) and claim they "couldn't find one that was interesting."

This means students need to be guided into making a personalized selection. One way is through an activity called "speed dating." The classroom teacher administers an interest survey to the students. From this, the most popular genres can be pulled by the librarian. Tables are set up in stations, one per student, with two books per station. (It does help to have different genres paired together.)

When the students sit at the stations, they have paper with them on which they record the title, 1-2 sentences to help remember the book, and a rating. It could be how many stars out of five or a scale of one to ten. They are given two minutes per station to choose a book from the pair to speed date before moving to the next station.

At the end of the time allotted, even if students don't rotate to every station, station numbers are randomly drawn for book selection time. For instance, if number eight is drawn, the student at that station looks at their ratings sheet and selects their top choice to check out. Then another number is drawn for that student to make a selection and so on. No student ends up with "the last book" since plenty will still be on the tables at the end.

Students have been very receptive as teachers have begun moving towards this activity. To help keep them on track, since the books are of varying lengths, one English teacher devised a bookmark of days and helps her students divide the number of pages to determine a minimum daily page goal.

One concluding activity we will be working on, hopefully, is to have students film short reviews using the green screen.

Other options for student choice can be "Blind Dates" where the books are wrapped with paper and short descriptions are placed on the paper.

The genre-fying of the fiction collection is another way to facilitate student choice by giving them an organization more like a book store.

The Class Novel Approach Options

Option #1: The traditional class novel option is a model that is "tried-and-true" for decades:

Students read a novel chosen by the teacher (or mandated by the curriculum powers that be). They read in class or for homework or as a combination. There are tests at the end of certain chapters. Maybe a project to finish it off, but that's it. A novel unit.

The novels are usually classics: To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Things Fall Apart, Of Mice and Men, The Scarlet Letter, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby.

The students have little to no personalized learning or choice.

Most return the books unread, having gleaned information from Sparknotes. (Students actually brag about this part while waiting in line to return one novel and check out the next.)

So...

Option #2: Novel groups can be done using classics or other "traditional" class set books. In this scenario, however, students choose the book group to join. Each book group reads a different novel.

This allows for some student choice and a small amount of personalized learning. Students do have to be motivated for self-learning, and it can be a challenge to meet with every group for discussions. Students still use Sparknotes.

Option #3: Open choice for students completely or with genre guidelines allows for personalized learning. Studies do show that giving students choice over what to read allows them to buy into the assignments which will lead to greater participation and growth in reading ability. Bonus? Most of these books lack Sparknotes.

The Blasphemous Librarian

I'm wondering about changing my blog name.

Of course, some people would read the title "The Blasphemous Librarian" and immediately take offense. Others might think it is religious in nature. Others might not find me offensive enough...

Here is why I call myself that with a degree of humor and self-deprecation mixed with the appropriate amount of sarcasm:

I like to stir the hornet's nest sometimes to get people thinking outside the box.

My role as a high school librarian is multi-faceted. First, I support my students and staff with materials and books needed for their needs (academic and recreational reading). Then I provide knowledge to assist students in finding what they need for research, resources, life skills (i.e.: scholarship opportunities, holding mock interview sessions, etc.) as well as professional development for teachers on a variety of topics. On top of that, I am always trying to innovate ways to create a reading culture in a school of well over 2000 students on a large campus with grants and activities. But then I am also a teacher, with 2 classes of Library Science I and 3 Library Science II classes this semester. I assist the tech facilitator when possible (although he doesn't need my help much...except at testing times!) There's also the monitoring of students who don't have class during certain blocks, and the administrative duties of running a library, and so on. Of course, one role that doesn't get discussed much is the role a librarian plays in raising reading abilities (and, therefore, test scores) in a high school.

That role is understated, but extremely important in today's educational climate. No matter your opinion of testing, it happens. And students need to do well on the tests. And most of the content area tests are primarily READING tests: Read this passage (they will need to be familiar with subject concepts and vocabulary) and answer questions. Move to next passage. Shampoo, rinse, repeat for almost every test. If a student struggles with reading or doesn't enjoy reading, this can be quite a chore! How to improve that reading ability in high school has always been seen as more difficult, but studies show it comes down to one thing: reading.

Students who read by choice and for pleasure and more likely to show improvement in skill, vocabulary, and fluency. CHOICE and PLEASURE. This might mean rethinking the class novel approach to books in the high school English course.