may 3 nid plans

• For me, the subject of e-resources and their use has been fraught with confusion and a lack of understanding.  
• There will be a meeting of secondary teacher-librarians this week to discuss and explore these resources. 
• In preparation I  think that I have gathered an understanding of the nature of the databases that are accessed via  the district-subscribed tools. 
• The next challenge will be determining an audience and purpose for each of the tools/databases as well as a comparison of search results.
• See the 21st Century Learning page for my  OBSERVATIONS, DETERMINATIONS and SOLUTIONS for the use of the e-resources at PGSS
• I shared these reflections with the Humanities teachers on February 3

booktalking in the grade eight classes

This year I began a read-aloud booktalk program with the grade eight classes. I visited each class one day a week and read for about twenty minutes  from titles that had been recommended by Rob Reid in his Reid's Read-Alouds and Reid's Read-Alouds 2 . I read from two titles each week. 
I was so grateful for the recommended reading selections in Rob's books and I found the selections to be engaging and well-received by the students. 
I choose the following titles:
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrams
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings
Gone by Michael Grant
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins
Far North by Will Hobbs
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen
Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck
Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
The Amazing Maurice by Terry Pratchett
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Small Steps by Louis Sachar
Holes by Louis Sachar
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
The Trap by John Smelcer
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt
Poison by Chris Wooding

good news story - literature circles in family management

One of the teachers at PGSS  recently implemented a Literature Circle study in her Family Management class. She used the following  novels that are focussed on the issue of date violence:
Bitter End by Jennifer Brown
Things Change by Patrick Jones
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
Breathing Underwater by Alexandra Finn
Leslie's Journal by Allan Stratton
Beaten by Suzanne Weyn
She reports that she distributed the titles last week and already some students have read one of the books and are asking for more.

more considerations

It seems that every issue of the "Teacher-Libriarian" journal provides me with more ideas to explore. The December 2012 presented the following:

1. Interviews on educational change presented by Steve Hargadon
1. Kirstin Olson and her book Wounded by School 
1. http://www.stevehargadon.com/
1. http://www.futureofeducation.com/page/past-interviews
2. The Inspiring Middle School Literacy project  
1. http://www.teachersdomain.org