Comments for School Library Monthly Blog

Comment on Collaborating for Literacy by Rebecca Morris

Rebecca Morris — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:43:50 +0000

How and when to collaborate at the elementary level are GREAT questions for asking and sharing, Carolyn! You mentioned an upcoming meeting – who are the team members who will be there? It’s interesting to learn how different schools construct teams, particularly when it comes to specialists like librarians, reading teachers, and subject-specific coaches.

The scenario that you’re describing for increasing time for pulling kids out for specialized instruction (versus building differentiated learning within the classroom) is a tough one to work with, especially if the remediation is designed to meet needs as determined by testing or possibly IEP plans. I wonder what strategies we might suggest to have teachers collaborating for student learning within the classroom?

Thanks for your comment and for reading the SLM Blog!

Comment on Collaborating for Literacy by Carolyn

Carolyn — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:21:54 +0000

Rebecca, I was reading and thinking, “oooohh, ideas on how and when to collaborate at the elementary level!” I’m glad that you have posted those same questions. Many of us would love to know how to ‘do it all’ for our students. Scheduling and resources are the big issues. My team is meeting this month to discuss schedules for next year. I’m afraid it is going to be a focus of creating more time for pull-out remediation rather than trying to create more time for real-life collaborative experiences for student learning. Thanks for keeping us updated on the research and ideas that affect our daily instruction!

Comment on Show Me – the Databases? by Rebecca Morris

Rebecca Morris — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:49:24 +0000

Thanks for the reply and thoughtful suggestions, Deborah. I think your example of showing how to validate resources in an existing unit (for which the teachers have already sought your help!) is useful. That they’re already coming to you is important and not to be overlooked. With many teachers, this approach of building collaboration into existing units is a great way to establish not only links to the CCSS, but also trust- which may lead to new inquiry projects in time.

Comment on Show Me – the Databases? by Deborah R.

Deborah R. — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:49:21 +0000

This is a tricky one. What I usually do first is ask the teacher why they want me to show the students the databases, or whatever it is. In other words, what is the lesson or unit that the students will be doing. I explain that this knowing this will help me tailor my presentation. Next, I suggest possibilities for extending the database presentation. I usually remind teachers that library skills are part of the common core standards, or part of our state standards, and that it’s important that we work together to make sure the skills are integrated; that opportunities like these are perfect. For example, recently I had a teacher ask me to put together some resources on Greek mythology. After looking at the unit they usually do, I said, this is a wonderful opportunity to talk about validating resources. Small suggestions like this seem to go a long way over time.

Comment on Continuing “Room for Debate” Conversation by Rebecca Morris

Rebecca Morris — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:33:36 +0000

Thanks for adding this significant aspect of Palfrey’s work, Kristin! I’m still learning about the Digital Public Library of America and thinking about its possibilities, but I think it’s an important organization for school librarians to follow.

Last year, Dr. Palfrey presented a talk entitled, “A Future for Libraries in a Digital-Plus Era,” at Simmons College GSLIS, where I teach. Here is the link to podcast of the talk, including the presentation slides: http://alanis.simmons.edu/blogs/medialab/2011/11/29/john-palfrey-a-future-for-libraries-in-a-digital-plus-era/

Thank you for the info and the links!

Comment on Continuing “Room for Debate” Conversation by Kristin

Kristin — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 22:46:23 +0000

Thanks for the link!

One additional role for Palfrey (that impacts the lens through which we see this list) was as chair of the steering committee for the Digital Public Library of America. When the steering committee was retired in Fall 2012, he became a member of the new Board of Directors.

While more of DPLA’s work currently focuses on public and academic libraries, its work, if successful, would have profound impacts on K-12 collections!

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/jpalfrey
http://dp.la/about/board/

Comment on Chewing at the Common Core by Rebecca Morris

Rebecca Morris — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:25:51 +0000

Yes, Linda – you’re right on both accounts! The “tip of the iceberg” is a fitting reference for this list of texts, selections, and performance tasks. I think, too, that the performance tasks represent strategies that can easily be applied across contexts and books. To mix metaphors even further, this conversation lends well to my “Rachael Ray” approach to teaching and instructional design. I’m a fan of cooking shows, and I appreciate when the host emphasizes a technique as a method to try with different combinations of ingredients. So for example, take these prompts from page 36 of Appendix B:

- Students locate key facts or information in Claire Llewellyn’s Earthworms by using various text features (headings, table of contents, glossary) found in the text. [RI.1.5]
- Students ask and answer questions about animals (e.g., hyena, alligator, platypus, scorpion) they encounter in Steve Jenkins and Robin Page’s What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? [RI.K.4]
- Students use the illustrations along with textual details in Wendy Pfeffer’s From Seed to Pumpkin to describe the key idea of how a pumpkin grows. [RI.1.7]

Librarians and teachers can certainly practice these strategies with different books and skills, and in fact, they probably already do. Now they can document the alignment to the CCSS. Your thoughts on a “Best of – for the Common Core” is a great suggestion. Thank you for reading and for your comments!

Comment on Chewing at the Common Core by Linda McSweeney

Linda McSweeney — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:30:01 +0000

Appendix B: ‘Just the tip of the iceberg’ is what a call it in our school (every opportunity I get!); the more our school communities hear that message, the more open we are to other possibilities. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a ‘Best Books of 20.. for the Common Core–like our ‘Best Websites for Teaching and Learning.’

Comment on Share the Wealth by Rebecca Morris

Rebecca Morris — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:37:29 +0000

Thanks for the feedback! You’re right – it takes some intention when we finish up a day of PD or return from a conference to unpack all those good ideas, but it’s worth the time. The graphic organizer helped direct my thinking about implementing my learning in context, and I am glad you found it useful. Let us know how it works for you!

Comment on Share the Wealth by Michael Simerman

Michael Simerman — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:49:22 +0000

What a great post. We all come up with so many great ideas in development, but they do not mean much until we place them in practice. I think the question you ask and the framework for answering it are great.

But Barbara Jansen’s question is a great one: “what will you do on Monday based on what you learned and contributed this weekend.”

You really took this to heart and the graphical answer does a great job at getting down to brass tacks. That is an approach I am going to steal myself. The more we can do to think about these great ideas and approaches in the context of our own situations and our own users, the more effective we will be. Thanks for your insight!

PS: Isn’t it funny that those forms we fill out can include such rote questions, when we work so hard in our everyday lives to design inquiry-based assignments with thoughtful questions? Always seemed ironic to me!