Bytes and Books

WordPlay & NumberFun

2008-02-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

Finished your homework? Looking for something fun to do? Visit the sites below to tease your brain, and improve your spelling, vocabulary, writing and math skills. (Be warned - spending time at the sites below will make you smarter! You'll have fun, too.)

Free Rice
For every word you get right as you play this vocabulary game, Free Rice, a sister site of Poverty.com, will donate 20 grains of rice through the United Nations World Food Programme to help end world hunger. Just think of it - you'll be helping others AND having fun- at the same time!

Test Your Geography Knowledge, from lizardpoint.com

Map and Map Games, from Maps.com: World's Largest Map Store

Brainteasers, Puzzles & Riddles, one of the NIEHS Kids' Pages
Here you'll find palindromes, optical illusions, "puzzling proverbs", "seashore homonyms", and other challenging and fun games.

Brain Teasers, from BrainConnection.com

Braingle
Try these riddles, trivia questions, brain exercises, games (including Sudoku, Chess and Checkers), and much more!

Gamequarium.com: the Site that Swims with Learning Fun!
Visit this site to find an outstanding selection of math, reading & language, and other games, as well as resources for teachers and parents, technology tutorials, and much more.

Funbrain
Check out Classic Funbrain's Plural Girls and Grammar Gorillas, and the Reading, Math and Flash Arcades.

Kids' Place Brain Teasers, from Houghton Mifflin's Education Place

Wordplays.com
Try Boggler, Word Morph, Crossword Helper, Scrabble, or any of the other games available at this site!

Interesting Things for ESL Students: A Fun Study Site for Learners of English as a Second Language

SuperKids Vocabulary Builders
Test your vocabulary skills by tackling the Word Puzzles, Word Scrambler, Mumbo Jumbo, and other games at this site!

Puzzles.COM
Start at the Puzzle Playground, and continue your exploration of this terrific collection of puzzles, games and more.

East of the Web's Children's Short Stories and Wordgames

Sudoku
Sudoku: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Learn about this placement puzzle, based on logic (and known as "Number Place" in the United States), including its history, solution strategies, and the mathematics behind this wildly popular new challenge.

Daily SuDoku
This terrific site features logic puzzles for kids, as well as "classic" and "monster" puzzle challenges (each is rated easy, medium, hard or very hard). In addition to a new puzzle offered each day, an archive of the puzzles offered throughout the previous twelve months is also available.

Solving Sudoku
This site features solution tips for basic and more advanced puzzles.

A.Word.A.Day
Linguaphiles, rejoice! Subscribe to A.Word.A.Day, and receive one entertaining and informative e-mail message each day, including information about the origin of the featured word, its definition(s), and an example of its use in a sentence. Each week's words are connected by theme - recent examples include "words related to food", "words named after people", and "slang/informal terms". (Finally - e-mail you can look forward to!)

Online Resources: Finding Them and Integrating Them Effectively

2008-01-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Collins Middle School Instructional Media Center (IMC). Please feel free to contact me if you should have any questions after today's session, if you would like assistance as you integrate these or other online resources into assignments or projects for your students, or as you pursue your own professional development goals.

Today's session will include:

- a virtual tour of selected full-text, bibliographic, video and other online resources available to you and your students, as members of the Collins Middle School research community;

- an introduction to the Research & Technology Support Center, created and maintained by Joanne O'Keefe and Technology Integration Specialist LeAnnette Goodwin, which features links to annotated resource lists, projects, and other tools created to support teachers and students as they carry out research assignments and other curriculum-related projects; and

- an overview of the print resources available in the Instructional Media Center's fiction, nonfiction, reference, and curriculum/professional development collections.

Let's begin by checking out the IMC's Full-Text Resources:

BrainPOP - Each of BrainPOP's 500+ movies (now available in English and Spanish) covering science, English, math, social studies, technology and health is designed for students in grades K-8, and accompanied by an interactive ten-question quiz, comic strip, timeline, and printable activities. More movies are added each week. (NOTE: A User Name and Password are needed to access BrainPOP.)

CobblestoneOnline.net - This collection includes the full text (from 1980 forward) of Cobblestone, Faces, Calliope, Odyssey, Appleseeds, and other magazines. (NOTE: A User Name and Password are needed to access this collection.)

CultureGrams - This comprehensive collection features information about the history, culture, and daily life of 187 countries and territories, including detailed statistics, maps, and much more. (NOTE: A User Name and Password are needed to access this collection.)

EBSCOHost Collection - This suite of databases features Middle Search Plus, a collection that includes the full text of 140 popular magazines for middle school research, as well as more than 84,000 biographies, more than 100,000 primary source documents, and a growing image collection that currently includes more than 200,000 photos, maps and flags. All full-text articles included in the database are assigned reading level indicators (Lexiles). (NOTE: A User ID and Password are needed to access this collection.)

NoveList - This outstanding resource, through which readers can learn about books and authors, features a searchable database with a wealth of information including descriptions, suggested reading levels (Lexiles), reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text article and author web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. (NOTE: A User ID and Password are needed to access this database.)

Student Resource Center - This terrific full-text resource features original reference material, subject overviews, critical essays, an extensive archive of primary source documents and periodicals, and full-text daily newspapers. (NOTE: An ID is needed to access this resource.)

In addition to the collections described above, several more full-text databases are available to members of the Collins Middle School research community, through our membership in the Northeastern Massachusetts Regional Library System (NMRLS). Among these databases are:

Biography Resource Center - This fine collection features biographical information about more than 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. (NOTE: A public library barcode is needed to access this and other NMRLS databases, including Expanded Academic ASAP, Junior Edition (K-12), Professional Collection (full-text magazine and journal articles for educators), and Student Edition.)

Informe - This collection includes full text and images from popular Hispanic magazines.

ProQuest's Massachusetts Newsstand - this collection features twelve newspapers, including the full text of the Boston Globe (1980-present) and the Boston Herald (1991-present).

Next, let's visit the Research & Technology Support Center, created to help Collins students find the information they need to complete assigned projects, and exhibit their learning through the sophisticated use of a variety of multimedia tools.

Lockers have been established for each grade to make it easy for students to find links to annotated resource lists, projects, and other tools that will help them as they complete classroom assignments in math/science, language arts/social studies, world language, and specialist courses, including art, family and consumer science, music, physical education, and technology education. Here are the lockers:

Grade 6 Locker

Grade 7 Locker

Grade 8 Locker

World Language Resources

Specialist Resources

Art Resources
Family & Consumer Science Resources
Music Resources
Physical Education Resources
Technology Education Resources

Finally, let's review the IMC's policies, and take a look at the locations of the IMC's collections.

Massachusetts Children's Book Award 2008 Nominees

2007-12-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Soon after Peter, an orphan, sets sail from England on the ship Never Land, he befriends and assists Molly, a young Starcatcher, whose mission is to guard a trunk of magical stardust from a greedy pirate and the native inhabitants of a remote island.

Shark Life: True Stories about Sharks and the Sea, by Peter Benchley

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall
While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.

The World According to Humphrey, by Betty Birney
Humphrey, pet hamster at Longfellow School, learns that he has an important role to play in helping his classmates and teacher.

The Last Holiday Concert, by Andrew Clements
Life is usually easy for popular fifth grader Hart Evans, but when his music teacher puts him in charge of the holiday concert, Hart must use all of his leadership skills to unite the other students.

Sing a Song of Tuna Fish: Hard to Swallow Stories from Fifth Grade, by Esmé Raji Codell
Hilarious, quirky, and poignant, this unusual memoir recounts episodes from the transformative fifth-grade year of an acclaimed author.

The Legend of Spud Murphy, by Eoin Colfer
When their mother starts dropping them off at the library several afternoons a week, nine-year-old William and his brother dread boredom and the overbearing librarian, but they are surprised at how things turn out.

The Big House, by Carolyn Coman
When Ivy and Ray's parents are sent to jail, and they are left in the custody of their parent's accusers, they decide to look for evidence that will "spring" their parents.

Lionboy, by Zizou Corder
In the near future, a boy with the ability to speak the language of cats sets out from London to seek his kidnapped parents and finds himself on a Paris-bound circus ship learning to train lions.

The People of Sparks, by Jeanne DuPrau
Having escaped to the Unknown Regions, Lina and the others seek help from the village people of Sparks.

Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery, by John Feinstein
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.

A Writing Kind of Day: Poems for Young Poets, by Ralph Fletcher
This collection includes twenty-seven short poems on a variety of subjects.

Eager, by Helen Fox
Unlike Grumps, their old-fashioned robot, the Bell family's new robot, Eager, is programmed to not merely obey but to question, reason, and exercise free will.

Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness!, by Cornelia Funke (Book #3 of the Ghosthunters series)
Mrs. Worm and Gloomsburg castle are taken over by ghosts.

The Liberation of Gabriel King, by Kelly Going
In Georgia during the summer of 1976, Gabriel, a white boy who is being bullied, and Frita, an African American girl who is facing prejudice, decide to overcome their many fears together as they enter fifth grade.

Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale
While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

Ida B…and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World, by Katherine Hannigan
In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school.

Blow Out the Moon, by Libby Koponen
A fictionalized account of the author's childhood experiences moving from the United States to London, England, and attending a boarding school.

Leon and the Champion Chip, by Allen Kurzweil
Employing scientific methods learned in Mr. Sparks's class, fifth-grader Leon competes in a potato chip tasting contest and takes revenge against Lumpkin the bully.

Worth, by A. LaFaye
After breaking his leg, eleven-year-old Nate feels useless because he cannot work on the family farm in nineteenth-century Nebraska, so when his father brings home an orphan boy to help with the chores, Nate feels even worse.

A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray, by Ann M. Martin
Squirrel, a stray puppy, tells her life story, from her nurturing mother and brother to making her own way in the world, facing busy highways, changing seasons, and humans both gentle and brutal.

Stink and the Incredible Super-galactic Jawbreaker, by Megan McDonald
Seven-year-old Stink Moody discovers that he can get free samples by writing letters to candy companies and plans a surprise for his best friend's birthday.

Project Mulberry, by Linda Sue Park
While working on a project for an after-school club, Julia, a Korean American girl, and her friend Patrick learn not just about silkworms, but also about tolerance, prejudice, friendship, patience, and more. Between the chapters are short dialogues between the author and main character about the writing of the book.

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (Book #1 of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series)
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

Listening for Lions, by Gloria Whelan
Left an orphan after the influenza epidemic in British East Africa in 1918, thirteen-year-old Rachel is tricked into assuming a deceased neighbor's identity to travel to England, where her only dream is to return to Africa and rebuild her parents' mission hospital.

Gender and Learning: Selected Readings

2007-11-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

For some time, Collins Middle School teachers and administrators have been engaged in research and thoughtful discussion about the implications of offering a single-sex class option to our students. New members of the CMS learning community may be interested in reading the books and newspaper, magazine and professional journal articles cited below. In some cases a user ID, password, or other login information is needed in order to access the full text of a particular article. To obtain this login information, please contact Joanne O'Keefe, Library Media Specialist (joanneokeefe@salem.k12.ma.us ; (978)740-1229).

"Why We Must Try Same-Sex Instruction", by Carol Laster, Education Digest, 70:1, September 2004, pp.59-62.
(Log in to EBSCOHost's Professional Development Collection to access the full text of this article.)

"How Tweens View Single-Sex Classes", by Frances R. Spielhagen, Educational Leadership, 63:7, April 2006, pp.68-72.
(Log in to EBSCOHost's Professional Development Collection to access the full text of this article.)

"The Gender Gap at School", by David Brooks, The New York Times, June 11, 2006.

"Are Boys Making the Grade? Gender Gaps in Achievement and Attainment", Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, October 2006.

"US Opens Door to Schools Teaching Boys, Girls Separately", by Ben Feller, The Boston Globe, October 25, 2006.

"The Coed Classroom", by Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers, The Boston Globe, October 26, 2006.

"The Wonders of a Single-Sex Education", by Lorraine Garnett Ward, The Boston Globe, October 30, 2006.

"Charter School Puts Hope in Same-Sex Classes", by Maria Sacchetti, The Boston Globe, November 27, 2006.

"Putting Single-Sex Schooling Back on Course", by Rosemary Salomone, Education Week, 26:14, December 6, 2006, pp.32-33, 44.

"Trying to Find Solutions in Chaotic Middle Schools", Elissa Gootman, The New York Times, January 3, 2007.

"Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence", National Association for Single Sex Public Education

"Gender-Based Education: Why It Works at the Middle School Level", by William C. Perry, NASSP Bulletin, 80:577, February 1996, pp.32-35.

Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences, by Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D. New York: Doubleday, 2005.

Guys Write for Guys Read, edited by Jon Scieszka. New York: Viking, 2005.

The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries About the Teenage Brain Tell Us About Our Kids, by Barbara Strauch. New York: Doubleday, 2003.

Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, by Rachel Simmons. New York: Harcourt, 2002.

Reading, Writing, and Gender: Instructional Strategies and Classroom Activities That Work for Girls and Boys, by Gail Lynn Goldberg and Barbara Sherr Roswell. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, 2002.

Caution - These Books Will Make You Think! Challenged and Banned Books: Selected Resources

2007-04-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

"It's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” — Judy Blume

Looking for a great book to read? You're likely to find several among the lists of challenged and banned books included in the links below. To learn more about these books, as well as about the issue of censorship, read on. Questions? Comments? Please contact Mrs. O'Keefe, at joanneokeefe@salem.k12.ma.us (This is a growing annotated resource list that will continue to be developed. Thanks for your patience!)

ALA: The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000
After examining this list (Are you surprised by the titles included?), check out the other links to a wealth of important information relating to your rights as a reader, in particular, "Intellectual Freedom Basics" and "Censorship and Challenges".

The Online Books Page Presents Banned Books Online
Banned Books Online offers access to the full text of the works of literature included in this "online exhibit".

OCLC: 2005 Banned Books
The books included here are featured both in OCLC's Top 1,000 and in Banned Books: Censorship Histories on World Literature. (Much more than just a bibliographic utility, OCLC features an outstanding and growing database of more than 82 million records, representing 400 languages, and is searchable by ISBN, Title, Author, Keyword, and many other fields.)

Forbidden Library: Banned and Challenged Books, by Janet Yanosko

National Coalition Against Censorship
"The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), founded in 1974, is an alliance of 50 national non-profit organizations, including literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. United by a conviction that freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression must be defended, we work to educate our own members and the public at large about the dangers of censorship and how to oppose them."

"WHAT JOHNNY CAN'T READ: Censorship in American Libraries", by Suzanne Fisher Staples, The ALAN Review, Winter 1996 (vol. 23: no.2)
This thought-provoking article by the Newbery Award-winning author (her book Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind, was selected as a Newbery honor book in 1990) offers its readers valuable insight into some of the many ways in which parents, teachers, school and public librarians and other adults may create barriers between children and young adults, and the books they wish to read.

Censorship: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This detailed article offers a solid overview of the issue, as well as information about attempts to censor books, films, music and other media around the world, and a particular focus on "Censorship of Educational Sources". It also includes an extensive list of links to other relevant articles and sites, as well as a "List of Banned Books", a "List of Controversial Books", and more.

Selected Resources for School Librarians

2007-03-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for bibliographic records for books, recorded books, videos, or other materials you're trying to catalog? Are you interested in learning more about the Dewey classification system? Looking for information about books and their authors? Use the annotated resource list below to help you as you process materials to add to your collection, or to search for information about a particular book or author.

FIND BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS

OCLC WorldCat
This outstanding and growing database features more than 82 million records, representing 400 languages, and is searchable by ISBN, Title, Author, Keyword, and many other fields.

NOBLE Online Catalog
Search the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) online catalog to locate bibliographic records for books, videos, and other materials available at the Salem Public Library, as well as at 26 other public and college libraries.

San Francisco Public Library Online Catalog
Search this catalog in English or Spanish, by ISBN, Title, Author, Keyword, and many other fields.

Boston Public Library Online Catalog
Search this catalog to find complete bibliographic records for more than 7.5 million books and other materials available at the BPL.

Library of Congress Online Catalog
This catalog includes detailed bibliographic records for more than 110 million items, in many languages, held at the Library of Congress. (This resource is used by researchers around the world. "Peak usage" days/times are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Therefore, plan your use of this catalog accordingly.)

New York Public Library Online Catalog

Yahoo: Libraries
Search for public, school, education, and other specialized libraries from this comprehensive list of links.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Libraries FAQ: Classification, Cataloging & Citation

Internet Public Library: Cataloging

Dewey Decimal System of Classification

How to Use the Dewey Decimal System

Understanding MARC Bibliographies: Machine-Readable Cataloging

Dewey Services: Dewey Decimal Classification

MARC Standards

FULL-TEXT RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION ABOUT BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Alex Awards
The Alex Awards are named for Margaret Alexander Edward, who worked for many years as a young adult specialist at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library. They are given each year to ten well-written, readable books written for adults, selected from genres that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Based on the Book
This easy-to-use resource offers a compilation of more than 1,200 books, novels, short stories and plays that have been made into movies from 1980. Users can sort through author, book title and movie title lists, or search by a film's release year.

Best Books for Young Adults
Best Books for Young Adults include "significant adult and young adult" fiction and nonfiction books selected from the current year's publications and recommended for young adult readers ages 12 through 18.

Biography Resource Center
This outstanding database features biographical information about more than 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. More than 400,000 biographies are included from 90 highly regarded Gale Group publications. (To access this database, you will need to use your public library barcode.)

The Caldecott Medal Home Page
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." This site also features a complete list of all Caldecott Medal winners and honor books from 1938 to the present.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
Hurst's rich site features book reviews listed by title, author and grade level, literature tie-ins to all areas of the language arts, math, U.S. and world history curricula, and suggested titles for all sorts of themes in children's literature, as well as wonderful profiles of children's and young adult authors.

The Children's Literature Web Guide
Visit this helpful site for information about authors, titles, award-winning books, resources for readers, children's literature online discussion groups, and much more.

Coretta Scott King Award
This award is presented annually to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream."

FlamingNet
This site, a favorite among students, features reviews of preteen, teen and young adult books.

Guys Read
This "web-based literacy program", created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys find books they will enjoy, features a searchable (readers can search by author, title, or subject in which they are interested) database of titles for "young guys", "middle guys", and "older guys", as well as links to many author web sites.

KidsReads.com
Visit this site to find author biographies and interviews, book reviews and more.

Margaret A. Edwards Award
The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, and honors an author's lifetime achievement for his or her body of work, and its collective popularity over time.

New York Public Library: Teenlink
Look for the "New! On the Shelf" link on this page for suggestions on great new books to read. (This page is loaded with links to other terrific resources, too.)

The Newbery Medal Home Page
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association's Association for Library Services to Children to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

No Flying No Tights
The best site for information about and reviews of graphic novels, No Flying No Tights includes three "sections" - Sidekicks (for kids), The Lair (for older teens and adults), and, of course, the original No Flying No Tights (for teens).

NoveList
NoveList is an outstanding resource through which readers can learn about books and authors. This searchable database includes information, including descriptions, suggested reading levels, reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text articles and web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. NoveList is updated monthly, and adds about 10,000 new fiction records, along with descriptions, reviews and other information, to the database each year.(Note: You will need a User ID and Password to log into this database.)

The Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz award honors a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or an anthology that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
Visit this site, created for teens, to find a terrific collection of booklists organized by subject. Examples of reading lists currently available include: "Boy Meets Book"; "Coolest Classics"; "Fanging Around: Teen Vampire Fiction with Byte"; "Historical Fiction for Hipsters: Stories from the Past That Won't Make You Snore"; "Short Cuts: Short Story Collections You Might Actually Want to Read"; and "Word UP! Poetry Both by and for Teenagers."

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
The Scott O'Dell Award for Historicl Fiction is given "to a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults." O'Dell established the annual award of $5,000.00 to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction.

Teen Ink
Teen Ink includes a monthly print magazine, a website, and a book series - written entirely by teens, and featuring fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as movie, book and music reviews. Before you begin, have a look at the terrific Writing Tips resource. Review Teen Ink's guidelines before you Submit Your Work! for publication.

teenreads.com
This site offers reviews (including Manga - Japanese print comics), interviews with authors, book group discussion guides, and more.

SELECTED SITES OF INTEREST TO SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS

American Association of School Librarians

Massachusetts School Library Association

Z39.50 Resource Page, from the National Information Standards Organization (NISO)

Finding and Citing Full-Text Journal and Magazine Articles: Selected Resources

2006-11-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

Are you a teacher enrolled in a graduate program, looking for convenient access to the scholarly journal literature in order to complete your own assigned research papers, article reviews, or other projects? Visit the links below, to find full-text journal and magazine article collections, and to learn how to cite these information sources using MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) citation style guidelines.

PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE ARTICLE COLLECTIONS

Academic OneFile
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a Library Card Number/Barcode.)
This comprehensive Thomson Gale collection includes the full text of more than 8,000 academic journals, transcripts and podcasts from NPR, CNN and the CBC, and the full text of the New York Times to 1995.

EbscoHost Professional Development Collection
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a User ID and Password.)
This collection, designed for use by education professionals, features a terrific collection of about 550 education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles, and more than 200 educational reports. In addition to this wealth of full-text content, indexing and abstracts are available for another 700 journals, making Professional Development Collection a great resource in which to begin your research. (Looking for a particular journal? Click "Title List" to see that the journal you need is included in this collection, before you begin your search.)

ERIC (Educational Resources and Information Center)
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a User ID and Password.)
The ERIC database encompasses two major resources:
Resources in Education (RIE) - this file includes indexing and abstracts of research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers and books; and
Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) - this file includes access to published literature from more than 775 periodicals.
In addition, ERIC features the full text of more than 2,200 digests (one-to-two page documents, written for administrators, teachers and specialists offering overviews, with suggested references) on a wide array of topics. Offering coverage from 1966 to the present, ERIC is considered the premier bibliographic database of education literature.

Professional Collection (from Thomson Gale)
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a Library Card Number/Barcode.)
This collection features the full text of more than 300 journals selected for educators, administrators, and librarians.

MasterFILE Premier
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a User ID and Password.)
The MasterFILE Premier collection is a fine multidisciplinary resource featuring the full text of approximately 1,950 general reference magazines and journals, as well as almost 500 full-text reference books, more than 84,000 biographies, more than 83,000 primary source documents, and an image collection including more than 190,000 photographs, maps and flags. Full-text information in this collection, which covers every subject area of general interest and is updated daily, dates back to 1975.

Expanded Academic ASAP
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a Library Card Number/Barcode.)
This terrific collection (a major competitor to MasterFILE Premier) features more than 2,000 full-text scholarly journals, news magazines and daily newspapers covering the arts and sciences, social sciences, science and technology.

NOBLE's Super Search
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a Library Card Number/Barcode.)
"NOBLE's Super Search searches over 15,000 magazines, journals, reports and documents in a single search, combining materials from many different databases into one powerful search."

FULL-TEXT NEWSPAPER COLLECTIONS

Boston.com: Your Connection to The Boston Globe
Enjoy The Boston Globe online with your morning cup of coffee! By registering online (it's free) a reader can also receive daily headlines and/or breaking news alerts from any sections of the newspaper that s/he selects, via email.

New York Times on the Web
Enjoy the full text of The New York Times online. By registering online (it's free) a reader can also receive daily headlines and/or breaking news alerts from any sections of the newspaper that s/he selects, via email.

NewsBank
(PLEASE NOTE: To access this collection, you will need a Library Card Number/Barcode.)
Visit NewsBank to search the full text of The Boston Globe (1980 to present) and The Boston Herald (July 1991 to present).

The Salem News Online

CITING SOURCES

APA Style.org
This helpful guide, created by the American Psychological Association, offers users a particularly useful FAQ section.

Resources for Documenting Electronic Sources
This helpful annotated list of online guides to citing electronic sources was created by Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL).

Citing Sources in APA Style
This guide, prepared by Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services staff, features clear examples of citations for both print sources and electronic media.

Citing Electronic Resources: MLA Style
This guide, prepared by the University of Maryland's University College, offers a nice overview of MLA Style, and several citation examples.

Electronic Sources: MLA Style
This Write Source guide to MLA style offers a detailed list of the elements to be included in a citation for an electronic information source, as well as many citation examples.

Citing Sources
This terrific resource, by Duke University Libraries, features two guides:
Citing Sources Within Your Paper; and
Assembling a List of Works Cited

Internet Public Library: Citing Electronic Information
This nice annotated list of links to online citation resources includes a Spanish-language resource.

Citing Sources Online!
This helpful Bedford/St. Martin's Press site features several guides, including:
Using Principles of APA Style to Cite and Document Sources; and
Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources

Style Sheets for Citing Resources (Print & Electronic):
Examples & General Rules for MLA, APA, & Chicago & Turabian Styles, from the University of California, Berkeley

Internet Resources: Style Guides/Manuals/Writing Tools
This is a helpful annotated list of links, compiled by Salem State College Library.

AREA COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Are you currently enrolled in a graduate program? If so, then through your college or university library you will have access to many full-text databases and resource collections representing a tremendous variety of subject areas. In order to use them, you may have to provide a student ID, User ID or Password. To learn more, check out the links below:

Boston College Libraries
From the Libraries home page, a user can access the online catalog, browse databases available by subject, locate electronic journals, and much more.

Boston University Libraries
From the Libraries home page, access the online catalog, browse available Electronic Resources by Subject, view an A-Z list of Indexes and Databases, and much more. Or, you may want to begin your research using the Educational Research Guide. This is just one of many research guides that librarians at BU have compiled to assist students with their research. Each one includes links to recommended indexes and databases, government sites, statistics, and electronic journals, as well as style sheets and citation guides. (Other research guides available include: Educational Law, Educational Readings, Educational Technology, Educational Tests and Measures, Special Education, and Teaching. Visit the complete list of Research Guides.)

Framingham State College: Henry Whittemore Library
Search the online catalog (The Henry Whittemore Library is a member of the Minuteman Library Network), browse a list of Databases by Subject, or see Library Databases A to Z, Other Internet Resources, and much more.

Lesley University: Ludcke Library
Search the online catalog (Lesley University's Ludcke Library is a member of the Fenway Libraries Online (FLO) consortium), browse an A-Z list of Databases, see a helpful collection of Research Guides, and much more.

Salem State College Library
Search the online catalog (Salem State College Library is a member of the NOBLE Consortium of public and college libraries), see available Databases, other Internet Resources, and more.

FINDING AND INTEGRATING ONLINE RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY: a Professional Development Day Workshop for Salem Educators

2006-09-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to today's workshop, presented by Elizabeth Beaulieu (elizabethbeaulieu@salem.k12.ma.us), Language Arts & Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, and Joanne O'Keefe (joanneokeefe@salem.k12.ma.us), Library Media Specialist at Collins Middle School. During today's session, you will have an opportunity to:

* learn about the many excellent full-text magazine and journal collections, newspapers, encyclopedias, primary documents collections, and other research databases available to the Salem Public Schools research community, and how these resources can be integrated into your work both for and with students;

* enter the blogosphere, and learn about blogging, an interesting way of learning, sharing, and communicating with others; and

* explore these resources and technologies with your colleagues, and consider ways in which you might use these them in the classroom, as well as for your own professional development.

To access these outstanding databases and collections, available to Salem educators through school library memberships in the Northeastern Massachusetts Regional Library System (NMRLS) and the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE), visit the sites below. To log in to any database you wish to search, just enter your public library barcode from any NOBLE public library.

COLLECTIONS AND DATABASES

NMRLS Databases (these include ELibrary, Grolier Online, ¡Informe!, NewsBank, and Thomson Gale's INFOTRAC Databases Biography Resource Center, InfoTrac OneFile, Junior Edition, Kids InfoBits, and more)

NOBLE Databases (these include EBSCO Animals, ERIC, MasterFILE Premier, Middle Search Plus, Newspaper Source, Primary Search, Professional Development Collection, and many more)

BLOGGING BASICS
Is it a journal, a log, a diary, a personal website? Just what is a blog, anyway? And what (or who) is a blogger? Visit the links below to learn more!

Weblog: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (entry for "weblog")

Wiki: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What's a wiki? a communal, public blog, or open forum, that allows anyone to add and modify content. This entry, from Wikipedia, a popular example of the wiki, offers readers a history of blogging, an explanation of the many types of blogs (personal, news, political, legal, advice, social, etc.), a glossary of blogging terms, and a lengthy list of links to related sites.

Blog Glossary
The blog culture has spawned an entirely new vocabulary. Bleg, blawg, blogathy, blogerati - find out what these and many more blog-related terms mean at this entertaining and informative site.

A Brief History of Weblogs, by Mallory Jensen

Blogging101: History, Parts, Read/Write, Find, Create, Readings, by Anton Zuiker

Emerging Trends: Educational Blogging, by Robert Whelan, ITS Faculty Technology Center, New York University
This interesting article features a discussion of the benefits of blogs in regular education and with ESL students, who can use blogs to develop their reading, research and writing skills, and collaborate with others.

FREE BLOGGING SITES

Blogger.com

Blog-City

Squarespace

WordPress
This blogging site features a nice "Introduction to Blogging"

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE AND AUTHOR BLOGS: A SELECTED LIST

Kids Lit: Books and More for Children and Teens

Read Roger: The Horn Book Editor's Rants and Raves

Cynsations by award-winning children's and young adult book author Cynthia Leitich Smith

MuggleNet.com this blog (and much, much more) will be popular with lovers of the Harry Potter series.

Mad Woman in the Forest: Mumbles, Mutters, and Shrieks (author Laurie Halse Anderson's blog)

Blog Central: Children's and YA Lit (This is one of several lists of blog links available at Blog Central, compiled by Anastasia Suen, author and writing teacher)

Massachusetts Children's Book Award Nominees 2006-2007
Here are summaries of the 25 titles nominated for this year's MCBA, along with Lexiles and links to author sites, when available. Also included are links to several other great sites that offer information about books and authors. Happy reading!

CMS RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT CENTER

Finally, let's visit the Research & Technology Support Center, created to help Collins students find the information they need to complete assigned projects, and exhibit their learning through the sophisticated use of a variety of multimedia tools.

In addition to the full-text resources available to the Collins research community, lockers have been established for each grade to make it easy for students to find links to annotated resource lists, projects, and other tools that will help them as they complete classroom assignments in math/science, language arts/social studies, world language, and specialist courses, including art, family and consumer science, music, physical education, and technology education. Here are the lockers:

Grade 6 Locker

Grade 7 Locker

Grade 8 Locker

World Language Resources

Specialist Resources

Art Resources
Family & Consumer Science Resources
Music Resources
Physical Education Resources
Technology Education Resources

We hope that today's session has been helpful. Please contact either Beth or Joanne if you have any questions after today's session, or need help with a particular search for information or the best online resource for your needs.

Online Resources: Finding Them & Integrating Them Effectively

2006-08-17T04:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Collins Middle School Instructional Media Center (IMC). Today's program facilitators are Beth Beaulieu, Language Arts & Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator (elizabethbeaulieu@salem.k12.ma.us), and Joanne O'Keefe, Library Media Specialist (joanneokeefe@salem.k12.ma.us). Please feel free to contact either of us if you should have any questions after today's session, if you would like assistance as you integrate these or other online resources into assignments or projects for your students, or as you pursue your own professional development goals.

Today's session will include:

- a virtual tour of selected full-text, bibliographic, video and other online resources available to you and your students, as members of the Collins Middle School research community;

- an introduction to the Research & Technology Support Center, created and maintained by Joanne O'Keefe and Technology Integration Specialist LeAnnette Goodwin, which features links to annotated resource lists, projects, and other tools created to support teachers and students as they carry out research assignments and other curriculum-related projects; and

- an overview of the print resources available in the Instructional Media Center's fiction, nonfiction, reference, and curriculum/professional development collections.

Let's begin by checking out the IMC's Full-Text Resources:

BrainPOP - Each of BrainPOP's 500+ movies (now available in English and Spanish) covering science, English, math, social studies, technology and health is designed for students in grades K-8, and accompanied by an interactive ten-question quiz, comic strip, timeline, and printable activities. More movies are added each week. (NOTE: A User Name and Password are needed to access BrainPOP.)

CobblestoneOnline.net - This collection includes the full text (from 1980 forward) of Cobblestone, Faces, Calliope, Odyssey, Appleseeds, and other magazines. (NOTE: A User Name and Password are needed to access this collection.)

CultureGrams - This comprehensive collection features information about the history, culture, and daily life of 187 countries and territories, including detailed statistics, maps, and much more. (NOTE: A User Name and Password are needed to access this collection.)

Middle Search Plus - This collection includes the full text of 140 popular magazines for middle school research, as well as more than 84,000 biographies, more than 100,000 primary source documents, and a growing image collection that currently includes more than 200,000 photos, maps and flags. All full-text articles included in the database are assigned reading level indicators (Lexiles). (NOTE: A User ID and Password are needed to access this collection.)

NoveList - This outstanding resource, through which readers can learn about books and authors, features a searchable database with a wealth of information including descriptions, suggested reading levels (Lexiles), reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text article and author web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. (NOTE: A User ID and Password are needed to access this database.)

Student Resource Center - This terrific full-text resource features original reference material, subject overviews, critical essays, an extensive archive of primary source documents and periodicals, and full-text daily newspapers. (NOTE: An ID is needed to access this resource.)

In addition to the collections described above, several more full-text databases are available to members of the Collins Middle School research community, through our membership in the Northeastern Massachusetts Regional Library System (NMRLS). Among these databases are:

Biography Resource Center - This fine collection features biographical information about more than 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. (NOTE: A public library barcode is needed to access this and other NMRLS databases, including Expanded Academic ASAP, Junior Edition (K-12), Professional Collection (full-text magazine and journal articles for educators), and Student Edition.)

Informe - This collection includes full text and images from popular Hispanic magazines.

NewsBank - this collection features 26 newspapers, including the full text of the Boston Globe (1980-present) and the Boston Herald (1997-present).

Next, let's visit the Research & Technology Support Center, created to help Collins students find the information they need to complete assigned projects, and exhibit their learning through the sophisticated use of a variety of multimedia tools.

Lockers have been established for each grade to make it easy for students to find links to annotated resource lists, projects, and other tools that will help them as they complete classroom assignments in math/science, language arts/social studies, world language, and specialist courses, including art, family and consumer science, music, physical education, and technology education. Here are the lockers:

Grade 6 Locker

Grade 7 Locker

Grade 8 Locker

World Language Resources

Specialist Resources

Art Resources
Family & Consumer Science Resources
Music Resources
Physical Education Resources
Technology Education Resources

Finally, let's review the IMC's policies, and take a look at the locations of the IMC's collections.

Massachusetts Children's Book Award Nominees for 2006-2007

2006-06-21T05:33:00.000-07:00

Here are summaries of the 25 titles nominated for this year's MCBA, along with Lexiles and links to author sites, when available. Also included are links to several other great sites that offer information about books and authors. Happy reading!

Mayor of Central Park, by Avi (Lexile - 570)
Oscar Westerwit, a squirrel who loves baseball and Broadway musicals, fights back when a gangster rat named Big Daddy Duds and his thugs move uptown in the year 1900, invade Central Park, and evict Oscar and his animal friends from their homes.

The Anybodies, by N. E. Bode (Lexile - 730)
After learning that she is not the biological daughter of boring Mr. and Mrs. Drudger, Fern embarks on magical adventures with her real father and finally finds "a place that feels like home."

Sliding into Home, by Dori Hillestad Butler (Lexile - 580)
When thirteen-year-old Joelle, a star baseball player, moves to a new town where the only option for girls is softball, she starts an all-girl baseball league against the wishes of her school coaches and others in the town.

Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko (Lexile - 600)
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

Sahara Special, by Esme Raji Codell (Lexile - 660)
Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates.

Fire On Ice: Autobiography of a Champion Figure Skater, by Sasha Cohen

Magician's Boy, by Susan Cooper (Lexile - 780)
A boy who works for a magician meets familiar fairy tale characters when he is transported to the Land of Story in search of a missing puppet.

Millions, by Frank Cottrell Boyce
After their mother dies, two brothers find a huge amount of money which they must spend quickly before England switches to the new European currency, but they disagree on what to do with it.

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, by Kate DiCamillo (Lexile - 670)
The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.

The Conch Bearer, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Lexile - 790)
In a dingy shack in the less-than-desirable Indian neighborhood he calls home, twelve-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources named Abadhyatta. His quest will take him farther from home than he's ever been and will teach him more than he ever imagined -- and it will force him to make a poignant decision that will change him forever.

City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau (Lexile - 680)
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

No Small Thing, by Natale Ghent (Lexile - 780)
In Ontario, Canada, in 1977, twelve-year-old Nat and his sisters find that owning, training, and caring for a pony they acquired for free makes it easier to cope with the poverty they have faced since their father abandoned them.

Mrs. Roopy is Loopy, by Dan Gutman (Lexile - 680)
A.J. and his classmates are convinced that new school librarian, Mrs. Roopy, has multiple personality disorder because she keeps pretending to be famous people.

Among the Betrayed, by Margaret Petersen Haddix (Lexile - 690)
Thirteen-year-old Nina is imprisoned by the Population Police, who give her the option of helping them identify illegal "third-born" children, or face death.

Thunder From the Sea, by Joan Hiatt Harlow (Lexile - 700)
Just when his dreams of being part of a family and having a dog seem to be coming true, Tom wonders if trouble with neighbors on his new island home and the impending birth of a new baby will change everything. Set in Newfoundland in 1929.

Star of Kazan, by Eva Ibbotson (Lexile - 880)
After twelve-year-old Annika, a foundling living in late nineteenth-century Vienna, inherits a trunk of costume jewelry, a woman claiming to be her aristocratic mother arrives and takes her to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in Germany.

Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906, by Gail Langer Karwoski
Tells the story of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake as seen through the eyes of Jacob, a thirteen-year-old Jewish boy who lives in a boarding house with his father and younger sister.

Gifts From the Sea, by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock (Lexile - 900)
Quila and her father, living alone in a remote Maine lighthouse in the 1850s, find their lives profoundly changed when a baby washes ashore and they decide to keep her as part of their family.

Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, by Elaine Konigsburg
Upon leaving an oppressive summer camp, twelve-year-old Margaret Rose Kane spearheads a campaign to preserve three unique towers her grand uncles have been building in their back yard for over forty years.

Leaping Beauty: and Other Animal Fairy Tales, by Gregory Maguire
The author wreaks havoc on eight classic fairy tales, with a cast of characters including a dancing frog, a gorilla queen, and seven giant giraffes.

Midnight for Charlie Bone, by Jenny Nimmo (Lexile - 630)
Charlie Bone's life with his widowed mother and two grandmothers undergoes a dramatic change when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking.

The Young Man and the Sea, by Rodman Philbrick (Lexile - 800)
After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Skiff Beaman decides that it is up to him to earn money to take care of himself and his father, so he undertakes a dangerous trip alone out on the ocean off the coast of Maine to try to catch a bluefin tuna.

The Real Lucky Charm, by Charisse K. Richardson
Thinking that luck--rather than hard work--has helped her succeed on the court and at school, ten-year-old Mia panics and turns to her twin brother for help when her lucky gold basketball goes missing from her charm bracelet.

Becoming Naomi Leon, by Pam Munoz Ryan
When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.

Shredderman: Secret Identity, by Wendelin Van Draanen (Lexile - 520)
Fifth-grader Nolan Byrd, tired of being called names by the class bully, has a secret identity--Shredderman!

Full-Text Resources For Information About Books And Authors

Alex Awards
The Alex Awards are named for Margaret Alexander Edward, who worked for many years as a young adult specialist at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library. They are given each year to ten well-written, readable books written for adults, selected from genres that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Best Books for Young Adults
Best Books for Young Adults include "significant adult and young adult" fiction and nonfiction books selected from the current year's publications and recommended for young adult readers ages 12 through 18.

Biography Resource Center
This outstanding database features biographical information about more than 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. More than 400,000 biographies are included from 90 highly regarded Gale Group publications. (To access this database, you will need to use your public library barcode.)

The Caldecott Medal Home Page
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." This site also features a complete list of all Caldecott Medal winners and honor books from 1938 to the present.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
Hurst's rich site features book reviews listed by title, author and grade level, literature tie-ins to all areas of the language arts, math, U.S. and world history curricula, and suggested titles for all sorts of themes in children's literature, as well as wonderful profiles of children's and young adult authors.

The Children's Literature Web Guide
Visit this helpful site for information about authors, titles, award-winning books, resources for readers, children's literature online discussion groups, and much more.

Coretta Scott King Award
This award is presented annually to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream."

Guys Read
This "web-based literacy program", created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys find books they will enjoy, features a searchable (readers can search by author, title, or subject in which they are interested) database of titles for "young guys", "middle guys", and "older guys", as well as links to many author web sites.

Margaret A. Edwards Award
The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, and honors an author's lifetime achievement for his or her body of work, and its collective popularity over time.

New York Public Library: Teenlink
Look for the "New! On the Shelf" link on this page for suggestions on great new books to read. (This page is loaded with links to other terrific resources, too.)

The Newbery Medal Home Page
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association's Association for Library Services to Children to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

NoveList
NoveList is an outstanding resource through which readers can learn about books and authors. This searchable database includes information, including descriptions, suggested reading levels, reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text articles and web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. NoveList is updated monthly, and adds about 10,000 new fiction records, along with descriptions, reviews and other information, to the database each year.

The Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz award honors a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or an anthology that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
Visit this site, created for teens, to find a terrific collection of booklists organized by subject. Examples of reading lists currently available include: "Boy Meets Book"; "Coolest Classics"; "Fanging Around: Teen Vampire Fiction with Byte"; "Historical Fiction for Hipsters: Stories from the Past That Won't Make You Snore"; "Short Cuts: Short Story Collections You Might Actually Want to Read"; and "Word UP! Poetry Both by and for Teenagers."

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
The Scott O'Dell Award for Historicl Fiction is given "to a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults." O'Dell established the annual award of $5,000.00 to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction.

Get Graphic! Engage Students With Graphic Novels and Nonfiction!

2006-04-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Graphic novels, which integrate high-quality sequential art and well-written and engaging text, are an effective way to foster students' enjoyment of reading. Highly popular with reluctant readers, graphic novels are also extremely helpful in the improvement of language and literacy development, as the illustrations offer important contextual clues that aid in students' understanding of the written narrative.

Here at the Collins Middle School Instructional Media Center, we have recently introduced a graphic novel and nonfiction book collection, made possible thanks to the generous support of the Foundation for Salem Public Education. Our collection features such classics as Shakespeare's MACBETH and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, GRAPHIC CLASSICS: MARK TWAIN and EDGAR ALLAN POE, and many terrific new fiction titles, as well as important nonfiction books and memoirs, including PERSEPOLIS: THE STORY OF A CHILDHOOD, by Marjane Satrapi, and MAUS: A SURVIVOR'S TALE, by Art Spiegelman. Response to this new collection by both students and teachers has been extremely positive. This year's summer reading list will include graphic novels among the many choices available to students.

Looking for more information about graphic novels, and ways to incorporate them into your curriculum? These resources may be helpful:

"A Novel Approach: Using Graphic Novels to Attract Reluctant Readers", by Philip Crawford, LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION, Feb. 2004.
http://www.linworth.com/PDF/LMC_Feb04_Crawford.pdf
This article offers an excellent introduction to graphic novels and the ways in which teachers can use them to motivate reluctant readers and develop students' language and literacy skills. It also includes an annotated list of recommended titles, including grade-level suggestions.

Thought Bubbles, by Philip Crawford
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/kqreviews/crawford/thoughtbubbles.htm
These terrific bimonthly articles about all aspects of graphic novels and nonfiction works, incorporating them in the classroom, and using them to motivate readers and develop literacy skills, should be considered essential reading.

No Flying, No Tights
http://www.noflyingnotights.com/
This terrific site, created and maintained by Robin Brenner, features annotated lists of recommended graphic novels organized by type (picture and chapter books) and genre (superheroes, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, action and adventure, humor, and realism), as well as recommended nonfiction titles, for kids ("Sidekicks"), teens ("No Flying, No Tights"), and older teens and adults ("The Lair").

Recommended Graphic Novels for Public Libraries, selected and annotated by Steve Raiteri.
http://my.voyager.net/~sraiteri/graphicnovels.htm
This article includes an extensive list of recommended superhero, science fiction, fantasy, comedy and Japanese Manga titles.

"Spotlight on Graphic Novels". Booklist. March 15, 2005.
This issue features articles, annotated title lists, and the "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth". If you're just beginning to build your library's graphic novel collection, this resource will be invaluable as you get started.

Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud. NY: HarperCollins, 1993.
Anyone interested in learning more about the history of comics - "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer" - as well as how they are created, read, and understood, should begin his research with McCloud's wonderfully accessible book, written, of course, in comic book-style. To learn more about the author and his work, visit his web site:
http://www.scottmccloud.com/

Selected Resources for School Librarians

2006-03-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for bibliographic records for books, recorded books, videos, or other materials you're trying to catalog? Are you interested in learning more about the Dewey classification system? Looking for information about books and their authors? Use the annotated resource list below to help you as you process materials to add to your collection, or to search for information about a particular book or author.

FIND BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS

OCLC WorldCat
http://mblc.state.ma.us/cgi-bin/remote.pl?db=worldcat
This database features more than 46 million bibliographic records, representing 400 languages, and is searchable by ISBN, Title, Author, Keyword, and many other fields.

NOBLE Online Catalog
http://www.noblenet.org
Search the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) online catalog to locate bibliographic records for books, videos, and other materials available at the Salem Public Library, as well as at 26 other public and college libraries.

San Francisco Public Library Online Catalog
http://sflib1.sfpl.org
Search this catalog in English or Spanish, by ISBN, Title, Author, Keyword, and many other fields.

Boston Public Library Online Catalog
http://www.bpl.org/catalogs/index.htm
Search this catalog to find complete bibliographic records for more than 7.5 million books and other materials available at the BPL.

Library of Congress Online Catalog
http://catalog.loc.gov
This catalog includes detailed bibliographic records for more than 110 million items, in many languages, held at the Library of Congress. (This resource is used by researchers around the world. "Peak usage" days/times are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Therefore, plan your use of this catalog accordingly.)

New York Public Library Online Catalog
http://http://leopac.nypl.org/

LION: Cataloging Resources for School Libraries
http://www.libraries.phila.k12.pa.us/lion/cataloging.html

Yahoo: Libraries
http://dir.yahoo.com/Reference/Libraries
Search for public, school, education, and other specialized libraries from this comprehensive list of links.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Libraries FAQ: Classification, Cataloging & Citation
http://www.ibiblio.org/librariesfaq/sect5.htm

Internet Public Library: Cataloging
http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/hum45.40.40

Dewey Decimal System of Classification
http://www.july15.com/julia/ddecimal.htm#Geography

How to Use the Dewey Decimal System
http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/ddchow.html

Understanding MARC Bibliographies: Machine-Readable Cataloging
http://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/

Dewey Services: Dewey Decimal Classification
http://www.oclc.org/dewey/

MARC Standards
http://www.loc.gov/marc/

FULL-TEXT RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION ABOUT BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Alex Awards
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/alexawards/alexawards.htm
The Alex Awards are named for Margaret Alexander Edward, who worked for many years as a young adult specialist at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library. They are given each year to ten well-written, readable books written for adults, selected from genres that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Best Books for Young Adults
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/booksyoung.htm
Best Books for Young Adults include "significant adult and young adult" fiction and nonfiction books selected from the current year's publications and recommended for young adult readers ages 12 through 18.

Biography Resource Center
http://www.nmrls.org
This outstanding database features biographical information about more than 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. More than 400,000 biographies are included from 90 highly regarded Gale Group publications. (To access this database, you will need to use your public library barcode.)

The Caldecott Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.htm
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." This site also features a complete list of all Caldecott Medal winners and honor books from 1938 to the present.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
http://www.carolhurst.com
Hurst's rich site features book reviews listed by title, author and grade level, literature tie-ins to all areas of the language arts, math, U.S. and world history curricula, and suggested titles for all sorts of themes in children's literature, as well as wonderful profiles of children's and young adult authors.

The Children's Literature Web Guide
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
Visit this helpful site for information about authors, titles, award-winning books, resources for readers, children's literature online discussion groups, and much more.

Coretta Scott King Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/srrt/corettascottking/corettascott.htm
This award is presented annually to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream."

Guys Read
http://www.guysread.com
This "web-based literacy program", created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys find books they will enjoy, features a searchable (readers can search by author, title, or subject in which they are interested) database of titles for "young guys", "middle guys", and "older guys", as well as links to many author web sites.

Margaret A. Edwards Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/margaretaedwards/margaretedwards.htm
The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, and honors an author's lifetime achievement for his or her body of work, and its collective popularity over time.

New York Public Library: Teenlink
http://teenlink.nypl.org
Look for the "New! On the Shelf" link on this page for suggestions on great new books to read. (This page is loaded with links to other terrific resources, too.)

The Newbery Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association's Association for Library Services to Children to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

NoveList
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid
NoveList is an outstanding resource through which readers can learn about books and authors. This searchable database includes information, including descriptions, suggested reading levels, reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text articles and web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. NoveList is updated monthly, and adds about 10,000 new fiction records, along with descriptions, reviews and other information, to the database each year.

The Printz Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/Printz
The Michael L. Printz award honors a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or an anthology that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/
Visit this site, created for teens, to find a terrific collection of booklists organized by subject. Examples of reading lists currently available include: "Boy Meets Book"; "Coolest Classics"; "Fanging Around: Teen Vampire Fiction with Byte"; "Historical Fiction for Hipsters: Stories from the Past That Won't Make You Snore"; "Short Cuts: Short Story Collections You Might Actually Want to Read"; and "Word UP! Poetry Both by and for Teenagers."

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
http://www.scottodell.com/sosoaward.html
The Scott O'Dell Award for Historicl Fiction is given "to a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults." O'Dell established the annual award of $5,000.00 to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction.

SELECTED SITES OF INTEREST TO SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS

American Association of School Librarians
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/aaslbooksandprod/aaslbooksproducts.html

Massachusetts School Library Media Association
http://www.mslma.org

April is Poetry Month

2006-03-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

"Poetry: the best words in the best order." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Celebrate Poetry Month! Learn more about this wonderful art form, and find a poem that inspires or motivates you, by visiting the links below.

American Literature: Poetry
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761596671/American_Literature_Poetry.html
Read this informative article to learn about the origins, development and different forms of American poetry, from the 1600s to the present.

National Poetry Month
http://www.poets.org/npm/
http://www.poets.org/npm/faq.cfm#1 (FAQs about National Poetry Month)

The Academy of American Poets: Find a Poet
http://www.poets.org/poets/index.cfm
Search the Academy's growing database (it currently includes more than 450 poets) for biographies, photos, and other information.

The Academy of American Poets: Find a Poem
http://www.poets.org/poems/search.cfm
Search the Academy's companion database of poems (1,200 and growing) by keyword for poem text, or browse lists of titles and/or first lines.

Slam Poetry
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Slam_poetry
Poetry? A competitive event? Learn more about this form of performance poetry, in which the delivery is as important as the quality of the poetry itself.

Background on Slam Poetry
http://www.slamnation.com/info/backgrnd.htm
Read about the history of the Poetry Slam as a competitive performance event, and learn the rules, too, by reading this brief article, and checking out some of the links available at this site.

SITES FOR TEACHERS
Teach Now! National Poetry Month
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/k_2theme/poetry.htm

Education World: Poetry Month
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/poetrymonth.shtml

Modern American Poetry
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/index.htm

Poetry Forms and Terminology
http://thewordshop.tripod.com/forms.html

Glossary of Poetic Terms
http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display_rpo/terminology.cfm#acrostic

FAVORITE POETS
Shel Silverstein
http://shelsilverstein.com/html/home.html

Edward Lear
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/lear.htm

Selected Poetry of Edward Lear (1812-1888)
http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poet200.html

Dr. Seuss: Seussville
http://www.seussville.com/

The Academy of American Poets: Robert Frost
http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=196

Emily Dickinson: The Complete Poems
http://www.bartleby.com/113/

Modern American Poetry: Emily Dickinson's Life
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/dickinson/bio.htm

Nobelprize.org: T. S. Eliot
http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/1948/eliot-bio.html

Modern American Poetry: T. S. Eliot's Life and Career
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/life.htm

The Literature Network: William Shakespeare
http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/
Visitors to this site will find a biography of Shakespeare, and links to the full text of his tragedies, histories, comedies, and selected poetry.

Shakespeare of Stratford
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/

"Search Oxford Shakespeare"
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/shakespeare/poetry/

Langston Hughes
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/hughes.htm

Tales of Survival

2005-12-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

Having a rough go of it? You're not alone! Try one of the survival (physical and emotional) stories below - they make for compelling reading! To recommend a title for this growing list, please contact Mrs. O'Keefe.

PHYSICAL SURVIVAL

Earthquake in the Early Morning, by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca
The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to San Francisco in 1906, in time for them to experience one of the biggest earthquakes the United States had ever known.
New York: Random House, 2001, 72 p.

Earthquake Terror, by Peg Kehret
When an earthquake hits the isolated island in Northern California where his family is camping, twelve-year-old Jonathan must find a way to keep himself, his partially paralyzed sister and their dog alive until help arrives.
New York: Cobblehill Books, copyright 1996, 132 p.

Earthshake: Poems From the Ground Up, by Lisa Westberg Peters ; pictures by Cathie Felstead
Presents twenty-two poems about geology. End notes provide information about the earth's surface and interior, types of rocks, and how volcanoes, glaciers, and erosion modify the landscape.
New York: Greenwillow Books, 2003, 32 p.

Escaping the Giant Wave, by Peg Kehret
When an earthquake creates a tsunami while thirteen-year-old Kyle is babysitting his sister during a family vacation at a Pacific Coast resort, he tries to save himself, his sister, and a boy who has bullied him for years.
New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003, 151 p.

High Tide in Hawaii, by Mary Pope Osborne
Jack and Annie travel in their Magic Tree House back to a Hawaiian island of long ago where they make friends, learn how to surf, and encounter a tsunami.
New York: Random House, 2003, 96 p.

Ice Drift, by Theodore Taylor (2005)
Two Inuit brothers must fend for themselves while stranded on an ice float that is adrift in the Greenland Strait.

PaperQuake: a Puzzle, by Kathryn Reiss
Certain that she is being drawn by more than coincidences into the lives of people living nearly 100 years ago, Violet, who feels like the odd sister in a set of triplets, searches for clues to help her avert an imminent tragedy.
San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, copyright 1998, 264 p.

Quake!, by Joe Cottonwood
With their parents away at the 1989 World Series, fourteen-year-old Franny, her younger brother, and their cousin try to cope with the frightening events following an earthquake that destroys their home on Loma Prieta mountain.
New York: Scholastic Inc., 1995, 146 p.

Quake!: Disaster in San Francisco, 1906, by Gail Langer Karwoski
Tells the story of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake as seen through the eyes of Jacob, a thirteen-year-old Jewish boy who lives in a boarding house with his father and younger sister.
Atlanta: Peachtree, c2004, 153 p.

A Sea So Far, by Jean Thesman
After surviving the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires, two teenage girls, a wealthy semi-invalid and her hired companion, travel together to Ireland and discover they share much in common, from a love of romance novels to grief over the loss of their mothers.
New York: Viking, 2001, 195 p.

The Shark Callers, by Eric Campbell
Two teenage boys, one on a shark hunt and the other traveling with his family, face the challenge of their lives when a volcano erupts, causing a massive tidal wave in the South Seas.
San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1994, 232 p.

Storm-Blast, by Curtis Parkinson
Regan, Matt, and Carol have to depend on each other to survive when their small boat gets swallowed up in a fierce Caribbean storm.
Toronto, Ont.; Plattsburgh, N.Y.: Tundra Books, c2003, 156 p.

The Strange case of Baby H, by Kathryn Reiss
In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, twelve-year-old Clara finds a baby left on the doorstep of her family's boarding house, and sets out to unravel the surrounding mysteries.
Middleton, Wis.: Pleasant Co., 2002, 163 p. (from the American Girl History Mysteries series, no. 18)

The Tears of the Salamander, by Peter Dickinson
When Alfredo, a twelve-year-old choir boy in eighteenth-century Italy, loses his family in a fire, he goes to live with Uncle Giorgio, who he discovers is a sorcerer in control of the fires of Mt. Etna with sinister plans for his nephew.
New York, N.Y.: Wendy Lamb Books, c2003, 197 p.

EMOTIONAL SURVIVAL

Speak, by Laure Halse Anderson

Coping With Disorders

2005-10-31T18:55:00.000-08:00

This selected annotated list of fiction books about ADHD, anorexia, Axell-crown disease, bulimia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, and other disorders has been created for students, parents, teachers and counselors.

ADHD

95 Pounds of Hope , by Anna Gavalda ; translated by Gill Rosner
From the first day, school had always been torture for Gregory, but his expulsion from school in sixth grade allows him to find his own path and deal with his parents' fights and his beloved grandfather's illness.
New York: Viking, 2003, 90 p.

Joey Pigza Trilogy

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, by Jack Gantos.
To the constant disappointment of his mother and teacher, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his perscription medicine wears off and he starts acting wired.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, copyright 1998, 153 p.

Joey Pigza Loses Control, by Jack Gantos.
Joey, who is still taking medication to keep him from getting too wired, goes to spend the summer with the hard-drinking father he has never known and tries to help the baseball team he coaches win the championship.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, copyright 2000, 195 p.

What Would Joey Do?, by Jack Gantos.
Joey tries to keep his life from degenerating into total chaos when his mother sends him to be home-schooled with a hostile blind girl, his divorced parents cannot stop fighting, and his grandmother is dying of emphysema.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002, 240 p.

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan.
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2005, 384 p.

Parents Wanted, by George Harrar ; illustrations by Dan Murphy.
Twelve-year-old Andrew, who has ADD, is adopted by new parents after years of other foster homes and desperately hopes that he will not mess up the situation.
Minneapolis, Minn.: Milkweed Editions, 2001, 239 p.

Trout and Me, by Susan Shreve.
Ben's troubles at school get progressively worse when he starts hanging around Trout, a new boy in his fifth grade class, who is also labeled as learning disabled.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002, 136 p.

ANOREXIA

Girls Under Pressure, by Jacqueline Wilson.
Ellie learns to deal with her self-image as she battles anorexia.
New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 2002, 214 p.

ASPERGER SYNDROME

The Case of the Prank That Stank, by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz.
Seventh-graders Agatha Wong and Orville Wright, who has Asperger's syndrome, try to prove that the prank they organized did not cause the fire that burned down their rival school's field house.
New York: Razorbill, 2005, 182 p.

Colder Than Ice, by David Patneaude.
Josh Showalter, an insecure and overweight sixth-grader, hopes for a new start when he transfers to a school in northern Idaho, but he and his new friends are soon the target of a cold-hearted bully.
Chicago, Ill.: Albert Whitman & Company, 2003, 168 p.

AUTISM

Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko.
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004, 240 p.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon.
Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.
New York: Doubleday, 2003, 256 p.

A Wizard Alone, by Diane Duane.
While Nita mourns her mother's death, teenage wizard Kit and his dog Ponch set out to find a young autistic boy who vanished in the middle of his Ordeal, pursued by the Lone Power.
San Diego: Harcourt, 2002, 319 p.

AXELL-CROWN DISEASE

Life in the Fat Lane, by Cherie Bennett.
Sixteen-year-old Lara, winner of beauty pageants and Homecoming Queen, is distressed and bewildered when she starts gaining weight and becomes a fat girl.
New York: Delacorte Press, copyright 1998, 260 p.

BULIMIA

Fat Chance, by Leslea Newman.
In a series of diary entries, thirteen-year-old Judi recounts her struggles to lose weight, hide her bulimia from her mother, find a boy friend, and decide on a profession.
New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1994, 214 p.

Perfect, by Natasha Friend.
Following the death of her father, a thirteen-year-old uses bulimia as a way to avoid her mother's and ten-year-old sister's grief, as well as her own.
Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2004, 172 p.

CUTTING/SELF-MUTILATION

Cut, by Patricia McCormick.
While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.
Asheville, NC: Front Street, copyright 2000, 136 p.

DYSCALCULIA

My Thirteenth Winter: a memoir, by Samantha Abeel.
New York: Orchard Books, 2003.

MOOD DISORDERS

The Illustrated Mum, by Jacqueline Wilson.
Ten-year-old Dolphin is determined to stay with her family, no matter what, but when her sister goes to live with her newly-discovered father, sending their mother further into manic-depression, Dolphin's life takes a turn for the better.
New York: Delacorte Press, 2005, 283 p.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

Kissing Doorknobs, by Terry Spencer Hesser.
Fourteen-year-old Tara describes how her increasingly strange compulsions begin to take over her life and affect her relationships with her family and friends.
New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 1998, 149 p.

Not as Crazy as I Seem, by George Harrar.
As fifteen-year-old Devon begins mid-year at a new prestigious prep school, he is plagued by compulsions such as the need to sort things into groups of four.
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003, 224 p.

TOURETTE'S SYNDROME

Quit It, by Marcia Byalick
Diagnosed with a neurological disorder that causes uncontrollable tics, such as coughing and head jerking, sixth-grader Carrie must cope with the embarrassment and strain of various reactions from friends, family, and strangers.
New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 2002, 144 p.

Selected Memoirs by Children's and Young Adult Authors

2005-10-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Cleary, Beverly. A Gift from Yamhill: a Memoir
Follows the popular children's author from her childhood years in Oregon through high school and into young adulthood, highlighting her family life and her growing interest in writing.

Cleary, Beverly. My Own Two Feet: a Memoir
Follows the popular children's author through college years during the Depression; jobs including that of librarian; marriage; and writing and publication of her first book, "Henry Huggins."

Crutcher, Chris. King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography
Chris Crutcher, author of young adult novels such as "Ironman" and "Whale Talk," as well as short stories, tells of growing up in Cascade, Idaho, and becoming a writer.

Ehrlich, Amy, ed. When I Was Your Age: Original Stories About Growing Up
This collection includes: All-ball / by Mary Pope Osborne -- The great rat hunt / by Laurence Yep -- Everything will be okay / by James Howe -- Why I never ran away from home / by Katherine Paterson -- Reverend Abbott and those bloodshot eyes / by Walter Dean Myers -- Muffin / by Susan Cooper -- Taking a dare / by Nicholasa Mohr -- Flying / by Reeve Lindbergh -- Scout's honor / by Avi -- Blue / by Francesca Lia Block.

Fleischman, Sid. The Abracadabra Kid: a Writer's Life
The autobiography of the Newbery award-winning children's author who set out from childhood to be a magician.

Gantos, Jack. A Hole in My Life
The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer.

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Don't Tell the Girls
Newbery Honor-winning author, Patricia Reilly Giff, recounts her discoveries as she unravels some of the mysteries of her Irish ancestors.

Kehret, Peg. Five Pages a Day: A Writer's Journey
A biography of the author of numerous books for young people, describing her childhood bout with polio, how she became a writer, family relationships, and the importance of writing in her life.

Lowry, Lois. Looking Back: a Book of Memories
Using family photographs and quotes from her books, the author provides glimpses into her life.

Myers, Walter Dean. Bad Boy: a Memoir

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. How I Came to Be a Writer
Details the career of one writer from stories composed in grade school through first published pieces to novels written to date.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. The Making of a Writer
The author recalls events from her childhood that contributed to her development as a writer.

Nuwer, Hank. To the Young Writer: Nine Writers Talk About Their Craft
Nine writers, including a Hollywood screenwriter, a novelist, and a sportswriter, talk about their craft, including:
Angelo Pizzo: scripting for Hollywood -- Patrick O'Driscoll: covering the news -- Rebecca Kai Dotlich: the joy and tears of poetry -- Dale Ratermann: the sports world -- David Young: the craft of advertising -- Alanna Nash: reviewing the music -- Toyomi Igus: multicultural messages for readers of all ages -- Max Aguilera-Hellweg: a visual storyteller -- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor: the challenges of fiction .

Paulsen, Gary. The Beet Fields: Memories of a Sixteenth Summer
The author recalls his experiences as a migrant laborer and carnival worker after he ran away from home at age sixteen.

Paulsen, Gary. Guts, or, How I Lived the Same as Brian Robeson
The author relates incidents in his life and how they inspired parts of his books about the character, Brian Robeson.

Paulsen, Gary. My Life in Dog Years
The author describes some of the dogs that have had special places in his life, including his first dog, Snowball, in the Philippines; Dirk, who protected him from bullies; and Cookie, who saved his life.

Peck, Richard. Anonymously Yours
The popular author describes how he grew up in Decatur, Illinois, went into teaching, and eventually became a writer, incorporating his earlier experiences into novels intended to reach and change young readers.

Spinelli, Jerry. Knots in My Yo-Yo String: the Autobiography of a Kid
This Italian-American Newbery Medalist presents a humorous account of his childhood and youth in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Invisible Thread
Children's author, Yoshiko Uchida, describes growing up in Berkeley, California, as a Nisei, second generation Japanese American, and her family's internment in a Nevada concentration camp during World War II.

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Laura's Album: a Remembrance Scrapbook of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Photographs and mementos accompany an account of the life and literary career of the author of the well-loved "Little House" books.

Zindel, Paul. The Pigman and Me
An account of Paul Zindel's teenage years on Staten Island, when his life was enriched by finding his own personal pigman, or mentor.

Yep, Laurence. The Lost Garden
The author describes how he grew up as a Chinese American in San Francisco and how he came to use his writing to celebrate his family and his ethnic heritage.

BASEBALL - Fiction Suggestions

2005-10-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

All the Way Home, by Patricia Reilly Giff
In 1941, circumstances bring together Brick, a boy from New York's apple country, and Mariel, a young girl made shy by her bout with polio, and the two make a journey from Brooklyn back to help Brick's elderly neighbors save their apple crop and to help Mariel learn about her past.
New York: Delacorte, c2001, 169 p.

The Boy Who Saved Baseball, by John H. Ritter
The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato. (Lexile 660)
New York: Philomel Books, c2003, 216 p.

The Crazy Horse Electric Game, by Chris Crutcher
A high school athlete, frustrated at being disabled after an accident, runs away from home to Oakland, California, and is helped back to mental and physical health by a Black benefactor and the people in a special school where he enrolls.
(Lexile 870)
Greenwillow Books, copyright 1987, 215p.

Free Radical, by Claire Rudolf Murphy
In Fairbanks, Alaska, in the middle of the summer Little League baseball season, fifteen-year-old Luke is stunned when his mother confesses that she is wanted by the FBI for her role in the death of a student during an anti-Vietnam War protest thirty years ago. (Lexile 640)
New York: Clarion Books, 2002, 198 p.

Gold Dust, by Chris Lynch
In 1975, twelve-year-old Richard befriends Napolean, a Caribbean newcomer to his Catholic school, hoping that Napoleon will learn to love baseball and the Red Sox, and will win acceptance in the racially polarized Boston school. (Lexile 690)
New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, copyright 2000, 196 p.

High Heat, by Carl Deuker
When sophomore Shane Hunter's father is arrested for money laundering at his Lexus dealership, the star pitcher's life of affluence and private school begins to fall apart. (Lexile 620)
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003, 277 p.

Joey Pigza Loses Control, by Jack Gantos
Joey, who is still taking medication to keep him from getting too wired, goes to spend the summer with the hard-drinking father he has never known and tries to help the baseball team he coaches win the championship. (Lexile 800)
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, copyright 2000, 195 p.

Mickey & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure, by Dan Gutman
When Joe travels back in time to 1944, he meets the Milwaukee Chicks, one of the only all-female professional baseball teams in the history of the game. (Lexile 630)
New York: HarperCollins, 2003, 160 p.

My Thirteenth Season, by Kristi Roberts
Already downhearted due to the loss of her mother and her father's overwhelming grief, thirteen-year-old Fran decides to give up her dream of becoming the first female in professional baseball after a coach attacks her just for being a girl.
New York: Henry Holt, 2005, 154 p.

Out Standing in My Field, by Patrick Jennings
Although fifth-grader Ty Cutter is named after baseball great Ty Cobb, he is the worst player on the Brewer's team--which happens to be coached by his overly-competitive father. (Lexile 730)
New York: Scholastic Press, c2005, 165 p.

Ruby Tuesday, by Jennifer Anne Kogler
The 1988 World Series win by the Los Angeles Dodgers sets off a chain of life-changing events for thirteen-year-old Ruby Tuesday as she travels to Las Vegas and learns some surprising truths about her family members and their careers as gamblers and musicians.
New York: HarperCollins, 2005, 307 p.

The Speed of Light, by Ron Carlson
Twelve-year-old Larry spends the summer before junior high school with his best friends, Witt and Rafferty, playing different forms of baseball and discovering the secrets of the universe.
New York: HarperTempest, c2003, 280 p.

Stealing Home, by Matt Christopher; Text by Paul Mantell
Joey is sure he will not get along with the exchange student from Nicaragua who is staying with his family for a year, but they find common ground on the baseball field.
New York: Little, Brown, c2004, 144 p.

Stumptown Kid, by Carol Gorman and Ron J. Findley
In a small Iowa town in 1952, eleven-year-old Charlie Nebraska, whose father died in the Korean War, learns the meanings of both racism and heroism when he befriends a black man who had played baseball in the Negro Leagues.
Atlanta, Ga.: Peachtree, 2005, 224 p.

Summerland, by Michael Chabon
Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy. (Lexile 950)
New York: Talk Miramax Books/Hyperion Books for Children, 2002, 512 p.

The Truth About Twelve, by Theresa Martin Golding
Tremendously burdened by a secret guilt, twelve-year-old Lindy uses her skill at baseball to help her cope with a new school, scornful classmates, and complicated family problems.
Honesdale, Pa.: Boyds Mills Press, 2004, 171 p.

Massachusetts Children's Book Award Nominees for 2005-2006

2005-10-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here are summaries of the 25 titles nominated for this year's award, along with links to author sites, when available.

The Secret School, by Avi
In 1925, fourteen-year-old Ida Bidson secretly takes over as the teacher when the one-room schoolhouse in her remote Colorado area closes unexpectedly.
AVI web site:
http://www.avi-writer.com/

Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.
Interview with author BLUE BALLIETT:
http://www.bookpage.com/0406bp/blue_balliett.html

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, by Georgia Byng
Unlucky and unloved, Molly Moon, living in a dreary orphanage in a small English town, discovers a hidden talent for hypnotism and hypnotizes her way to stardom in New York City.
GEORGIA BYNG web site:
http://www.harperchildrens.com/authorintro/index.asp?authorid=24912
Meet MOLLY MOON web site:
http://www.meetmollymoon.com/

Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.
Biography of SUZANNE COLLLINS:
http://www2.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jhtml?authorID=6004&collateralID=12653&displayName=Biography

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, by Sharon Creech
With the help of her wise old grandmother, twelve-year-old Rosie manages to work out some problems in her relationship with her best friend, Bailey, the boy next door.
SHARON CREECH web site:
http://www.sharoncreech.com/index.html

United Tates of America, by Paula Danziger
Eleven-year-old aspiring artist Skate experiences many changes in her life when she enters middle school. She finds her best friend drifing away from her, and she loses her beloved great uncle.
ABOUT PAULA DANZIGER:
http://www.scholastic.com/titles/paula/index.htm
AUTHOR PROFILE: PAULA DANZIGER:
http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-danziger-paula.asp

Once Upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris
A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot against her and her father.
JEAN FERRIS web site:
http://www.jeanferris.com/bio.htm

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others.
NEIL GAIMAN web site:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/
REVIEW of CORALINE:
http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/0380977788.asp

All the Way Home, by Patricia Reilly Giff
In 1941, circumstances bring together Brick, a boy from New York's apple country, and Mariel, a young girl made shy by her bout with polio, and the two make a journey from Brooklyn back to help Brick's elderly neighbors save their apple crop and to help Mariel learn about her past.
PATRICIA REILLY GIFF web site:
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/patriciareillygiff/

Working Like a Dog: the Story of Working Dogs Through History, by Gena K. Gorrell
ABOUT THE BOOK:
http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780887765896#bio

Because of Anya, by Margaret Peterson Haddix
While ten-year-old Anya faces the difficulties of losing her hair to alopecia, her classmate Keely learns how to stand up for what she knows is right.

Hana's Suitcase: a True Story, by Karen Levine
A biography of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the curator of a Japanese Holocaust center learned about her life after Hana's suitcase was sent to her.

Travel Team, by Mike Lupica
After he is cut from his travel basketball team--the very same team that his father once led to national prominence--twelve-year-old Danny Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.
REVIEW of TRAVEL TEAM:
http://aol.teenreads.com/reviews/0399241507.asp

Belle Teal, by Ann M. Martin
Belle Teal Harper is from a poor family in the country, and beginning fifth-grade is a challenge as her grandmother's memory is slipping away, her brother and father are fighting again, and she becomes involved with the two new children in her class.
About ANN M. MARTIN:
http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/bio.htm

Half and Half, by Lensey Namioka
At Seattle's annual Folk Fest, twelve-year-old Fiona and her older brother are torn between trying to please their Chinese grandmother and making their Scottish grandparents happy.
LENSEY NAMIOKA web site:
http://www.lensey.com/home.html

Ruby Electric, Theresa Nelson
Twelve-year-old Ruby Miller, movie buff and aspiring screen writer, tries to resolve the mysteries surrounding her little brother's stuffed woolly mammoth and their father's five year absence.
THERESA NELSON web site:
http://www.theresanelson.net/

Storm-Blast, by Curtis Parkinson
A day of snorkeling turns to horror as a sudden storm strands three teenagers in the Caribbean.

Trouble Don't Last, by Shelley Pearsall
Samuel, an eleven-year-old Kentucky slave, and Harrison, the elderly slave who helped raise him, attempt to escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad. Eleven-year-old Samuel was born as Master Hackler's slave, and working the Kentucky farm is the only life he's ever known, until one dark night in 1859, that is. With no warning, cranky old Harrison, a fellow slave, pulls Samuel from his bed and, together, they run. The journey north seems much more frightening than Master Hackler ever was, and Samuel's not sure what freedom means aside from running, hiding, and starving. But as they move from one refuge to the next on the Underground Railroad, Samuel uncovers the secret of his own past, and future. And old Harrison begins to see past a whole lifetime of hurt to the promise of a new life7and a poignant reunion, in Canada. In a heartbreaking and hopeful first novel, Shelley Pearsall tells a suspenseful, emotionally charged story of freedom and family. Trouble Don't Last includes a historical note and map.
SHELLEY PEARSALL web site:
http://www.shelleypearsall.com/

Stuart's Cape, by Sara Pennypacker
Bored because there is nothing to do in the house to which his family has just moved and worried about starting third grade in a new school, Stuart makes a magical cape out of his uncle's ties and has a series of adventures.

I, Freddy: Book One in the Golden Hamster Saga, by by Dietlof Reiche ; translated by John Brownjohn ; illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Freddy is dissatisfied with his monotonous treadmill life at the pet store. He endures countless indignities in order to get himself adopted so he can lead a more civilized life--a life befitting a golden hamster. After encountering a tomcat and two guinea pigs who speak in Shakespearean couplets, Freddy teaches himself to read and write on a computer. He then pens an autobiography about his journey out of captivity and towards self-improvement.

The Boy Who Saved Baseball, by John H. Ritter
The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato.
JOHN H. RITTER web site:
http://www.johnhritter.com/

The Freedom Trail Mystery, by Nancy Speck
While at summer field hockey camp in Boston, Maine natives Serena Marlowe and Carly Heiser stumble upon an unusual thief who is stealing historical artifacts from Boston's Revolutionary War days. Their pointed guidebook and a map of Boston are included.

Loser, by Jerry Spinelli
Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.
About JERRY SPINELLI
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-spinelli-jerry.asp

Niagara Falls, or Does It?, by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
Fourth-graders Hank, Ashley, and Frankie are excitedly preparing for a magic show at the Rock 'N Bowl when Hank's creative alternative to an English essay lands him in detention and grounded the week of the show.

Locomotion, by Jacqueline Woodson
In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.
JACQUELINE WOODSON web site:
http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/

Challenged and Banned Books

2005-07-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

"It's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers." -- Judy Blume

Censorship refers to the act of examining books, plays, videos, or other materials in order to suppress parts thought to be objectionable on moral, political, or other grounds. The issue is of particular importance to young readers, as a majority of challenges reported each year are to books, videos or other materials in schools or school libraries. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict material, based on the objections of a person or group, and is much more than an expression of an individual's or group's point of view; rather, it is an attempt to remove material from either the curriculum or the library, and as a result, threatens to restrict the access of others. A banning is the actual removal of the material from the classroom or library. (Source: American Library Association http://www.ala.org/bbooks/challeng.html)

Want to learn more? Visit the links below:

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 (How many have you read?)
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm

Banned Book Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm
Established by the American Library Association in 1982 and observed annually during the last week in September, Banned Book Week serves as a reminder of the importance of our freedom to read. Visit this ALA site first to learn more about issues relating to censorship.

Banned Books and Censorship: Information and Resources
http://libraries.luc.edu/about/exhibits/banned/index.shtml

Censored, by George Suttle
http://GeorgeSuttle.com/censorship/censors-all.shtml
This site features loads of links to general resources, information about censorship of books and other media, free expression and U.S. law, and much more.

The Censorship Pages
http://www.booksatoz.com/censorship/
This site, created and maintained by Books AtoZ, features extensive links to articles, information and quotations about censorship.

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression
(Who received this year's Jefferson Muzzles?)
http://www.tjcenter.org/

ARTICLES ABOUT CENSORSHIP

Common Sense and Censorship: Thoughts About Young Adult Literature, by Kelly Burgess
http://teenagerstoday.com/resources/articles/censorship.htm

"Other Days, Other Ways: American Book Censorship 1918-1945", by James J. Martin, originally published in THE JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL REVIEW, vol. 10: no. 2, pp. 133-141.
http://ihr.org/jhr/v10/v10p133_Martin.html

QUOTATIONS ABOUT CENSORSHIP

Anti-Censorship Page: Quotes on Freedom of Speech and Censorship
http://cgd.best.vwh.net/home/anticens.htm

Nonstop English: Quotations about Censorship
http://www.nonstopenglish.com/reading/quotations/k_Censorship.asp

Welcome to the Quote Garden! Quotations about Censorship
http://www.quotegarden.com/censorship.html

Get Graphic! Engage Student Readers With Graphic Novels

2005-05-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

April is Poetry Month

2005-04-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Blogs and Blogging

2005-03-30T17:07:00.000-08:00

Is it a journal, a log, a diary, a personal website? Just what is a blog, anyway? And what is a blogger? Visit the links below to learn more about this interesting way of learning, sharing, and communicating with others.

BLOGGING BASICS
Weblog: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog (entry for "weblog")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki (entry for "wiki")
What's a wiki? A communal, public blog, or open forum, that allows anyone to add and modify content. This entry, from Wikipedia, a popular example of the wiki, offers readers a history of blogging, an explanation of the many types of blogs (personal, news, political, legal, advice, etc.), a glossary of blogging terms, and a lengthy list of links to related sites.

Blog Glossary
http://www.samizdata.net/blog/glossary.html
The blog culture has spawned an entirely new vocabulary. Bleg, blawg, blogathy, blogerati - find out what these and many more blog-related terms mean at this entertaining and informative site.

A Brief History of Weblogs, by Mallory Jensen
http://www.cjr.org/issues/2003/5/blog-jensen.asp

Blogging101: History, Parts, Read/Write, Find, Create, Readings, by Anton Zuiker
http://www.unc.edu/~zuiker/blogging101/index.html

Emerging Trends: Educational Blogging, by Robert Whelan, ITS Faculty Technology Center, New York University
http://www.nyu.edu/its/ftc/ls/blog.html
This interesting article features a discussion of the benefits of blogs in regular education and with ESL students, who can use blogs to develop their reading, research and writing skills, and collaborate with others.

FREE BLOGGING SITES
Blogger.com
http://www.blogger.com/start

Blog-City
http://www.blog-city.com/bc/

Bubbler.com
http://www.bubbler.com/index.shtml

myblogsite
http://www.myblogsite.com/?sid=GOOGLEblog

Squarespace
http://www.squarespace.com/?partnerTag=google&planTag=blgnetwork

INTERESTING BLOGS, ABOUT ALL SORTS OF THINGS

NEWS, POLITICS AND LAW
Best of the Blogs
http://www.bestoftheblogs.com/

Democracy for America
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/

instapundit.com
http://www.instapundit.com/

PrawfsBlawg: a Group of Young Legal Turkeys Offering Their Thoughts on Law and the Things That Really Matter in Life
http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/

Right Wing News
http://www.rightwingnews.com/

Slate
http://www.slate.com/

BOOKS, AUTHOR BIOS AND INTERVIEWS, AND MORE
Beatrice.com
http://beatrice.com/

Bookreporter.com
http://www.bookreporter.com/

Moorishgirl.com
http://www.moorishgirl.com/

Girlfriend Cyber Circuit
http://gcc.blog-city.com/

Resources for Readers

2005-03-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

SELECTED AUTHORS OF INTEREST TO CMS STUDENTS:

Douglas Adams
http://www.douglasadams.com/

Judy Blume
http://www.judyblume.com/

Dan Brown
http://www.danbrown.com/

Gennifer Choldenko
http://www.choldenko.com/

Matt Christopher
http://www.mattchristopher.com/

Angela Johnson
http://authors.aalbc.com/angela.htm

Walter Dean Myers
http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-myers-walterdean.asp

Mary Pope Osborne
http://www.marypopeosborne.com/

Gary Paulsen
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/

Dave Pelzer
http://www.davepelzer.com/

Louise Rennison
http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-rennison-louise.asp

Ann Rice
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/annerice/author.html
http://www.annerice.com/index.htm

J. K. Rowling
http://www.jkrowling.com/

Lemony Snicket
http://www.lemonysnicket.com/index.cfm

Danielle Steel
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/steel/

J. R. R. Tolkien
About Tolkien
http://www.tolkien.co.uk/frame.asp
http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/index.html
Tolkien Timeline
http://gollum.usask.ca/tolkien/

SELECTED WEB SITES AND OTHER FULL-TEXT RESOURCES

ALEX Awards
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/alexawards/alexawards.htm
The ALEX Awards are named for Margaret Alexander Edward, who worked for many years as a young adult specialist at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library. They are given each year to ten well-written, readable books written for adults, selected from genres that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Best Books for Young Adults
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.htm
Best Books for Young Adults includes "significant adult and young adult" fiction and nonfiction books selected from the current year's publications and recommended for young adult readers ages 12 through 18.

Biography Resource Center (You'll need the library barcode supplied by the IMC to access this terrific database.)
http://mblc.state.ma.us/cgi-bin/remote.pl?db=infotrac

The Caldecott Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." This site also features a complete list of all Caldecott Medal winners and honor books from 1938 to the present.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
http://www.carolhurst.com
Hurst's rich site features book reviews listed by title, author and grade level, literature tie-ins to all areas of the language arts, math, U.S. and world history curricula, and suggested titles for all sorts of themes in children's literature, as well as wonderful profiles of children's and young adult authors.

The Children's Literature Web Guide
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
Visit this helpful site for information about authors, titles, award-winning books, resources for teachers, children's literature online discussion groups, and much more.

Coretta Scott King Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookawards/abouttheawarda/cskabout.htm
This award is presented annually to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream."

Graphic Novels for Librarians: A Guide
http://tasisnet.tasis.com/
This site, created by librarian Susan Salpini, features lots of helpful information about graphic novels, including an explanation of Manga (done primarily in black and white, these graphic novels are usually first published in weekly or monthly magazines, with a particular audience in mind), as well as tips on cataloging, a glossary, and an extensive bibilography.

Guys Read
http://www.guysread.com
This "web-based literacy program", created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys find books they will enjoy, features a searchable (readers can search by author, title, or subject in which they are interested) database of titles for "young guys", "middle guys", and "older guys", as well as links to many author web sites.

Margaret A. Edwards Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/margaretaedwards/margaretedwards.htm
The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, and honors an author's lifetime achievement for his or her body of work, and its collective popularity over time.

The Newbery Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association's Association for Library Service to Children to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

NOBLE Web Catalog
http://www.noblenet.org
Search the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) online catalog to locate books, videos, and other materials at the Salem Public Library, as well as at 26 other public and college libraries.

NoveList
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid
NoveList is an outstanding resource through which readers can learn about books and authors. This searchable database includes information, including descriptions, suggested reading levels, reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text articles and author web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. NoveList is updated monthly, and adds about 10,000 new fiction records, along with descriptions, reviews, and other information, to the database each year.

The Printz Award
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz/
The Michael L. Printz Award honors a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or an anthology that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/
Visit this site, created for teens, to find a terrific collection of booklists organized by subject. Examples of reading lists currently available include: "Boy Meets Book"; "Coolest Classics"; "Fanging Around: Teen Vampire Fiction with Byte"; "Historical Fiction for Hipsters: Stories from the Past That Won't Make You Snore"; "Short Cuts: Teen Short Story Collections You Might Actually Want to Read"; and "Word UP! Poetry Both by and for Teenagers."

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
http://www.scottodell.com/sosoaward.html
Established in 1982 by this fine author to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is given annually to "a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults."

Selected Teacher Resources

2005-03-29T13:02:00.000-08:00

LESSON PLANS, WEBQUESTS, WORKSHEETS, ETC.

Best Webquests.com
http://www.bestwebquests.com
Created by Tom March, this searchable database of webquests allows users to search by title, description, author information, age level, and "attributes that make this WebQuest special". Each WebQuest considered by Best WebQuests.com for addition to its database is examined with the following criteria in mind: engaging opening/writing; the question/task; background for everyone; roles/expertise; use of the web; transformative thinking; real world feedback; and conclusion.

Education World
http://www.educationworld.com
This comprehensive educator's resource features a wealth of information, organized into the following "categories": Lesson Planning; Professional Development; Administrator's Desk; Technology Integration; School Issues; and "More Resources".

Educator's Reference Desk: Lesson Plans
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/index.shtml
Use this site to access an extensive list of Resource Guides and Lesson Plans, or to search the ERIC Database from 1966 to the present, using the simple or advanced search features, and limiting your search to journal articles or full-text ERIC digests.

Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
This outstanding and comprehensive collection of easy-to-use, imaginative and entertaining educational web sites and games is among the best of the web's resources available today.

Homework Spot
http://homeworkspot.com
This free homework information portal features many of the best K-12 homework-related sites, collected in one "spot" by a team of educators, librarians and journalists.

iWebQuest
http://iwebquest.com
This site features a helpful introduction to webquests, and offers selected examples of what iWebQuest's educators consider to be some of the best webquests available today, as well as selected hotlists, treasure hunts, and web pages.

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/
Arguably the most helpful and practical single web resource available to educators today, Schrock's comprehensive site includes Resources, Information, Slide Shows, Lesson Ideas, and upcoming Workshops offered by Schrock. Among this site's many strengths is the Teacher Helpers section, featuring information and templates about Assessment and Rubrics, Critical Evaluation, Webquests, and more.

Lesson Plan Central: an Educator's Guide to Lessons, Worksheets, Web Links, and More...
http://lessonplancentral.com/
Find lesson plans, webquests, worksheets, clipart and more at this site, either by keyword searching or by browsing lists of links to great resources organized by subject.

Marcopolo
http://www.marcopolo-education.org
Marcopolo provides high quality "standards-based Internet content and professional development to K-12 teachers and students throughout the United States." Teacher resources include lesson plans and other activities for students, as well as reviewed web sites. Users can search for educational resources using simple keyword or advanced Boolean search features, and limiting by subject area and/or grade level.

The Math Website
http://www.themathwebsite.com/

Middle School.Net: for Teachers by Teachers
http://www.middleschool.net
Visit this site to find links to curriculum resources in all content areas, technology resources, lesson plans and tutorials, reference materials, and professional development resources, as well as information for administrators and school leaders, and support staff.

Mr. Donn's Ancient History Page
http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/
This terrific resource features an extensive collection of ancient history lesson plans and activities, as well as a nice collection of maps and information about holidays and festivals in each of the major civilizations. This resource will be extremely helpful to grade six teachers, with its focus on Ancient Mesopotamia, India, China, Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Puzzlemaker.com
http://www.puzzlemaker.com
Educators will enjoy this easy-to-use puzzle generation tool, which allows users to create computer-generated mazes, and word search, criss-cross, math square, number block, cryptogram, fallen phrase, and letter tile puzzles. Puzzlemaker.com also features a great archive of categorization, lateral thinking, logic, number and math play, reasoning, spatial awareness, and word and letter play brain boosters, as well as a clip art gallery.

Quia.com
http://www.quia.com
Quia (Quintessential Instructional Archive) features a directory of thousands of online activities and quizzes organized into 50 subjects, including world language, math, science, literature, history, and more, for all age levels, a template for 16 different types of online activities, and tools for creating online quizzes with up to eight question types.

TeAch-nology
http://www.teachnology.com
This site provides educators with free access to thousands of lesson plans, printable worksheets, reviewed web sites, rubrics, educational games, and much more.

Tramline's Virtual Field Trips
http://www.tramline.com
This site features both a terrific collection of virtual field trips appropriate for grades K-12, and forms and templates allowing teachers to create web tours of their own.

The WebQuest Page
http://webquest.sdsu.edu
The WebQuest model was developed in 1995 at San Diego State University by Bernie Dodge and Tom March (see Best Webquests.com, above). Dodge's WebQuest Page is an invaluable resource featuring both rated ("Top" and "Middling") and unrated ("New" - teachers are invited to evaluate these) webquests in all content areas for grades K-12, a searchable database of articles and unpublished papers about webquests, the WebQuest News blog, FAQs, and much, much more.

K-12 Resources for Music Educators
http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/staffpages/shirk/k12.music.html
Visit this page for comprehensive lists of useful sites for band, vocal/choral, orchestra, and classroom music teachers, as well as MIDI and music technology resource links, and music-related newsgroups.

Web Sites and Resources for Teachers
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/resources_sharp/
This resource offers educators links to lesson plans, instructional materials, and online activities and projects about language arts, social studies, math, science, art, music, languages, and physical education, as well as virtual tours/trips to museums and countries around the world.