Close Reading - Professional Development

Please share articles, books, and other professional resources in the comments for this post. 

Symbaloo - Math Resources
Symbaloo - ELA Resources

Engage NY - Preparing for a Close Reading With Students

Engage NY - Close Reading Strategies with Informational Text by Expeditionary Learning

Criticalthinking.org - The Art of Close Reading

Close Reading @ Web English Teacher - Strategies, Activities, & Lesson Plans

Strategies for Critical Reading of Technical Writing

ASCD: Reading in the Mathematics Classroom

Gale
There are several articles in the Gale database. For example:

Cold versus warm close reading: building student's stamina for struggling with text by Catherine E. Snow (Gale)

Close Reading
Lesson plans, strategies, and activities - See more at: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/close-reading-lesson-plans.html#sthash.eVuqcqge.dpuf

Close Reading
Lesson plans, strategies, and activities - See more at: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/close-reading-lesson-plans.html#sthash.eVuqcqge.dpuf

Close Reading
Lesson plans, strategies, and activities - See more at: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/close-reading-lesson-plans.html#sthash.eVuqcqge.dpuf

Close Reading
Lesson plans, strategies, and activities - See more at: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/close-reading-lesson-plans.html#sthash.eVuqcqge.dpuf

Integrating Technology - The Remote Classroom

Many of us have heard of the the flipped classroom pedagogy that has been making headlines for the past few years.  This method of teaching is a reversed teaching method which allows instruction to be delivered at home, and "homework" to be done in the classroom.  This allows for more one on one time with students as they practice and engage in the new skill or material during classroom time.  Concern remains, however, that this is just a new way to deliver an old-fashioned lecture.

Ideally, in the flipped classroom, instruction is videotaped by the teacher and delivered via the Internet.  Students are required to watch the lesson at home (or during a study hall).  Lectures are given virtually outside of the classroom.  Classroom time is then spent exploring the goals of the lesson, giving students time to ask questions, and teachers time to assess and work with students more collaboratively.

This model is most effective when teachers provide the actual instruction themselves, pre-taping lessons.  However, traditional lectures can be seen as 'boring' and still as unmotivating - whether given virtually or in the classroom.  A more engaging way to implement the flipped classroom would be to provide students with more inquiry based tasks with a variety of electronic resources to choose from.  Teacher provided video tutorials could provide guidance, and tasks could be completed both inside and outside the classroom.  A variety of tools exist that could be used for classroom delivery, including blogs, websites, and videos. 

If you are interested in recording your lessons and uploading them to the Internet, the library can provide equipment and instruction on how to do this.  Please see the articles below for more information.  They are available in Gale (see library website, click on Gale.  See library staff for password).

Tablets in the classroom

Woot!  The library now has two Samsung Tablets and one Ipad to lend out to teachers for use in the classroom or to take to conferences.  Folks, it doesn't get more exciting than this.

You may be saying to yourself - this is great, but what will I ever use it for?

Read on, dear reader....read on...

• Read a book (borrow online)
• Free Shakespeare!
• Take a Google Earth Trip
• Use a concept map
• Use as an interactive whiteboard or slate
• Search the Internet with voice recognition
• Create podcasts (audio casts) and vodcasts (video casts)
• Use as camera or video
• Edit photos and video
• Type papers (with keyboard dock)
• Use dropbox to share files
• And so much more!

Check out this terrific slideshow with suggestions for specific apps to download/purchase for use in the classroom.

Modules and Text Lists - focus on ELA

We love Engage NY!  We really do.  Most recently, we love that they have created text lists for the P-12 ELA Curriculum modules.  For access to the modules as well as the text lists, please visit the engage website at  http://engageny.org/english-language-arts.

Keep in mind that the texts in Appendix B are examplar texts - which means that they are examples for the types of texts we may choose in order to teach the standards.  Many of the texts in Appendix B are outdated. More current, applicable texts can be found associated with the modules themselves.

In addition to the materials available through engage, please note that TeachingBooks (available through our school databases links) provides materials to enhance instruction of these texts.  These materials include multimedia, lesson plans, website links, book guides, author interviews and much more.  Please see library staff for the password to TeachingBooks.net.

And, as always, do not forget to check our library catalog for books and ebooks which we may already own that are on the lists.  If you do not find what you are looking for, be sure to recommend a title for purchase!


Links
ELA Learning Standards
Modules and Text Lists
Text Lists
Teaching Books

Credible Sources

As your school librarian it is my job to be familiar with the ELA Common Core standards for all grades.  When preparing lessons I often check the standards for that grade and try to incorporate at least one objective that is tied to ELA.  It is worth noting that many times the Information Fluency Standards that I teach are emphasized again and again throughout the ELA standards.

For example:
In grade 7 and 8 , ELA standards state that students should be able to "gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, use search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; avoid plagiarism; and follow a standard format for citation."  Again, in grades 9 -12, we see the emphasis on the use of "multiple authoritative print and digital sources; use of advanced searches effectively, assessment of strengths and limitations of each source in terms of task, purpose, and audience; avoidance of plagiarism and overreliance on any one source."  These are skills that I begin teaching as early as 4th grade - especially in terms of evaluating and selecting the best possible sources to match our research query.

The library provides access to high-quality, academic sources which allow students to select "authoritative" print and digital materials.  OPALS, our Online Public Access Library Service, allows one stop shopping for access to the library's print and digital collections.  Students learn how to search OPALS at the end of 1st grade and this skill is re-inforced throughout their library classes.  For most projects, it would be useful to direct students first to OPALS to check for an expert source.  OPALS not only provides a list of books the library owns, it also links directly to ebooks - the full text of materials that are just a click away for your students - materials that are reviewed and selected by  your friendly librarian.

So - don't forget about OPALS!  Whether you are looking for a good book to read or would like to know if the library has materials for an upcoming research project, have your students check OPALS first.  You may be able to direct your students to those credible sources with just one click.

Lexile Levels and the Common Core

“…We were born vampires."
"I thought you became –"
"— vampires by being bitten? Dear me, no. Oh, we can turn people into vampires, it’s an easy technique, but what would be the point? When you eat… now what is it you eat? Oh yes, chocolate… you don’t want to turn it into another Agnes Nitt, do you? Less chocolate to go around."
He sighed. "Oh dear, superstition, superstition everywhere we turn.”
― Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum 

The new lexile level framework requires us as teachers and learners to work within a more complex dimension of text.  This may require that some of the old familiar standbys be replaced by texts that offer deeper levels of meaning and provide for a more vocabulary-rich reading/understanding experience. 

Librarians stand at the precipice of both understanding what is required by the Common Core and providing appropriate resources to teachers and administrators.  For example, if a teacher needs samples of persuasive writing or satire to use in the classroom, the library media specialist can offer a variety of books and other materials to use. 

The above quote from Terry Pratchett's book Carpe Jugulum (Seize the throat) satirizes our contemporary culture's love of vampire literature and film.  A deeper reading into both the author's literal and underyling message supports the new demands that students must delve into the layered meaning of language-rich texts.

To illustrate the type of texts that can be used to support classroom learning, below is a list of titles that the library recently purchased for a 5th grade persuasive writing assignment.  Lists of this sort can be generated for teachers for units across the ELA curriculum.

Dear Mrs. La Rue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague

My Brother Dan's Delicious  by Steven L. Layne

I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff

I Wanna New Room by Karen Kaufman Orloff

Writing to Persuade: Minilessons to Help Students

Should We Have Pets by Sylvia Lollis

Should There be Zoos by Tony Stead

 The lexile framework above has, according to the Common Core: "adjusted upward its trajectory of reading comprehension development through the grades to indicate that all students should be reading at the college and career readiness level by no later than the end of high school."  Librarians specialize in the analysis and evaluation of text and are on hand to select, purchase, and make available in multiple formats texts that support this new framework.

OPALS

New this year - OPALS now provides the lexile levels for many of the books in our libraries.  As you search the catalog you will find the lexile levels in the records for many books - especially ones recently purchased.

Distracted by Everything

Remember the good old days when you rushed home to see if the light was blinking on your answering machine? Yes! Someone was thinking of you. Now, we incessantly check our cell phone even if it hasn't chirped or buzzed - just on the off chance. Hey! Can an hour really have gone by without someone thinking of us? How many times a day can the human brain be interrupted? It may be long past time to consider how these distractions add up over the course of a day. Consider the possibility that constant distractions have ramifications far beyond what one may think. Research (see below) shows that our brains are ill-equipped to bounce back and forth between higher level thinking tasks - and to do either task really well. Not to mention that odd social expectation that we must respond quickly to all electronic messages. Face to face. Single tasking. Those are my new year's resolutions. Say, I may just leave my phone at home. How retro!

For more information:

The Myth of Multitasking - The New Atlantis

Media multitaskers pay mental price, Stanford study shows
The Stanford study shows that constant connection to technology and steady stream of interruptions may actually be causing our brains to be less effective.

Professional Development Resources

As we begin to address the standards and indicators in our new APPR, we note that there are at least two which address the need for educators to make use of "research-based" and professional resources. The library offers a wide variety of materials which may be of use to you in regard to satisfying this requirement.

Applicable APPR Standards
Standard 3.1 Teachers use research-based practices and evidence of student learning to provide development, including students' cognitive, language, social, emotional, and physical developmental levels.

Standard 7.4 Teachers remain current in their knowledge of content and pedagogy by utilizing professional resources.

Professional Development Resources

Print
Are you aware that the HS Library is home to a separate Professional Development collection?    Topics range from books on assessment to bullying to use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.  We also offer professional magazines, such as Reading Teacher, Mailbox, and Scholastic Instructor.  Please see library staff for assistance in finding these materials.  New titles are added regularly - be sure to check OPALS.  And, as always, recommendations are welcome.

Recently added titles include:
The Common Core Lesson Book, K-5
Writing to Persuade: Minilessons to Help Students Plan, Draft, and Revise, Grades 3-8
Fires in the Middle School Bathroom: Advice for Teachers
The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander

Electronic
In addition, be sure to check out the GALE database for education periodicals and reference materials.  For example, if you are interested in learning more about the "flipped classroom" theory, visit GALE and do a search.  There are several articles which describe the pros, cons, and practical application.  Passwords are available from the library media center.

There's an App for That

Common Core Standards By MasteryConnect
"View the Common Core State Standards in one convenient FREE app! This app includes Math standards K-12 and Language Arts standards K-12. Math standards include both traditional and integrated pathways (as outlined in Appendix A of the common core)."

200 Free Kids Educational Resources: Video Lessons, Apps, Books, Websites & More

Media Literacy & Lesson Plans! November, 2012

Project LookSharp

Library of Congress and Media Literacy Workshop, November 8, 2012

Media Literacy :
The ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce communication in a variety of forms.  The decoding and analyzing of documents, including all types of media and primary resource documents.

The integration of critical thinking, literacy skills, and the decoding of media are intertwined and give educators and students alike the ability to form habits of inquiry.  When we present multiple media with various points of view, and question students about perspective, context, evidence, and purpose, we are providing them with a way to better synthesize information for greater comprehension and recall.  We are also asking them to support assumptions and bias with evidence, both from visual and text based media.

Project LookSharp (Ithaca College) provides teachers with unit and lesson materials that involve the decoding of various media as integrated into core curriculum subjects.  Please visit the Project LookSharp website for downloadable curriculum kits and other materials.  In addition, the Library of Congress Teacher Resources "offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching."
  

What to buy? Holiday gift reviews

It seems every year I must buy a new electronic gadget for my daughter at holiday time.  Last year it was the gift that keeps on giving - the iphone4.  Giving and giving and giving - oh, those data plans!  This year, though, my big plan is to go all IRL on my kid.  Nothing to plug in.  Nothing to download.  Just good old fashioned stuff.

What a maze we have on our hands, though, if we are thinking of buying a new electronic device.  From trying to figure out which device suits our needs - ereader or tablet - to knowing how many gigs of memory we need to do what - we certainly don't want to swerve too much on our learning curve.

Below are some useful links with reviews and discussions of current device and gadgets.  It is my hope this will help you navigate and make the purchase that suits your needs.

One final note - if you are purchasing technology that goes online for your child, you may wish to consider downloading monitoring or content filtering software (check here for reviews).  Be sure to read the terms of use for apps and look for "opt out" boxes which will allow you to protect your child's personal information.

Reviews & Info

Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad: Which e-book reader should you buy?
Nexus 7 Edges Out iPad on Holiday Wishlists
Cnet Holiday Gift Ideas and Gift Guide 2012 - Cnet
8 Apps You Don't Want to Miss

What's new in smart phones, tablets, e-book readers, and more, Consumer Reports magazine: August 2012 
Engadget - AOL's reviews

 

 

Keeping Kids Safe - November, 2012

DATE TO REMEMBER:
November 7, 2012, 7 p.m.
Where: LCS High School Library
Mary Rokhvadze and the LCS Media Club will be presenting "Keeping Kids Safe: An Internet Safety Workshop" for any adult, family member, or student who is concerned about Internet Safety and staying safe online.  This workshop is free and pre-reigstration is encouraged, but not required.   Please contact the school at 432-2050 to pre-register.

The latest statistics from the Pew Research Center on Teens and the Internet remind us that the average teen spends more time online than they do doing nearly anything else in their lives (31 hours a week!).  Do we know what they are doing, who they are talking to, and what they are seeing?  Going on the Internet, playing games, and even texting are such singular, individual activities that it seems impossible to know everything our children are doing.  But, the dangers are real.  While it is easy enough for even adults to be maniuplated online through advertising, scams, fake emails and friend requests, it is even that much easier for predators and scam artists to 'take in' our kids.   Please plan to attend this informative workshop for hands-on tips on how to protect our children and keep them safe(r) online.

Did You Know...?
Google has a safe search option which allows users to restrict objectionable and adult content from appearing in your search results. You can access Google's Safesearch by visiting www.google.com/preferences directly OR by clicking on the gear icon after completing a google search.  Use the Strict, Moderate and no Filtering options to

Please read the Inside Search article for more on how to filter objectionable content.

Library Equipment

Per special request, we are re-posting last year's Welcome Back blog post! So...Welcome Back! We are providing information on the equipment and services available through the LCS libraries. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Equipment
(most equipment circulates via the elementary library)

Netbook Cart
Digital Video Cameras
Flip Cameras
Digital Cameras
Document Cameras (ELMO)
Laptops
LCD projectors
Overheads
Jumpdrives
Memory Cards
Kindle e-Book readers (NEW)
DieCuts and Machine
BookBinder
TV cart
Headphones
Ipod

**Please contact the HS Library to schedule classes in the computer lab.
Materials
Books
DVDs
CDs
Playaways (NEW)
Magazines & Newspapers
Art prints
Jackdaws
Databases (see library for passwords)
Streaming video (Webmax)
Services
Instructional Design Assistance
Team Teaching (integration of Information Literacy Skills)
BookTalks!
Assistance with online resources and software
Database and Information Skills Instruction
Creation of subject matter pathfinders (list of print & online resources)
Overhead projector maintenance (replacement bulbs)
Laminating& much, much more!
Special Collections
Preschool Bookbag Program
Faculty/Staff Book Swap

Online Safety

Online Safety

This year the library media center's theme (if you will) is Internet Safety and ways to remind our students how to safely use the many tools the Internet has to offer.  To me, the Internet feels like a relatively new means of getting information and connecting with family.  For many of our kids, it is a way of life - and they have known no other.

So...what do we tell them without seeming like we are antiquated?  After all, they are the ones who have grown up with cell phones, laptops, and intricate gaming devices.  Do we even have a chance when it comes to sounding knowledgeable about technology around tweens and teens?

Here are a few of my own personal observations in regard to teaching children how to be safe online.  Later posts will follow up with ideas for lesson plans and online sources to go to for information.

• Speak the same language as kids. Keep a dialogue open about what happens online.  Ask them about their facebook or other social networking tools.  For a lot of kids, facebook isn't in addition to their regular social life - it IS their social life.
• If you have a facebook, go on it and see how our students are treating one another.  You don't have to be their friend to view their profile if their profile is public.  Once a child knows you can see how they act (even online!) they are less likely to be 'inappropriate' or mean (or have a public profile!).
• Tell kids that you can see their profile.  Ask them why it isn't set to private.
• Be knowledgeable - understand that employers are now asking for people's facebook accounts.  Everything we do online potentially exists forever.  So, that 'gone wild' picture from when someone was 16 may just prevent them from landing a job some day.
• In my own home, computer time is often family time.  We sit together and do things online.  Last night we designed sneakers online!  I know what my daughter is doing on the computer and iphone and she knows I will check from time to time. 
• Don't assume students know what NOT to do online.  Remind them not to put ANY information online for ANY reason without asking a parent or guardian first.
• Remind kids - if you wouldn't say it in person - don't say it online!

These may be obvious tips, but I hope they help. I do cover these things with our 7th grade Info Tech students, but it always helps if respected adults reinforce. Please feel free to post your own tips and suggestions for keeping our kids safe online.

Playaways in the library

The library now has 12 playaways to lend to teachers. These devices are audio books in mp3 format. They include the full text of the book as well as earbuds for the listener. They are excellent for use with students who need to listen to a book. Titles have been selected based on books read in the classroom.

Titles on Playaway

Anthem
Bridge to Terabithia
Catherine, Called Birdy
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Egypt Game
Fallen Angels
Lucas
My Side of the Mountain
On my Honor
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Secret Soldier
Stone Fox

More Kindles in the library

An update...

The library has purchased and cataloged four additional kindles for use in the classroom. We now have a total of 6 to lend out.

Please contact the elementary library to schedule use of these readers. Also - let me know what titles you would like to see purchased and added to the kindles. One title may be added to six kindles!

Kindles in the Library

Kindles in the Library

Last year the library purchased two Kindle eBook readers to circulate for classroom use. We have recently added several titles which correlate to assigned classroom reading. Titles available on our Kindles are listed below. To borrow the Kindles please contact Judy MacLachlan in the elementary library.

In addition, as some of you know, the ONC BOCES Media Library also circulates Nooks for classroom use. Teachers are able to borrow a complete classroom set of Nooks from BOCES. Please ask in the library to check for available titles. Nooks can be ordered via the SNAP (Webmax) catalog.

Kindle Titles Available in the LCS Library

Achebe, Chinua – Things Fall Apart
Aesop – Aesop’s Fables 
Anderson, Laurie Halse – Fever, 1793 
Austen, Jane - Emma
Austen, Jane – Sense and Sensibility
Austen, Jane – Pride and Prejudice
Avi - Poppy and Ereth
Babbitt, Natalie – Tuck Everlasting
Brittain, Bill – The Wish Giver 
Calkhoven, Laurie - Boys of Wartime: Daniel at the Siege of Boston 
Carroll, Lewis – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 
Cushman, Karen - Catherine Called Birdy
Choldenko, Gennifer – Al Capone Does My Shirts 
Clements, Andrew - Frindle 
Collins, Suzanne – Catching Fire
Collins, Suzanne - Hunger Games
Collins, Suzanne – Mockingjay 
Cushman, Karen - Catherine Called Birdy 
Decamillo, Kate - Because of Winn-Dixie
Eastman, P.D. – Are You My Mother? 
Eastman, P.D. – Go Dog Go 
Gardiner, John Reynolds – Stone Fox 
Harrison, Amina – The Egypt Game 
Horowitz, Anthony - Stormbreaker 
Knowles, Sir James – The Legends of King Arthur 
Lowry, Lois – Number the Stars 
Lubar, David - Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
Melville, Herman - Bartleby the Scrivener 
Melville, Herman - Billy Budd 
Mikaelsen, Ben – Touching Spirit BearT
he New Oxford American Dictionary
Paterson, Katherine - Bridge to Terabithia
Paulsen, Gary – Hatchet 
Perry, Marta – Hide in Plain Sight 
Rawls, Wilson – Where the Red Fern Grows
Shakespeare, William – Macbeth
 Shakespeare, William – Works of William Shakespeare
 Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft - Frankenstien 
Speare, Elizabeth George – The Sign of the Beaver 
Spinelli, Jerry – Loser 
Stevenson, Robert Louis – Treasure Island
Swift, Jonathan – Gulliver’s Travels 
Twain, Mark - Adventures of Tom Sawyer 
Warnock, John W. – One Fist, Two Fish
Wells, H. G. – Invisible Man 
Wells, H. G. – Time Machine 
Wright, Hamilton – Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know

College ready research skills

Are our students ready for college? Do they have the information skills required to conduct higher-level, academic research? In April of 2010, the magazine “School Library Monthly” interviewed college professors and students and reported on the number of college freshmen who had been given adequate preparation in terms of research skills. The article states that “59% of college instructors are dissatisfied with the ability of high school graduates to do research.” And, in fact, surveys of students revealed that much less than half of all high school graduates felt they had basic research skills. In light of these findings, a basic checklist of student skills was created by Patricia Owen and M. Oakleaf. Listed below are some of the research skills your student should expect to have upon graduating high school. I begin developing these skills from 5^th grade on.

 Define a research question or topic that’s not shallow or “pop”

 Understand that Web search engines rarely locate college-appropriate information

 Find and use different forms of information

 Distinguish between OPACs and online databases

 Conduct effective searches using keywords, Boolean logic, and field searching

 Find full text articles

 Find books using Library of Congress classification

 Weed through and evaluate search results to find adequate and accurate information

 Use evidence to synthesize, communicate and argue a thesis

 Cite sources properly using multiple citation styles

 Write without plagiarizing, use in-text citations

Inquiry, the Library, and Common Core Standards

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats

• Inquiry, the library, and Common Core Standards
  As most of us know, the National Common Core Learning Standards were revised last July in NY to emphasize inquiry. Inquiry-based learning has long been at the heart of the American Association of School Librarian's Standards. As we are asked to have a shared responsibility for the literacy development of our students, working together should be a natural step in integrating inquiry and research based skills. By reviewing the new state APPRs, we can take note of the collaboration and integration that is expected from each of us.
  
  For years, librarians have been considered by school districts to be experts in instruction design and curriculum development, embedding the use of technology, inquiry, and research skills into all areas of the curriculum. As we review the new standards, we can see that these skills are essential for our students as we make them college and career ready. I have provided the links below to help you navigate the world of Common Core. In addition, I hope that we can work together more closely in helping our students develop strategies for navigating information-rich text
  

LINKS

EngageNY - Information on Common Core
Common Core "Shifts" - pdf
Mary Ratzer's Standards Based Vision

State approved Teacher Rubrics (APPR)

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner
(National standards for the Library Media Specialist)

Online tools for educators

October 14 LCS Faculty Workshop

GOAL: To discover online tools which will enable you to 'go paperless' in your classroom while providing engaging ways for your students to take tests and hand in assignments.

Links!

Classmarker.com - Create and administer online quizzes and tests for students of all grade levels.

Google.docs - An easy way to store and share documents, presentations, and other file types.

Blogspot - Communicate with students online and provide a forum for students to actively participate in discussions. Post questions and read/respond to student comments.

The databases! Please see the bookmark of passwords to log in to the Laurens databases. Visit the library's website for links to all databases.

Also...have you heard about youtube for teachers? Youtube has created a teacher channel which contains curated video lists which are suitable for teachers to use. There are many useful videos and uses for youtube in the classroom - check it out!

Please let me know what you would like to get out of this workshop. Is there anything you would like to see covered in-depth or questions you have which are not part of the pre-selected topics? Please let me know by posting a comment. You do not need to sign your real name. Thank you!

New collections in the library

New Collections!
If you haven't visited the libraries in a while, you'll be in for some surprises. This year we have focused on creating new collections in each of the libraries.

Pre-School BookbagsAs we know, the more we read to and with our children, the more their comprehension skills and life-long reading habits will improve. Preparing pre-schoolers for school by reading to them is one of the building blocks to successful learning. This year, in collaboration with Jen Sanders, the elementary library has created a pre-school bookbag collection. These bags circulate to families in the LCS school district who have pre-schoolers at home.

At this time, we have 15 canvas bags each with 5 books on a certain theme. So far, we have signed up four families for family library cards who have come in to borrow these bags! We hope to extend this program in the future by purchasing more bags and offering incentives for those families who reach a 'Read at Home' goal.

LCS Staff Book ExchangeThis year, we have also created a staff book exchange in the High School Library - and, it has really taken off! We already have at least two full shelves of books which are of interest to adults which faculty and staff have brought in and are welcome to come and borrow. Even if you don't have anything to swap, please feel free to stop in and borrow some books for summer reading. We also have many young adult books in the HS library which are of interest to adults. So, don't forget to pick up a couple (or a few) books for those long, lazy (we hope), summer days.

Career CenterTeachers' goals this year included collaborating with the library or Library Media Specialist in some capacity. One way of doing this was to recommend books to add to our collection. Mrs. Sider recommended several specific titles on a variety of topics, including careers. Several of these books, including a five volume set of "The Encyclopedia of Careers," were also very useful for an extensive project in Mrs. Dutcher's class. We created a 'Career Center' in the High School library which highlighted our new titles and also included several other books on careers - helping our students to identify possible jobs and future goals for themselves.

Have a great summer and See You in the Library!