Weekend Reads

Bystander by James Preller

Bystander begins with the protagonist, Eric Hayes, shooting a basketball by himself. He's the new kid - he and his mom just moved from Ohio to Long Island, NY - and he doesn't know anyone yet. He certainly doesn't know the name of the kid who comes running across the playground. This kid - curly-haired, not very athletic - is running for his life. When Eric looks more closely, he's covered in something dark red, and his clothes are torn. When the kid gets close enough, Eric asks him if it's blood, but the kid can't even respond to him before he takes off again. Moments later, four kids (Eric calls them the "hunters") come from the same direction as the boy. When Eric meets the "hunters" (all fellow seventh graders), he realizes that he can either make nice to make his life easier or take the hard road. But Eric learns that even taking the easy way out can have consequences.

Find it in F PRE

Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince

Born in Sierra Leone and orphaned at a young age, Michaela DePrince knows adversity. But it's also where she first fell in love with ballerinas. One day, while looking through the gate of her orphanage out to the town, a magazine came blowing across the street and hit her in the face. On the cover of that magazine was a white woman (which she'd never seen before) dressed in a tutu. DrPrince became obsessed with ballet. She loved to dance, and wanted to dance on her tippy-toes just like the woman on the magazine. Ballet became her life, and the difficulties she faced as a young child fed her passion. DePrince's story is at times heart-wrenching, but is always inspiring.

You can find it in nonfiction under 792.80 DEP

Guys Read: True Stories edited by Jon Scieszka

Sometimes a novel is just too long. Short stories can be a nice break from following the long plots and many characters a novel tends to present. Guys Read: True Stories is an especially enjoyable collection as the stories are "100% amazing, 100% adventurous, 100% unbelievable - and 100% true". Each story is written by a different author, and recalls real life events and situations that seem unbelieveable but aren't. Even better, the stories are told in a variety of formats - essays, graphic novellas and poetry can all be found within these pages. If you are looking to read about some crazy things that actually happened to real people, check out Guys Read: True stories!

You can find it in nonfiction under 818.60 SCI

Digital Resources: Google Forms

When I started in the library, I thought about the systems I could use for all of the parts of my job. Many of them were digital - my card catalog, my ordering systems, my notes and task lists. One that wasn't was the method students used to sign in to the library if they were coming from a study hall. I decided to change that. I created a Google Form that collects all of the important information from a student via a Google Site I developed and puts it into a Google spreadsheet.

Google Forms are very easy to use. Like the other apps in the Google productivity suite, Google Forms are entirely accessed online and are stored in the Google Drive. Google Forms allows you to create a variety of question types (such as multiple choice, text response and checkboxes). Whenever you create a Google Form, Google automatically creates the corresponding spreadsheet where answers are collected. This spreadsheet is sortable, filterable and can be used the way any other spreadsheet is - it's just that the data entry is done for you by the form users.

The Library Check-In Form I developed.Note that not all questions must be required.

Originally I thought that my primary benefit would be not having to keep a stock of clean copies of the paper sign in sheet (easy enough to do, but not something I was ever good at). As I used the sheet, I realized that I had a way to connect with each one of my students every day. When I was a classroom teacher, I had a "Question of the Week" - open-ended opinion-seeking questions usually related (at least tangentally) to whatever instruction was happening in my classroom. When we read "Flowers for Algernon", I asked students about the value of an education or the nature of knowledge. Now, in the library, I use the questions to get a read on what the students think about the new library layout or to get a feel for what kind of programming I can develop to support what they want to learn more about (such as "What is something our community needs?" or "What kind of business would you start?"). I also developed a Google Form for a colleague who wanted to keep track of student usage of laptops from the cart assigned to her room. This form (embedded onto a Google Site) could be the first page students are directed to when they open their browser page. 

A screenshot from the Flubaroo user guide
(http://www.flubaroo.com/flubaroo-user-guide)

Google Forms is a quick and easy way to collect information you need. There are a few ways to share your form with your audience - sending a link, email or embedding. You can share the link for your form through Google Plus, Facebook or Twitter (buttons for these methods are provided in the dialogue box that opens when you click "Send Form"). Email is pretty straightforward - the form appears in their mailbox and can be completed directly within the message. Embedding is easiest to do on a Google Site (although certainly possible using other web page builders since Google provides you with HTML code when you select this option). 

There are also some tools that make Google Forms even more teacher-friendly. Flubaroo is an add-on that allows you to turn your Google Forms into quizzes that are automatically graded. Once the grading is complete, the scores are available for you to review, and you can then send students their score directly via email.

Students! Try Google Forms if you...

Would like to collect primary data for a project

Need to poll an audience over time for information

Teachers! Try Google Forms if you...

Want to digitize the assessment process

Need to collect information about your students (such as materials check out or sign in sheets)

Makeshop Monday: An Interview with Evan

Today, I'd like to introduce Evan. Evan has made many different objects in Tech Ed using the 3D printer. While some designers are exacting (and either customize a proven template or take measurements before printing), Evan takes a more freestyle approach. 

I wanted to feature Evan in part because, when we talked, he was just about to print his next project. I have included some pictures of his design as well as his project as it was being printed.

What's your next project?

Evan: I am making a salt shaker. I've also made things like a pen as a part of a problem solving assignment.

How do you DO that?

Evan: I just tried to think of what the dimensions of the salt shaker should be.

Weekend Reads

Flash Point by Nancy Kress

Fame, fortune and glamour - it's nothing Amy Kent ever wanted, but she's willing to take all of this on and more in order to provide for her family. After the Collapse (an event that destroyed the world's economic structure), people were desperate for jobs, and the divide between the haves and the have-nots was immeasurable. On top of these dire circumstances, Amy's Gran was very ill and unable to afford medication and Amy's sister, Kaylie, was getting into trouble with the law. So when TLN, a television network, offered Amy a chance to be on a game show that offered the income and stability her family so desperately needed, Amy took it. Where it took her, though, was nowhere she expected to go. 

Find it in Fiction under F KRE

City of Savages by Lee Kelly

This book tries to do a lot of things. Set in post-World War ThreeManhattan, Skyler (Sky) and Pheonix (Phee) Miller are essentially prisoners of war. When World War III broke out, the island of Manhattan was one of the first targets hit by the Chinese government. The people of Manhattan are corralled and one of their own leaders, Rolladin, is made their warden. Rolladin rules violently and with an iron fist. Sky and Phee, along with their mother Sarah, live  in Rolladin's camp (known as "the Park") in the winter and migrate to live independently in the summer on Wall Street. Sky and Phee are very different - Sky is intuitive and emotional, while Phee is strategic and pragmatic. The story is told from the perspective of both girls - the characters trade off chapters. The beginning of the story sees the family face a lot of very swift changes - they migrate back to the park, Phee ends up fighting in a street fight to celebrate the survival of the camp, the girls find a journal that promises to reveal the history of the war and the camp, and there are mysterious strangers on the outskirts of camp. Add this to the shifting narrators, and it can feel like a lot to keep track of, but Kelly does a good job of juggling all of these elements into a compelling story. 

You can find it in Fiction under F KEL

Chocolate by Kay Frydenborg

When we think of chocolate, we tend to think of cookies, cakes and candy bars. Chocolate is a food with a long history and some surprising science, and Frydenborg fills her readers in about both. She also includes pictures of chocolate in its various states, which goes beyond the dark brown sweets we are used to. She even includes a few recipes to try out if reading about all of this chocolate makes you hungry! This book has everything you could want to know about one of the world's most popular treats, so be sure to check it out!

You can find it in Nonfiction under 338.76 FRY

Digital Resources: Newsela

We live in an age of a 24-hour news cycle. Not only can anyone can find the news (if they have internet access and access to a search engine or social media), but anyone can contribute to the reporting of news (if they have internet access and a device that allows them to type a post or record images or video). CNN even has a feature called iReport, encouraging news consumers to become news producers. This is reflective of the time we live in - consumers becoming producers (and is also something I strive to support my students in as well)

It puts the English language arts teacher in a bit of a tough situation. While these voices are valuable, it is difficult to ask students to find information that they can rely upon to give them the whole story that is also easily accessible for their reading level. All of this comes at a time when teachers are emphasizing the nonfiction text more and more (thanks either to shifting best practices or Common Core requirements). Newsela aims to help teachers find the resources they need that fit their curricular needs while also differentiating so that students of all ages and reading abilities can access high-quality nonfiction texts.

In many ways, Newsela looks like any other news website. The home page has a variety of headlines accompanied by photographs, there are different sections (such as War & Peace, Science, Kids) and the page is divided into top stories, latest news, featured text sets, most loved, editor's picks and most annotated. What sets Newsela apart, however, are a few features that both teachers and students will find valuable.

First of all, all Newsela stories are available at different Lexile levels. For those of you who don't know, a Lexile is a measurement of readability. The lower the Lexile score, the easier the piece is to read (think simpler vocabulary and sentence structures). Conversely, pieces with higher Lexile scores present information in a more complex way. Essentially, Newsela presents the same content at varying levels of complexity. This is a pretty powerful tool for differentiation.

This is a sample of a Newsela article. The Lexile controls are in the toolbar in the side; otherwise the article looks similar to what you might find on a non-leveled news source.

While all of these elements are great for both teachers and students to use, Newsela also has a subscription services that does more than just provide reliable news articles at different reading levels. At the free level, there are multiple new articles provided each day at five different reading levels, anyone can access thousands of previously-published articles, students can take quizzes on the articles they have read, teachers can assign articles with just one click and articles are free of advertisements.

At the PRO level, which is a paid service, gives teachers the ability to organize students into a class, monitor the students' individual and classwide results, and sort and filter performance data. All valuable, but also costly (about $18/student, according to a tweet from the company in February 2014).

Some features of the free vs. the PRO versions.

Where: www.newsela.com

Cost: Free (with paid upgrade)

What: News articles with customizable reading levels

Students! Try Newsela if you...

Need to find reliable information about a variety of topics

Want to learn more about important events 

Need easier-to-manage nonfiction texts

Teachers! Try Newsela if you...

Want to easily provide students with a set of reliable articles about a topic

Want to provide differentiated materials to your students (both high and low)

Need nonfiction resources for curricular or cross-curricular units of study

Shout out to Mrs. White and Mr. Minsinger for introducing me to Newsela! 

Makeshop Monday: Origami Rabbit

HOPPY spring! To celebrate the warmer days, the first flowers and general spring-y feeling in the air, think about printing this oragami-inspired rabbit!

This thing doesn't really "do" anything, but if you're looking for a little spring decoration for your locker or desk, this is a good option! 

You can find the file here http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:600429.  Once you know you'd like to print, come to the library makeshop, log in to the computer, download the file and the on-screen directions will take you from there! Happy making!

(Mrs. Hickman can help you print your Origami Rabbit if this is your first "thing" and you're not sure where to start!)

Weekend Reads

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

Wendy Mass's A Mango-Shaped Space tells the story of Mia Winchell. We first meet Mia in a prologue that is set in Mia's 3rd grade year. Mia is at the board and is struggling through a math problem. She is procrastinating (math isn't her best subject and she's not sure how to solve the problem in front of her) so she starts to use the colored chalk to put the numbers in to the "right" colors since that may make it easier to do the problem. When her teacher reprimands her and her fellow students start calling her "freak", Mia realizes for the first time that she's alone in the way she sees the world. This novel is funny and heartbreaking, and you will enjoy seeing Mia as she struggles to understand herself and comes to appreciate the very quality that made her feel so alone for so long.

Find it in Fiction under F MAS

The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill

This beautifully written story is spare and sometimes harsh, but captivating at the same time. Barnhill uses extended exposition, and reveals facts about the characters, their lives and their relationships slowly, which can initially be a little frustrating, but ultimately helps to create mystery and suspense that she weaves through the rest of her tale. The story begins with an adventure. Ned and Tam, twin brothers and sons of the Sister Witch and her woodcutter husband, build a raft to get to the sea. The raft capsizes, killing Tam and gravely injuring Ned. The witch performs her magic to save Ned's life, but in this book magic is mischievous and always takes a toll on Sister Witch when she uses it. Readers also meet Áine, a girl Eventually, the bucolic and peaceful village where Ned now lives alone with his parents hosts a visit from the queen, along with a bandit who wants more than the coins out of the villagers pockets. This book is beautiful, haunting and supernatural.

Find it in Fiction under F BAR

The King of Sports by Gregg Easterbrook

For many people, fall means football. It's a game that brings communities together on Friday nights, and entire cities slow down when their team is playing. Gregg Easterbook sets out to understand the best and worst parts of the sport and the leagues that control it. While his investigation features an examination of the football program at Virginia Tech (thanks to extensive insider access to this program), he looks closely at both the NFL and the youth leagues in order to discuss what is right and wrong with football at all of the levels it is played. He traces the history (and taxpayer funding) of the Superdome and the New Orleans Saints, he critiques the policies and procedures of the NCAA, and he explains the back story of David Sills V, who was famously "discovered" at the age of thirteen. This behind-the-scenes coverage is interesting to all football fans - from players of all ages on the field, to superfans who never miss seeing their favorite high school, college and professional teams play, to the casual fan who catches a game here or there. 

You can find it in Nonfiction under 796.33 EAS