The New Standards Dovetail Elegantly with Inquiry, and We Know Inquiry | On...
This is the worst time to be a school librarian and the best time to be one. Our profession is under daily threat of extinction, yet the implementation of the Common Core Standards affords incredible...
View ArticleA Sticker Won’t Do the Job: We need appealing nonfiction that will engage...
It is natural for librarians to compile lists, curate resources, and gather texts to fit Common Core. It is also habitual for a reader and educator to seek out these booklists and line them up with...
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Is a Picture Worth $2,500?: Understanding Facts Visually | On Common Core
A picture has always been worth a thousand words, but now they are worth $2,500 or more a pop. According to marketingtechblog.com, “infographics agencies charge between $2,000 to $5,000 to research,...
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Making the Parent Connection | On Common Core
As the mom of a now-first-grader, my parenting world is colliding with my professional world. Last year, I eagerly brought my daughter to kindergarten geared not to be one of “those” meddling parents,...
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The Question of Text Complexity: Reader and task trump traditional measures |...
Complexity is a watchword of the Common Core State Standards. The clearly stated expectation is that students will be able to read increasingly complex texts as they move up through the grades. Aside...
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A Match Well Made: The standards’ emphasis on information aligns with...
I grew up on the ’60’s outside New York, where there were racial riots and free love. The Beatles boomed from boxes and people sang about clouds, vanity, and love. Today we are largely beyond racial...
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On Common Core | Content Over Coverage
One of the most common complaints about state or local curriculum standards is that they focus on covering a range of topics—too many, in most cases—while sacrificing depth of understanding. Chances...
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The Public Library Connection: The new standards require that public and...
Now, more than ever before, collaboration between public and school librarians is critical. As we strive to be at the center of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in our...
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Consider the Source: Two Is the Thorniest Number
There are two ways to describe American history. That’s what I claimed in my latest book, Master of Deceit: J. Edgar Hoover and America in the Age of Lies (Candlewick, 2012), and it’s one of the...
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One Librarian’s Success Story | On Common Core
Christine Poser, a middle-school librarian at Myra S. Barnes I.S. 24 on Staten Island, NY, is one of the educational leaders in her school’s Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implementation. Having...
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On Common Core | Talking about Nonfiction
here is never enough time in a single class session, the school day, or even across the school year to pack in all that teachers and librarians want their students to learn. The Common Core State...
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Saved by I-SAIL: Making the most of a tool that articulates the value of...
In 2007. “ the superintendent came to me when he was cutting the budget and asked me why he should keep me and the library,” said Karen Smith-Cox. “He was not joking.” Her story is not unfamiliar, but...
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Balancing Readability and Reading Fluency | On Common Core
As states from Maine to Montana implemented the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the readability recommendations shocked those teachers who find that their students already struggle to read...
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On Common Core | Nonfiction as Mentor Text
any people still hold to the belief that nonfiction writing is “just the facts,” often synonymous with formulaic, dull writing. Nothing could be further from the truth! For years, authors of all...
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College Readiness: Librarians Can Help the Transition | On Common Core
Education buzzwords—whole language, multiple intelligences—come and go, but 45 states chose to adopt the Common Core Learning Standards. Why? Because the Common Core defines the critical thinking, the...
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Vulcanizing Vocabulary: Librarians Lead Path to Achievement | On Common Core
“Words are not just words. They are the nexus—the interface—between communication and thought,” states Marilyn Jager Adams (Common Core State Standards [CCSS], Appendix A). “When we read, it is through...
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CC’s Seventh Shift | On Common Core
Librarians are often more comfortable working in the literacy classroom than manipulating mathematical data, but it may be statistics that prove to be our greatest ally. When the Common Core State...
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Inquiry and Integration Across the Curriculum | On Common Core
It’s the beginning of the school year and you’re being pulled in a million different directions. Your days are full to the brim as you get to know new students and their families, plan curriculum with...
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Inquiry and Integration Across the Curriculum | On Common Core
We are at an exciting, if not dizzying, time in the field of education; the standards for the four core content areas have been completed. While the Common Core State Standards [CCSS] for English...
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A School and Public Librarian Find Common Ground on the Common Core
Illustration by Eva Vázquez In SLJ‘s recent “Common Core and the Public Librarian” one-hour live webcast, Olga Nesi, regional coordinator for the New York City Department of Education, Division of...
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