If you haven't yet read Joyce Valenza's brilliant blog entry on the topic of what teacher librarians do, let me usher you her way...
http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/neverendingsearch/2010/11/27/what-librarians-make-a-response-to-dr-bernstein-and-an-homage-to-taylor-mali/
Found via Anne's always-informative blog, Reading Power, here.
Cheers
Ruth
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Resources for Study Skills
I'm working on a Year 11 study skills program for next year, and this page of links has an extensive list of sites - some more useful than others, but a lot that are useful. Worth a squizz.
Cheers
Ruth
Cheers
Ruth
Saturday, November 27, 2010
It's raining men (in bonnet dramas)
One to share with your English staff, and any of the many kids who have sighed over Mr Darcy, or other Austen heroes...
If that doesn't work, try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOFps_Naytg&feature=player_embedded
A delightful bonbon.
Found it here.
Which reminds me, if you want to appal yourself and others, and you have access to the recent Keira Knightley/Matthew Macfadyen Pride and Prejudice film, do investigate the extras on the DVD for the alternative ending filmed for the US market. I myself personally can't believe that the US market is so dumb as to need the travesty provided... although it was fun watching English teachers go green at the gills when I showed it to them. The kids were universally scornful.
Well, only three weeks left of term and this school year (for those outside Oz, our school year runs along with the calendar year). I'll try to post a few bits and pieces here before the summer hols arrive - our Christmas decorations this year are even better than last year (and easy and cheap as chips!) and if you're really really good I'll let you in on how to obtain over 1000 bookmarks for 50c. Really.
Thanks for the many kind messages sent while I've been quiet - I appreciate the thoughts and kindness very much.
Cheers
Ruth
If that doesn't work, try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOFps_Naytg&feature=player_embedded
A delightful bonbon.
Found it here.
Which reminds me, if you want to appal yourself and others, and you have access to the recent Keira Knightley/Matthew Macfadyen Pride and Prejudice film, do investigate the extras on the DVD for the alternative ending filmed for the US market. I myself personally can't believe that the US market is so dumb as to need the travesty provided... although it was fun watching English teachers go green at the gills when I showed it to them. The kids were universally scornful.
Well, only three weeks left of term and this school year (for those outside Oz, our school year runs along with the calendar year). I'll try to post a few bits and pieces here before the summer hols arrive - our Christmas decorations this year are even better than last year (and easy and cheap as chips!) and if you're really really good I'll let you in on how to obtain over 1000 bookmarks for 50c. Really.
Thanks for the many kind messages sent while I've been quiet - I appreciate the thoughts and kindness very much.
Cheers
Ruth
Sunday, November 7, 2010
How busy has it been around here?
...too busy! Sorry for the silence, and thank you to all those kind folk who emailed/left comments hoping there wasn't a sinister reason I'd fallen over the edge of the world. Just been an awful lot going on here, and something had to give.
Back soon!
Cheers
Ruth
Back soon!
Cheers
Ruth
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The happy life of teacher librarians: maybe bunnies weren't a good suggestion...
One of the Year 9 boys has been making 'films' using his DER laptop computer. They're animated, with black stick figures and silhouettes of other items. He showed me one yesterday.
Kid: Look at my film, miss!
(film runs for a couple of minutes, stick figures running up and down various obstacles, and shooting guns at frequent intervals)
That's a lot of frames you have in there!
Kid: Yes, 150 of them (a fair amount of dedicated work for him to have done, nice to be able to praise him for it)
So how do you put it together? - must have taken you a while
Kid: I download the images from the internet then put it together myself.
Well done! You know, though, all that shooting (I look kinda sad) - couldn't you make your next one about fluffy bunnies, and daisies, and sunshine???
Kid: Oh, I've done one with bunnies. I had a four wheel drive run them over after about twenty seconds.
The happy life of teacher librarians. Maybe bunnies weren't a good suggestion...!!!
Cheers
Ruth
Kid: Look at my film, miss!
(film runs for a couple of minutes, stick figures running up and down various obstacles, and shooting guns at frequent intervals)
That's a lot of frames you have in there!
Kid: Yes, 150 of them (a fair amount of dedicated work for him to have done, nice to be able to praise him for it)
So how do you put it together? - must have taken you a while
Kid: I download the images from the internet then put it together myself.
Well done! You know, though, all that shooting (I look kinda sad) - couldn't you make your next one about fluffy bunnies, and daisies, and sunshine???
Kid: Oh, I've done one with bunnies. I had a four wheel drive run them over after about twenty seconds.
The happy life of teacher librarians. Maybe bunnies weren't a good suggestion...!!!
Cheers
Ruth
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The happy life of teacher librarians: are you sure the brother died, sweetie?
Helping a kid with a speech on Hana's suitcase.
OK, you can focus your speech on an incident in the book that really had an impact on you. (teacher has told me kid x has read the book).
Kid: Well, I guess the bit where she found out her brother was dead
O-kay...but are you sure the brother died?
Kid: Oh yes, George died.
There's a picture of George as a man here in the book...
Kid: He died, miss.
And here's a paragraph about it (reads paragraph, which describes GEORGE finding out how HANA died in Auschwitz - George having survived the war).
Kid: that's right, Hana died.
Now about your speech, what else do you remember about the novel?
Kid: Dunno
But you read it in class, all together
Kid: Yeah, but I didn't listen much.
So why did Hana have to pack a suitcase?
Kid: it was the war
Which one?
Kid: the one with the Nazis
And that was - ?
Kid: World War.
World War 1 or World War 2?
Kid. One. Two. One. No, it was Two, wasn't it?
Right...
by the end of the lesson, we had the beginnings of a speech....he went away with a printout of what we had composed so far, and we'll work on it a bit more when the class returns. There are a couple of others especially needing one on one help, and whose removal from the class makes it all work just a bit better...
The happy life of teacher librarians: one step at a time, and make sure you know WHO died (!)
Cheers
Ruth
OK, you can focus your speech on an incident in the book that really had an impact on you. (teacher has told me kid x has read the book).
Kid: Well, I guess the bit where she found out her brother was dead
O-kay...but are you sure the brother died?
Kid: Oh yes, George died.
There's a picture of George as a man here in the book...
Kid: He died, miss.
And here's a paragraph about it (reads paragraph, which describes GEORGE finding out how HANA died in Auschwitz - George having survived the war).
Kid: that's right, Hana died.
Now about your speech, what else do you remember about the novel?
Kid: Dunno
But you read it in class, all together
Kid: Yeah, but I didn't listen much.
So why did Hana have to pack a suitcase?
Kid: it was the war
Which one?
Kid: the one with the Nazis
And that was - ?
Kid: World War.
World War 1 or World War 2?
Kid. One. Two. One. No, it was Two, wasn't it?
Right...
by the end of the lesson, we had the beginnings of a speech....he went away with a printout of what we had composed so far, and we'll work on it a bit more when the class returns. There are a couple of others especially needing one on one help, and whose removal from the class makes it all work just a bit better...
The happy life of teacher librarians: one step at a time, and make sure you know WHO died (!)
Cheers
Ruth
Monday, August 30, 2010
Handy weekly planner for students
While the PocketMod, as previously mentioned on this blog, is a handy-dandy, cute as a button one-week planner for students, the site's availability seems to vary.
Plan B is this less cute, but just as effective planner from Victoria: http://www.vcehelp.com.au/resources/vcehelpstudyplanner.pdf
So if you have a mentor group, or year group, or kids needing study/organisational help, this might be just what you're looking for. More than a grid, but less (alas!) than the folding and cutting fun and cuteness factor of the PocketMod. (Confession: I ended up making a version of the PocketMod using Publisher, just to share with my kids here. But the VCE planner is a good one too).
Cheers
Ruth
Plan B is this less cute, but just as effective planner from Victoria: http://www.vcehelp.com.au/resources/vcehelpstudyplanner.pdf
So if you have a mentor group, or year group, or kids needing study/organisational help, this might be just what you're looking for. More than a grid, but less (alas!) than the folding and cutting fun and cuteness factor of the PocketMod. (Confession: I ended up making a version of the PocketMod using Publisher, just to share with my kids here. But the VCE planner is a good one too).
Cheers
Ruth
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