This inspiring tool demonstrates how project-based learning (PBL) projects can be used in a variety of settings and provides coaching for educators who aspire to create their own projects. Madigan's book delivers flexible, interdisciplinary, learner-driven projects that support the "National School Library Standards." Readers will find…

You can ensure that your school library is a place where teens feel seen, heard, and inspired. "Growing Teen Engagement" is your essential resource for transforming your secondary school library into a thriving, learner-centered community. Whether you're looking to inspire creativity, encourage teamwork, or build emotional resilience,…

The inaugural publication in "Discover and Learn with the Library," an educational series published by the Library of Congress in association with the American Library Association, "The Civil Rights Movement" explores this important topic through classroom-ready materials for teachers, librarians, and home educators working…

Breakout boxes are similar to the escape rooms that have popped up all over the country in the past few years. In an escape room, you and your friends are locked in a room and given a scenario and a time limit. You must work together to solve a number of puzzles to get out of the room before time runs out. Breakout boxes center around boxes, each…

In many elementary schools across the nation the library looks like a revolving door of classes. Classroom teachers come and drop off their classes for a lesson at a set time during the week. The school librarian teaches a lesson in isolation while the classroom teacher has a planning period. There is little time for collaboration. There is even…

This article explores all the actions and opportunities school librarians take to reinforce reading instruction and reinforce learners' growing reading skills. It also details ways to enhance reading instruction through technology and makerspaces.

Literacy does not happen in a single lesson or course. There are no shortcuts to gaining mastery over a skill set, whether it is reading literacy, information literacy and research skills, online literacy and digital citizenship, or visual literacy. School librarians dream about a perfect integrated curriculum: there is ample time for…

AASL's new integrated standards are designed to empower leaders to transform teaching and learning. The new "National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries" reflect an evolution of AASL Standards, building on philosophical foundations and familiar elements of previous standards while featuring the…

In January 2012, a group of four school library professors attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting were having lunch and discussing various issues related to the school library field. These school library professors agreed that one challenge facing the profession is preparing future leaders. As current school library leaders retire, it is difficult to…

Innovative, well-designed school library programs can be critical resources for helping students meet high standards of college and career readiness. In "School Libraries and Student Learning", Rebecca J. Morris shows how school leaders can make the most of their school libraries to support ambitious student learning. She offers…

Parents and caregivers can maximize children's engagement with educational television programming by co-viewing and discussing concepts and issues during and following episodes, and parents and caregivers can poach ideas and processes from these programs and apply them to their own interactions with children. School librarians might also consider…

As shown by MetLife's 2010 "Survey of the American Teacher," America's educators strongly believe that all students should graduate from high school ready for college and a career (85 percent). Additionally, according to MetLife's 2009 survey, 86 percent of teachers believe that setting high expectations for students will…

School librarians need a simple action plan for overcoming the barriers to adopting School Library 2.0. This book provides one, and describes how fully integrating technology would dramatically benefit 21st-century schools. Despite the substantial efforts that have been made to bring schools into the 21st century, research indicates that the…

Many educators now agree that graphic novels inform as well as entertain, and to dismiss the educational potential of the graphic novel is to throw away a golden opportunity to reach out to young readers. This dynamic book takes a look at the term "graphic novel," how the format has become entwined in our culture, and the ways in which graphic…

Inquiry does not replace information literacy; it encompasses it. It encourages librarians to consider instructional design beyond information search, retrieval, citation, and use. Inquiry-based learning invites school librarians to step into all aspects of instructional planning, from activating prior knowledge straight through to reflection.…