Teachers and school librarians know that giving students the freedom to choose what to read from a variety of materials is the most effective way to foster a love of reading. Curiosity, pre-existing interests, or even a desire for connection cause students to reach for books that inform instead of entertain. But a genre of books is often left out…

Contemporary nonfiction for young people plays a crucial role in the reading and writing lives of K-12 students. It is a rich and compelling genre that supports students' development as critically, visually, and informationally literate 21st century thinkers and creators. Unlike many textbooks and materials written for online or print-based school…

Croft and Barnhart share their experience when learning shifted to online at the University of West Georgia and the LibraryDen, a library mini course, was developed and used in the Multiple Literacies for School Library Media Course. Particularly impressive was the transferability of skills between the academic and school library setting.

This article details how the Norman Public School District implemented Guided Inquiry Design and making at all levels of the school system. It highlights how the faculty collaborated with other educators and how learners collaborated with their peers and their classroom teachers on inquiry projects.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) defines the Holocaust as the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. During the Holocaust, German authorities targeted groups because of perceived racial and biological inferiority: Roma (Gypsies), people with…

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…

This inspirational book is about engaged pedagogies, an approach to teaching and learning that centers dialogue, listening, equity, and connection among stakeholders who understand the human and ecological cost of inequality. The authors share their story of working with students, teachers, teacher educators, families, community members, and union…

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…

After spending the summer aligning the AASL Standards Framework for Learners with state standards and county learner profile, author Calypso Gilstrap claims a new passion for the impact school librarians have in teaching students the workplace skills employers desire. According to research conducted recently for the Association of American…

This article is a reflection on how we can show students that the science we learn at school is present in our everyday lives and that we shouldn't separate them. It is essential that we revise the way we plan lessons and include links that are not obvious to young people in order to develop their ability to research, understand and enjoy science.…

One of the main responsibilities of school librarians is to teach students to evaluate the credibility of information. There is little evidence to suggest that students are being explicitly taught how to evaluate news obtained through social media. As avenues for giving and getting information evolve, so must ways of teaching students so that they…

In an effort to carry out the work of Bismarck (ND) Public Schools, while implementing the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) "National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries," the district has started training school librarians to be the backbone of the project-based learning (PBL)…

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…

Gaining professional experience for pre-service school librarians is essential and can be accomplished through curriculum requirements such as practicums, internships, or field experiences. These experiences are designed to prepare school librarians for active professional roles by providing an environment in which they can put classroom theories…

This past school year, the author set out to develop lessons that incorporated the design thinking process into her literature exploration curriculum in the school library. Design thinking is a term that the author has heard many times over the past few years in the context of education. Design thinking has been incorporated into the school…