This article describes the library media program at John Glenn Elementary School (San Antonio, Texas). The program's goal was to increase student involvement in the teaching/learning process through a library media program that would generate excitement, intensity, and commitment. The three strategies they employed to achieve this goal were: (1)…

In this article, the author stresses the importance of welcoming preschoolers and babies into school libraries. She states that when read to from birth, a baby becomes used to the cadences and rhythms of spoken language, at the same time responding to the bright pictures and the presence of a loving adult. The baby associates books and stories…

State-funded informational databases are a boon to students, teachers, and teacher-librarians, but as states struggle with budgets, funding for these resources is endangered survey results on the status of databases in all fifty states along with suggestions for keeping the databases or dealing with their absence follow. Today's students and…

When Oprah Winfrey began her successful book club in 1996, she continued a tradition that public libraries have provided for decades. Oprah placed a spotlight on reading that encouraged many women who had never read a book "to read." Book clubs sprang up in neighborhoods, bookstores, and on Web sites. Library media centers began offering book…

The key to improving students' attitudes about reading is to expose them to more contemporary literature--books to which they can relate in settings and themes--books that they are more likely to enjoy. This article describes a collaborative literature circles project between an English teacher and a media specialist that was extremely successful…

This article introduces a group of teens who become reviewers for the Newbery Awards. A targeted young adult audience of 35 students taught by Jane Hester, a gifted instructor at Kennedy Junior High School, was chosen with careful attention to their reading abilities and willingness to participate in the arduous task of reading critically 25…

Each month, "American School & University" provides a mix of thought-provoking features, how-to-articles, industry reports, exclusive surveys, new sections, insightful columns, new product introductions and case histories to assist education officials in better performing their jobs. This June 2005 issue includes the following: "Raising the Bar"…

Over the past decade, educators have stressed the importance of creating exciting and intellectually stimulating environments where students are actively involved in constructing their own understandings. Whether it's designing a WebQuest to spark curiosity in science or establishing an oral history project to spur interest in local history,…

This article summarizes some of the recent research on boys and reading that has been primarily conducted in Australia but is also available online to international readers. The research makes it clear that many boys are still reading, but competing claims on their busy lives easily sidetrack them from making reading their main activity. Educators…

So much hinges on putting the right book in a student's hands. Motivation to read is the foundation from which knowledge, reading competency, and comprehension grow. But how do we do it? Here, Hinton and Dickinson offer practical advice for how to reach kids through a partnership with library media specialists and a commitment to promoting books…

"Inquiry is an investigative process that engages students in answering questions, solving real world problems, confronting issues, or exploring personal interests" (Pappas and Tepe 2002, 27). Students who engage in inquiry learning need tools and resources that enable them to independently gather and use information. Scaffolding is important for…

Every single young person who has grown up in America is only one major event or catastrophe away from falling over the edge into what most people would call "at-risk." The term "at-risk" refers to a wide range of factors that make it more difficult for a person to meet the developmental tasks of their age group. For students, a major…

In the most effective schools, the potential for positive impact of the school library media center and the library media specialist is recognized, and teachers and media specialists work together routinely to support teaching and learning. This "Informed Educator" examines both the elements of an effective school library media center and the…

Kids ask the darndest questions. And sometimes they ask them in the darndest places, including online information systems that were not designed to answer them. There is a reason for this continuing phenomenon, and an important lesson in it for school library media specialists and other educators. To understand the phenomenon at hand, imagine an…

Most school-age boys score lower than girls at every level on standardized tests of reading comprehension in almost every country where tested. The amount of reading that a child does is directly related to reading fluency; the more one reads, the more proficient one becomes. After reviewing theories and research studies investigating why boys…