This article offers a guide to introduce Shakespeare's plays and his life. All it takes are five days in the library media center; some student handouts; plenty of resources, both print and online; some word processing software; plus a little patience and flexibility. Students complete a timeline, a paper and a cover sheet, all of which can be…

The school library media center has an abundance of resources for teachers and students, but library media specialists are frequently isolated, sometimes invisible, members of the faculty. In addition, many teachers mistakenly think of library media specialists as "the copyright police" or "The Controllers of Content" instead of collaborators. It…

For multitudes of children Harry Potter is a hero. He fights evil and stands up for his friends. However, not all adults agree. Instead, he is perceived as a threat by many. This article discusses how some adults on a school board reacted to this perceived threat. The majority of a school board voted to restrict access to Harry Potter books in the…

What administrators know and understand matters when it comes to organizing a school for teaching and learning. When principals and assistant principals discourage the use of practices unfamiliar to them or do not support best practices, they can actually hamper student achievement and professional growth. This is especially true when it comes to…

Library media staff can hold poetry festivals, which would help in developing the interest of the students in poetry and assist them in displaying their literary talents. Poetry can be studied in classrooms, where students are asked to create tunes and write simple lyrics, participation of the students in reading the poetries loudly in the…

It is reported that using mapping software is truly a life skill. In the classes in which it is taught, students will find learning to use mapping valuable in every phase of life.

The author states that the most effective collaborative relationships honor the library media specialist as a technologist, information intermediary, and instructional leader, and the teacher as a content and classroom management expert. She recounts her relationship with Linda Thompson, her social studies teacher describing a primary source…

Matt Estes, a social studies teacher, mentions the main instructional goals for his students like understanding the importance of proper citation and attribution presenting the Machiavelli project that deals with the skills he wants his students to develop and the course material that must be covered. In addition, Ann Brady, a library media…

Stocking the shelves of library media centers with multicultural literature is not enough, it is important that children are helped to choose the ones that would interest them as reading about various cultures is of great benefit to young readers. The importance of accurately representing to children a multicultural society is emphasized and…

Sixteen students, randomly selected from a pool of 91 fourth-graders in a midsize elementary school, were interviewed about their reading choices. The interviews revealed that children had different degrees of motivation, following several patterns. Children chose narrative literature for these reasons: (1) The books related to their personal…

An English teacher believes that it is necessary for students to know how and why censorship operates in school libraries and classrooms to help them have the tools to speak for themselves. Free-choice reading, mock trails, and writing assignments are used to teach students about the censorship of books that are used in the schools.

Job responsibilities of computer teachers and library media specialists are increasingly overlapping and it is recommended that the curricula of the two disciplines are seen as a single entity. How this can be done best is detailed with the proviso that two specialized individuals will continue to be required to teach students the necessary skills.

The role of web hate sites on the tragedy that occurred in Red Lake School and its community on 21 March 2005 is discussed. Library media specialists and technologists should make sure that students find communities with values that are life-affirming and socially responsible, as even a small thing can make a huge difference in a student's life.

School Library Journal hosted its first Leadership Summit March 18 and 19. The best and brightest were invited, and many of them came to New York City to discuss the most pressing issues facing K-12 education: literacy, student achievement, and the integration of 21st century learning skills. These core topics became the categories around which…

Discusses how the school library media specialist (SLMS) must assume leadership in establishing and nurturing administrative partnerships and to take the risk of leading when the opportunity arises. Offers tips for managing your professional partnerships: be professional at all times, learn your job, do your job to the very best of your ability,…