Media matters, Vol. 3, Issue 7 (Feb. 2005)

Georgia Department of Education
Media Matters

February 2005 Volume 3, Number 7

Inside this issue:

An AR Idea

2

Poem

3

Copyright Web Site

3

National Technology 4 Plan

Book Reviews

5

Dewey Need to Get

6

Organized?

Calendar

8

President Carter is the latest reader for Georgia Read More project!

On January 26th President Jimmy Carter read his book Little Baby Snoogle Fleejer to a group of children for the Georgia Read More project. The reading was filmed at the Carter Center and will be available in the near future to all public elementary schools in Georgia. State Superintendent Kathy Cox and First Lady Mary Perdue have also read books and are a part of this program. Future readers include John Smoltz and Travis Tritt.
President Carter told the children that he had written 19 books, but Little Baby Snoogle Fleejer was his favorite. He introduced himself by saying "I'm Jimmy Carter and I'm an author. " Later he told the group " Oh, and I was President of the United States."
Little Baby Snoogle Fleejer has been turned into a play and was performed on January 29th at the Alliance Theatre.

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Media Matters February 2005
Media Matters February 2005

An AR Idea
Dale Lyles, Newnan Crossing Elementary, Coweta County
Instead of using the more usual method of placing colored dots on the spines of books, I decided several years ago to catalog each book with its book level as a subject field in its MARC record. I use the 650 tag, with the syntax of <AR> <space> <book level>.

A student looking for a book at the 3.2 level would then type in "AR 3.2" and click on the subject search button. OPAC would then put him in the subject list, and he'd then click on the Select button to view the titles. He picks his book, then uses the call number to find the book on the shelf.

It was a lot of work to do, but keeping up is not too difficult. The advantages are numerous. First, students learn how to use the OPAC to find books to their liking. The AR(tm) search is the first search they're taught, but we make the transfer to actual subject searching almost immediately. They learn to read a book record for the information therein, like the number of pages and the book summary. And most of all, they learn to use a call number to locate a book on the shelf.Another advantage, from the student's point of view, is that they're able to target a specific book level without a lot time spent wandering up and down the shelves.

We keep small baskets with call number slips next to all the computers. The slips have a box with the Section and Author lines, followed by a line for the Title. They have simple instructions on them: "Look for the Section, the Author, and then the Title, in that order."

The results are pretty remarkable. While I haven't done a formal study, my observations are pretty consistent: students who come from other schools do not know how to use a call number to find a book, even fourth or fifth graders! My assumption is that they have spent their youth looking for a colored dot. My principal was floored by two special ed boys who were able to explain the system in detail for her. Around the same time, a new kid and his mother (and a friend who already attended here) came in to find a book. Our student showed the new student how to look up a book and immediately went to find it in the nonfiction section. Both boys were third graders, and the mother was amazed that our students already knew how to do that.

For AR(tm) levels 0.4 through 1.9, we do put yellow dots at the top of the spine. This is so that students too young to read well don't have to use the OPAC to track down a book. That's a wide range, of course, but they learn to look in the book to evaluate it. As soon as they start to become proficient in reading, however, they are eager to learn how to use the computer to look up their own books. By the end of the year, we have quite a few first graders and a handful of kindergarteners who can look up a book and use the call number to find it!

I know a lot of media centers have thousands of AR(tm) books and it would be a time-consuming task to convert to my system. I was fortunate to start with a very small AR(tm) collection in a school that wasn't really even using the program. I didn't have to retrain my staff or students to stop looking for colored dots, because there weren't any to begin with. However, if I were deep in colored dots today, I'd still have to give the new system some serious thought, because its benefits are very real.

Media Matters February 2005

Surprise
Beverly McLoughland
The biggest Surprise On the library shelf Is when you suddenly Find yourself Inside a book-- (The hidden you) You wonder how The author knew.

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Georgia Department of Education 1952 Twin Towers East 205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Phone: (404) 657-9800 Fax: (404) 657-6822 Email: judy.serritella@doe.k12.ga.us
We will lead the nation in improving student achievement.

Copyright Web site
This site contains an easy-to-read chart developed by the Jefferson County (Colorado) school system. The chart shows "Permitted" and "Not Permitted" topics. The information is clear and concise.
Download your own copy at:
http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/plmc/copyright.html

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Media Matters February 2005

Seen at a reference desk:
I fully realize that I have not succeeded in answering all of your questions... indeed; I feel that I have not answered any of them completely.The answers I have found only serve to raise a whole new set of questions, which only lead to more problems--some of which we weren't aware were problems. To sum it all up...in some ways I feel we are as confused as ever, but I believe we are confused on a higher level and about more important things.

National Technology Plan

AASL's response to

From the news release:U.S. Dept of Education

the National Technology

"American education is being bolstered by the increasing use Plan

of educational technology, greater accountability, and growing

new partnerships between tech-savvy students and teachers,

according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Education."

This statement is also available on the ALA Web site at

Full Text of Report is at:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/ index.html
OR

http://www.ala.org/ ala/ pressreleases2005/ january2005a/ vaughnstatement.htm

http://digbig.com/4cjxd

Grammar Tip
"The English language has the worst system of spelling of any major language. Since English spelling is so hard, it is used as a test, a rather unfair test, of a person's carefulness and literacy. Check everyword that looks phunny."
Robert C. Pinckert, Pinckert's Practical Grammar

Take my advice...and buy these books

For nearly 20 years, the most popular and most circulated books at my school have been those by author Lurlene McDaniel. Her theme is death and dying. While that instantly causes raised eyebrows, once you fully understand where she's coming from you see the value of her writing--and why she's so popular with young adults.
One of Mrs. McDaniel's two sons was diagnosed at the age of three with juvenile diabetes. While spending time with her son in hospitals, she became aware of the health problems facing so many young people. She found her writing voice by creating stories of young people facing real situations of disease, dying, and death. While her books are realistic and sad, they also are hopeful, inspiring, and life-affirming. They enable young adults to understand and be able to cope with issues that may come their way.
Much more information is on her Web site: http://www.lurlenemcdaniel.com. If you don't have these books, GET THEM! Your students, especially middle and high school girls, will thank you!
Tommy Tatum
Adairsville Middle School

Great books for high school kids : a teacher's guide to books that can change teens' lives / edited by Rick Ayers and Amy Crawford.-- 1st pbk.ed.-- Boston : Beacon Press, c2004.ISBN 0807032557
This resource offers lists of titles (fiction and nonfiction) by subject,author and title as well as brief descriptions for most books listed. Itis very current and extremely useful to media specialists and teachers. I have loved it!!
Kathleen Disney
Druid Hills High School

I Face the Wind, part of Vicki Cobb's Science Play series, illustrated by
Julia Gorton, Published by Harper Collins, 2003 - Recommended ages: 4-10
All kids are curious. Why is water wet? How much does air weigh? How does gravity work? The Vicki Cobb Science Play series of books answers these questions (and more) in creative and fun ways. My favorite is I Face the Wind. Cobb's story makes a scientist of any reader. She lists the tools the experiments require, making them easy and fun and gets you ready with prompts right in the text such as "Before you being reading this book to your child, have on hand the following..." It's the kind of book kids will not only want to look at when they are in your library but will take home for further exploration.
Cathy Puett Miller, The Literacy Ambassador
cathypmiller@comcast.net

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Media Matters February 2005

GETTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Tips from J'aime Foust, Knowledge Quest September/October 2004, p. 44 (From the book Dewey Need To Get Organized? A time management and organizational guide for School Librarians, Linworth, 2002)
)
1. Keep only two lists a. Master list where you write down everything in one place instead of multiple lists or scraps of paper b. Daily-to-do list where you transfer items from your master list. Only transfer what you think you can accomplish that day
2. Priorities a. Rank tasks by order of importance b. Break big tasks into smaller pieces c. Watch the master list to track patterns of when the pressure to complete tasks increases or decreases so you can avoid the dreaded last minute rush
3. Calendars and Time a. Use only one calendar for everything! Experiment to find the one that works best for you. Wall calendar, desk top, electronic, purse sized, an organizer containing calendar, address book, and other vital data are all options to consider. b. Watch your time--if you are always late, write down an earlier time for a meeting to increase your chances of being on time.Use an electronic alarm to remind you when to begin getting ready or to remind you to leave for your destination.
4. Throw it away! a. Decide immediately what needs to be done with the item i. Critical-deal with now on the calendar, task list, address book, etc. ii. Throw away the paper once you have recorded it in its appropriate category

b. Maintain only two filing systems i. Long term ii. Short term
c. Ask yourself--why am I keeping this? 5. Look at your work space
a. What works--keep it or improve it b. What doesn't work-change it c. Do a little straightening each day 6. Learn to say NO a. Adjust and live with the mess b. Allow time to complete the task c. Say no--rather than stress over getting the job done d. Tomorrow may have no more extra time that today did 7. Values and Goals a. Post them where you can see them-but change their location frequently or else you won't see them because them will eventually blend in to their surroundings. b. Focus on what is important c. Compare tasks on master list to your values and goals--Review, revise, renew, discard as needed 8. Facing the demons a. Identify the stressors b. Identify the pitfalls and bad habits c. Identify your "button pushers" and plan ways to circumvent them 9. Accounting a. Keep your methods of tracking your bookkeeping simple b. Develop a filing/accounting system that accommodates easyaccess to information 10. Laugh a. At yourself! b. With colleagues c. With students

Sunday

February 2005
GaDOE Library Media Services

Monday

Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Langston Hughes Birthdays ofAyn born: 1902-1967 Rand, James Dickey, James Joyce and Rebecca Caudill

Birthday ofJames Charles Lindbergh Birthday ofHank Michener: 1907- born: 1902-1974 Aaron: 1934 1997
Sidney Lanier born: 1842-1881

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Birthday ofBabe Charles D ickens andBoy Scouts foun-

Ruth: 1895-1948 Laura Ingalls

ded: 1910

Wilder were born.

Alice Walker's birthday: 1944-

Boris P asternak: Thomas Edison

1 89 0-1 96 0

born: 1847-1931

Charles Lamb born:

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Birthday of Abe Lincoln: 1809-1865

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Eleanor Farjeon: 1881-1965
WilliamSleator: 1 94 5-

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Valentine's Birthday ofSusan

Day

B. Anthony and

Cyru s

McCormick.

LeVar Burton born: 1957-

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ChaimP otok born: Birthday ofToni Amy Tan born:

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Morrison: 1931- 1952-

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John Glenn orbits the earth: 1962

W.H. Auden

Birthday ofGeorge W.E.B. DuBois Birthday ofWinsl- Renoir born: 1841- Sharon Bell

born: 1907-1973 Washington:

born: 1868-1963 ow Homer: 1836- 1919

Mathis born:

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World Trade

Center bombed:

1993

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Birthdays ofJohn Steinbeck and Henry Longfellow.

Birthday of Donna Jo Napoli: 1948-

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There is a wo nder in reading Braille that the sighted will ne ve r know: to to uc h wo rds have them touch yo u bac k. Jim Fie big