Volume 3, Number 8 March 2005 Georgia Department of Education Media Matters John Smoltz is the latest Georgia Read More guest! Are you... Retiring this year? Were you chosen... Teacher of the Year? Media Specialist of the Year? Send an email to: jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us so that we can let the whole state know! Inside this issue: Reviews 2 Great web sites 3 Google scholar 4 Calendar 5 Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz pitched another no-hitter last week when he read The Monster Who Ate My Peas to a group of students. John's reading was filmed by the Georgia Technology Authority and will be broadcast at a later date by Georgia Public Broadcasting. The author, Danny Schnitzlein, was present for the filming and presented each child with an autographed copy of the book. Media Matters Take my advice...and buy these for your media center Science & Math Discoveries. The Solar System & Stars. Discovery Channel Education, 2004. 17 minutes. $29.95 Six billion years ago a dying star exploded. This blast rippled through dust and debris and a new star was born our sun. This is the beginning of an excellent video introduction to the solar system. A tour of the nine planets is presented. Beginning with the terrestrial (earth like) planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars then the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, ending with Pluto. Each planet is explained giving its attributes and what makes it unique. Venus, the hottest planet; life-supporting Earth; the extreme temperatures of Mercury; the Red Planet, Mars; the biggest, Jupiter; Saturn the ringed planet; Uranus, spinning like a bowling ball; Neptune, the blue planet; and Pluto the smallest. Comparisons of the planet's mass are presented as well as location, composition, atmosphere, and natural satellites. The narration is clear and easy to understand. Pictures present clearly each planet with animated features showing rotation, etc. The length of the video is very appropriate for upper elementary level. This would be an excellent addition to the science collection. This is one of a series of six Space Science for Students videos. Other titles are: Galileo's Telescope & Lowells' Observatory, Exploring Jupiter & Mission to Mars, The Space Shuttle & Its Support Staff, The Moon & Moon Dust to Concrete, Living in Space & Zero Gravity. A teacher's guide, a worksheet, and answers key can be found at http:www.SVEmedia.com/furtherlearning. Grades: 3-6 Gloria Chandler, Educational Reviewer, Augusta, Georgia A World History teacher got very excited after seeing "The French Revolution," on The History Channel. He said that it was the best video on the subject he has ever seen. I quite agree after seeing it myself. It runs one and a half hours without commercials, but is riveting. We thought it appropriate for high school students and it would be an excellent Video/DVD purchase. Use of short segments would be easier with the DVD. Author: The History Channel Title: The French Revolution Publisher/Producer: The History Channel ISBN: N/A Nick Hopper Ben Hill County Page 2 Volume 3, Number 8 Take my advice...and buy these for your media center (continued) Video/DVD Series: Grammar For Children Includes the titles: Nouns, Verbs, Punctuation, Sentences, Descriptive Words & Phrases Publisher: Schlessinger Media (Sold through the Library Video Company) Grade Levels: 2-4 This is a much-needed series on Grammar. Both students and teachers at my school have been really excited about these videos. The videos reinforce curriculum objectives and make learning fun and rewarding. Jane Toth Media Specialist Carrollton Elementary School 401 Ben Scott Blvd. Carrollton, GA 30117 770-832-2120 ext. 4100 jane.toth@carrolltoncityschools.net My Louisiana Sky Grades 5 and up. This 2002 Carnegie Award winning movie stars Juliette Lewis as Aunt Dorie Kay in the tale of a twelve year old girl, Tiger Ann, who is faced with many family changes and challenges. This movie is great for character education and in a family and consumer science classroom. Tiger Ann is being raised by her grandmother and her mentally handicapped parents. When her grandmother passes away Tiger Ann is faced with a decision whether to live with her Aunt Dorie Kay in Baton Rouge or stay home with her parents. This heartfelt emotional journey is based on the award winning book, My Louisiana Sky, by author Kimberly Willis Scott . Kimberly Willis Scott has also written When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, Keeper of the Night, and Mister and Me. Publisher: Showtime Entertainment ISBN: 58445-30542 May be purchased from Library Video Company VHS - $9.95 DVD - $14.95 Tammie Wadley South Paulding Middle School Dallas, GA Page 3 Georgia Department of Education Great Web Sites Check out Google Scholar Google Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. You can find Google Scholar at: http://scholar.google.com/ Market your library media center: http://www.gale.com/free_resources/ marketing/index.htm Libraries Matter: This is a library awareness campaign sponsored by Alliance Library System, an Illinois organization consisting of academic, public, school, and special libraries. http://librariesmatter.com/ March 2005 GaDOE Library Media Services Sunday Monday February S M TW T F S 12345 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 Birthday ofFreder- Dr. Seuss' birth- ick Chopin: day: 1904-1991 1810-1849 David Atchison President of the US for one day: 1849 Meindart DeJong's birthday: 1906-1991 Boston Massacre: 1770 6 Alamo captured: 1836 Dred Scott decision: 1857 7 8 9 10 Telephone patented: 1876 Birthday ofKenneth Grahame: 1859-1932 Barbie debuted: 1959 Birthday ofAmerigo Vespucci: 1454-1512 Death ofHarriet Tubman: 18201913 11 12 Wanda Gag born: Juliette Low foun- 1893-1946 ded the Girl Scouts: 1912 13 The planet Uranus discovered: 1781 14 15 16 17 18 Birthday ofAlbert Andrew Jackon President James South Africans Birthday ofJohn Einstein: 1879- born: 1767-1845 Madison's birth- voted to end Updike: 1932- 1955 day: 1751-1836 minority rule: 1992 St. Patrick- 's Day 19 1st recorded lunar eclipse: 72 Wyatt Earp born: 1848-1929 20 21 Lois Lowry born: Birthday of 1937- Johann Bach: 1685-1750 22 23 Randolph Calde- Patrick Henry cott born: 1846- speech: 1775 1886 24 Koch discovered cause oftuberculosis: 1882 25 Birthday ofFlannery O'Connor: 1925-1964 26 Robert Frost's birthday: 18741963 27 Alaskan earthquake: 1964 28 29 1st picture book for children: 1592 Washing machine patented: 1797 Cy Young born: 1867-1955 30 Alaska purchased: 1867 Amendment 15 ratified: 1870 31 Birthday ofOctavio Paz: 19141998 April S M TW T F S 12 3456789 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 You ca n't get a cup of tea lar ge enough or a book long enough to suit me.-- C. S. Lewis