Questions about the Common Core?

In my district. we've been talking often about the Common Core. This past week I met with a group of teachers for an afternoon as we tried to develop a rubric to use to help us examine text complexity. The Common Core talks about three areas in evaluating texts: quantitative, qualitative, and reader and task considerations. Looking at existing models, we developed a draft of a rubric for our use. This weekend everyone in the group read a novel that has been used at the sixth grade level and completed the rubric. Tomorrow morning, we'll meet to compare notes, debrief on the process, and determine if the tool we have will work for the job at hand. I am excited we've moved the conversation beyond talking about Lexiles alone and are looking at works more holistically. 

Later this week, the seventh grade literature teachers, special ed department chair, and I (the school librarian) are going to work through a common novel taught at the grade level and delve into examining how the novel is taught and the kind of tasks being asked of student with an eye on the Common Core standards. 

The Common Core State Standards are a hot topic, and it behooves us to be up on what is happening and know the role the library can play in supporting teachers and learners. TLChat is exploring the topic Supporting Teachers with Common Core at 7pm Central on Monday, 12/10. Follow the hashtag #TLChat to participate in the conversation. 

Another really helpful resource that explores the school librarian and the Common Core is a livebinder put together by Carolyn Starkey. Wow! It is a rich collection of resources and articles. Ms. Starkey has done a tremendous job curating a huge collection of materials. There's no need to duplicate the work of the initial research, use the resource and start/continue learning!

Catching up on the SLJSummit Through a Hashtag Search & More Hashtags for Learning

The School Library Journal leadership summit was held this past weekend in Philadelphia. I was able to follow some of the conversations, presentations, and resources through the Twitter hashtag, #sljsummit. Doing a search for that hashtag will bring up a results of tweets for the event so you can catch up on all the happenings.

In addition to following individuals and organizations on Twitter, these hashtags offer a helpful way to connect with other professionals and follow threads of conversations!

The second Monday of each month, there is a TL Chat held on Twitter. It uses the hashtag #TLChat and has a wiki with an archive of chats and for planing. The next #TLchat is scheduled for November 12.

This recent infographic shares a wide range of educational Twitter hashtags.

Compiled By: OnlineCollegeCourses.com

edWeb.net: Free Webinars and Educational Community

edWeb.net offers a wide range of free webinars for educators. It's an online social and learning community. The group recently announced a new relationship with LMC (Library Media Connection).

The complete lineup of upcoming webinars is available at http://www.edweb.net/lmc:

Fall 2012 Webinar Schedule

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 4pm / Eastern Time

Guided Inquiry Design: Inquiry and 21st Century Literacy Skills

Presented by: Leslie Kuhlthau Maniotes, PhD, administrator in the Denver Public Schools as well as a curriculum specialist and national consultant on inquiry learning.

 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - 4pm / Eastern Time

Ramping Up Reading with Technology

Presented by: Sue Kimmel, Assistant Professor, Teaching & Learning at Old Dominion University, Darden College of Education, Norfolk, Virginia.  She is nationally recognized for her expertise in literature and a former member of Caldecott and Notables Committees.

 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - 4pm / Eastern Time

The Nuts and Bolts of What Common Core Means to You: The Ultimate Opportunity for a Critical Role for the School Librarian

Presented by: Kristin Fontichiaro, clinical assistant professor and coordinator of the school library media program at the University of Michigan’s School of Information.

 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 4pm / Eastern Time

Social Networking for Schools

Presented by: Steven M. Baule, MLS, PhD, superintendent of North Boone Community Unit School District 200 in Poplar Grove, IL, and Julie E. Lewis, JD, partner with Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, Ltd., Chicago, IL, where she concentrates her practice in school and municipal law.

 

Wednesday December 12, 2012 - 4pm / Eastern Time

The Nuts ‘n’ Bolts of Common Core: Building a Robust Program for Teaching Research

Presented by: Kristin Fontichiaro, clinical assistant professor and coordinator of the school library media program at the University of Michigan’s School of Information.

TL Virtual Cafe is back for the new school year. This year's first session on Rocking the New Year on Monday. 9/10 at 7:00.























"Back by popular demand! A casual discussion to generate ideas on how to build school allies, support new teachers & become indispensable to admin & staff at the beginning of every school year."
Here's the participant link.

The American Association of School Librarians e-Academy

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) provides online training for school library professionals via the AASL e-Academy. The e-Academy offers a variety of four-week courses that are asynchronous and Moodle-based. Participants will receive 12 hours of learning and collaboration from experts on a particular subject. After completing the course’s culminating project, all participants will receive a certificate which can be used to apply for continuing education credits through their school district.

Check out the the AASL e-Academy web site for a calendar of upcoming courses.

Attend free webinars at TL Virtual Cafe!

Have you heard of TL Virtual Cafe? This wiki offers FREE monthly webinars during the academic year on a variety of topics related to teacher librarians, technology and collaboration. No need to register for these webinars - all you have to do is (virtually) show up! All events are hosted via Blackboard. If you’re new to Blackboard, check out the tutorial here.

If you are not able to make it to the live event, you can check out past webinars archived on the wiki. Text chat archives and other materials from the webinars are also available.

The complete line-up for the 2012-2013 school year has yet to be posted, but we can look forward to hearing from Joyce Valenza this fall. Check out the wiki for more updates as the school year begins.

Upcoming Fall Events 2012:

Joyce Valenza & our PL in a Learning Smackdown