Archive for January, 2007
There’s a great article in the new issue of VOYA that just arrived in my mailbox today. It’s about a new type of YA book club called Readers Workshop, created by a school librarian in New York. She runs Readers Workshop by reading the book out loud to the kids and asking questions along the way. She says that reading requires concentration, which reading aloud helps to promote. She also points out that reading stories with teens “gives them a platform of expression and a handle on empathy.” Although her program is set up in a school library, I bet it would be a great format for short-story discussions in a public library setting too. What do you think? (A side note, the author of the article, Alison Follos, will be presenting a workshop on Readers Workshop for CMRLS on April 11 at Gibbons Middle School in Westborough. Go to http://www.cmrls.org to register!)
January 26th, 2007
… but this time, not for great books — for great book carts! Overdue Media, publishers of the Unshelved comic strip, held a “Pimp My Bookcart Contest” with the winning prize going to a library and its teens! Many teen groups received runners-up and honorable mentions too. They plan to do it again next year, so it could be a fun project for a TAB or just as a stand-alone program!
January 26th, 2007
Today is the day that ALA announces the winners of all the book awards. I couldn’t get into the webcast, but thanks to Teri Lesesne, I followed the winners on the YALSA blog. Here are the YA award winners:
Printz winner: American Born Chinese
Printz honors: Octavian Nothing, Abundance of Katherines, Surrender, Book Thief
Margaret Edwards Award: Lois Lowry
Alex Awards:
Book of Lost Things
The Whistling Season
Eagle Blue
Water for Elephants
Color of the Sea
Floor of the Sky
Blind Side: The Evolution of a Game
Black Swan Green
The World Made Straight
The Thirteenth Tale
Look for the official announcements later today on the ALA website!
January 22nd, 2007
Just a heads up that the Year of the Teen kickoff program is this coming Tuesday, January 23rd, at Worcester Public Library. Our awesome speakers are ready to go, and I just found out that high school sophomore Antoine B will be joining the panel discussion in the afternoon! Bring your questions, concerns and ideas for all our presenters. We have a good size crowd coming but the room is very large, so if you still want to register, go to http://www.cmrls.org and sign up now. See you on Tuesday!
January 18th, 2007
I have to admit, when I first heard about the idea of using video games in classrooms (and libraries!) I was a bit skeptical. Weren’t they, after all, just entertainment? What value could they possibly have? Well, since reading (a lot) about gaming and literacy, and hearing experts like Beth Gallaway talk about the topic, I now understand a lot more about the way kids learn these days. I saw a story on the news about games in the classroom, and found an article on today’s Reuters news wire that you should read. Here’s a quote:
“David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says schools should use games to prepare children to compete in the work force, where juggling technology is a daily requirement.
“People think that the way we teach kids in schools is the natural way we should learn,” said Shaffer, author of the book “How Computer Games Help Children Learn.”
“But young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can’t innovate. We simply can’t ’skill and drill’ our way to innovation.”
Wow, that’s powerful! Read the complete article on the Reuters website.
January 12th, 2007
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