Women's History Month

As February zooms into March, we have developed a quick list of resources for Women's History Month. 

Women's History Month

Women's History Month for Teachers

Has ready made lesson plans for teaching Women''s History.Highlights using primary resources.

Infoplease-Women's History Month

Has a database of different biographies.

Scholastic Recommended Books for Women's History Month

Scholastic Everything You Need Women's History Month

This ink includes computer learning activities, articles and research projects.

Encyclopedia Britanica Women Who Changed the World

Links to short biographies, also includes lesson plan resources. This is eared toward older kids.

Children's Encyclopedia of Women

And for the younger ones, a bare bones database of biographies.

Gale-Cengage Women's History Month

This site has more sophisticated activities for high school and college students.

Boy Books and Girl Books

I am a firm believer that all literature provides equal opportunity for any individual, regardless of gender. There are many who disagree. Some folks say girls don't like Hatchet, and some say boys would never be interested Little House on the Prairie. To them I would ask why a girl shouldn't enjoy a good survival book (Hunger Games demographics have very recently proven that), and also why a boy wouldn't enjoy a vividly descriptive work about pioneer life.

We can't put readers in our preconceived boxes. 

But just because it's true that some girls really don't like Hatchet, here is a great list of books recommended for the little ladies from ages 1-9.

Likewise, just as the young gentlemen can be a bit choosy sometimes when being proffered literature, here's another good list for them as well, appropriate for various ages through middle school.

These might be a neat idea for a display for the last two weeks in April. What would you title it? Boy Books and Chick Lit?

Let the Games begin!

*This post is by Carla Crews, one of the school librarians at Shades Valley High School/JCIB/Shades Valley Technical Academies.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, movie adaptations of books give us a great opportunity to promote recreational reading. Our library recently invited teachers and students to participate in our own version of The Hunger Games, based on the popular series by Suzanne Collins. The movie release is March 23, and we wanted to encourage students to read the book first! We set up activity stations around the library, which included archery, rope tying, costume design, arm wrestling, trivia questions, online games, and a viewing station for the movie trailer. Several of the station activities offered students a chance to put their name into the “reaping.” Here we deviated slightly from the book, as contestants actually wanted their name in this drawing. Students were quite competitive when they learned that a local theater donated movie passes for the prize drawing!

We began with some brainstorming sessions (and the Internet). The following two resources were particularly helpful during our planning phase:

http://www.bethanymediacenter.com/hungergames.html

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=365

We gathered our supplies, only spending money on a bow, arrows, and rope. We created themed signage for the event and typed questions for the trivia station. The braided nylon rope was cut into 18” pieces, and instructions were placed at the station for tying various types of knots. Paper rabbits were set up as targets at the archery station. Due to some concerns about teenagers shooting a bow in the library, we used a child-size bow and ‘play’ arrows that had suction cup tips... no damaged walls or speared children! For the opening ceremony costume designs, we already had all the necessary supplies – paper, pencils, crayons/markers, and lots of books on fashion, costumes, and clothing design. We also included a list of the districts’ trades and industries for inspiration. The Scholastic website offers some exciting online games related to The Hunger Games series. These online games, along with The Hunger Games Wiki, were set up as desktop icons at the computer station. Students could scan a QR code at the viewing station to watch the movie trailer. Tributes showed off their strength as they conquered opponents at the arm wrestling station, our school-friendly alternative to the brutal combat of the actual Games.

If you’re looking around on the web for ideas related to The Hunger Games, check out the hashtag #THGyalsa on Twitter. This was a YALSA-sponsored tweet session during Teen Tech Week to discuss the movie release and library programming ideas. One librarian tweeted that she is planning a Wii Archery tournament. And should you decide to turn your library into a Hunger Games arena…  may the odds be ever in your favor.

What You Already Know About Displays

It never ceases to amaze me that whatever I put on a display gets checked out - immediately. To paraphrase the late Steve Jobs, they don't know they need it until you let them know they need it.

That's exactly what happened when one week before Martin Luther King Day (picture courtesy of National Geographic for Kids), I set up a display with MLK books - books on the Freedom Riders, various biographies of MLK, Civil Rights books, and books highlighting his speeches. You name it, I had it out there. And, as of today, all of the books are checked out. That is, except for one that said, "does not exist" when it was scanned. I'll deal with it later.

My question is why? Those books were always there on the shelves. I also have one poster of MLK in my library and a huge piece of artwork with 16 panels of MLK's visage, so it is not as if there are no reminders that this man plays the main role in the development of the New South (Huffington Post article referencing that on Friday the 13th). The students who checked them out just didn't realize they needed them until I put them out there within easy reach.

Never underestimate the power of displays.

Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.