COLLECT + CONNECT

Goodreads is my go-to when finding my newest book. It's also the place I track my reading with my free account. And... it's a place I use to locate books for library collections. I like that Goodreads has real people reviews. This allows me to get a good indication of what other people (adults and teens and kids alike) think about specific books and series. The point is to not just have books on the library shelves, it's to have kids actually read the books, right?! Well, reviews help with that process. While adding my newest read to my CURRENTLY READING list, I happened upon the  Armchair Travelling: Books Set in Every U.S. State  section on the  Summer Reading  page. A literary state-by-state tour through America? Yes, please. I actually went through all 50 states and discovered I had either read or listened to 8 titles.  The Great Alone  by Kristin Hannah Small Great Things  by Jodi Picoult Educated  by Tara Westover The Giver of Stars  b...

Here's a wonderful way to encourage reading AND support and recognize Indigenous authors, scientists, legislators, storytellers, and creators. ailanet.org The American Indian Library Association created the Read Native Challenge that encourages youth (and adults) to read books and articles by and about Native Americans. Throughout the year, find and read books and publications by and about Native Americans, visit tribal websites, search peer-reviewed scholarly journals, visit Native-owned bookstores, and check with Native librarians for all of the best sources for learning more about Native Americans and Indigenous people around the world. Booklists and author lists will be added to the AILA website throughout the year.  Read more about how the process works by visiting  Read Native Challenge . Also, be sure to check out the  American Indian Youth Literature Awards too! Every school library should be using this awards list to enrich and diversify its collection. Discla...

Librarian Tyler Muth of Freedom Elementary in Harrisburg School District shared a fun addition to the library curriculum. To support textual literacy and digital literacy while also incorporating the South Dakota Book Awards, Muth made a book menu for 4th and 5th graders. Muth got creative using  Canva to develop the menu. Then he used  Flowcode to make a free QR code that students could scan with iPads to access the menu. To extend learning, Muth plans to host a book tasting using this book menu. The menu has reading samples linked as well as linked book trailers if available. Here's what the menu looks like: .pdf version If you want to check out the entire menu with working links, simply scan the code below with your phone or iPad. Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this post.

This year the 2020 South Dakota Festival of Books will be virtual and there's still time to register for this mostly free event! It'll kick off with a welcome Thursday, Oct. 1, and continue with events throughout the weekend and into late-October.  REGISTER! As part of the Virtual 2020 Young Readers Festival of Books, the South Dakota Humanities Council has posted seven “Virtual School Visit” videos by authors and illustrators. These videos are FREE for teachers, librarians, and parents/guardians to use as they like, and they will remain available for viewing through at least October 31, unless otherwise noted. They include: Alison McGhee Bink & Gollie: Three for One: Creating the 2020 Young Readers One Book McGhee talks about how Bink & Gollie came to be and answers questions from South Dakota students – focused on 3rd grade Angelica Shirley Carpenter & Edwin Fotheringham (with Jennifer McIntyre)   Writing and Illustrating The Voice of Liberty  Carpenter (a...

During the month of July 2020, fifteen school librarians from around the state participated in a book study facilitated by the SD State Library. The book?  Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching Engaging Every Child by Pernille Ripp. Laura Kelly, the Children & Youth Services Coordinator at the SD State Library, enrolled in the course and she kindly wrote about her experience. ...from Laura Kelly I have worked at the South Dakota State Library (SDSL) for the past two years. I serve 110 public libraries in South Dakota which include combination school/public libraries.  I help librarians provide literacy programs for children, teens, and adults. One way I am able to serve others is by actively participating in continuing education as a learner. I started my career in education teaching reading as a Title I teacher in North Dakota and then I transferred into an elementary school librarian teaching position. I taught for a total of ten years and then transitioned into the p...

Do you need to jazz up your book talks? Want your students to create their own talks - maybe using FlipGrid  or Loom or a classroom YouTube Channel ? Allow me to share just two resources about book talking: Bring the HEAT to Your Book Talks This excellent blog post from  The Reading Roundup  leans more toward student book talks and provides free templates to help students create better book talks. Rebellious Reading - Book Talks This curated Wakelet list triples as an instruction manual and an assignment. It's concise (we love that!) and also thorough. It outlines best practices and provides examples of both hot 👍 and not-so-hot 👎 book talks.   Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog.

SYNC   is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+. This year it runs April 30th and continues weekly until July 29. audiobooksync.com SYNC offers participants two thematically paired audiobooks per week. Titles are delivered through Sora , the easy-to-use student reading app from OverDrive. This means participants should download the Sora app before attempting to download and listen to these books. One important thing to note is that each SYNC audiobook will be available to borrow /download for a period of 7 days only. To be in-the-know, sign-up to get notifications each week of newly available titles. Here's a preview of  titles and release dates. One other great thing about this program - titles, once loaded into the app, are 'for keeps' for participants. We love that, right? meet.soraapp.com Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog.

The South Dakota State Library offers 50+ databases and digital resources for FREE to all South Dakotans anytime, anywhere. Simply visit library.sd.gov to access! library.sd.gov To accommodate younger users and assist educators and parents, we've sorted our K-12 related databases into age groups to easier access. Check out this post for linkable URL's that can be used on library websites and newsletters. For today's post, we're noted K-12 related databases with ebook options: Book Flix Talking fiction books paired with videos. Includes lesson plans, activities, games, and more. For grade PreK to 3rd or so. True Flix Non-fiction social studies and science books paired with videos. Includes lesson plans, activities and more! For grades 3rd to 8th or so. Gale Virtual Reference Library Sets of specialized (high dollar!) reference books. For grades 6+ to adult. SIRS Discoverer Non-fiction eBooks for elementar...

This is post 2 of 4 about the SD School Library Standards. The  first post  provided a general overview and a little background history. In the next three posts, I'll cover each strand of that document. To make this post less lengthy, I'll share all of the objectives but only of grades kindergarten, 6th, and 9-12th. This condensed snapshot should give you an idea of grade-level expectations, known as vertical alignment. Of course, to view all of the grade levels, take a look at the official  SD School Library Content Standards . The first of three strands in the standards document is Textual Literacy.  The first strand is all about reading and engaging with reading.  In the coding system, the TL indicates this strand. [i.e. KG.LIB. TL .1.1] TEXTUAL LITERACY (TL): Reading & Engagement ----- There is only one standard in the TL strand. In the coding system, the number after the strand indicates the standard. [i.e. KG.LIB.TL. 1 .1] Stud...

We Are Teachers  is chock full of classroom and pedagogical ideas presented in a practical, digestible way. I also like that much of the content can be transferred to the library classroom too. They've also got lots of free printables  and discounts just for teachers. In my former life as an ELA teacher, I regularly read aloud to my juniors and seniors. I focused mostly on short stories and picture books because those were MY favorite! Students seemed to enjoy it and that made me proud. Then when I moved into the library-classroom, and one of my favorite responsibilities was doing read-alouds and book talks. One of my absolute truths? We are never too old to be read to. Here are some thoughts I have about reading aloud to all students: Relaxing and Fun I understand it's not fun for everyone and it certainly isn't relaxing for others, but for me, I almost always had a captive and engaged audience when I read aloud to students. From my informal observation...

Check out this go-to resource from the Young Adult Library Services Association. YALSA has a free Teen Book Finder Database  to support collection development and literacy programming at the middle school and high school levels. This database provides access to all of YALSA's annual selected book and media lists, awards, and honorees. It replaces individual award lists formerly on the YALSA site. S earch 4,000+ books, audiobooks, and films and filter  by author, list, genre, theme, and year. Plus, download, print, and share lists. Technology at work for you! ala.org/yalsa/ And, of course, there's an app for that!  Teen Book Finder App . ala.org/yalsa/ Bonus! Additional award books focusing on diversity have been recently added to the database. Those include books from  Amelia Bloomer Book List ,  American Indian Library Association ,  Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association ,  Association of Jewish Libraries ,  ...

Let's face it, so much of our high school students' world is digital. LIKE. SO. MUCH. Sometimes we need to lean away from that and sometimes we need to lean into that. An online book club is a way to lean in when it comes to library programming. We all know when students get to high school they tend to have less time for the "extras."  And... book clubs often fall in that category. So let's make it more convenient for students and reach them where they're at. Imagine being able to encourage your student readers from home. Even better, imagine your student readers encouraging other student readers from home. One tool you can use to lean in is  GoodReads . This digital resource may make it more convenient for your students to participate in that 'extra' book club. https://www.goodreads.com/ Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog. GoodReads is a m...

Literacy belongs to everyone. As librarians, we know that.  How can we deliberately celebrate and honor this basic right? With... World Read Aloud Day The 10th annual #WorldReadAloudDay is February 1, 2019! Here are a few resources to help you promote World Read Aloud Day with all students regardless of age: litworld.org Lit World is the go-to for celebrating World Read Aloud Day (WRAD). It's loaded with hosting ideas, printables, downloadables, guides, a free downloadable book to accompany your celebration, and more!  Perhaps, you'll keep it simple and do a school-wide Drop Everything and Read Aloud? Maybe you'll keep it in the library and host a Read-A-Thon? Or maybe you'll make it super fun with a special school-wide assembly with character costume shows or special readings from school staff. readwritethink.org ReadWriteThink is a site endorsed by the Nat'l Council of Teachers of English. It focuses o...