COLLECT + CONNECT

Article A professional article loaded with resources and book recommendations.  A News– and Media Literacy–Themed Mixtape for Tough Times  from School Library Journal.  SOURCE: slj.com WEBSITE An easy-to-use glossary of terms and a handy infographic describing types of misleading news . Both of these and more from  EAVI: Media Literacy for Citizenship . SOURCE: eavi.eu Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this post.

Sometimes teachers and other staff don't even know the school library has a professional collection so be sure to communicate that with your stakeholders. Here are some ideas:  Send an email with an image of the book, a brief summary, and a reason WHY they should check it out.  Book talk it! Create a video book talk or find one online to share.  Display a poster or the book/resource itself in the teacher's lounge, workroom, mailroom, etc. Feature it in your library newsletter, blog, website, etc. Remember pictures are worth a thousand words so add a linkable cover image. Host a book study or book club. Drop a note to specific teachers you think would benefit most. This feels personal and (most) people appreciate that. Up your customer service game by hand-delivering the book/resource. Go the extra mile and throw in a little token of goodness. One of my favs? Those pre-packaged lens cleaning wipes that you can get from big box stores. We ALL have screens and it feels nice ...

The News Literacy Project  (NLP) is a nonpartisan national education nonprofit that provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn, and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information. I've been blown away with the content. Visit the  Educators page to get see all there is to dive into but I'll list a few specific resources below that have been most valuable to me as a learner and a teacher. The Sift The Sift  is NLP’s free weekly newsletter specifically for educators and the content is stellar. The newsletter explores timely examples of misinformation, addresses press topics, and explores social media trends and issues. It also includes links, discussion prompts, and activities for use in the classroom. Is That a Fact? Is That a Fact?  is NLP's podcast which features experts that help listeners understand the impact of misinformation, social media policies, the importance of trust in the news to ou...

I wanted to share both an idea and a link to a previous post with additional resources to help you educate others about the importance of Native American heritage and culture. So the idea... DIGITAL CHOICE BOARDS These learning menus are a pretty great way to not only integrate digital literacy into the library curriculum but to amplify student voice and choice while also diving into core content. A digital choice board is essentially a hyperdoc. I challenge you to complete the choice board I made to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. 😊 To learn how to make your own choice board using Google Slides, take a look at this video from EdTech Classroom.  It's a short, easy-to-understand video with some tips and tricks and a free template you can use. In fact, I used the creator's template to make my choice board.

News literacy is said to be the acquisition of critical-thinking skills for analyzing and judging the reliability of news and information, differentiating among facts, opinions, and assertions in the media we consume, create, and distribute.  The term media literacy is synonymous with news literacy.   News literacy is best taught in cross-curricular, inquiry-based formats, and at all grade levels. librariandesignshare.org The Stanford History Education Group released a free curriculum called Civic Online Reasoning (COR). COR is modeled after methods used by professional fact-checkers. The COR curriculum provides free lessons and assessments that help librarians and other types of educators teach students to evaluate online information that affects them, their communities, and the world. The evaluation process is based on three main questions: Who is behind the information? What’s the evidence? What do other sources say? COR encourages lateral reading - the act of verifyin...

Each year the South Dakota Library Association  offers one librarian in the state its Librarian of the Year award. This year the Association chose school librarian Shelley Rath! Shelley is a certified school librarian at West Middle School in Rapid City, SD. The SD State Library asked Shelley ten questions about her role as a teacher-librarian. Read on to learn a little about Shelley and her top-notch work. Shelley in her library. Tell us a little about your personal background. I was born and raised in Minnesota. I’ve been married 33 years and have three daughters. I graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Elementary Education and my first teaching job was at Duke School for Children in North Carolina. When I became a mom, I took time off from teaching to focus on my own children and was a major PTA volunteer. In 2001, we moved to South Dakota and the rest is library history! I worked as a librarian at Corral Drive Elementary for two years and then at West Middle ...

Digital Citizenship Week starts on Monday, October 19. One of our many roles as school librarians is to help students cultivate skills necessary to thrive in today's fast-paced digital world. We guide students as they develop the habits of mind to navigate fully and appropriately in their everyday lives - including their digital lives. Common Sense Education - Digital Citizenship Week    Check out the link above for free activities and lessons to specifically celebrate Digital Citizenship Week. There's lots more on the main Digital Citizenship page.  Ready-to-teach lessons browseable by grade or topic, videos, slides, bilingual materials, downloads, etc.  The main feature is the award-winning lessons that revolve around six core topics: Media Balance & Well Being Privacy & Security Digital Footprint & Identity Relationships & Communication Cyberbullying, Digital Drama & Hate Speech News & Media Literacy (PS - a favorite resource to learn ...

The South Dakota State Library, a division of the SD Department of Education, has awarded several school libraries the 21st Century School Library Award . This annual award recognizes school libraries as Effective, Enhanced or Exemplary, based on performance in three areas based on the South Dakota School Library Guidelines . The Program. Mission: To provide all learners with a collaborative program for teaching and learning. The Place. Mission: To provide all learners with quality physical and virtual learning environments. The Professional. Mission: To provide all learners access to a highly qualified professional for leadership to advance the program and the place.    Exemplary Award Douglas Middle School Library, Box Elder; Librarian Melissa Hubbell Harrisburg Middle School Library, Harrisburg; Librarian Kristi Jones Horizon Elementary School Library, Harrisburg; Librarian Leslee Reiland Madison Central School Libraries, Madison; Librarian Joanne Kallhoff Robert Frost El...

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...