No Shhing Here

This is a two part series: Part I is a refresher on inquiry based learning models and their alignment to the Common Core. Part II discusses an inquiry driven 8th grade ELA research unit aligned to the Common Core. So I've spent some serious time hating on the Common Core, but over the past year I've come to appreciate many aspects of the new standards (though I continue to abhor any additional testing it's generated). One fantastic aspect of the Common Core is its emphasis on inquiry. Librarians are inquiry experts - it's what we do 24/7. Having the Common Core around helps justify our existence; I'm finding that most classroom teachers are uncomfortable with inquiry based learning, so we're needed now more than ever! Need a little refresher yourself? In this learning model, instead of expecting students to find the “right answer,” students are asked to find appropriate solutions to problems (typically, the problems - aka "questions" - are genera...

This week we hosted author Susan Campbell Bartoletti . It was my first time working with a big-name author, and between three months of maternity leave and teachers prepping for upcoming state testing, I felt a little frazzled pulling off the event. Happily, some advance made the day a success, even though I'd never done this kind of event before. Here are my top tips for planning a successful author visit at the junior high level. Susan eats lunch with our students. Ask your classroom teachers what authors they're interested in (or give them a short list to choose from). It's so much easier to pull off an author visit if you have teacher buy-in. They're under tons of pressure to perform on state exams and adjust to new curriculum standards, so they are going to be reluctant to give up class time for an activity they don't value. When they have a stake in the event everyone is much happier. Select authors that match your curriculum. When I prepared my s...