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Fiction Resource books for PYP - UOIs. - Rozmeen

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Fiction Resource books for PYP - UOIs. - Rozmeen

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This is a list of books which we hope will be a useful resource for teachers and librarians for the Primary Years Programme of Inquiry of the International Baccalaureate. We have tried to choose books which do not have a narrow focus but which are trans-disciplinary in concept. Please contact us if you would like recommendations for books on specific subject areas, and at a particular age level. We have divided the list into the six organizing themes (though we realise that there can be considerable overlap between various themes) and have made up separate lists for fiction and non-fiction titles. We have given an indication of reading levels for each of the titles. Recommended by Kate Shepherd, Mandy Clarke & Louise Pfanner

This book has been in print since 1984 but it still seems as fresh as when I first read it. Through short vignettes, stories and cartoons Aliki shows so many types of feelings and she especially shows how other children feel as a result of someone's actions. The delightful sketches will inspire much discussion. (5 - 8 years) KS

This collection looks at some of our freedoms such as freedom from fear, freedom of expression, freedom to take responsibility, to learn, to make a difference, to feel safe, to have a home. Each double page spread looks at these freedoms through the brief words of various people such as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai, among many others, and is illustrated by artists such as Peter Sis, Chris Riddell, Mordicai Gerstein, Jackie Morris and indigenous Australian Sally Morgan. The jacket illustration is by Oliver Jeffers. At the back of the book, underneath a small print of each of the pictures found in the book, is a brief biography of each author and illustrator. In his foreword, Michael Morpurgo hopes this book will "inspire young readers to stand up for others and to make a difference". It will certainly be useful for sparking discussion. (6-12 years) MC

I was pleased and surprised that I found this collection of stories so enjoyable. I guess I was surprised at the number of stories which were humorous. The stories are all very different; a couple are written in verse, one has a dialogue like a play, some emphasise clever word play while others are more heartfelt and they are set in many different countries. There are fifteen authors including Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Theresa Breslin, Michael Morpurgo and Margaret Mahy. However the stories I preferred were written by authors I didn't know at all, authors such as Sarah Mussi and Meja Mwangi. There is a brief biography of all the authors at the end of the book as well as a simplified version of the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All royalties of the sale of this book go to Amnesty International. (11 years up) KS

When Ling Sung starts school, he doesn't like it because everyone can do things that he can't do. However all his problems disappear when he discovers that he can do something that no one else can do - he can use chopsticks. A picture book which is a great confidence builder. (5 - 7 years) KS

Tiger, Gibbon, Water Buffalo and Gecko are lounging in the ruins of one of the ancient temples of Angkor Wat. Inspired by the stone carvings of kings, each argues that he would have been a great ruler. An old statue of the Elephant King comes to life and sets them a challenge: they must journey to the temple on the top of the hill, proving along the way that they have strength, compassion, resilience and courage. Off they race but at the end the Elephant King points out that none of them has all of the qualities of a great king. They are humbled by their experience and strive for self-improvement. Gorgeous illustrations. (5/6 - 8 year olds) MC

This is a fascinating book as it describes traditions of what children from around the world do with their baby teeth that have fallen out. A common tradition in many countries from Africa to Asia to Europe is to throw the tooth onto or over the roof of their house. (6 - 9 years) KS

A book of choices which invites lots of discussion as children decide whether they would rather help a witch make stew or help Santa when he delivers presents, whether they would rather eat mashed worms or spider stew. (5 - 8 years) KS

A story about a young Korean girl who thinks she will choose an American name when she comes to live in America in order to fit in better. However in the end she decides that her name, Unhei meaning Grace, reflects herself and her culture. A lesson in cultural understanding in the classroom. (7 - 10 years) KS

Christophe is an eight year old boy from Rwanda who flees the fighting in his country to come to England as a refugee with his family. His problems in settling in are described but the book is also about different ways of telling stories. Christophe doesn't want to read stories in books because his grandfather had always told him stories aloud, and had said that if stories are written down then their spirit is lost. However when Christopher tells aloud to his class the story of how he came to England and of the violence in Rwanda, he decides he is happy for it to be written down word for word so that many children are able to hear his story. (7 - 10 years) KS

This is the picture book version of a very popular adult book, The Happiest Refugee, about Anh Do and his family's escape from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat, and their very dangerous journey to Australia. The book also describes his childhood in Australia, and his family's efforts to fit in and make a new life for themselves. Bruce Whatley uses a mixture of illustration styles, with sepia and grey-toned realistic sketches reflecting the trauma of the war and the boat journey, contrasting with simpler, comic-style coloured drawings once the family reaches the safety of Australia. (5 - 10 years) KS MC

Set in Afghanistan in the time of the Taliban, Parvana is an eleven year old girl who used to love going to school but under the Taliban ruling was forced to stay at home. When both her parents lose their jobs and then her father is arrested, their plight becomes desperate since girls and women were not allowed to leave the house unless accompanied by a man. In order for the family to survive, Parvana disguises herself as a boy. The story gives us an insight into some of the recent traumatic events in Afghanistan. The emphasis is on a young girl's courage and determination. (The original Canadian novel is called The Breadwinner) The sequels are Parvana's Journey pb 9781865089997 $15.95 and Parvana's Promise pb 9781743312988 $15.99 (10 - 14 years) KS

In this book Sara Fanelli shows us a uniquely childlike perspective of her world drawn through maps. There are maps of her bedroom, of her family and of her neighbourhood. The map of her day shows the day divided chronologically into portions from morning till night but also includes a map showing how the school bus goes to school. She is able to fit so much of her life and what she does into her maps. There are maps of colours, and of her heart showing the things she loves most and of her face. I am sure this book will enthuse children to also draw unique maps of their lives. (5 - 9 years) KS

A very entertaining novel in which a class is given a lesson in responsibility when they have to care for their "flour babies" which are really six pound bags of flour, as if they were real babies. (9 - 13 years) KS

A sparkling picture book about a class of young children who are delighted when Jake's baby brother comes to the classroom. There is a lot of discussion about babies and when each child (and the teacher) bring a photo of themselves as a baby to school there is animated discussion as they try to work out who is who. (5 - 8 years) KS

The story of a young girl who with her family of mother, father, and younger brother and sister, are forced to flee Afghanistan during the time of the Taliban. They travel for many days by truck over rugged mountains into Pakistan where they wait while their father makes his way first to Australia. When they don't hear from him, they finally decide to make their own way to Indonesia and then across to Darwin in a perilous journey with many others in a small fishing boat. This is an amazing story based on true stories of courage and determination. (11 - 15 years) KS

Gleitzman has succeeded in writing a comic/tragic account of a refugee family from Afghanistan. Jamal and Bibi are ordinary kids who love soccer and kids will relate to their plight as they are forced to flee Afghanistan, because their mother has been running a school for girls, which was of course forbidden. Their lives are often in great danger but amazingly enough the story is often very funny. There is much that can be discussed. Girl Underground pb 9780143300465 $16.95 is the sequel where Bibi and Jamal are now in a detention centre in Australia. (9 years up) KS

When an old bus with a handwritten destination sign that says 'heaven' is abandoned in the street outside Stella's house, everything changes. The bus is pushed off the road into Stella's driveway, painted and cleaned, and when folk come from all around the neighbourhood, the bus becomes a community meeting place. This celebration of community is Bob Graham at his best. (5 - 10 years) MC

Sami and his family have to spend much of their day in doors, sheltering away from the bombs and gunfire that are everywhere outside in the streets of Beirut. A beautifully illustrated and moving picture book describing the anguish of people trying to survive in countries torn apart by warfare. (7 - 11 years) KS

Hassan is miserable at school in England where everything is grey, and where he can't talk to anyone since he doesn't speak English. When he paints a picture of his far away home, he remembers the terrible time when the soldiers came. However the next day he talks to an interpreter and paints another picture in bright colours for his mother of their happier times in the house that used to be his home in Somalia. (6 - 9 years) KS

While Chidi only likes the blue of his best shirt, his sister loves all the colours of their African village. This picture book cleverly combines an exploration of colours with a description of an African village, a simple text and beautiful photographs of the houses, designs, food, plants etc in the village. (5 - 10 years) KS

Two little boys, Elliot and Kailash, are pen-pals who live in very different worlds. Through their exchange of drawings and simple letters, they discover that they both live with their families, catch the bus to school and love climbing trees; there's too much traffic in both their cities - in one the streets are full of taxis, buses and cars, while the other has few cars, but you will find elephants, oxen, chickens, bicycles, carts and people carrying all manner of things on their heads. Same, same but different! The cultural differences in their everyday lives in America and India can be discovered in the details of the boys' drawings. (4-8 year olds) MC

This is a delightfully illustrated counting book which, as well counting up to ten in numbers and in Swahili, introduces us to some of the wonderful African animals of the grasslands of Tanzania. This bright and lively counting book also serves as a very helpful introduction to this African country with information about the animals and the names of the children. (4 - 10 years) KS

These simple picture books show the individuality and strong likes and dislikes of seven children. Good to use as a catalyst for discussion of what students like and dislike.

Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo pb 9780733621055 $16.99 has a similar format and describes six new Aboriginal friends who Ernie meets when he goes to live in the north of Australia. This is a wonderfully simple but vibrant introduction to Aboriginal life and to the tropical seasons in the north of Australia. (5 - 8 years) KS

Mum drives Tessa and Zachary to school every day in air-conditioned comfort . One morning the machine won't work and they have to walk. Their bags were heavy, their legs hurt, for it was such a long way. Then Tessa noticed a tiny, tiny, red, sparkly thing, and Zachary saw another, smooth and blue and secret. They saw many secret somethings and hidden happenings. From that day forth, they walked to school and every day they looked for ten tiny things. I love this book! The text is full of rhythm, alliteration and wonderful words, the illustrations unusual and really striking. Australian author and illustrator. (5 - 8 year olds) MC

This novel is set in war torn Sarajevo. A Muslim mother and two children escape to become refugees without knowing what has happened to the father left behind in Sarajevo. This moving story is told from the point of view of Asmir, the elder boy and is based on a real life story. (9 - 13 years) KS

This is the story of a famous violinist who decides to tell a young reporter about his past which he had previously kept secret. He describes how, as a young boy, he learnt to play the violin in secret and later discovered that his teacher and his parents had all played the violin in an orchestra in the Nazi concentration camps. It was their playing that kept them alive but they saw thousands sent to their deaths in the gas chambers. His father had vowed never to play again. Paolo promised his father that he would never play Mozart, for Mozart was the music his parents had to play in the concentration camps and his father just couldn't bear to hear it played. This book is written with heartfelt simplicity and is beautifully illustrated with watercolours. (9 - 15 years) KS

Part one of this story begins with a lovely quote from Mark Twain. "There are two sides to every story and then there is the truth." In the first part of this story a little girl describes how she saw a strange little beast in the forest and so she carefully wrapped him up and took him home and cared for him but he didn't seem to appreciate all her care and he ran away. However in the second part of the story, told by the little beast, he describes how he was ambushed, tied up, kept in a small house where he couldn't hang upside down the way he liked. Children will be delighted at the different perspectives shown and at the engaging and very amusing illustrations. (5 - 8 years) KS

Mohammed was only six years old when his father was beaten and taken away by Saddam Hussein's soldiers. Mohammed and his mother fled Kurdistan in northern Iraq making their way in a perilous journey to England where they were accepted as refugees in 2002. This very moving picture book is told in Mohammed's words and is illustrated with photos and illustrations. (7 - 10 years)

Hazmat's Journey: A Refugee Diary hb 9781847800305 $29.95 A true story about a boy who grew up in Chechnya and lost his leg when he stepped on a landmine.

Gervelie's Journey: A Refugee Diary pb 9781847800046 $16.95 Gervelie had to flee when fighting broke out in the Republic of Congo.

Meltem's Journey hb 9781847800312 $29.95 about a Kurdish girl whose family fled from Eastern Turkey. In each of these refugee stories the child makes the journey to England to begin a new life. (7 - 10 years) KS

George has decided that he is the only one who can play in the big cardboard house but the other children are determined that everyone shall play in it. A charming and humorous picture book about sharing and cooperation. (4 - 8 years) KS

This extraordinary book is textless and depicts many strange things and a world that we do not understand and yet at the same time the story is not difficult to understand. It shows the experience of an immigrant when he or she comes to a country where they know no one and understand very little. However on arriving in the new land, new friends are met and they show how things work and they also tell the stories of how they too came to this new land. And so we get the very moving stories of a number of immigrant families. The illustrations are meticulously drawn in detailed panels of illustrations or sometimes full page illustrations in black and white or various shades of grey and sepia. It is a very evocative and moving book. It could be used with children from about 9 years up. It is especially helpful for discussion with any study concerning immigrants. (9 years to adult) KS

It is an art to write a good poem and also an art to choose a selection of poems which are so lively; silly at times, and warm and comforting at others. This collection contains over 60 poems written by American and British poets ranging from Robert Louis Stevenson to Jack Prelutsky and from Roger McGough to Rosemary Wells and it includes of course wonderful poems by Anonymous. The poems describe the experiences of young children and are arranged in the categories of Me, Myself and I, Who Lives in My House? I Go Outside and Time for Bed. Polly Dunbar has brought additional life and humour with her illustrations which are at times exuberant and at other times gentle and warm. All in all, this is an extremely appealing collection of poetry for young children. (3 - 7 years) KS

Where we are in place and time

A wonderfully innovative and surprising new book from an extraordinary collage artist. Inspired by a trip to Morocco, Jeannie Baker has told two stories in the one book. The stories looking like two separate books are designed to be read at the same time, one from the right and the other from the left. Page by page we experience a day in the life of two boys and their families; one in inner Sydney and the other in a remote village in Morocco. The landscapes are very different and also their clothes and their houses but in the way the families care for each other and for their communities they are essentially the same. The two families are essentially a mirror image of each other. The collage work is extraordinary and the images convey so much without the need for words. (7 - 15 years) KS

Jamela is not happy about shifting to a new house in a new neighbourhood but when they shift in and Jamela looks out of the window she is reassured by the sight of the same stars in the night sky. A story set in a lively black South African neighbourhood. (5 - 8 years) KS

A simply told story about young Sarindi who lives in Yogyakarta in Java, Indonesia. His father is a becak driver (a type of bicycle taxi) and his mother makes batik. They live in just one room but Sarindi knows he is lucky. A vivid and warm portrait of a family who are struggling to make a living and perhaps from a western perspective have very little. It is an excellent book for discussion. (7 - 11 years)

In this sequel, Sarindi's mother is very sick and Sarindi and his father try all sorts of things to make her better but nothing seems to work. So Sarindi visits every sacred place he knows and prays there for his mother's health. When she does get better, they wonder if it is the medicine or the prayers or perhaps, as the western doctor suggests, it is the love of a small boy for his mother and his determination to help her get better. (7 - 10 years)

This is the third in the series about Sarindi and his family. Sarindi is looking forward to flying his wonderful new kite when their house is rocked by an earthquake. Sarindi and his family are lucky and are only slightly injured. However when they go to the nearby village where their relatives live, they discover to their horror that only little Agi, Sarindi's cousin, is still alive. This is a moving and very believable story about the devastation that can be caused by an earthquake. (8 - 11 years) KS

This book has two narrators, a young twelve year old boy called Isaac Manley and a much travelled and superior Goat. This narrative device gives us two very different perspectives on Cook's amazing voyage around the world from 1768 to 1771, when Australia was discovered and the ship was almost wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef. A very entertaining and informative book. (8 - 14 years) KS

$14.95 Ride the Wild Wind: The Golden Pony and other Stories by Jackie French pb 9780207198304

This is a most unusual collection of horse stories as it has stories from a wide range of periods over the ages. It begins with a story set six thousand years ago in the Ukraine, which shows how the first contact of friendship between a horse and young girl could have come about. Other stories are set in Ancient Greece, at the time of Genghis Khan, of King Arthur and in Australia in the nineteenth century. Jackie French writes about the bond that has developed over thousands of years between people and horses. (8 - 12 years) KS

A charming and amusing story of a young girl recounting how her parents, one a young Japanese school girl and the other a young US sailor, learned to master the difficult art of eating with the utensils of the other's culture (chopsticks or knife, fork and spoon). (6 - 10 years) KS

Iluak is a young Inuit boy and is apprehensive about a prediction that he will meet with a polar bear. Iluak meets with several bears but it is the meeting with a fierce Viking leader which is the most terrifying. The story is set in the time when the indigenous peoples of that region followed the seasons and the paths of migratory animals. It is an absorbing and at times exciting story. (9 - 13 years) KS

The story takes place over just one minute. At 9.59 one morning, Jodie is finishing her drawing with a silver button. At that moment her little brother Jonathan takes his first step. Time slows and the pictures zoom out over the following pages. We see Jonathan's mum sitting in the kitchen playing a tune on her tin whistle; outside, a pigeon nests, a feather floats, an ambulance shrieks by and a shoelace is tied; over in the park children sail boats in the fountain. So much is happening, everywhere, in that same minute! Bob Graham's picture books seem so simple but there's always so much more to be discovered in the details of his drawings. (4-7 years) MC

The illustrations have an impressionistic feel and they are warm and expressive in their depiction of a black family leaving friends and family in Alabama in 1964 and making their way north to Nebraska. A young girl describes in free flowing verse the apprehension of her family as they leave, in the hope of a better life up north. The journey north has its dangers and as the car, almost empty of petrol, pulls up at Joe's Gas with its friendly black faces the relief is heartfelt. However nothing is explained. The fact that it is understated makes the impact all the more powerful. The family is described as pioneers in their journey north in the hope of a better life. A wonderful picture book which can be used for discussion with many different age groups. (6 - 13 years) KS

Shahana lives near the border controlled by Pakistan and Indian soldiers dividing Kashmir in two. This is an area of continual conflict since 1947. Fourteen years old Shahana and her younger brother Tanveer are trying to survive by living in the forest after the death of their parents and older brother. Islamic militants have a camp not so far away and there are soldiers on both sides of the border and there is often shelling or exchange of gun fire. Shahana is a vibrant, strong character who tries to do her best in extraordinarily difficult and dangerous circumstances. The book also gives us some idea of the complexities of the situation in Kashmir. There is an Afterword by the author, a timeline, a glossary and suggestions for further reading and a series website. (11 - 14 years) KS

The fascinating story of explorer Ernest Giles' second attempt to cross the Australian desert to the coast of Western Australia told through the eyes of 12 year old Taj. Taj is accompanying his Afghan father and helps to look after the camels which provide the key to their chances of succeeding in this very dangerous journey with its constant quest for water. A convincing and very interesting account of the dangers and also of the relationships between the explorers, Taj, his father and a young Aboriginal tracker. (9 - 12 years) KS

A beautifully illustrated picture books vividly describing a young girl's journey from eastern Europe when she migrates to a new life in America at the turn of the nineteenth century. (7 -13 years) KS

Set in a marginal rice growing area of Thailand, this short novel would be an excellent introduction to a discussion of the effect of climate and geography on village life in parts of Asia. Some of the frustrations, difficulties and injustices of village life are revealed in this story of Dawan, a 12 year old girl who strives to continue her education at a city high school in Thailand in spite of competition from her brother and opposition from her father. (10 years up) KS

Kahu is the descendant of the line of Paikea who came originally to Aotearoa on the back of a whale. However her grandfather is disgusted that she is only a girl and not the grandson he had desired as he doesn't believe that a girl can take over the male line of descent from Paikea. Kahu tries to show her grandfather that she can do anything that the other boys in her village can do and finally she is able to show that she is a worthy successor to the line of Paikea. (9 - 14 years)

Also in picture book format illustrated by Bruce Potter telling the story for younger readers with beautifully realistic illustrations.

A deeply moving autobiography set during the Cultural Revolution in China. Ji Li Jiang describes her own experiences as a twelve year old girl puzzling to understand the strange and terrifying events that befell her family at that time. An excellent introduction to any study of the Cultural Revolution. (11 years up) KS

A classic about the intriguing encounter between Barney, a boy from today and a boy from stone age times. They learn to understand each other and are fascinated by what each can do and knows. (8 - 12 years) KS

A young girl from the city imagines how different her life would be if she were a Masai living on the East African plains. On each double page spread of this picture book, the illustration blends and links the two ways of life. For example, the sheet the girl spreads to make her bed merges on the opposite page into the cowhide spread on the bare earth of the Masai dwelling. An extra dimension to the story is given to the story because the girl and her family are black and she is exploring her feelings of kinship with the Masai (6 - 10 years) KS

This is a picture book about a journey round Australia made by eight year old Grace and her family in a campervan. She describes the many special highlights of the trip: places they visited, things they did together in the car to make the long hours travelling pass amicably and also the different reactions of the various members of the family to the trip. This is a very entertaining way to get an idea of the vast differences in the various regions of Australia while following the detailed map of their journey. (6 - 11 years) KS

The beautifully detailed illustrations in this book tell the story of a house from 1900 to 2009. The house was originally built of stone and wood in 1656 but was abandoned and the illustrations show the house being rebuilt and the happy, industrious family planting trees, growing vegetables and tending animals. However, the years from 1900 - 2009 were momentous ones, with two world wars, and the illustrations show the disastrous effects of these events on those living in the house. Each large double page spread has exactly the same perspective of the house and its surroundings. Finally, in 1973, the house was again abandoned, to be totally rebuilt in 1999 as a flashy modern style house. The house is no longer a farm in tune with its surroundings, though there are still traces of the old farm. The illustrations came first and then J Patrick Lewis was asked to provide the poem. There is much detail and much to discuss. (7 - 11 years) KS

This dramatic story is set in Egypt in the time of Akhenaten and his beautiful wife Nefertiti. Tutmose and Ibrim are honoured by the Pharaoh because of the exotic animals and birds that their father captures and presents to the Pharaoh. Tutmose describes his life at the new capital and the plans of the Pharaoh (shocking to his father and many other Egyptians) to allow only the worship of just one God, Aten, the sun-God. This is an extremely well told story which makes life in the Egyptian court come alive. (8 - 11 years) KS

When Michael is washed up on an island he struggles to survive on his own. He is about to give up when food appears. He is not alone. This wonderful story of survival centres round Kensuke, an elderly Japanese man who lives on the island and has survived for many years using traditional Japanese skills and crafts. (9 - 15 years) KS

Set in South Africa at the time of Apartheid, this is the story of two children who set out to walk 300 miles to Johannesburg in order to tell their mother that their baby sister is very ill. Their mother works for a white family and sees her own family only a few times each year. Their journey shows the harshness and discrimination of the Apartheid regime. Originally published n 1985, this edition contains a foreword by Michel Rosen and notes on Beverley Naidoo's own background. She grew up in South Africa with a white mother and a black nanny and can hardly believe that as a child and as a young woman she never questioned the cruel system of Apartheid. (8 - 12 years) KS

An excellent time-slip story in which Abigail finds herself in the old Rocks area of Sydney in the 1870s. Winner of the Book of the Year Award 1981. (10 - 15 years) KS

Set in the year of Our Lord 1285, this book describes a year in the life of 11 year old Toby Burgess as he sets out to become a page in his uncle's castle. Toby is an articulate chronicler and he writes with humour and occasionally indignation, about his duties as a page, his lessons, his first hunt, attempts at archery and so on. This vivid description is "illuminated' by the detailed and carefully researched illustrations of Chris Riddell. (8 - 13 years) KS

Set in the year 1455 BC, Nakht is the son of a scribe and he is learning to be a scribe himself. This is the story of their journey from a small town on the southern Nile to the city of Memphis where his father has been appointed as an important scribe. The exciting story involves a tomb robbery and describes the daily life of many Egyptians including artisans, farmers and builders. The detailed and lively illustrations as well as Notes, Glossary and Index provide additional information. (9 - 14 years) KS

A beautifully illustrated picture book for older students. Allen Say's grandfather made the journey from Japan to the United States when he was a young man and this story beautifully describes through text and illustrations the love that he and his grandson feel for both countries. Many students will relate to the feelings of longing expressed. (8 years up) KS

This edition published in 2008 has a timeline of important events up to 2008. By moving backwards in decades from 1989, this sophisticated picture book shows how a particular neighbourhood in Sydney has changed from an urban street to the first white settlement and before to the time when the Aborigines lived there. The story is told through the eyes of the various children who lived there. An innovative book which inspires students to work on similar projects wherever they are in the world. (8 years up)

There are also DVDs of the television series of My Place. Series 1 has 13 episodes from 2008 to 1888 and Series 2 also has 13 episodes from 1878 to 1788. There are 8 discs in total. An accompanying Teachers' Guide 2 covers Series 1 and 2.

Series 1 & 2 and Teachers Guide for 1 & 2 $175.00

Series 2 (13 episodes on 4 discs) with accompanying Teachers' Guide 1 & 2. $135.00 (8 - 14 years) KS

This is the first book in a series set in Ancient Egypt. Ramose was the pharaoh's rightful heir but he had to escape and live in disguise when he discovered a plot against his life. These exciting adventure stories give many details of courtly and everyday life in the time of Ancient Egypt. Other titles are Ramose and the Tomb Robbers pb 9781921167065, Ramose Sting of the Scorpion pb 9781921167225 and Wrath of Ra pb 9781921167232 $16.99 each (9 - 12 years) KS

Charlie is doing a project on the Victorians and is sure that it will be deadly dull. However when she starts writing the diary of Lottie, a girl about her own age who works as a nursery maid for a family in Victorian times, Lottie and the family come to life for Charlie. The book is written in alternate chapters. We learn about Charlie and her life with her mum and her friends and this alternates with the chapters that Charlie writes for her project about Lottie and her very difficult life. Charlie and Lottie are both called Charlotte and there are many fascinating parallels. The book is extremely revealing about our own times and about life for young girls working as servants in the Victorian period and the contrast between the working class and their employers. A very helpful book to use as an introduction to the Victorian period or as a way of thinking about history. (10 - 14 years) KS

Told in the words of Thandi, an 8 year old Ndebele girl from South Africa, this is an engaging portrait of Thandi, her mischievous little brother and the importance in the lives the people of the village of the vibrant paintings on their houses and colourful beads and embroidery which they love to wear. A lively rhythmic text and beautiful photographs make this picture book a delight. (6 - 9 years) KS

This is a useful collection of simply told folk tales from different cultures round the world, with an emphasis on the beauty, rhythms and harmony of nature. There is an introduction to each story and also a craft project related to each story. The seven stories in the collection come from Australia, Nigeria, American South West, Bali, Kazakhstan, India and Wales. (4 - 7 years) KS

Sally Pomme Clayton describes how on her visits to Central Asia she has always been warmly welcomed with food, hospitality and stories. She has further researched these stories and retold them in a lively engaging style. The stories are from the steppes, mountains, deserts and cities of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. They give us a glimpse of the countryside and the history as well as the resilience of the people and their sense of humour. Notes at the end of the book describe the origin of each story and some of its background. (8 - 14 years) KS

This is such a beautiful and innovative book. Our eyes tell us about colour. But what if you are blind? Is it possible to have a concept of colour? This book shows us how through simple language and beautiful textured art, out of the blackness a rainbow of colours can be visualised. Braille letters accompany the illustrations on every page and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help in deciphering the text with their fingers, and sharing an experience usually known to blind readers alone. (4 - 11 years) KS

Wonderful to see this beautiful book back in print. Set in a village in Bali, an old woman tells three little girls of the time she danced for the whole village at a special ceremony when there was a full moon. The expressive and detailed illustrations show us aspects of life in the village and of the dancing and music. Interesting notes give more information about Balinese dance and about the author. (5 - 9 years) KS

United by stories and poetry about water, this new anthology has contributions from every country in the Commonwealth. From St Lucia to Namibia, this rich collection stands out from other similar volumes just by its sheer variety, and the fact that every entry is by an unfamiliar author or poet. Jan Pienkowski's illustrations - silhouettes, colourful cutouts and illuminated letters, unite all the entries creating a really appealing book. (5 - 12 years) L P

A delightfully different book. When Duncan goes to take out his crayons, he finds a pile of letters all voicing the crayons' complaints about the way they are being used. Red writes that he is worn out with being used so much to colour fire engines, Santas and apples. Grey is tired of colouring huge animals like elephants and whales. White feels ignored while Black is sick of only doing outlines. Blue is so short and stubby that it desperately needs a break. And poor pink is hurt because it hasn't been used all year. This is great fun but it also makes us think about how we use colours and our preferences. The letters inspire Duncan to do a very bright lively picture using every single one of his crayons. (5 - 8 years) KS

These twelve lively folk tales come from all round the world and Lari Don has adapted them all in her own very expressive way. The stories are often witty and full of fun as the heroine often has to use her wiles to win out. At the end of the book Lari Don also gives brief descriptions of how she came across these stories about heroines, from China, Sumer, Greece, India and Venezuela and other countries.

Marie-Louise Gay is both an author and an illustrator and in this lively picture book, she describes some of the many questions that young children ask her about her writing and how she gets her ideas. She shows that different coloured papers can set the scene for very different illustrations; blue can be a sea scene, white a snow storm and purple a rain storm. Words too can be a catalyst for a story and she plays with ideas and words as though she is in a classroom and asking the children what they think. Then she begins a story which she imagines the children continue. This is a fun exploration of how stories and their illustrations are created. (5 - 8 years) KS

These are marvellous retellings of traditional tales from Hindu epics, which Madhur Jaffrey has enriched with descriptions of how the stories were told and celebrated in her own family. The stories have been arranged in sequence as they might be told at religious festivals in the course of a Hindu calendar year. This collection gives a rich personal insight into Indian life. (8 years up) KS

A delightful selection of poems which are examples of 29 different poetic forms. The author explains that knowing the rules makes the writing of the poem more challenging, more exciting, more like a game. Each poem is imaginatively illustrated and the poems are chosen for their wit, beauty and as examples of their particular form. There is a detailed description of the forms and how it works at the end of the book. (10 - 14 years) KS

Mary Joslin tells these stories from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas simply and with humour. The stories have warmth, are often funny and have many insights into various cultures and the way people behave and think. The book itself is a beautifully produced hardback with glossy paper and lovely illustrations. A few are well known traditional stories like The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson but most are not familiar to me and so this adds to the pleasure and value of the collection. (6 - 10 years) KS

It was just an ordinary sort of dull grey day when this ordinary boy went to his ordinary school. However while he was there something extraordinary happened. A new teacher got the class to listen to some extraordinary music and this music made them imagine extraordinary things. This is a simple picture book showing the power of music and how one piece of music can have very different effects on different children. (7 - 10 years) KS

In his introduction, Michael Morpurgo describes how the best poets write in "such a way that we never want to forget what they have written. The poems they compose can be so fine, so memorable, so funny, so intense, that you want to hear them again and again inside your head... so that they become part of you." This collection is indeed a wonderful and varied selection of poems. Some poems were written for children but others are well loved verses from Kipling, Shakespeare or W B Yeats, from Lewis Carroll, Spike Milligan, Robert Frost and that very popular Anonymous. Blake's whimsical illustrations add an extra element of delight. (8 - 15 years) KS

Pearl has always lived with her mother and her granny making a family of three but now her granny cannot remember anyone. This is such a sad time for Pearl as she feels cut off from everyone and that she has no friends. Pearl loves to write and tell stories and her granny always encouraged her but her granny also taught her that a poem does not need to rhyme and this is how Pearl writes this story, in free verse. (8 - 10 years) KS

An excellent collection of poems from round the world. A very impressive range and choice of inviting poems from a truly wide range of countries and cultures. (8 years up) KS

This is a delight. All over the world people express their love for their children through endearments such as "angelito" (little angel in Spanish), "mon petit chou" (little cabbage in French), "karapuz" (dumpling in Russian) and "habibi" (beloved in Arabic). This book contains a range of endearments in fourteen languages, with translation into English and also a suggested pronunciation guide. Children will enjoy giving their own suggestions of additional terms of endearments used by their families. Zany illustrations add to the pleasure. (4 - 9 years) KS

As soon as you discover this book opens vertically, you sense that it is a most unusual picture book. Wabi Sabi is a plain, brown cat who wants someone to explain the meaning of her name. No-one can really enlighten her, so she sets off to see a wise old monkey who lives on Mount Hiei. Through her journey, and the old monkey, she eventually comes to understand, and so do we, that wabi sabi is the concept of finding beauty in common, simple, ordinary, often imperfect things. The story is told in the tradition of haibun, where short prose passages set up the haiku that follows. At the end of the book there's a short history of the concept of wabi sabi, haiku and haibun, and translations of the decorative haiku that appear throughout the book in Japanese script. The wonderful collage illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the story. (7-11 years) MC

An exceptional book which gives an insight into the pictographic nature of the Chinese language through 25 Chinese words and phrases. It gives a fascinating historical and cultural background through well known words such as kungfu, feng shui or more complex words like "ai" meaning "love" where the explanation shows some of the cultural differences between Chinese and western ways of thinking. It also has wonderful illustrations in the style of Chinese folk art. (9 years up) KS

In this delightfully playful, slightly subversive story, a book-loving monkey patiently shares the simple, unplugged pleasures of reading with a tech-savvy jackass. At first the jackass just doesn't understand, wanting to know how do you scroll down? where's your mouse? can it text? does it need a password? But once he settles down with the book in a comfy chair, he becomes engrossed, the hours fly by and the monkey can't get his book back! (4 - 7 years) MC

One of the popular Aussie Bites series. Lulu has a growing passion for playing the drum to accompany the lion dance. Through her perseverance, she succeeds in having lessons from a master drummer, quite an achievement since this is normally reserved for boys. Her enthusiasm and dedication are also rewarded when she is able to play in the Easter dragon parade. This is a lively and entertaining story telling us a lot about the traditions of the lion dance and lion drumming. (7 - 10 years) KS

Luke is a boy who sees things very differently from the other boys at school. When he visits an Art gallery he is thrilled to see a magical, brightly coloured world where he feels totally at home and he realises that he is not alone in the way he interprets the world. This picture book promotes creativity and uniqueness in artistic expression as well as introducing a range of styles. It also invites discussion about the way different people interpret art and gives us an insight into the way different people view the world. (8 - 13 years) KS

Danielle Wright has chosen rhymes highlighting rhyme and rhythm and involving simple things that we do or hear or feel or sing. Some of the rhymes are written in English and also in the Romanised form of Japanese or Chinese ... and then in Japanese or Chinese characters. We also get to see various scripts such as Persian, Japanese, Chinese and Russian. The illustrations are delightfully playful. A list of credits at the back of the book explains the derivation of the rhymes and the translators. An excellent collection from round the world. (4 - 7 years) KS

Jasmine and her grandfather Agong tell stories together and create a magical world where there are flying fish, rivers, mountains and dragons. He adds to the magic of the stories by showing her how to paint the Chinese characters for the places and creatures in this world. The brightly coloured illustrations cleverly depict the story and also show how the Chinese characters often look very like the objects and creatures they depict. (5 - 10 years) KS

One of Pamela Allen's picture books which deals with science concepts. The boat sinks further each time that donkey, then cow, pig and sheep get into the boat. The boat manages to stay afloat but finally sinks when tiny little mouse gets into the boat. The question is who sank the boat? It is wonderful to have a picture book demonstrating a science concept with such exuberance. (4 - 11 years) KS

Mr Archimedes is having a bath with various animals, as they get into the bath water splashes over the side. Again Pamela Allen has great fun in getting children to think about what is happening. (5 years up) KS

How does 1+1 = 144? A family of rabbits soon supplies the answer in this funny story which also gives a warning about how quickly rabbit populations can expand! A marvelous book filled with details about how Chalk and Lonely Rabbit cope through the various seasons of the year with their fast expanding brood. (5 - 8 years) KS

How we organise ourselves

This is a counting book with a difference for it encourages children to add up and to see the differences between numbers and patterns of numbers and even to attempt simple multiplication. The snail with its one foot is used for one. A boy has two feet and so three is a person and a snail. Six is an insect, and seven is an insect and a snail. It gets more complicated at ten which is a crab and that means twenty is two crabs. Thirty is three crabs or ten people and a crab. And so on up to one hundred which is ten crabs or "if you're really counting slowly" one hundred snails. Great fun. (4 - 6 years) KS

This picture book is made from intricate collages. Set in the Daintree rainforest in northern Queensland, it shows a fragile rainforest area next to the sea, easily threatened by too much human activity. (7 years up)

This picture book, also made from collage work, is set in the kelp forests of the oceans round Tasmanian. As usual the collages are made up of natural materials - rock, sand, wood, feathers and seaweed. This is an unusual look at life in a very different type of forest - a forest which is in the ocean. (8 years up)

is a study of a changing view through the window of a house as more and more houses encroach on the countryside seen from the window. It is a textless picture book.

Belonging hb 9780744592276 $29.95 pb 9781406305487 $16.95 Big Book 9781406309416 $44.95 follows the same format as Window but it looks at an inner city suburb bleak in its drabness, ugly signs, graffiti and dilapidated houses and how over time the street is gradually transformed into a green inviting place where people can meet and enjoy their environment. It is also a textless picture book. (6 - 10 years) KS

Clancy is about to go on a trip down the Glenelg River in Victoria in a canoe with his bird watching Uncle Egg. The story is told through engaging illustrations and handwritten text with speech bubbles and notes on the many birds they see on their journey. At first Clancy misses his computer games and television but gradually settles down to the rhythm of the river and what it brings each day. This is an excellent book for environmental awareness or as David Suzuki says in his foreword "a delightful story about the joy of the outdoors." The book contains through its illustrations and notes a wealth of information about birds and creatures of the Glenelg River. Australian (8 - 12 years) KS

At one level this beautifully illustrated picture book is a complex counting book. However for those who search the detail on its pages, it also has a strong message about the diversity of animal life round the world and the importance of water, as the level of the water in the waterhole gradually becomes less. (8 years up)

Also has an environmental theme. When Uno first lives in the forest there are so many different plants and animals but gradually, when a village and then a town develop, the plants and animals begin to disappear. This is, like so many of Base's books, part-counting book, part-puzzle and part-storybook and of course there is always the search for the elusive Snortlepig. (5 - 9 years) KS

This is a simple story with a powerful message about the threat to endangered animals. When a young boy dreams about going on a night train trip round the world with his small dog, he meets with endangered animals from round the world. They all ask if they too can get on the train as their lives are in danger. (3 - 5 years) KS

Written like a collection of short vignettes, this book begins with a young girl from Vietnam planting a line of beans in the vacant lot near the apartment where her family lives in Cleveland, Ohio. The lot was full of trash and the snow had only just melted after the long, cold winter. She planted the beans in memory of her father who died when she was just a baby. This simple act gradually sparks a succession of plantings by different people of different ethnic backgrounds and with different reasons for planting. Even more - it is the spark which makes people clear away the garbage and begin what becomes a community garden in which plants are grown, harvested, exchanged and people begin to talk to each other and help each other. Each character is described through just one short chapter but many of them also appear in the stories of others so that we learn more about them and over the year, a sense of community grows. Simply written, absorbing and inspiring. (9 - 12 years) KS

The difference between two summers on an Australian farm is graphically illustrated but subtly told by a young boy pondering the difference between the last year when Rick came to stay on the farm and this year when the farm is stricken by drought. (6 - 10 years) KS

Herrick handles the problems of three students at a very progressive school with sympathetic humour. Hunter appears to be a bully but his main problem is that his father has cleared out and left his mother and himself. Jesse worries too much about so many things, including the starving children in Africa, and Kate wants to save the whales. There are lots of problems in the world and this novel looks at kids who are struggling with knowing what to do with a number of them. These three kids succeed in getting together and helping each other and others. (9 - 12 years) KS

A simple lively story about a mango tree that grew in a small village and how people and animals made their way around it. As the tree grew bigger, birds nested in its branches as the road around the tree got busier with riders, wagons and cars. Riders called "Out of the Way Out of the way" as they rushed past. But as life rushed around the tree and the road got bigger so did the tree and it became a meeting place for people and animals under its spreading canopy. The bright illustrations show life in an Indian village and later, as there is more development, show a busy road with cars, buses and trucks. The book can be read as an allegory on the environment and development; showing how even though development rushes by there is still room for the natural world. (5 - 8 years) KS

This wonderful picture book is based on Alison Lester's experiences when she travelled to Antarctica aboard the Aurora Australis. During that six-week voyage she kept an online diary and many children did drawings in response to her stories. The story is told through the eyes of 9-year-old Sophie, daughter of the captain, as she keeps a diary of their voyage to Antarctica and the week spent there before returning home. We learn about life on board; we meet the Mawson Station winter crew and learn about life in the Red Shed at Mawson Station; we see killer whales, Weddell seals, penguins, and many different kinds of icebergs. There's a Glossary, and the maps on the endpapers are full of interesting facts. Highly recommended (7-10 years) MC

Chelonia Green is a young girl who lives on an island where turtles nest and who takes action to save them from fisherman's nets. A book with an environmental message. (8 - 10 years) KS

This is the true story of how during the time of Mao Tse Tung, people were directed to make an enormous noise in order to scare away and kill all the sparrows. By doing this it was thought that the harvest would be much larger since the birds ate so much of the crop. In this fictional story a little girl Ming-Li is so upset by what is happening to the sparrows that she tries to save as many as she can. In spring, the villagers discover to their dismay that insects are eating all their crops and realize that previously it was the sparrows that ate these insects. (5 - 10 years) KS

This is a charming story about two little girls who go fishing at the beautiful magic pond in Bluebell Wood and find a little blue Bog Baby. He is so lovely that they take him home and make a beautiful home for him and care for him carefully but in the end he looks sicker and sicker. Their mother says he is a wild creature and can only live in the magic pond in Bluebell Wood and so they take him back. Many years later one of their own daughters sees little bog babies playing in the pond. It may sound a bit soppy but the bog babies are delightful and the story would appeal to little girls. It also has a very important environmental message with a touch of magic. (5 - 8 years) KS

An environmentally conscious story about Abel and his mother who live by the sea and whose lives revolve round the ocean. They endeavour to protect their bit of ocean and the creatures living in it from anything harmful. (9 years up) KS

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This is a list of books which we hope will be a useful resource for teachers and librarians for the Primary Years Programme of Inquiry of the International Baccalaureate. We have tried to choose books which do not have a narrow focus but which are trans-disciplinary in concept.

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S.U.R.E. (Source, Research, Understand and Evaluate)

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S.U.R.E. (Source, Research, Understand and Evaluate)

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Due to scheduled maintenance, you may experience intermittent access from 24 Apr (Wed), 10pm to 25 Apr (Thurs), 1am. We apologise for the inconvenience.

(current)

From 6 April, explore StoryGen at the Punggol Regional Library!

Put your own twists to well-loved stories and visualise them through a multimedia experience.

Register your interest to test ChatBook, our new tech prototype.

Converse with the book "Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore" and selected NLB resourc...

Singapore Architecture Collection Exhibitions

Visit the inaugural showcases of the collection at URA Centre and National Library Building

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Discover NLB's LAB25, our blueprint inviting our partners and communities to collaborate with us in reimagining our libraries and archives of the future, to meet everyone's reading and learning needs.

Find out More

From Book to Cook is a brand new cooking show on Singapore's old recipes. What can a librarian do with traditional kitchen tools and recipes from the past?

Find out More

Reading is a special gift we can provide for our children. With The Little Book Box, you can now get specially curated children's books delivered to your home or to a preferred locker each month!

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The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading , learning and history through our network of libraries across Singapore, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore

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Current roles .

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Vinitaa, Calorx Olive International School, Ahmedabad

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Information Architect and Learning Specialist

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Information Architect and Learning Specialist

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Job Description for my current role.

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Gr 7 IDU (SDG's)

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A good resource to use as a framework for developing your Scope & Sequence

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A new resource, called the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum, is now available thanks to the NYC School Library System. This resource emphasizes the importance of inquiry in learning and establishes information fluency standards for grades K-12, which are aligned with Common Core Learning Standards. The fusion of the two sets of standards aims to create students who are capable of absorbing and applying appropriate information to any situation. The document identifies three information literacy standards which encourage students to be thinkers, explorers, and citizens and outlines the essential steps of inquiry: connect, wonder, investigate, construct, express, and reflect. The continuum also includes grade-specific benchmarks for information skill development and sample diagrams and worksheets which may be used to assess students' progress. Finally, there is a helpful chart for administrators, teachers, and librarians that links progress along the fluency continuum with various Common Core Learning Standards in reading, writing, and speaking & listening. The continuum helps apply Common Core Learning Standards to real-world classroom teaching and is a great resource to use for grade-specific lesson planning.

Credit
The Empire State Information Fluency Continuum was developed by the New York City School Library System and is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

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Empire State Information Fluency Continuum

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A new resource, called the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum, is now available thanks to the NYC School Library System. This resource emphasizes the importance of inquiry in learning and establishes information fluency standards for grades K-12, which are aligned with Common Core Learning Standards.

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From Holley Central School District in New York

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Blog from a librarian with great ideas.

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As we go back to school this fall, we are all looking for ideas, tips and resources on how to kick off the year in special, exciting and memorable ways. For this webinar, we have brought together a few of our favorite librarians and educators to celebrate just that! Shannon McClintock Miller and Brianna Cua welcome Blake Hopper, Amanda Hunt and Andrea Trudeau to the August StickTogether webinar as they share ideas, tips and resources for kicking off an awesome new year. You will hear how librarians, teachers and administrators can support reading, learning, creating and collaborating in so many wonderful and impactful ways this school year. Three attendees will WIN a Standard Size Sticker Poster Kit, Puzzle Face™, or a Virtual Stickerboard™ - Basic Plan. We can't wait to see you at the webinar as we kick off our year together in the StickTogether webinar series. Hosts: Shannon McClintock Miller, Future Ready Librarian Spokesperson, District Teacher Librarian Innovation Director, Van Meter Community School (IA), (@shannonmmiller) Brianna Cua, Director of Digital Marketing and Community at StickTogether, (@briannamcua) Guests: Blake Hopper Former School librarian, current assistant principal H.Y. Livesay Middle School, (@travelingguybrarian @travguybrarian) Amanda Hunt, Middle School Librarian and Secondary Lead Librarian, New Braunfels, TX, (@thenextgenlibrarian all over social media) Andrea Trudeau, Library Information Specialist, Alan B. Shepard Middle School in Deerfield District 109 (IL), (Twitter/X: @Andrea_Trudeau & Threads: @Andrea_Trudeau1)

We hope to see you there, friends. It will be so much fun!

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A library and education blog and place to be heard through creating, technology, connecting, reading, collaborating and noise.

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Another great blog from a librarian

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About Jennifer...

The short version:

Jennifer LaGarde is a lifelong teacher and learner with over 20 years in public education. Her educational passions include leveraging technology to help students develop authentic reading lives, meeting the unique needs of students living in poverty and helping learners (of all ages) discern fact from fiction in the information they consume. Jennifer is the coauthor of the books Fact VS Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking In the Age of Fake News (ISTE, 2018) and Developing Digital Detectives (ISTE, 2021) with Darren Hudgins. Subscribe to their free monthly information literacy newsletter here! A huge fan of YA Literature, Jennifer currently lives, works, reads and drinks lots of coffee in Olympia, Washington. Follow her adventures at www.librarygirl.net or on Twitter @jenniferlagarde.

The long(er) version:

Jennifer LaGarde (aka library girl!) is a lifelong educator and learner. With over 20 years of experience in public education, Jennifer has served as:

Courses designed and delivered:​

School Library Program Management​

School Library Collection Development

Developing Digital Detectives: Information Literacy in the Digital Age

Emerging Literacies

Young Adult Literature

Jennifer earned her Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English/Language Arts from the University of NC at Wilmington. And she earned her Master's in Library Science from Appalachian State University. She also holds National Board Certification in the area of School Library Media. Some of the awards and distinctions she has received include:

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Jennifer has published numerous articles on best educational practices for journals like Teacher Librarian, ISTE, School Library Connections and Knowledge Quest. She's also the coauthor of the books Fact VS Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking In the Age of Fake News (ISTE, 2018) and Developing Digital Detectives (ISTE, 2021) with Darren Hudgins. Jennifer currently resides in Olympia, Washington where she spends time chasing after her two dogs, drinking lots of coffee and updating her award winning blog The Adventures of Library Girl where she proves you don't have to be super hero to be a teacher librarian, but having a cape sure helps.

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Headshots (and stuff like that) can be found here.

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About Jennifer... The short version: Jennifer LaGarde is a lifelong teacher and learner with over 20 years in public education. Her educational passions include leveraging technology to help students develop authentic reading lives, meeting the unique needs of students living in poverty and helping learners (of all ages) discern fact from fiction in the information they consume.

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Huge archive of webinars on all sorts of educational topics

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edWeb: A professional online community for educators

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edWeb is a free online community for professional educators, offering networking, resource sharing, collaboration, and professional development webinars.

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Scroll down to download a high res version. Also links for AR/VR apps and apps for PYP students.

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I was recently inspired by Sean Junkins' (@sjunkins) periodic table of iPad Apps. I thought it was a really useful too - being able to map Apps to activities - I thought it a really helpful too. With that in mind, I wanted to be able to use it as a poster myself but whilst I thought it was great I didn't however quite agree with some of the App choices. I wanted different categories too that related more to the use I thought would be useful in UK schools, hence I created my own version from scratch in Photoshop which I share below.

You can download a higher resolution version here.

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I was recently inspired by Sean Junkins' (@sjunkins) periodic table of iPad Apps. I thought it was a really useful too - being able to map Apps to activities - I thought it a really helpful too.

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Certificate of Education Technology and Information Literacy. Fully online and designed specifically for International school teachers.

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The Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (COETAIL) embraces a community approach to learning that empowers you to adapt and transform your practice in order to positively impact learning for all students.

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The Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (COETAIL) embraces a community approach to learning that empowers you to adapt and transform your practice in order to positively impact learning for all students.

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Ideas for Global Education projects from Joel Bevans. @bevansjoel on Twitter

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A digital repository of multilingual stories for children from Pratham Books.

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Digital Library of Stories for Kids | Stories | Storyweaver

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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff

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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff

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Meant to provide a framework to enable those within and outside the field to understand the unique role library staff can play in helping teens prepare for college, careers and life, and to communicate that role to others.

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Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

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Introduction | Competencies | Supplementary Materials | Acknowledgements |

Download the full Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff. View the Teen Competencies "at a glance" via this chart, or view this quick, one-page snapshot.

Introduction

YALSA's Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth was first published in 1981 and last updated in 2010. Since that time the role libraries play in teen lives has gone through a paradigm shift, wherein library staff have been called upon to take a co-learner role in facilitating teen learning that is hands-on and interest-based. In addition, research revealed that the vast majority of public libraries and an increasing number of school libraries do not have full time staff dedicated to serving teens. In response to the paradigm shift and to current library staffing models, YALSA has published key documents over the past few years to help library staff transition to new models of service. These documents include:

YALSA's Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff, which replaces Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth, is the latest resource developed to help graduate schools, library administrators, and library staff guarantee that all teens receive high quality service from their public and school libraries, regardless of whether the library has the capacity to dedicate a full-time position to serving teens. It is intended to set a foundation for the education and professional development of all library staff, regardless of job title, and to provide guidance for determining practitioner skills and knowledge. It is also meant to provide a framework to enable those within and outside the field to understand the unique role library staff can play in helping teens prepare for college, careers and life, and to communicate that role to others.

Competencies

The 10 competencies are listed below. Download (.pdf) the complete document, Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff for free. A quick, one page snapshot is also available for download.

Teen Growth and Development: Knows the typical benchmarks for growth and development and uses this knowledge to plan, provide and evaluate library resources, programs, and services that meet the multiple needs of teens.

Interactions with Teens: Recognizes the importance of relationships and communication in the development and implementation of quality teen library services, and implements techniques and strategies to support teens individually and in group experiences to develop self-concept, identity, coping mechanisms, and positive interactions with peers and adults.

Learning Environments (formal & informal): Cultivates high-quality, developmentally appropriate, flexible learning environments that support teens individually and in group experiences as they engage in formal and informal learning activities.

Learning Experiences (formal & informal): Works with teens, volunteers, community partners and others to plan, implement and evaluate high-quality, developmentally appropriate formal and informal learning activities that support teens' personal and academic interests.

Youth Engagement and Leadership: Responds to all teens' interests and needs, and acts in partnership with teens to create and implement teen activities and to foster teen leadership.

Community and Family Engagement: Builds respectful, reciprocal relationships with community organizations and families to promote optimal development for teens and to enhance the quality of library services.

Cultural Competency and Responsiveness: Actively promotes respect for cultural diversity and creates an inclusive, welcoming, and respectful library atmosphere that embraces diversity.

Equity of Access: Ensures access to a wide variety of library resources, services, and activities for and with all teens, especially those facing challenges to access.

Outcomes and Assessment: Focuses on the impact of library programs for and with teens and uses data to inform service development, implementation, and continuous improvement.

Continuous Learning: Acts ethically, is committed to continuous learning, and advocates for best library practices and policies for teen services.

Supplementary Materials

Competencies at a Glance (.pdf): A chart of the Competencies

Competencies Snapshot (.pdf): A quick, one page snapshot of the Competencies.

Ready to Go Presentation (PowerPoint) this slide deck provides an overview of the Competencies and reflective activities for library staff to use when facilitating learning related to the Competencies.

Professional Tools: a curated list of resources organized by competency area

Free webinars: beginning in March 2018. Each one will be facilitated by knowledgeable youth development experts and library staff and focus on a different competency. All free webinars will be held from 2:00 - 3:00pm, eastern, the second Thursday of the month. Webinar recordings will be available for those who can't participate in the live session.

Twitter chats: the last Thursday of each month beginning in March wil serve as a follow-up to the webinars, for those who have questions, want to share ideas, etc.

YALSAblog posts: check out the YALSAblog for periodic posts that dig into the competencies

Acknowledgments

YALSA would like to thank Linda Braun, Sarah Park Dahlen, Valerie Davis, Maureen Hartman, Sandra Hughes-Hassell, Vanessa Irwin, Crystle Martin, Lynda Salem-Poling, and Erin Wyatt for their critical role in creating this document.

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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff

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Introduction | Competencies | Supplementary Materials | Acknowledgements | Download the full Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff. View the Teen Competencies "at a glance" via this chart, or view this quick, one-page snapshot. YALSA's Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth was first published in 1981 and last updated in 2010.

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Best Books 2019: Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly

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Best Mystery Books, Alice's Island, Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, The Bone Fire, S.D. Sykes, Conviction, Denise Mina, Game of Snipers, Stephen Hunter, Good Girl, Bad Girl, Michael Robotham, Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman, Red Metal, Mark Greaney, The Sile

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We would be delighted if your students also participate in the Jarul Awards.
You could buy the Indian Contemporary books from this site.
https://peacockfeathers.in/

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The Jarul Book Committee comprises of students who will review the selection of books mentioned below. The committee will vote and nominate three books based on the above criteria. The three nominated titles will be voted upon by the participating schools from September to 24th December 2019.

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https://drive.google.com/open?id=1w61EEjld5UJPuGKInyBRu8SVbBQOYvQ2

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https://www.amazon.com/Amar-Chitra-Katha-Ultimate-Collection/dp/9350855097/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1EQ6ZE78SL057&keywords=amar+chitra+katha&qid=1574506693&s=books&sprefix=amar+%2Caps%2C402&sr=1-3

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The ppt also has the Library-ATL/ATT matrix

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The Ascend Library programme prepares students to navigate the complex world of information. They use both print and digital resources in an ethical manner, evaluating and synthesizing information to solve problems, further research, and foster their curiosity. In addition, students develop a lifelong love of reading as they become acquainted with stories and literary genres from around the world.

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Resource Hub for the IB Learner Profile Traits

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Explore picture books for the IB Learner Profile traits to use in the classroom, including being balanced, open-minded and reflective.

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My LRC @ JBCN International School, Parel

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My LRC @ JBCN International School, Parel

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Aditya Birla World Academy Library, Mumbai

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Aditya Birla World Academy Library, Mumbai

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10JBfrYboD_fBesL2lVBx1GLTwEXQF3nf1ZF5Tf5k1yk/edit

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GD Goenka World School

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"This text will inform and spark ideas. VERDICT Purchase where educators and teacher librarians are interested in gamifying classrooms and curricula." -School Library Journal"An excellent read for any teachers who are looking for ways to spice up their classroom, or for any tech coaches who are looking for ideas to use with the teachers they serve. If you're looking for a solid collection of practical ideas for incorporating elements of gamification into your classroom and curriculum, this book is definitely worth checking out." - Michael Karlin, EdTech Roundup

Literacy is at the heart of education - and what better way to teach this important subject than through the motivational techniques built into gamification?

With Gamify Literacy, teacher Michele Haiken brings together top educators and gaming professionals to share gamification strategies, demonstrating how teachers can use gaming tools and activities to improve literacy and content learning.

This friendly, accessible guide provides classroom educators and tech coaches with tips and inspiration on how to apply gaming techniques to improve literacy and deepen student collaboration and critical thinking.

This book includes:

Tips for implementing gaming techniques to engage and motivate students.
Fun and engaging design to complement a game-based approach to learning.
Examples that can easily be modified for different grade levels.

About the Author
Michele Haiken is a literacy teacher at Rye Middle School and an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College. She is also a frequent speaker and a contributor to the ISTE book Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age. For Gamify Literacy, Haiken collaborated with a range of game and literacy experts, including top game developers, teachers, librarians and technology coordinators.

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"This text will inform and spark ideas. VERDICT Purchase where educators and teacher librarians are interested in gamifying classrooms and curricula." -School Library Journal "An excellent read for any teachers who are looking for ways to spice up their classroom, or for any tech coaches who are looking for ideas to use with the teachers they serve.

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D. Y. Patil International School Worli   

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D. Y. Patil International School Worli   

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JBCN International School, Oshiwara, Mumbai

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JBCN International School, Oshiwara, Mumbai

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Calorx Olive International school, Ahmedabad

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Calorx Olive International school, Ahmedabad

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Twitter chat for International School Librarians

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Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.

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Oberoi International School JVLR Campus : PYP Library

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Oberoi International School JVLR Campus : PYP Library

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The librarian's voice should be heard, as much as any teacher's

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The librarian's voice should be heard, as much as any teacher's

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Graeme Boyd, Head Librarian at IB World School St Francis College, in Brazil, explains how the profession can step forward and play a fundamental role in schools

The role of a librarian has always seemed slightly vague or nondescript. The IB expects the school library " to play a central role in the implementation of the programme(s) ". However, what is defined as a "central role" is requires clarity.

Certainly within the IB Learner Profile and the Middle Years Programme (MYP), fundamental concepts (i.e holistic learning, cultural awareness and communication) offer librarians the opportunity to provide guidance on academic honesty policies and best practices. But, beyond this, librarians have the autonomy to shape their daily responsibilities to play a key role in the learning process.

There are numerous opportunities available for librarians to show how they can enrich the learning experience within a school. But they have to be willing and brave enough to act...

Strive to become part of the learning community, rather than be seen as an "outsider". Engage in departmental meetings, prepare surveys of library user needs and work closely with IB programme coordinators, especially within the initial units of inquiry planning stage.

Interact with teachers in classrooms. Provide a range of tools to reflect and support the curriculum, and to encourage regular reading patterns in students. It's also important to display student work, provide slow board games - such as chess, for example, to develop particular skills - and embrace IT challenges, including coding and hackathons.

Instigate direct learning. By researching the curriculum, librarians can find key concepts, ideas, tangents and reading materials, which support the units of inquiry. Create reading lists or bibliographies, which can be constantly updated. Understanding IT tools and teaching software applications are also essential. Information skills relevant in 2017 include information overload, citing peer-reviewed work, metadata tagging, algorithm and data structure, terminology searching and troubleshooting.

Promote yourself, professionally. Take charge of your own professional development. Be as motivated about your own learning as you are students'. Information on teaching research skills, plagiarism, academic honesty, citation and referencing are available on the LIBGUIDES of many established international schools' websites - such as UWC Singapore SE Campus, American School of Doha and Western Academy Beijing. It's also a great idea to join mailing lists; tweet; start a blog or Facebook group; connect with the committee of a library group or organization; or volunteer to present at local workshops or conferences.

Work with your local government education department. Every country has unique cultural differences. The local government education department will publish guidance on what books and/or resources are acceptable, or not. For example, having worked in Kuwait, weekly visits from the Education Ministry - to check stock, taxes, details of importers/overseas suppliers and all current subscriptions - are a significant part of the librarian's job. From working in China, censorship meant anything related to the 3Ts (Taiwan, Tiananmen Square and Tibet) required school approval.

Creativity and imagination are key strengths of any librarian in the 21st century, as much as they are for any writer of children's literature. Librarians are also storytellers and great listeners, which require adequate social and interpersonal skills.

Collaborate with the school counsellor, or support services department, to ensure the library is inclusive, too. Library design, lighting, height-adjustable shelving and workstations, colour schemes and signage, are all hugely viable variants towards assisting students with specific learning difficulties.

Students are a great sounding board for feedback. Their ideas and suggestions must be welcomed. Gain their confidence and together you can evolve, learn and share interests. Remain open to suggestions and feedback from parents and teachers, too. Every library should have an anonymous 'suggestion box'.

The library is the vibrant heart of the school. It should act as a steppingstone in which students are supported in their journey towards developing the self-confidence and academic prowess needed to gain access to the best universities and career development opportunities. Librarians can work with students to help foster an awareness of key global themes, transforming students into international ambassadors and global citizens.

Fundamentally, the librarian's role is to explain and show students how to learn - rather than just amassing factual knowledge - and to encourage their ability to work independently, and develop their own imagination, thinking and ideas. The voice of the librarian should be heard, as much as that of any teacher or teaching specialist. For some students, the library is a welcome release from the classroom. A place where independent thinking happens, and choices can be made. In the library, students become independent users of information, and take responsibility for their own flexible and interdisciplinary learning.

If you would like additional support, Boyd recommends the following:

Attend conferences such as Triennal Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS) Librarians, International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) and School Library Association (SLA).

Join the International School Library Connection Facebook group

Visit the IB OCC forum, which offers impartial advice

Read 'The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and the School Library: Inquiry-Based Education' (2011) or Andrew Abbott's 'Digital Paper' (2014).

Review the IB's 'Ideal Libraries Project'

Useful LIBGUIDES

UWC Singapore SE Campus:http://research.uwcsea.edu.sg/

American School of Doha: http://asd.qa.libguides.com/

Western Academy Beijing: http://hslibguides.wab.edu/

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"The librarian's voice should be heard, as much as any teacher's"

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Graeme Boyd, Head Librarian at IB World School St Francis College, in Brazil, explains how the profession can step forward and play a fundamental role in schools The role of a librarian has always seemed slightly vague or nondescript. The IB expects the school library " to play a central role in the implementation of the programme(s) ".

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My old school library space. Photo taken with a 360 camera!

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Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

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Bringing the Joy of Read-Alouds to Middle School Students

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Bringing the Joy of Read-Alouds to Middle School Students

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First Person

Eyes wide and mouths agape, 24 8th graders are waiting with bated breath as the villain sneaks up behind our protagonists. I pause. "Should we stop for today?" I ask with a smirk.

"Noooo!" the class collectively reacts, and I laugh and continue. It's rare to have the rapt attention of two dozen adolescents around anything, but when I garner that attention for a book, I am particularly grateful.

Their engagement should hardly be surprising, however. Reading aloud is a strategy elementary school teachers have capitalized on for generations. Teachers use storytelling and drama to get younger students engaged with and loving literature, only to mourn when those same students appear to lose that love once they reach middle and high school. We rarely acknowledge that reading quickly turns from a group experience to an individual one once kids reach middle school.

For the past six years, I've used "read-along," a twist on reading aloud, as a staple of my middle and high school teaching practice. Based on the Performance English program from the Curriculum Research and Development Group at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, my students and I read about 75 percent of our texts together in class (they also have independent reading books that they choose). Unlike traditional read-alouds, all students follow along with their own copy of the text, and I stop periodically to explain vocabulary, model note-taking in the margins, or engage in class discussion.

This strategy has been hugely beneficial for my students. Reading texts aloud in class has helped me build community. And the experience of hearing a story together has helped build student enjoyment, engagement, and camaraderie. Since I began doing read-along, my students have started discussing the books we read the way an audience talks after a movie: They walk out of class chatting about what happened. They ask their peers in other classes about the voices I used, or if I added sound effects. Other teachers tell me they catch students reading ahead or discussing what we read in class with their peers.

This love of storytelling can snowball into an overall love of literature that extends beyond our classroom walls. I often have students ask me if Harper Lee has written anything else they can read after we finish To Kill a Mockingbird as a class.

By reading the book with students, I'm also able to engage more deeply in discussions mid-text. When we encounter a difficult word, we stop and work through it as a class. I'll model metacognitive thinking as we read, stopping after a line and questioning my reactions to plot points or literary devices, or connecting the story to other things we've read. Later, I'll ask students to pause and share their reactions and reflect on where those feelings are coming from, as well as have them create text-to-text connections.

Reading aloud can be nerve-wracking for those new to the method. Here are some ways to reap its full benefits:

Use performance and storytelling techniques.

Do I use a subtle Southern affect while reading To Kill a Mockingbird? Absolutely! Not only does it show students that reading can be playful and imperfect (their reactions to different voices are always amusing), but it also helps conjure the world of the novel and attract interest in the story. I create different voices using pitch, vocal placement, and speech patterns to differentiate characters. I also play with pacing to build suspense or excitement. I'll even turn off the lights or project images on the board for ambience.

Build in time and activities to purposefully engage with the text.

Reading along gives us the opportunity to discuss not just the overall story, but the intricacies of the writing. We can model and use a variety of skills to understand new vocabulary, and give students chances to explain their reasoning when they infer meaning. Stopping to help students recognize "sign-post" moments in a story-strategically placed words, phrases, or plot points that help readers recognize that something important is happening-can help them learn and practice deeper analytical skills in a group setting. I'll have students share their thoughts, questions, and epiphanies ( TQEs, as teacher Marisa Thompson calls them) at the ends of sections or even mid-paragraph, ensuring we read actively. These strategies also allow students to have critical conversations with themselves and each other as they read the text, not just after they've read it. Students can hone these skills together before they have to use them independently.

Practice, practice, practice.

Read-aloud is like any performance: We do better when we know what's coming and how we want to create feeling. When I practice, I time myself reading a page so I can better plan for how much we'll get through in class. I also make notes on different voices, difficult words to address, and where I want to stop to engage in discussion or activities.

Only ask students to read if they've had time to prepare or are reading in small groups.

This a question I'm often asked when I share my read-along practice: How much do I read and how much do the students read? I read a majority of the text in a whole-class setting. While reading aloud can build fluency, research shows that forcing students to read aloud, in front of their peers, and without preparation is not only unhelpful, but potentially damaging. When I do have students read aloud, I use a number of strategies that lower the stakes (such as partner or small-group reading) or give them time to prepare a passage on their own. This gives them a chance to practice fluency while ensuring we don't do more harm than good.

Beyond its practical benefits, read-along has provided me some of my most rewarding teaching experiences. Students frequently share that is one of their favorite, most memorable parts of their experiences with me, and nothing quite beats the feeling of hearing a classroom full of students gasp, laugh, or squeal in delight in response to a great story-ultimately leaving us feeling just a little closer to one another at the end of the day.

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Bringing the Joy of Read-Alouds to Middle School Students

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First Person Eyes wide and mouths agape, 24 8th graders are waiting with bated breath as the villain sneaks up behind our protagonists. I pause. "Should we stop for today?" I ask with a smirk. "Noooo!" the class collectively reacts, and I laugh and continue.

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NanoPD

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Learning and Teaching

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An article about student agency and how to create it at your school.

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By Marie Bjerede and Michael Gielniak, PhD (Updated December 2021)
The word agentic is described as an individual's power to control his or her own goals actions and destiny. It stems from the word agency, which Webster's Dictionary defines as the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power. In the late 1980s, Stanford University Psychologist Albert Bandura began developing a theory of social cognition that he associated with self-efficacy. He later examined more specifically the role of agency and motivation, and coined the term Agentic, in which people are viewed as self-organizing, proactive, self-reflecting and self-regulated, which he calls Agentic. Agentic learning is defined byself-directed actions aimed at personal growth and development based on self-chosen goals. Within this context, students initiate actions of their own volition that drive their learning.

Creating the Conditions for Agentic Learning

In their 2011 paper, Reeve & Tseng identify four domains of engagement that influence motivation and behavior.
Behavioral Engagement Emotional Engagement

Presence of task-facilitating emotions (e.g. interest, enthusiasm, curiosity)

Absence of task-withdrawing emotions (e.g. distress, anger, frustration, anxiety, fear)

Cognitive Engagement

Use of sophisticated, deep, and personalized learning strategies

Seeking conceptual understanding rather than surface knowledge

Use of self-regulatory strategies

Agentic Engagement

Proactive, intentional, and constructive contribution to the flow of the learning activity

Enriching the learning activity rather than passively receiving it as a given

Understanding these domains of engagement, how an individual engages in these domains, and how they interact or integrate into the learning environment are foundational to creating the conditions for Agentic Learning to emerge.

In his book, Drive, Dan Pink outlines how autonomy, mastery and purpose are fundamental to intrinsic motivation - another foundational block of student agency. Student agency implies an intrinsically motivated volition on the part of the student, which goes beyond student engagement - where a student is engaged with the work for its own sake, not just for extrinsic motivators such as getting good grades or pleasing teachers or parents.

In addition to engagement and intrinsic motivation, student agency is fostered through relatedness, which is a strong relationship with at least one adult in their academic environment. Self-determination theory cites relatedness, along with autonomy and mastery, as fundamental psychological needs.

Student agency is when students of their own volition initiate actions that support their learning within the context of their learning environment. It is fostered through engagement, intrinsic motivation, and relatedness. Agency is a critical goal in its own right in preparing students for career and life, but is also made of building blocks that in and of themselves lead to deeper learning.

Fostering student agency may seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, there are many pedagogical approaches, such as Project-Based Learning, Inquiry, Design-Based Learning and others that, when implemented well, lead to engagement and intrinsic motivation. Combined with a strong relationship with a teacher, these approaches provide opportunities for students to develop agency.
For more, see: Marie Bjerede is President of Agentic Learning. Connect with her on Twitter: @mbjerede Mike Gielniak is CEO of Agentic Learning. @mgielniak

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What is Agentic Learning and Why is it Important?

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By Marie Bjerede and Michael Gielniak, PhD (Updated December 2021) The word agentic is described as an individual's power to control his or her own goals actions and destiny. It stems from the word agency, which Webster's Dictionary defines as the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power.

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How do you build your library to support inquiry-led learning?

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How do you build your library to support inquiry-led learning?

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An article about ways in which librarians and teachers can collaborate across the IB continuum of education

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Reimagining Assistive Technology Through Inclusive Makerspaces, Coding and Robotics

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Reimagining Assistive Technology Through Inclusive Makerspaces, Coding and Robotics

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The Learning Community

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The Learner

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Building Voice, Choice, and Ownership in the Library

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Building Voice, Choice, and Ownership in the Library

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Student agency in the library - written by Linda Johnson.

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Learner Agency: Building Voice, Choice, and Ownership in the Library

A venue that once invited students to browse its shelves for information that could only be found within its tomes of knowledge called encyclopedias, or search for an adventure through aisles and aisles of stories; a school library is a place that either invokes a smile or induces a cringe. As for me, I smile. I remember eagerly anticipating my elementary school librarian's weekly visits to my sixth-grade class as he read aloud another section of "Where the Red Fern Grows", by Wilson Rawls. Perhaps he is one reason I became a teacher librarian. Perhaps this is one reason that book remains high on my list of favorite books.

Sadly, not everyone holds such fond memories about their school library. Instead, the mere mention of "librarian" brings shushes to be quiet and jokes about little old ladies in glasses.

The fact is, many libraries remain set in such a time and place, afraid to move forward for fear they might have to part with some of their cherished books and (likely outdated) reference materials in its collection. Though my library was far from that description, when I took over as the librarian, I was determined to change that image and instead try to create a community inspired learning hub.

Having taught in the classroom, I was keenly aware that students' reading habits had changed. Easy access to the information super highway through classroom technology had dramatically changed how students and school communities interacted with libraries. Stepping back to reflect, it was evident that our school library needed to change with the times. One of these changes involved the incorporation of student agency within the library.

Voice
Choice
Ownership

According to the International Baccalaureate Organization, students with the agency "use their own initiative and will, and take responsibility and ownership of their learning. They direct their learning with a strong sense of identity and self-belief, and in conjunction with others, thereby building a sense of community and awareness of the opinions, values and needs of others." (IBO)

The concept of student agency isn't new, but recently the idea of students taking charge of their learning has come to the forefront in education. Though many librarians (and teachers, for that matter) find the notion uncomfortable, research shows that "student agency has a significant impact on students' academic performance and perceived learning experience." (Lou, 50)

Contemplating this conclusion, I began reflecting on how a school might incorporate agency in the library. How can it foster student agency? How might the school know? When voice, choice, and ownership are inherent to a school library's culture, what does it look like? How does it sound? How does it make the library feel?

I began exploring more and found an article from the IB providing guiding questions and principles associated with examining Learner Agency in any setting. What is the learner doing? What is the adult/facilitator doing? What's happening in the environment?

I took these questions and principles and used them to create my understanding of Learner Agency in the Library in the Y chart below. I'm sure there are missing descriptors, but this gave me a better picture of what I might strive for today.

Is your library perceived as only a space that houses volumes, classics, and outdated reference materials rigidly controlled and seemingly inaccessible to the learning community? Reflecting on these questions can help you transform your library into a community inspired learning commons where learner agency is celebrated and fostered. I've intentionally used the words "our" and "we" in the questions below to help bring about the idea of community.

Voice
Does the learning community have an active voice and stake in the library?
How are we creating opportunities for students' interests and voice to be heard?
Choice
Do the library hours offer the community freedom and flexibility?
Does our library offer a range of perspectives?
Does our library offer flexible spaces for students to think, plan, collaborate, modify, socialize, reflect, and create?
Are the library spaces multilingual? Multimodal? Flexible?
Ownership
Are scaffolds and supports available to instill independence for even the youngest visitors?
Am I a careful and responsive (but not too helpful) observer?
What resources do we provide that support and stimulate the learning community?
How do we support a growth mindset?
How do we help students make responsible decisions?
Is the library safe (both physically and emotionally)?
Are students seen self-regulating and navigating the library freely?
How do we inspire library patrons to support one another?
Does our library feel inviting, productive, inclusive, and busy?

These questions are just a starting point as there are others that could be added to this list. For more ways to support Learner Agency in the library here are a few other articles you might also find interesting:

Student Agency: A Paradigm Shift in the Role of the Library in Learning
Power to the Pupils: School Libraries and Student Agency
Student Agency: Revisiting Choice Words
Student Agency design learning space
On Libraries: Growth Mindset + Agency = Learning

By Linda Johnson
Linda Johnson is a retired private school teacher librarian and curriculum coordinator. Passionate about supporting language and literacy development in students, she remains active in education as an educational consultant with the International Baccalaureate Educator Network. Linda trains and coaches teachers and school leaders in Texas, across the United States, and around the world to support the implementation of best practices, inquiry-based teaching, and student agency.

Sources -

"Learner Agency." International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), 14 Dec. 2018, resources.ibo.org/pyp/framework/The-PYP-Framework/works/pyp_11162-51463?root=1.6.2.2.5.3.
Luo, Heng & Yang, Tingting & Xue, Jin & Zuo, Mingzhang. (2018). Impact of student agency on learning performance and learning experience in a flipped classroom. British Journal of Educational Technology. 50. 10.1111/bjet.12604.
"Examining Learner Agency in Your Setting." International Baccalaureate Organization, 2017.

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Building Voice, Choice, and Ownership in the Library - Liferarian

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Learner Agency: Building Voice, Choice, and Ownership in the Library A venue that once invited students to browse its shelves for information that could only be found within its tomes of knowledge called encyclopedias, or search for an adventure through aisles and aisles of stories; a school library is a...

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http://learningcommons.southpointe.ca/

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Based on a chapter on Collaboration from Enhancing and Teaching and Learning by Jean Donham.

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My blog post is based on a chapter on Collaboration from Enhancing and Teaching and Learning by Jean Donham.

Teamwork has become the mantra of the teaching profession in our modern complex world. Different factors such as accountability for students' achievements, differentiated learning, information explosion, diverse and varied instructional and information technologies have impacted teaching & learning. Teaching is no more a standalone profession, where the teacher is responsible for his/her classroom. Nor is the Librarian's role a solitary domain.

School Librarian as Collaborator

A sound library is the backbone of the school system and in my opinion, the role of the librarian has evolved drastically, from being a caretaker of the library to a media specialist, information manager, and more. I believe the most crucial part for librarians is to adapt and move on to the role of a collaborator.

Library programme has always been a stand-alone program, however, in today's time, the library is moving closer to the classroom, where the librarians and the teachers are stepping up to collaborate when delivering lessons, teaching skills and enhancing students' learning experience.

Collaboration requires time and proper planning. Collaboration works well between teachers and librarians when it is based on a mutual goal and trust in each other's expertise. Here are some of the ways a school librarian can collaborate:

1. They can act as a coordinator to organise events related to the units.

2. Librarians can learn about the curriculum needs of each department and make attempts to provide resources, both in print and digital formats.

3. Librarians can be included in the collaborate planners and participate in grade level meetings.

4. Together with the teachers, Librarians can build a robust collection to fill the needs of the curriculum.

5. Librarians as reference assistance can collaborate with the teacher to find solutions to curriculum queries and support independent inquiries.

Collaboration between teachers and librarians can grow stronger with time and effort. Once the teacher is confident that the librarian can support her queries for, e.g. the teacher says, "I need a picture/book of the growth cycle of a caterpillar, the librarian can solve it providing resources at the appropriate grade level. For this to happen successfully, a librarian must know the collection.

Informal collaboration can be useful when teachers and librarians have a conversation about the unit, and during the library class, the librarian can reinforce skills, concepts or knowledge. Another example of informal planning is when the teacher shares her planning at lunch and the librarian injects idea and resources to support the curriculum unit. Again, gaining trust and developing expertise.

However, one must move from informal collaboration to a formal one. Formal collaboration is designed with clear communications, intentions and goals, allowing opportunities for librarians to understand the curriculum and support teacher and student needs.

- How long will the class be working on a unit?

- How will the resources be used? What reading level resources are needed?

- What particular area of the topic is the teacher going to drive the inquiry?

- What kind of engagements are the teachers working on?

- What is the concept that the librarians can support?

- What skills can the librarian teach during the unit?

Education is modelled on teamwork, the effectiveness and productivity of this only increase and positively impacts student performance. Collaboration is the key to a successful experience.

- Post by Kuntal Bhandare

Donham, Jean, Enhancing teaching and learning, USA, DBS Imprints,2014, pp 123-126

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School Librarian & Collaboration - Liferarian

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My blog post is based on a chapter on Collaboration from Enhancing and Teaching and Learning by Jean Donham. Teamwork has become the mantra of the teaching profession in our modern complex world. Different factors such as accountability for students' achievements, differentiated learning, information explosion, diverse and varied instructional and...

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Pictures from the Library Learning Commons in Langley BC

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How the librarian can foster inquiry.

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This article is adapted from the book The Power of Inquiry.

"When we move to the heart of inquiry, it is about engagement, lighting a fire within students, so they want to investigate and find out more. The inquiry is not a single 'method' or a program... It is about how you think about learning and the relationship between teaching and learning. It is about how you see yourself and is at the heart of what you do and why you do it." (Murdoch and Claxton)

Library is the hub of inquiry. It is a place that invites students, teachers and community members to fulfil their quest for inquiry. To this end the way the library and resources are organized, the ways resources are used are all designed to induce inquiry. During this process of inquiry it fosters development of ATL skills such as critical thinking, self-management, collaboration, communication and above all research skills

Libraries are also vibrant places where inquiry takes place in many forms. Whether it is spontaneous, structured, shared, individual or project-oriented inquiry, it is essential to create environment conducive for inquiry, encourage inquiry, and to some extent direct it.
How library/ian can foster inquiry?
The flexible, equitable learning environment

Provide students with comfortable and flexible seating possibilities
Create spaces for group reading and quiet individual learning.
Attractive and visible displays of books and magazines with signage.
It can be a busy space that engages students in gathering information and exchanging ideas instead of a total quiet library space,
Plan outdoor library classes for practical and aesthetic reasons.
Design library spaces with natural sunlight and adequate ventilation.

Emotional environment

For a successful inquiry process, emotional environment is equally important along with the physical environment. The environments where students feel respectful as well as safe to express themselves make them confident in asking questions.

Use the informal time to chat with students about their interests and goals in their lives, which is an excellent opportunity to build rapport with them.

Open access

Organize books in ways that aid students to have easy access to materials they need.
Provide OPAC catalog to find the books in relevant sections and locate them on the shelf
Provide adequate signage for students to understand the layout of the Dewey ranges on the shelves

Develop and use collection with a combination of print and digital resources, iPads, Kindles, and other audio-visual aids. Develop an inclusive collection that reflects the diverse needs of the school community. The library should be continually evolving in terms of resource collection that is responsive to the growing needs of teaching and learning community.

Collaboration

Librarians do not stay seated, isolated in the library but collaborate with teachers to share their resources, expertise, and to help students to acquire information literacy skills. For example, we collaborated with our Individuals and Societies teacher on the unit of 'culture' to support students on developing a research question, identifying primary and secondary resources, note-taking strategies, and creating bibliographies.
Collaborate with the parent community in support of mother tongue and build those collections (as best possible) to facilitate and strengthen collection that supports multilingualism. Involve students in the selection of materials so that students have an added sense of ownership of the library. Collaborate with local public libraries such as the British Library or University library. Publishing Library newsletter also helps to connect to the teaching, learning and parent community

Transform library into centers of active learning.

Celebrate Student's work in the library Encourage students to write book reviews and use online tools like blogs to share their experiences. Display a wonder-wall where students can post their inquiry questions. Invite authors, local enthusiasts, and organizations that give students an exposure to the real world. Organize events such as author birthdays, Literary Fest, World Book Day, and other exciting occasions that engages students into active learning.

Librarians play a crucial role to support inquiry in culminating projects such as the exhibition in the final year of PYP (Primary Years Programme), the Personal Project in the MYP (Middle Years Programme), the Extended Essay and Internal Assessments in the IBDP (Diploma Programme). Assist students in identifying and locating resources in various phases of inquiry in the project.

Empower students with the research skills required for the project.

We at VKE see ourselves not only as a resource person but play a significant role in enabling students in the implementation of research skills such as evaluating resources, developing citation skills, and support report writing skills.

The inquiry librarian has to be innovative and try new things to improve library services and continually be inquiring into their practices. They are the role models to show students that they are learners too. An inquiry mindset can be contagious when we make it visible and audible to others.

Bibliography

Crouch, Stuart. "How Do You Build Your Library to Support Inquiry-Led Learning?" News from around the IB Community, 19 Jan. 2016, blogs.ibo.org/blog/2016/01/19/how-do-you-build-your-library-to-support-inquiry-led-learning/. Accessed 7 Jun. 2019

Murdoch, Kath, and Guy Claxton. The Power of Inquiry. Seastar Education, 2015.

Sullivan, Margaret. "Divine Design: How to Create the 21st-Century School Library of Your Dreams." Smith System, Dec. 2015, smithsystem.com/resource-library/article-library/divine-design-create-21st-century-school-library-dreams/#. Accessed 7 Jun. 2019

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Library and inquiry- How Library/ian can foster inquiry? - Liferarian

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This article is adapted from the book The Power of Inquiry. "When we move to the heart of inquiry, it is about engagement, lighting a fire within students, so they want to investigate and find out more. The inquiry is not a single 'method' or a program... It is about...

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A toolkit to help you think about library spaces.

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"Through Design Thinking I have learned to pay attention to details, to review each situation from other perspectives and most importantly to use the focus group. By collaborating with people of different ages and from different domains, new extraordinary ideas have been generated!" - Loredana, Librarian, Romania

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"Through Design Thinking I have learned to pay attention to details, to review each situation from other perspectives and most importantly to use the focus group. By collaborating with people of different ages and from different domains, new extraordinary ideas have been generated!" - Loredana, Librarian, Romania

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Inquiry Based Learning is neither new, nor revolutionary. Its roots go as far back as Socrates when he challenged his students to think and debate. Later, Constructivist theorists such as Piaget and Dewey began to develop structures of learning that differed from didactic, teacher driven learning that emphasized rote memorization and practice.
​
It has been found that humans are programmed to learn best and remember what they have learned when there is personal meaning and context to what they have learned. Inquiry learning builds a framework that draws the learner into the subject and deepens and contextualizes their learning.
​
Once students have contextualized their learning, they will begin to develop new levels of understanding. As they become more comfortable with the Inquiry Approach, their learning can become much more complex and connections can be made throughout and between subject areas.

Inquiry-based learning is an approach to teaching and learning that allows students to engage with their natural intellectual curiosities rather than being passive recipients of knowledge.

Inquiry-based learning involves open-ended investigations, evidence-based reasoning and creative problem solving.

Inquiry-based learning utilizes the teacher's understanding of the curricular big ideas to push students to develop their own questions and push their ideas to form a deeper understanding.

Inquiry-based learning often blurs the lines between disciplines.

Inquiry-based learning harnesses the natural intellectual curiosity of students.

﻿ Why is it important to provide opportunities for students to engage in inquiry?

In the 21st century, information is at our fingertips. By providing students the opportunity to engage in inquiry-based learning, we give them the skills to locate, access, assess, understand, synthesize and evaluate information in a real world way. These are skills that they will have to use for the rest of their lives.

Authenticity. Inquiry based learning's foundation is based in the students' own curiosities and questions. These are genuine things that students want to learn rather than what they are forced to learn.

Inquiry is not:

giving students free reign over all aspects of learning. The teacher still acts as a guide using their understanding of the big ideas to move students in the direction of deeper understanding and helping them to move their ideas forward.

necessarily embedded in all learning opportunities call for an inquiry approach. Inquiry is merely one tool in the teacher toolbox. Often base concepts need to be taught in a teacher-directed manner in order to provide the foundation for the inquiry to proceed.

limited to a single research project that lays out specific information that students must seek out to answer predetermined questions.​​ Inquiry is allowing students to answer "non-googleable" questions.

Why Involve your Teacher-Librarian with your Inquiry Project?

Inquiry-based learning is student centred, and by it's nature benefits from more than one teacher poised and ready to help out with trouble shooting, answering questions and work with students on their research and their project designs.

Teacher-librarians are experts in research.

Teacher-LIbrarians are trained in Inquiry-based learning and Co-operative planning.

Teacher-Librarians can assist in organizing field trips to museums and other pertinent sites.

Teacher-Librarians are part of a the school's team and bring their expertise into the mix to help students develop the necessary skills that enable them to learn how to learn.

Students are often less inhibited when asking Teacher-Librarians for assistance.

Having another set of eyes and ears in a busy classroom always helps.

Inquiry Learning beyond high school,

As educators, one of our main goals is to prepare our students to be productive members of society. A strong understanding of inquiry-based learning will give those students the skill set they will need to learn and grow in the 21st Century, technology based world.

More and more post secondary institutions are embracing inquiry-based learning and are stressing problem solving and innovation, such as: McMaster, Queen's and Quest. Having a strong background in inquiry will enable our students to be successful learners in both the academic world and beyond into the work world.

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Inquiry Based Learning is neither new, nor revolutionary. Its roots go as far back as Socrates when he challenged his students to think and debate. Later, Constructivist theorists such as Piaget and Dewey began to develop structures of learning that differed from didactic, teacher driven learning that emphasized rote memorization and practice.

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Technology in the design of library space

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Estas importantes funciones de Evernote aumentan la potencia de funciones clave del producto como la búsqueda, la gestión de archivos adjuntos, el acceso a las notas y mucho más. Ahora todo el mundo podrá usarlas y descubrir todo el potencial de Evernote.

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Written by two BC Teachers - @inquiryteacher on IG

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"Trevor and Rebecca provide incredible ideas and resources to support twenty-first-century learning! With a focus on student driven passions and pedagogy, they offer personal experiences and examples of concepts from around the globe. This book is a must-read for anyone wondering 'how can I better meet the needs of my learners?' using specific ideas, examples and tools!" --Brian Aspinall, educator, TEDx speaker, and bestselling author of Code Breaker, Canada

"Inquiry Mindset is an important book on an even more important subject. Our rapidly changing world needs inquirers and lifelong learners more than ever before. With practical tips and engaging stories, Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt offer a blueprint for how to inspire and guide inquiry-based learning." --Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question, USA

"Trevor MacKenzie expands on his first book with another powerful argument for inquiry-based learning by challenging educators to stoke students' curiosities, hear their voices, and nurture their hearts. Inquiry Mindset provides practical advice, examples, strategies, and resources for teachers, so they can meet those challenges for their own professional learning. MacKenzie takes readers on their own personal journeys to discover how they can become inquiry teachers. I highly recommend Inquiry Mindset for any teacher who wants to harness the potential for increasing student agency over learning." --Barbara Bray, author of Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning, host of Conversations on Learning podcast, and education consultant at Rethinking Learning, USA

"What a gift Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt bring with their new book, Inquiry Mindset! This comprehensive guide supports teachers at every level, from understanding the research and theoretical base for inquiry, to managing the smallest details, including classroom setup, developing research questions, and leading kids through a gradual-release model of authentic investigations. The authors like to offer what they call provocations, an experience designed to 'stir thought, wonder, engagement, curiosity, and questions with our learners.' Read Inquiry Mindset, you will be delightfully provoked." --Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, author of The Curious Classroom, USA

"In MacKenzie's follow-up to the highly acclaimed inquiry resource Dive into Inquiry, he brings his philosophy on learning (and teaching) to life in Inquiry Mindset. Nebulous educational goals such as personalized learning and embracing voice and choice are brought to life through an enchanting narrative, brimming with a perfect blend of idealism and applicability. Each chapter is full of anecdotes, resources and sketchnotes that will resonate deeply with the reader, helping educators gain the tools and understandings to accomplish that which we value most in education--honouring each student as highly unique individuals with their own passions, talents and curiosities just waiting to be nurtured and explored more meaningfully in the classroom. Get your copy of Inquiry Mindset today... you won't be disappointed!"--Sylvia Duckworth, EdTech consultant, author of Sketchnotes for Educators, Canada

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Inquiry Mindset: Nurturing the Dreams, Wonders, and Curiosities of Our Youngest Learners

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"From School Library to Library Learning Commons: A Proactive Model for Educational Change" BCTLA

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"From School Library to Library Learning Commons: A Proactive Model for Educational Change" BCTLA