Schools

Celebrate World Oceans Day

| By Debra Kirby |

Did you know that World Oceans Day is celebrated June 8 each year and that it was officially recognized by the United Nations in December of 2008? Or that the Canadian government first proposed the idea at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992?

Each year World Oceans Day events are organized around a different theme, with this year’s focus on “plastic pollution prevention and cleaning the ocean of marine litter.” http://www.worldoceansday.org/

Even if you don’t live near an ocean, or are not planning to participate in an event on June 8, there are many things you can do to make a difference. Since all of Earth’s waterways are connected, what affects your local stream, river, or lake also eventually makes its way to the oceans. Here are a few easy things anyone can do throughout the year:

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Science Behind the Headlines—U.S. Abandons the Paris Climate Agreement

| By Debra Kirby |

On June 1 President Trump’s announcement that the United States will exit the Paris climate accord made headlines throughout the world. To learn more about the agreement, climate change, global warming, and other topics relevant to this news, Gale’s databases are the perfect resource.

Learn more about the Paris Climate Agreement from Science In Context.

Unclear on the difference between Global Warming and Climate Change—which are sometimes used interchangeably by non-scientists? Science In Context has the answer here!

If you’re more of a visual learner, watch this mini-lecture on global warming, or watch this interview with President Obama on the Threat of Climate Change.

Read moreScience Behind the Headlines—U.S. Abandons the Paris Climate Agreement

Mathematics, 2nd Edition Positively Engages Students

This full-color update of the award-winning 2002 A-Z encyclopedia explains concepts, provides a historical overview, and explores careers in the field. Written for middle school/high school students, as well as non-math-major undergraduates, Mathematics contains some 300 entries that cover the basics of algebra, geometry and trigonometry, with the goal of making these topics more accessible and interesting. Readers will see the uses and effects of math in daily life, while short biographies highlight notable mathematicians. Thirty percent of the content is new to this edition, highlighting advances in mathematics since 2000. Mathematics is illustrated with images, equations, tables, and figures, and includes sidebars.

Both the original edition and the new were shaped by expert boards who determined the entry list and reviewed content. Each entry contains a bibliography/suggestions for further reading and cross‐references directing the users to articles of related interest.

See what Library Consultant, Janis Minshull, thinks of the newest edition:

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For Students to the Rescue! Fear Not the Required Readings for High School

| By Nicole Albrecht |

The look in my students’ eyes, when I would pass out the first set of novels for the school year, would convey an array of emotions from fear, apathy, excitement, genuine interest, and, my favorite, rebellion. Introducing a novel to a high school English class can be a teacher’s worst nightmare, but I enjoyed every minute of it because it was a challenge to me. A challenge to change their mind about not only reading in general, but how they see the world after they are finished reading a particular work. I didn’t always feel this way about introducing a novel to my students, in fact, in the beginning of my teaching career, I would lose sleep for several days prior to introducing a novel. I felt this way because I knew how it felt for students to “fear the novel” and I remembered how I felt when my own high school teachers would introduce one.

I grew up with a love for reading—it was a chance to experience life from another perspective, to walk in someone else’s shoes, and upon finishing the story, become a new person with a new way to look at the world. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I started to loathe reading novels and I actually stopped reading altogether during this time.

Read moreFor Students to the Rescue! Fear Not the Required Readings for High School

A Big Thumbs Up for Biology, 2nd Edition

Biology, 2nd Edition includes 439 A-Z entries covering biological concepts, the history of science, and critical issues such as embryogenesis and the commercial applications of research, ethical issues, and careers in biology. More than 60 entries are brand new and almost three times as many entries are substantially revised and updated; all entries have been reviewed for currency.

The writing level makes accurate information accessible to a high school audience. Full-color photographs, diagrams, and sidebars add visual interest. More than 600 terms are defined in the margins of the pages where they appear and compiled into a convenient glossary at the back of each volume. Each entry contains a bibliography/suggestions for further reading. A thematic outline provides a guide to entries by subject. Handy references in the front matter include a geologic time scale and metric conversion table.

See what an Associate Dean of Libraries at Prevo Science Library thinks about the newest edition:

Read moreA Big Thumbs Up for Biology, 2nd Edition

See How One School Improved Science Grades

Improved grades. Fulfilled Next Generation Science Standards. Saved time. Those are just a few of San Luis Obispo High School’s accomplishments thanks to resources like Gale’s Science In Context. Download their success story and learn how transitioning to engaging digital resources also helped them: • prepare students for research success in college • meet other curriculum … Read more

InfoTrac: A Trusted Source for Current, Accurate, and Balanced News

| By Sara Constantakis |

In our internet-driven world, news comes at us from every direction and from many different sources. But just because a news story shows up in our Facebook or Twitter feed doesn’t mean it’s credible or authoritative. The proliferation of fake news is a growing problem, since the internet makes it easy for anyone to publish something that looks like a real news story. In addition, many news publications lean in one direction or another on the political spectrum, which influences the way they present information. That’s why it’s important for everyone, from the student to the general reader, to understand where news comes from and how the source of an article may influence its presentation of the facts.

Read moreInfoTrac: A Trusted Source for Current, Accurate, and Balanced News

Headlines In Context: Comparing the Watergate Scandal to Russia’s Election Meddling Investigation

| By Debra Kirby |

Keeping up with current events can be a full-time job—never mind understanding the history behind what’s in the headlines. Take the ongoing coverage of the investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections for example. This story seems to change daily—sometimes hourly. Even if you’re checking in multiple times per day and managing to keep up with the basics, references to historical events and underlying facts relayed by experts and political pundits can leave you wanting to learn more.

For instance, a number of commentators, when discussing the recent firing of FBI director James Comey by President Trump, have referenced similarities to Nixon’s firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Is that a valid reference?

To get the background details needed to better understand what’s behind these and other references, start your research with U.S. History In Context, where you will discover in-depth coverage of such topics as:

Read moreHeadlines In Context: Comparing the Watergate Scandal to Russia’s Election Meddling Investigation

You Think You Know What Librarians Do?

| Originally publish on BubbleUp Classroom by Corey Thornblad|

This week I had the pleasure of participating in the annual Virginia Association of School Librarians conference in Norfolk, Virginia. I’ll admit that I was a fish out of water — the only teacher in a sea of school librarians. Even though I don’t know much about the Dewey Decimal system or online catalogs, they made me feel right at home.

As I sat at dinner, listening to their conversation about teaching and learning, I realized that unless you have had the privilege of working in a school over the past decade you may not understand what school librarians actually do.  Librarians are not a braggy bunch; so I feel inclined to set the record straight on their behalf. You probably think they spend their entire day shelving and checking out books, while shushing students. It’s time to set aside these stereotypes and give librarians their long overdue kudos.

Librarians teach — a lot 
First and foremost, school librarians are teachers. If you walk into our school’s library on any given day you are likely to see one of our librarians co-teaching or independently teaching a lesson. In order to pull this off, librarians have to be content experts in everything from science to math to PE. Moreover, librarians have the ability and desire to teach children of all levels and learning styles.

Librarians are Apple Geniuses in disguise
Librarians know A LOT about technology. Our librarians are the go-to teachers in our building for everything tech. They help us search the web, use Twitter, create our own websites, and help us learn how to use Google Classroom.

Read moreYou Think You Know What Librarians Do?