tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85848050731105844172024-02-06T22:11:17.457-05:00Read. Research. Rest. Repeat.kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-76693874450390850982020-10-15T11:36:00.002-04:002020-10-15T12:29:56.055-04:00Media Literacy Week 2020<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is a little something I whipped up for Media Literacy Week 2020 for teachers to use with their advisory classes at the high school. There are only 4 days because of our hybrid schedule. I pulled from the very cool First Draft News SMS course (check that out <a href="https://firstdraftnews.org/latest/course-training-us-election-misinformation/" target="_blank">here</a>).I know I could have made in Google slides but was excited to play with different <a href="https://www.canva.com/" target="_blank">Canva</a> features. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://bit.ly/medlitwk20" target="_blank">Media Literacy Week 2020</a> </span></p>
<div style="border-radius: 8px; box-shadow: rgba(63, 69, 81, 0.16) 0px 2px 8px 0px; height: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9em; margin-top: 1.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 48px; padding-top: 100%; position: relative; width: 100%; will-change: transform;"> <iframe src="https://www.canva.com/design/DAEKrnDUzso/view?embed" style="border: none; height: 100%; left: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;"> </iframe></div><a href="https://www.canva.com/design/DAEKrnDUzso/view?utm_content=DAEKrnDUzso&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=embeds&utm_source=link" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Copy of MEDIALITERACY20</a> <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgCmCPJlGlux_WC1t-Q6XK5K8ILlYBEh8Cii-jTus79kaJyDT2zKslDbxFiwyIarJKqH_o28BAXZScXXwo-BT88hrhLvJYBwoD3oggJFdoXaCIdzGJZqPV2nf6-v_gV8E17fR2Q5cBoie/s1080/MEDIALITERACY20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgCmCPJlGlux_WC1t-Q6XK5K8ILlYBEh8Cii-jTus79kaJyDT2zKslDbxFiwyIarJKqH_o28BAXZScXXwo-BT88hrhLvJYBwoD3oggJFdoXaCIdzGJZqPV2nf6-v_gV8E17fR2Q5cBoie/w200-h200/MEDIALITERACY20.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-17099790061807789322020-09-03T18:49:00.001-04:002020-09-03T18:49:33.752-04:00COURAGE: Our Word for 2020-2021 School Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Last year I was inspired by Melinda Gates and Oprah and adopted the practice of choosing a inspirational word each year (</span><a href="http://readresearchrestrepeat.blogspot.com/2019/08/my-word-of-year-calm.html" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">see post here</a><span style="font-family: arial;">). The word our family chose this year is COURAGE.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My 8 year old son, my husband and I talked a lot about what qualities and skills we were going to ne</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ed this school year to help us be successful. Last year our word was CALM. The word CALM will remain on the walls of our home and this year COURAGE will be added. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Merriam-Webster defines COURAGE as "<span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">mental or moral strength to </span><a class="mw_t_d_link" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/venture#h1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; background-image: linear-gradient(90deg, rgb(151, 190, 206) 100%, transparent 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 3px 1px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #265667; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">venture</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">We brainstormed a list of times that we will need COURAGE in the upcoming school year.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #303336; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Here is a portion of that list: </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #303336; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">This year we will strive to have</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to go school - to embrace a school year that will be like no other.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE </span><span style="font-family: arial;">to try new things.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE </span><span style="font-family: arial;">to say "yes".</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to say "no".</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">COURAGE to make new friends.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to stand up to friends.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to wear a mask even when it is uncomfortable. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to tell others to put on their mask.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to be kind.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to choose self-care.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to be honest about feelings.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to tell the truth.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to walk away.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to stand your ground.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to admit we are scared.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">COURAGE</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to find solutions.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">COURAGE to advocate for ourselves.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303336; font-family: arial; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">COURAGE to dream. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">the </span><span style="font-family: arial;">COURAGE to fail.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">the COURAGE to forgive ourselves. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">the COURAGE to forgive each other.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">the COURAGE to try again!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXcKFWK76gcR9a78HFXnH79w9IWJ0TXRzGVarJ8WaSqC1Hrpsk1ZZPUgp6oI7L2j3SS5qFD_q_Bj-VZ6ynS7PLIHCJesINS3qAXV90FoC2IYCRTDyFdvKk80Xm6t2SMK6gDDm5MPIIWcp/s700/Untitled+design+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="525" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXcKFWK76gcR9a78HFXnH79w9IWJ0TXRzGVarJ8WaSqC1Hrpsk1ZZPUgp6oI7L2j3SS5qFD_q_Bj-VZ6ynS7PLIHCJesINS3qAXV90FoC2IYCRTDyFdvKk80Xm6t2SMK6gDDm5MPIIWcp/w197-h262/Untitled+design+%25282%2529.png" width="197" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE THIS SCHOOL YEAR!</i></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-3806050420798901502020-08-14T08:50:00.006-04:002020-08-14T09:17:37.187-04:00Teachers, Please Make Self-Care a Priority in the 20-21 School Year<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIniDoj-0JmxEFeLb-xSnUsDhxQyF25-5d6j439GztnJHfQA23M9pjwvYvjmtypchcydJsv4YW06xDqq7m5VsKR7INfnp1R6FigIy6duNOMLGR05uMTxTdZifcphauMe_Ba0WQz6HTTfQv/s777/Copy+of+Untitled+%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="777" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIniDoj-0JmxEFeLb-xSnUsDhxQyF25-5d6j439GztnJHfQA23M9pjwvYvjmtypchcydJsv4YW06xDqq7m5VsKR7INfnp1R6FigIy6duNOMLGR05uMTxTdZifcphauMe_Ba0WQz6HTTfQv/w410-h270/Copy+of+Untitled+%25281%2529.png" width="410" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I am writing this post in hopes that, if you are a teacher and you are feeling like I am, you know you are not alone. I know that everyone, no matter what your occupation, has their own stresses and hardships right now...maybe something here will resonate with you. I am by no means stating that teaching is any harder than the work you do. ❤</span></p><p><span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">----------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Today I made this comment on a friend's post on Twitter:</span></p><p><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>"This is going to be an emotionally and physically exhausting year but we need to find the joy. We need to show kids how to see silver linings and to have hope. And we need to take time to breathe, be still and refill our own cups."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's the thing, school starts in less than 2 weeks and I am already emotionally and physically exhausted. Summer is when teachers refill their cups, a time to rest and recharge. Teachers desperately need this time as we pour their hearts and souls in to our jobs.This year we needed summer recharge more than any other. But this summer was different.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We have been home since March, following all the quarantine rules. Our family has been together so much that my dog now has separation anxiety. My days during "distance learning" were spent on the computer from 7:30 AM-8:00 PM </span><span style="font-family: arial;">most days helping teachers, students, and parents navigate their way through this new way of teaching and learning. I am NOT whining and complaining, this is my job and I absolutely love it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">However, we did not sign up to teach online, we had no training. And you can be that a 15 year old would never CHOOSE to take 7-8 classes online. This was forced upon us because of a national health crisis. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As a result, there were no boundaries teaching from home during a pandemic. Maybe that was my fault. Maybe I should have set boundaries. But if a s</span><span style="font-family: arial;">tudent needs help on a Sunday? I can't say no to a student self advocating and asking for assistance. We are not here by choice! It is a PANDEMIC!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There was no bell at the end of the day to remind me "go home and be with your family." I was WITH my family all day. This is to say, we were in the same four walls - and the days blended in to each other...is it Friday? Saturday? I could not turn my brain off. I could not sleep. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh and did I mention I have an 8 year old son? What was he doing while I was on the computer non-stop? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Was he sitting at the kitchen table dutifully doing his school work? Sure, for about a week.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Was he completing all the SeeSaw activities assigned? Sorry, no.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Was he reading and practicing math facts? Not without a fight.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Did I give up? Sort of. He was always sitting in the room with me but he was happily building worlds in Minecraft. I would joke that he was studying "architecture and engineering" but my laugh was a cover. I felt like, and still feel like, I let him down. He watched my put my students first. What message was I sending to my own son? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Teaching your own child is no joke! This was not homeschooling. It was life in a pandemic. It is NOT what we signed up for so... I had to let some things go.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> I remember when my son was a baby, I nobly stated that I would not let him play video games until he was 13. And pay to play with is friends online? Oh he can pay for that himself when he gets his own job. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Guess what? I broke all of those rules. He has an Xbox. He has Xbox live, he plays online with friends. Because damn it, we are in a pandemic and he could not see his friends. He still has only seen a handful of friends. Honestly, I am in awe of anyone who has more than one child.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The 2020-2021 starts in less than two weeks. School has been out for 2 months. Two months that I am supposed to be making memories with my child, where the sun is shining and the days are light and easy. I was supposed to be refilling my cup. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Not this summer. Vacations were cancelled. There were no spontaneous day trips. There were no play dates with other children besides cousins (my sister and I have kids close in age...ah a silver lining!) The places we did go - a walk on the beach at 6AM (when no one was there), a trip to the grocery store, getting take out, taking the dog for a walk - was always a surreal production of masks, antibacterial gel and social distancing....what was this doing to my son's mental health as he is now evaluates and fears people who wear their mask incorrectly?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I thought about school every single day this summer. What can I be doing better to help teachers and students? What resources do we need? Will we be in school? What does the governor say? What are the latest numbers? What about my own son's school? Should we send him? Is it safe? Who would quit their job to stay home with him? Will he not be able to see my aging parents if he returns to school (another silver lining: my parents live close by)? Should we keep him home because it is more important for him to have a connection with his grandparents than to sit in a classroom with a mask trying to learn? What if...What if...What if...?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There are moments I am consumed by the dark tunnel of this pandemic. Five years ago I was in a different dark tunnel. I had cancer, I had to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. I listened to my doctors, went to my appointments, surgeries, and therapies. Each of these steps gave me some semblance of control...I was in control of my destiny getting closer to the light. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have no control right now. There is so much happening in our world - the 2020 Election would have been enough to cause me to worry but we are STILL living with a pandemic that has not been controlled in our country.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I am looking for the light and sometimes I can see it. Even when I can't, I pretend I do for my son's sake, for my student's sake, and heck even for my own. Smiling, looking for joy and silver linings, having faith, praying for a better world, and hoping we are closer to the light. It is all physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here we are teachers, on the cusp of a school year. We have new schedules, new expectations, new technologies. OH YEAH...and whole new group of students to build relationships with and educate. And depending on what level you teach you might be responsible for anywhere from 12-200 students. You might not even be getting to meet them in person when school starts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">THIS IS HUGE! THIS IS HARD! THIS HAS NOT EVEN HAPPENED YET AND THINKING ABOUT IT IS EXTREMELY STRESSFUL!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Teachers, we have to choose to take care of ourselves, our families, and each other. We are doing the best we can. #WeGotThis - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">We will continue to go above and beyond for our students</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. We need to give ourselves permission to do the same for ourselves - to take extra time to breathe, be still and refill our own cups. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Self-care might be one of the most important lessons our students (and our own children) learn from us this school year. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Wishing you all the best this school year! ❤</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Above image made with Canva.</span></p>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-74036927297186957482020-03-22T20:55:00.001-04:002020-03-22T20:56:03.770-04:00#WeGotThis<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What will students be learning as we begin our remote “Continuity of Learning” due to COVID-19 school closure?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Teachers will be working hard to provide content & skills instruction. HOWEVER, here are 7 of the most important things I hope students will learn from teachers: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Life will always throw us curve balls, but with the right mindset, we adapt and keep going!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Collaboration is one of the keys to success!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. No one is perfect!!! We are going to make mistakes, tech will fail but it’s ok, we are trying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. We admit our mistakes & failures. We learn from them & use them to improve and grow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. The balance between work and home life is important. I know students will be seeing or hearing my son in the background (or foreground) of lessons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. We love being teachers. I hope that students see our dedication to our profession and are inspired to seek careers that ignite their passions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. In case they didn’t know it before, I hope they learn that we care about them... A LOT!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good luck teachers! <span class="_5afx" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; direction: ltr;"><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"type":104,"tn":"*N"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/wegotthis?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl _5afz" style="color: #365899; unicode-bidi: isolate;">#</span><span class="_58cm">W</span></a>eGotThis </span></span></div>
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-12582968538774145882020-01-08T12:15:00.000-05:002020-01-08T12:15:03.866-05:00Library Gratitude Corner<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happy New Year!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are kicking off the new year in the library with a sense of gratitude. Our hope is to provide an opportunity for students to practice gratitude and to teach them how to compose a thank you note to a coach, teacher, friend or relative. I love the deals on blank cards at Michael's so we will be keeping this area stocked and hopefully start a gratitude revolution at Ledyard High School! </span><br />
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-34056121280661186242019-10-26T20:10:00.001-04:002019-10-27T00:30:11.635-04:00Podcasting with WeVideo <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the spring, I worked with Marin Marciano, one of our amazing art teachers and her Advanced Art Studio students, to create podcasts using WeVideo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mrs. Marciano required students listen to and reflect on art podcasts throughout the course. I was really impressed with the amount of work that Mrs. Marciano put in to this planning stage. Students were not just learning and thinking about various art topics, they were analyzing the media (podcast) in which the discussions were occurring. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was an intensive and important step which allowed students to experience and evaluate a variety of podcast styles.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> MEDIA LITERACY PERFECTION!!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some samples of listening assignments are below:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PODCAST: </span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/pieceofwork/episodes/andy-warhol-pop-art-tavi-gevinson" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A. Warhol's Art of Self-Promotion | A Piece of Work | WNYC</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kysyALb-vY2-IcZaMfFS4YsO54qmGfDb?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ASSIGNMENTS</span></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">PODCAST: </span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/pieceofwork/episodes/emoji-podcast-design-questlove" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Questlove Hearts Emojis | A Piece of Work | WNYC</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> - </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1adLm76hL6TAawaJ4MFRk72tDUOWGpMpW?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">ASSIGNMENTS</span></a><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-b51d75c6-7fff-dc8e-d901-d0c27cff4d26"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PODCAST: </span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/pieceofwork/episodes/minimalism-max-judd-flavin-jo-baer" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minimalism to the Max | A Piece of Work | WNYC</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15v9j2y3ex2NFzNFG2ef3ks_bSnWxwQSM?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ASSIGNMENTS</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Students to create their own podcast as one of the final projects. At that time, I contacted WeVideo to become a part of the beta program for podcasting, the feature has since gone live to subscribers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the library media specialist, I taught and supported students with the technical aspects of podcasting. I created 2 Guides to help students: a</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MX6ff6yT7m-cM2baKHiVds3DRd-U36J5dITYdNwQs0g/edit?usp=sharing" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Podcast Planning Guide</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HgJKjx4OgTdWi5DXT8rUTMVNjSyJEG-uZy1Eg6k7eOc/edit?usp=sharing" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">How to Podcast with WeVideo</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(they are posted below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mrs. Marciano's podcast planning assignments, timelines and rubrics can be found <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14HD4I54pRpoMWLoQTngS5QX52cCjn0AK?usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The students were reluctant at first, the typical not wanting to hear their own voice. There were a few issues that will be remedied in the future with access to better mics and equipment. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mrs. Marciano adds </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When art students questioned WHY I had them listen to podcasts (they’re not actually visual) and WHY I was asking them to create their own podcast (that’s not a piece of tactile art), I replied that it’s more than just listening or just making. It’s about forming opinions, listening to new ones, and analyzing what content they choose to listen to. I learned a lot from this assignment, mostly about how stubborn and reluctant students can be to a new idea/process and also when to stick to my gut and when to adjust in order to better suit my students.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite those initial hiccups, the student podcasts were impressive!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rilee gave me permission to post his podcast: </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1p_HpAM7mahKkzEiYNvg0W0w0AQ2FhDJn" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Evolution of the Disney Princess</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Listening, analyzing, reflecting, planning and creating podcasts was a rich learning experience that I cannot wait to be a part of again this year and expanding in to other subjects in the school.</span><br />
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-29894329592457798322019-10-19T12:38:00.003-04:002019-10-22T11:02:52.011-04:00Media Literacy Week 2019 <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Updated 10/22/19</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is Media Literacy Week next week and I am always trying to find new ways to reach kids and impart media literacy knowledge. This year, I am making short videos (tried to keep to 1-2 minutes) with quick "Did you know?" information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My goal is to keep it positive! I did not want to tell students what NOT to do (hail Julie Nilsson Smith @julnilsmith!!). I want students to know why they should be paying close attention and thinking critically about the media they use and consume. They are not meant to be comprehensive, I simply want to open up conversations in the classrooms so media literacy can start becoming part of the school culture. I also wanted to teachers to see and understand how much I know about media literacy so I can help them find ways to embed media literacy in to their current curriculums.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I created the videos using WeVideo, we have a limited school subscription and I LOVE it so much! My hope is to have students create these informational videos in the future, all part of the plan for our new Digital Media Club.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been sharing these videos daily on my Twitter (@kcurriesmith) and Instagram (@ColonelsLibrary) and they are being shared as part of the school's morning announcements. </span><br />
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-37131440721125241462019-10-08T10:05:00.002-04:002019-10-08T10:06:03.728-04:00High School Students Inspiring 4th Graders to Read<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the best things about my experience as a school librarian is that over the past 20+ years I have worked with every grade level. I have also worked at almost every school in my district. This has given me great perspective and pedagogical understanding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I value the most is the relationships I have built with students and with teachers. I love that elementary teachers contact me at the high school (my current post) to ask for book recommendations or tech help. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I especially loved the latest request. My friend Steve, who now teaches 4th grade asked if I could record high school students talking about their favorite books in 4th grade and what they like to read now. I just finished a media recording studio off the library so this was the perfect opportunity to introduce students to it and to let them use it!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I did most of the editing on the pilot video but my plan is to turn that process over to students as I embark on creating a Media Club at school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't wait to hear about 4th graders reactions...I know I would want to read after watching them!</span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ybuMIk6E0zE" width="640"></iframe>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-86554878637655555722019-09-07T17:04:00.000-04:002019-09-07T19:30:25.351-04:002019 Freshman Research Boot Camp<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every year our research boot camp gets better. (See <a href="http://readresearchrestrepeat.blogspot.com/2018/09/intro-to-research-interdisciplinary.html?m=0" target="_blank">my 2018 post about the collaborative project</a> between the English teachers, World History teachers and the librarian - me!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We changed a few things this year:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. We eliminated hanged the written paper. The goal of this project is to introduce freshman students to the research skills and tools they need to be successful in high school. students could focus their efforts on the research and teachers could assess students on the research and citation skills. on assessing the research skills, paraphrasing. Rubrics were adapted to reflect this change (see below). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. We </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">specified the requirements for each level by color coding them as seen below. We decided to provide level 3 students with their sources but they would still need to access through the </span><a href="https://ledyard.libguides.com/c.php?g=918194&p=6969027" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">LibGuide</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and create citation themselves. I created two LibGuides for this project based on level so there was no confusion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. We limited the choices of revolutions based on levels. They too are color coded. I do not know if we will keep Scientific Revolution as a level 3 choice. It is my opinion that students may struggle with the materials that are available. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end of the project, I will use a Google Form to assess students comfort using the tools and to provide feedback on the entire process (student suggestions and honest feedback can be the best!). This is the <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe65facZDLjJmtx4b7LrYXAqTsDWZYtgWnUr1OwtFqUEpAvCw/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank">2018 version</a> - I use with my SMART goal. I will update this blog post when I have created the 2019 version. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So far I have been observed on Day 2 - Here is the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H_5v0gul-k51pFxz6TrxcLQxj0tz-0a0fDwRPmoOoog/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Formal Lesson Plan</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will update next week with the second observation (I really wanted admin to see what a great project this is so I requested observations).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">***DOCUMENT 1: MY LESSON PLAN</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">***</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Note: I am Kathleen so these are taught by me in library, sometimes with doubled or tripled up classes. Subject area teachers are there to circulate and help.</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">**</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DOCUMENT 2: PROMPT STUDENTS RECEIVE</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">**</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**DOCUMENT 3: RUBRICS</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**</span></b></span></div>
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-10568688051207492822019-08-23T12:35:00.002-04:002019-08-24T07:31:34.778-04:00My Word of the (School) Year: CALM<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Super Soul Sunday is one of my favorite shows. It makes me a better person. Earlier this year Melinda Gates was on discussing her book Moment if Lift. Oprah asked her about choosing a “word of the year” and Melinda explained how instead of New Year’s resolutions, she chooses a word that “encapsulates my aspirations for the 12 months ahead.” I have been thinking about that conversation and knew it was something I wanted to adopt as a family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A new school year starts next week. What better way than to start the year with a word to remind me of my aspirations? My son struggles with anxiety going to school so I wanted to do this together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We have chosen the word CALM for our school year ahead. My son knows that means using the coping skills he has been learning. For me, CALM means remaining in the moment and not letting my “to do” lists at home or at school overwhelm me. It means not letting the words or actions of others affect me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">To learn more about Melinda’s word of year see her post on Linkedn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-choose-word-year-melinda-gates" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-choose-word-year-melinda-gates</a></span></div>
kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-26338653747247781072019-08-19T20:42:00.001-04:002019-08-19T20:43:34.279-04:002019 Back to School Updates for Staff<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="1000" scrolling="auto" src="https://www.smore.com/cjkp2-lhs-library?embed=1" style="border: none; min-width: 320px;" title="LHS LIBRARY" width="100%"></iframe>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-53617512570522946192019-07-03T14:20:00.000-04:002019-07-03T14:38:04.165-04:00Media Literacy: Ideas to Get Started<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last week I was in D.C. attending both the American Library Association National Conference (#ALAAC19) and the National Association of Media Literacy Educators (#NAMLE19). I had the opportunity to discuss and learn about media literacy with passionate educators and advocates. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am guessing that most people reading this live and work in areas that do not mandate media literacy or even have a scope & sequence for teaching media literacy skills. (</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you know there are some countries where "media literacy" is a grade on report cards? Dreamy... right?) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">School library media specialists are taking on the important role of teaching media literacy to students and teachers, helping teachers find ways to include media literacy skills into their packed curriculums. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am a school library media specialist and in my career I have worked with students and teachers from K-12. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Media literacy is extremely important and exciting. However, THERE IS SO MUCH that media literacy encompasses it is absolutely daunting when thinking about how to teach it. I know the pressure we put on ourselves as educators teach it all!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are plenty of ideas and resources on the Internet and in books... how do you pull it all together? I do not have the answer...sorry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I do have some advice, especially for those just getting started:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. NOTICE:</b> Notice what teachers and students (I even get ideas from items teachers leave in the copier) are working on and think of how media literacy can be incorporated (and dare I say improve the lesson or assignment?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Example: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Write a newspaper article" or "Create a news broadcast" assignment are interesting assignments but </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">how many of our students have actually read (or touched) an actual newspaper and how many have watched a news broadcast (or can identify news from commentary)? O</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ffer to teach a lesson on news or provide resources to help them (see #6).</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. LISTEN</b>: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Each year choose one or two grade levels or departments and attend their planning meetings on a regular basis. Listen to what they are planning and offer to teach or provide resources to add media literacy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Example: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In elementary school students learn informative, argumentative and persuasive writing. Apply what they are learning to what they see in the media - advertising and commercials are great places to start with elementary kids. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our elementary students also tour the town and the grocery store. Media literacy could be analyzing food icons (the Jolly Green Giant story), cereal boxes, the use of colors or fonts on products or maybe just the psychology of how the grocery store is organized. Use the NAMLE Key Questions** to help guide you. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. JUMP:</b> Do not wait until you have the perfect lesson. It will NEVER be perfect, but it will ALWAYS improve!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Examples:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A teacher wanted her students to create videos documenting the animals they were training throughout the semester. I purchased WeVideo seats for the class and told them they were helping me assess the program for a school subscription. We learned it together and talked about all the cool ways we can manipulate video to communicate what we wanted audiences to know. In our conversations we talked about how learning how to use WeVideo was making all of us think more critically about how videos we see in the media are manipulated to influence us. It was not a formal lesson, but a meaningful conversation. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Civics classes, next year we will include a using social media as a tool to connect with and learn from organizations that support each students individual Civics in Action Projects...I have an idea of what I want to cover in the lesson leading up to this but it is not perfect and I know I will learn with my students! This is the first step in what I hope will allow students to use social media more as learning and a civics tool. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. GROW: </b>No matter what I teach, there is always room for improvement. Often the ideas come from students, I ALWAYS ask for their honest feedback (usually in a Google form).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Example:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An English teacher asked me to teach her class while she was chaperoning a field trip, I found out that their class was studying Romeo & Juliet and comparing two different movie versions. I used that opportunity to teach a lesson on Film Literacy (see blog post). Kids love movies and this lesson was a great way to engage students with current films, discussing cinematic techniques. These conversations carried over in to their English classes as they could now analyze films for more than just content. Next year I will grow this lesson and incorporate the discussions of camera angles, etc in to my WeVideo lessons when classes are creating videos as assignments. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. GET TO KNOW THEIR MEDIA: </b>Students love their phones, music, movies, social media, etc. and will sense (and probably shut down) if your lessons trashes the things they love. Find out what they are doing on the media - what games are popular or YouTube videos and design a critical thinking lesson about that. </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lesson about YouTube can be taught at any age. My 7 year old son is obsessed with the Dude Perfect and Turbo Toy Time channels. We talk about questions** like why do Ryden and his dad get so many toys for free? How does watching them open toys and play with them make you feel? Who makes money on this video? Find out what kids are watching and use them as example to teach. </span></li>
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<li><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ralph-breaks-internet-nearly-cautionary-tale-social-media-addiction-exclusive-112854275.html" target="_blank">Ralph Breaks the Internet</a> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is a great (and current) movie that I would suggest can be used at all levels to discuss Internet addiction, YouTube, gender roles in the media and social media status. I dare you to watch it and not be inspired to use in a lesson. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5. SPREAD THE WORD: </b>I have been asked by two administrators in the recent school year what I meant by "media literacy" and "close reading the media." Please invite your administrators in to see what media literacy is all about, showcase your work on social media and in parent newsletters...spread the word that media literacy is critical! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>6. EMPOWER TEACHERS</b>: When offering to collaborate and teach a lesson, you also want the teacher to be learning in case the following year you find yourself working with another teacher at the same time and unable to get to their class. There also may be some teachers who like to stay in their own zone and do not want to co-teach. It takes time to figure out who those people may be. In those cases, I NOTICE & LISTEN and may create a LibGuide or simply email some resource ideas to help those teacher incorporate media literacy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>7. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR LESSONS</b> - I do it through my blog. Find a way that works best for you and you will see your own media literacy scope and sequence evolve. A simple idea to keep track can be found <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Aqouy7c2qGae2Db9keKONnkui2106OqrKQXzNGj0E1s/copy" target="_blank"><b>here</b>.</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8j2T8jHrlgCZ2Zta2hvWkF0dG8/view" target="_blank">NAMLE: Key Questions to Ask When Analyzing Media Messages</a></span></div>
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-69147615115508642292019-06-20T09:20:00.001-04:002019-06-20T09:22:54.923-04:00The Meaning of My Goodreads Stars & Why I Stopped Writing Book Reviews<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Earlier this year I decided to stop writing and posting book reviews on social media. Being a school librarian, I know that many people, students, teachers & friends value my opinions about books. I do not take that responsibility lightly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Students have confessed to me that they saw my review and do not want to read a certain book. I do not want ever want someone to NOT read a book based on a review I have written. Everyone has their own individual tastes, and those tastes can vary, depending on a vast number of factors including a reader's age and individual life events. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My role is to inspire a love of reading. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I strive to focus on each reader and their unique preferences at the moment they seek my personalized recommendation. It is one of my greatest joys to connect readers to stories of interest or books to expand their horizons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But what about those Goodreads stars?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I still post stars on Goodreads as part of the "Mark as Read" process. <b>Rarely to I mark a book under 3 stars.</b> If you follow me on Goodreads or Twitter, here is how you should interpret the number of stars I give books:</span></div>
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-64869562734422737942019-05-14T09:07:00.002-04:002019-06-07T14:07:00.637-04:00Dear Graduate, Libraries are FOREVER & for EVERYONE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQoiw3q5tvKez9lDclpZxGJQu694gL8YoatGueyicGy-IXUX5Vd7nH7yrstSXC3-2L0e8Dj3CJk-1PM9ffBl3PhNQwfPzNPcpzt8PsVt-uUNsK7UJdw7Q_UGQhGuoA_b-jCFTD84HGDRzO/s1600/1_GlCMYR0e45jwMR7Pa1zaDg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQoiw3q5tvKez9lDclpZxGJQu694gL8YoatGueyicGy-IXUX5Vd7nH7yrstSXC3-2L0e8Dj3CJk-1PM9ffBl3PhNQwfPzNPcpzt8PsVt-uUNsK7UJdw7Q_UGQhGuoA_b-jCFTD84HGDRzO/s200/1_GlCMYR0e45jwMR7Pa1zaDg.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">Dear Class of 2019, </span></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">Congratulations! You have completed the first leg of your life's journey.</span><span style="font-size: 15px;"> Some of you are off to colleges and universities, some of you are joining the military, others of you may be starting vocations or getting jobs and some of you may be taking some time to figure</span><span style="font-size: 15px;"> out what is next. No matter where you are going, you will be learning and gaining new knowledge as part of your academic, professional and personal lives. </span><br style="font-size: 15px;" /><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">The past twelve-ish years have provided you with an educational foundation that no one can take away from you. During these years, you have walked into a school building with a library just down the hall and with a librarian who has been dedicated to helping you learn and succeed.</span><br style="font-size: 15px;" /><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">I hope that during those years you have learned that libraries are welcoming places, where you can go to work, read, use computers, do research, and a quiet place to escape when life get noisy. Libraries host a variety of programs, free of charge, to help you learn to use their resources, write a resume, learn new digital tools and skills (that you might need for a job), how to do your taxes (yes, taxes are in your future) and so much more. I recommend signing up for your library mailing lists so you can find out what they are offering. </span><br style="font-size: 15px;" /><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">I hope that you have learned that you do not have to physically go to a library to access and use their resources. Libraries are also virtual spaces with digital tools, databases, ebooks and audio books. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><br style="font-size: 15px;" /><span style="font-size: 15px;">I hope that you have learned to seek truth and to fact check what you find on the Internet and your social media streams. </span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">We all love to Google and Google is great for a lot of things. However,</span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> w</span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">hen you need to fact check or do deeper research, for school, a job, or personal interests,</span><span style="font-size: 15px;"> I hope that you remember that library resources and databases are available to help you. Your college and university libraries will have a website or LibGuide with those resources. </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">Your town library provides <a href="https://researchitct.org/" style="color: #1155cc;">databases through the State of Connecticut</a>. All you need is a Connecticut public library card to access free of charge. You can find links on your <a href="http://www.ledyard.lioninc.org/" style="color: #1155cc;">local library website</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">I hope that you have learned that librarians are people who want to help you on your journey. Introduce yourself to your academic and public librarians. Do not be afraid to contact them to ask for assistance. </span><br style="font-size: 15px;" /><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I hope that, in your not so distant futures, you will make time to read books you love and </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I hope that love of reading will continue to grow. </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I know that as a student you have been busy with schoolwork, sports, clubs, activities, and jobs. I know this means many of you have not had much time to read for enjoyment during the past 4 years but I hope that you make time to read.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">Even though you are leaving Ledyard High School, I hope that you know that I will always be a librarian you can turn to, and am only an email away. </span></span><div class="m_-9063604186469725639m_3962933047709802034gmail-separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">I wish you all the best of luck. </span><br style="font-size: 15px;" /><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">-Mrs. Smith</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYnPWsDDQIERBvha7FnyiXUzShjE00PB8VbtgU3FN2LMvSaGOla9zbUUezGUaLamYpp0V0mo8l9c5rTp1zU39sQzEm30R9QtchQ9im7wenzYvaJ89BRccgXi6FBitRUSL_gHT9XHhCQcD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-11+at+7.04.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="993" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYnPWsDDQIERBvha7FnyiXUzShjE00PB8VbtgU3FN2LMvSaGOla9zbUUezGUaLamYpp0V0mo8l9c5rTp1zU39sQzEm30R9QtchQ9im7wenzYvaJ89BRccgXi6FBitRUSL_gHT9XHhCQcD/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-05-11+at+7.04.12+PM.png" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Libraries are For Everyone graphic by Hafuboti.</i></span>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-67747921275359738292019-05-02T09:49:00.002-04:002019-05-02T13:49:26.809-04:00Teaching Media Literacy - A Reflection & My Movies Lesson<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"If it makes you feel any better, no one at my school follows the news." </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The character Allison McCord made this comment to her parents in a recent episode of <i>Madam Secretary</i> (season 5, episode 19). It stayed with me as I had recently worked with students on a project connecting current events to themes in a novel. Very few students knew what was happening in the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Disappointing? Sure! But when I was a teenager, did I really know or understand what was happening in the news? Ok, I confess, a little bit, but only because my father was a history teacher and both my parents consumed news in newspapers, magazines, and on the radio and television. So it was background noise. I did not follow the news, I had too many other things on my plate with homework, after school activities and a part-time job. Students today are the same, they may follow news that is of importance to them, but many experience news as I did, as background noise (sorry dad, but I do follow it now).</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaQsjvuIc9BZPjofoQV0LxIoO8DJ6qjjB2JbGBSFQPM0JD3JrhNN8T-qTq5b2AVoz1t82tWhxRzAzqpbbMzjQMW_fW_88wQ7-p31IKeS4GLCnTh9azpBvaXY7MqgCq7WKc-Zmjfx2Vnih/s1600/MEDIA+LITERACY+THROUGH+FILM+2019+LIBGUIDE.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaQsjvuIc9BZPjofoQV0LxIoO8DJ6qjjB2JbGBSFQPM0JD3JrhNN8T-qTq5b2AVoz1t82tWhxRzAzqpbbMzjQMW_fW_88wQ7-p31IKeS4GLCnTh9azpBvaXY7MqgCq7WKc-Zmjfx2Vnih/s320/MEDIA+LITERACY+THROUGH+FILM+2019+LIBGUIDE.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So teenagers not following the news is not revolutionary, but teaching students about "fake news" has gained momentum as a popular educational topic, especially since 2016. Confession: I jumped on that bandwagon, creating independent lessons to teach students about misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda. I had hoped I was instilling life skills and creating critical thinkers. I tried hard to include a balance of journalistic ethics and integrity in my lesson, but it is difficult to cover everything in one or two class blocks. Looking back, I did not necessarily have buy in from students on theses lessons as the news is not a media they connected with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last month, I was asked by an English teacher to work with some of her classes while she chaperoned a school trip. They had been reading <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> and watching two different movie interpretations, so I decided to do a lesson about media literacy through movies</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I prepared for the lesson by reviewing everything I could find by one of my favorite media literacy gurus Julie Smith (no relation). I highly recommend her book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Master-Media-Teaching-Literacy-Plugged/dp/0986155446" target="_blank">Master the Media: How Teaching Media Literacy Can Save Our Plugged In World</a> </i>and her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoeNbktb8UOrheEKFBULJxw" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>, both of which I used a LOT to create the lesson. I also researched work by <a href="https://frankwbaker.com/mlc/language-of-film/" target="_blank">Frank W. Baker of the Media Literacy Clearinghouse</a>. The lesson was a short 80 minutes, introducing students to aspects of film literacy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The students were completely engaged as I used images and clips from movies and I posed "what do you notice?" "why would they do this?" questions. The students applied this new knowledge to analyze the <i>Romeo and Juliet </i>movies they were watching in class. They even came to talk to me about things they noticed in <i>Avengers: End Game, </i>using those skills in their life outside of school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We talk about needing media literacy in our schools, some states are mandating media literacy. What educators also need is a plan to make media literacy effective. What I learned from my students as I taught this lesson on media literacy and film is that educators should start with the media that students know and use, creating a genuine interest and "buy in" before addressing media that students are not connecting to, like the news. That is not to say news literacy is not important. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Learning about print media television, advertising, movies, news, social media etc is important to build a world of citizens who are media literate critical thinkers. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, I now believe that learning about the media which students most engage with, before addressing media they do not connect with YET, is pedagogically a best practice in order to instill the skills we want most for our students, that of CRITICAL THINKING... not of cynicism and apathy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/194mysS1yrcR8RRxyZtHMCNPxfatKbUc9iR1INxVHC3o/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">LESSON PLAN: MEDIA LITERACY THROUGH MOVIES 2019</a></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1h70rOyzCb3X7UB54kgATRMVuK-C176ZnCmtLxycVk1Y/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><b>MEDIA LITERACY THROUGH MOVIES SLIDE DECK</b></a></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="299" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vT6cxiptdIaBhWkisCkzfeMNgJgT-mjII1VfqgZstTqVOEp5l6KDsQzp01Rv96gE06KeCjFOV8DaIDM/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-70879501875862664412019-03-29T10:39:00.002-04:002019-03-29T10:44:48.132-04:00What's Your Handle? Avoiding Mistaken Identity<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently I posted a picture of a student and her work on the library's Instagram account. She had given me permission and even gave me her Instagram handle to tag her. I use IFTTT so my Instagram posts go directly to Twitter. The problem: she does not have a Twitter account and the handle she uses for Instagram handle is owned by someone else, who's profile pic made me look like...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This got me thinking about our students who are applying for colleges and jobs. We know that schools and employers investigate candidates on social media. In fact, interviewers may pose questions such as "What would I learn about you from your social media accounts?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I decided to have an awkward but very enlightening conversation (for both the student and for me) with the student. We discussed how an future employer, college admissions agent, or even a future mother-in-law might know of her Instagram account and go to check for her on other social media platforms, assuming she uses the same handle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The student immediately not only changed her Instagram handle she opened a Twitter account using that same handle. She has no intention of using Twitter at this point but she can now avoid mistaken identity, putting her in control of her online identity and digital footprint.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you work with teenagers? Think about having the discussion of handles and how that handle appears across platforms, even on social media they do not use. I liked this student's solution to grab and own one handle across the main social media platforms. Let's teach students how to avoid mistaken identity.</span><br />
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-8716410075711001912019-01-30T14:04:00.002-05:002019-01-30T14:05:55.423-05:00Co-Teaching... More than Content & Skills!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love co-teaching and I am blessed to have colleagues who want to work with me. I have recently been working with an English teacher, Ms. Malavazos, and her students. We are both enthusiastic about the student project which helped with student engagement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Driving home last night, reflecting on our lessons, I realized that besides learning content, research skills and how to use digital tools, students are learning life skills by watching us interact. This is not something we planned or intended but it is a organic by-product of our collaboration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have noticed that good co-teaching authentically teaches students:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>It's ok to not know an answer. Ask for help.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ms. M and I admit when we do not know something (we each have our own areas of expertise) and will ask each other for help in the middle of a lesson. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were times when students would ask a question and Ms. M and I had two different ideas about how to answer. Instead of trying to "the be right one", we would express our thoughts and acknowledge each other's ideas, "That's an interesting way to think about (the topic)." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>You are going to be wrong sometimes and that's ok. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were times in our lessons when Ms. M or I corrected each other, usually it was something simple like a due date or once in a while it was more substantial like how to relate a theme. We would respectfully correct each other and acknowledge our error, and thank the other for remedying the error. For some people, being wrong makes them feel vulnerable, some take it as a personal attack. I hope students are learning from our authentic interactions when these situations do occur.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Gratitude.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We both appreciate working with each other and we thank each other in front of the students for the help we give each other in planning, executing and working with students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Share the workload. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ms. M and I share the workload and explain to the students that after our collaboration meetings we broke out the work to execute this project. I created the planning documents for students, curating the resources and tools they would need while Ms. M created the rubric and will be grading them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Constructive criticism makes work better.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Both Ms. M and I value student feedback and ask for their input and advice to improve the project both as we work on in it in class and for the future. We recognize that we are not perfect, we solicit constructive criticism and advice from students (while maintaining the integrity of the project), demonstrates that everyone's voice matters and that there is always room for improvement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope students are learning just as much about <i>how</i> to work with others as they are about the content and skills we are teaching. I hope they see how working with colleagues, effectively and respectfully, can improve your work ...and can make a job more fun!</span><br />
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-15594991224703315182019-01-02T10:52:00.000-05:002019-01-30T12:02:22.135-05:00To Kill a Mockingbird Digital Curation Inspired by Amanda Lawrence<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">UPDATED 1/31/19</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The November 2018 School Library Journal (SLJ) featured the article"Digital Curation of Classics: Instagram project helps students find relevance in <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>" by Amanda Lawrence. Ms. Lawrence details a project she collaborated on with the freshman English teacher and piloted with ninth grade students. The project was designed to answer the age old questions "Why do I have to read this?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ms. Lawrence granted me permission to discuss the article and share the resources I created for my students. Her response "Teamwork makes the dream work!" (I love my professional community!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While you can read more about the project in the SLJ article, briefly, Lawrence and her colleague asked students to create a thematic photo journal. The students selected</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> a theme from <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> and connectedLee's work to present day. The students learned to use databases to explore and understand current events and to locate a present day primary source image. (I used this opportunity to talk about "fauxtography"). Students </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">used Instagram as a platform to practice digital communication and curation and allowed for a much broader audience than a simple teacher grade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can access the resources I created for this project below. THANK YOU Amanda for sharing this awesome idea and being a great teammate!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yqz4g4EB8egJVLc0xpBvNrUNgsaLBX0aLrhvPTd98nU/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Direct link to lesson planning guide</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xNCD88Ve4GCMj1m9FnSJVYzvjS-uaS9EtG2l7zs0kpk/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Direct link to lesson slides for teaching</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1/31/19 Update</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were surprised at how little students knew about current events. When we realized that we changed up our project a bit, by bringing in Time, The Week and The New York Times Upfront magazines. We discussed TKAM themes and we asked students to look for evidence related to these themes in the magazine articles. We let the browse for about 20 minutes and had them choose the news event FIRST and then find a primary source image to represent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also learned that there was no way we were going to be able to utilize Instagram with student accounts so we are currently working on another way to publish student work...stay tuned!</span></div>
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-54359617508529702622018-11-20T13:40:00.002-05:002018-11-20T14:26:47.952-05:00National Honor Society Keynote Speech, LHS 2018<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This is my keynote address for the 2018 Ledyard High School National Honor Society Induction Ceremony (November 19, 2018).</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank you so much for inviting me here tonight. I am incredibly honored to be asked to speak to you. I want to begin by offering my heartfelt congratulations to the new inductees. You have worked hard to be here this evening and you should be very proud.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am just a little bit nervous. It was so much easier to talk a large group of students when you were smaller. For those of you who do not know me, this is my third year as the library media specialist at Ledyard High School. I spent 20 years before as the library media specialist at Ledyard Center and Gallup Hill Schools.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have had the unique opportunity of knowing and working with many of these students since elementary school. And I can say it is an absolute pleasure watching them grow as students, leaders and great people.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of very few drawbacks of working at the high school is that I do not have regular class - like the weekly library class when you were little. SO GET COMFORTABLE because this keynote is going to be a whole bunch of the life lessons I haven’t had the chance to teach you.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You know, the reason I became a librarian was so that I could teach and inspire students. Education is in my blood, my grandmother and great aunt were elementary school teachers, my father was a history teacher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my mother was a science teacher. My sister and my aunt are school librarians. My cousin - you know that amazing math teacher upstairs? And his father are also teachers.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This brings me to LESSON #1: EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was not going to let me genes define my occupation and so my career path has been a squiggly line. I entered Providence College undecided and enjoyed Economics and math classes, so I chose them as my major and minor. I began thinking about working in healthcare management. After college I became an insurance underwriter for Blue Cross.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LESSON #2: FOLLOW YOUR HEART.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I quickly learned that sitting in a cubicle and plugging numbers into a computer drained my soul. I thought about how much I loved working at the public library through my high school years, how much I wanted to work with kids so I began applying to graduate school.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Within 6 months I was enrolled in the School Library Media Specialist Program at Southern Ct State University and had found a job closer to home as a financial analyst.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LESSON #3: WORK HARD AND DON’T GIVE UP.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would work from 7:30-4 (again plugging numbers into a computer but this time with light at the end of the tunnel) and then drove from New London to New Haven to take classes from 5-10pm three nights a week. Sounds exhausting right? IT WAS!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LESSON #4: DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE RISKS.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The business I worked for soon downsized and I was laid off. It was extremely scary. How was I going to pay for grad school now? It would have been easy to quit until I found another job but with each class I took the more excited I became to begin my new career. So I made a hard choice, I took out loans, moved to New Haven and got permission to take classes beyond the maximum number of credits allowed so I could graduate as quickly as possible.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After graduation, my path led me to Ledyard Public Schools, which has become my home away from home and my extended family.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first year as a school librarian was marked by two world changing events. The first was the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone which will always be one of my all time favorite books. That is LESSON #5: READ. READ BOOKS TO LEARN, READ BOOKS THAT ENTERTAIN, READ BOOKS THAT OPEN WINDOWS AND DOORS, READ BOOKS THAT INTRODUCE YOU TO NEW IDEAS AND CHARACTERS AND PLACES. JUST READ.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second event that occured during my first year as a school librarian was the technological revolution - Google, the first social media sites and the smartphone were introduced to the world. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Technology provided the catalyst for the information explosion. We had at our fingertips the ability to find any piece of information within seconds. There was no need to hunt though card catalogs, flip pages in an dusty encyclopedia or sift through microfiche.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LESSON #6: EMBRACE CHANGE.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being able to find information and share it globally within seconds on a device you held in the palm of your hand, was revolutionary and has changed life dramatically.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Technology is a powerful tool. And as Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” That responsibility is ours - the users of the Internet, Google, Social Media and all the expanding technologies. Back then, it was completely new territory. My role as a librarian evolved as I educated myself so I could teach students how to evaluate what they saw online, how to find and verify information and how to use technology safely and productively.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LESSON #7: USE TECHNOLOGY WISELY & ALWAYS SEEK TRUTH</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Studies show that many people get their news just from social media. We see sites like Facebook creating echo chambers, using algorithms to decide who is going to see conservative or liberal slanted stories. People are quick believe the made up headlines they see in their feeds and hit share without first checking for any truth, increasing the divisiveness in our country.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We live in a world with a million news channels all of which have some political agenda, a world where our leaders engage in online bullying, a world writing fake news is profitable business.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LESSON #8: “BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.” MAHATMA GHANDI</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is easy to become discouraged with the world today. But not me, I have the privilege of working with all of you, our future.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I look out at all of you I am reminded Brene Brown’s definition of integrity</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You are people of integrity.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You are making the right choices.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You courageously stand up for others.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You defend your your values and work for what is right.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Getting to your seat tonight was not a fun, fast or easy journey</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but you worked hard, and all the choices you made earned you that seat. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is your integrity that defines you and that will pave the path for all your future endeavors, no matter how squiggly your path is. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MY FINAL LESSON comes from the great Dumbledore who said to Harry, “It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep making great choices.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep working hard.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep choosing what is right!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Congratulations!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-91983575622087736352018-11-19T13:18:00.000-05:002018-11-19T13:18:09.012-05:00Understand Bias, Fact Check & Read Laterally <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Disinformation, propaganda, misinformation are new but with advancement of technologies, they are certainly harder to identify, especially with artificial intelligence and the ability to combine media to create deepfakes. See <a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/11/how-the-wall-street-journal-is-preparing-its-journalists-to-detect-deepfakes/" target="_blank">"How the Wall Street Journal is Preparing its Journalists to Detect Deep Fakes" by Francesco Marconi & Till Daldrup, <i>Nieman Lab</i> 11/15/18.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The CRAAP test has been the tried and true method used to teach students how to identify whether a web site contains good information. Thank you to my School Librarian Workshop Facebook tribe for reminding me that CRAAP criteria is still important. However, it is based on vertical reading, as most of the items the currency, relevance, accuracy, authority, and purpose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recently read <a href="http://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/developing-critical-literacies-what-we-need-to-know-in-a-fake-news-world/" target="_blank">Alex Couros and Katia Hildebrandt's article </a></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/developing-critical-literacies-what-we-need-to-know-in-a-fake-news-world/" target="_blank">Hildebrandt. “Developing Critical Literacies: What We Need to Know in a “Fake News” World.”<i> </i></a></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/developing-critical-literacies-what-we-need-to-know-in-a-fake-news-world/" target="_blank"><i>Canadian School Libraries Journal</i>, Spring 2018</a>, which made me think of how I could improve how I teach students how to evaluate the media and</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> information they are viewing in our digital world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I want my high school students to go beyond the check list, I want them to be able to understand implicit bias and be able to identify their own and the bias in any media they are viewing. I want my students to understand the importance of reading laterally. I want them to have the fact checking tools they need at the click of a button. The following was not created to replace CRAAP but to enhance it in our increasing complicated world of fake news and deepfakes. </span><br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tzGlqZEyvX_x7Q0fMYvxCzOMbYxCaDbG/preview" width="640"></iframe>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-17434905490355869782018-10-26T08:06:00.000-04:002018-10-26T08:50:35.941-04:00I LOVE MR. SCHU!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I LOVE MR. SCHU!!!! To say Mr. Schu is passionate about reading, children, and libraries is an understatement. He embodies everything I want to be and since I can't be him I want to be his best friend. Truly, if I could have spent then entire CECA/CASL conference listening to him...from right smack in the middle of the front row.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MrSchuReads" target="_blank">Mr. Schu</a> (really John Schumacher) started his career as an elementary school teacher before becoming a school librarian (only he can tell the animated story of this journey). He is currently is a lecturer at Rutgers University and the <span style="background-color: white;">Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic. He uses his blog Watch. Connect. Read and his Twitter feed to pursue his life's goal, to put the right book in every child's hand. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His enthusiasm for connecting kids to books is contagious. He inspires kids to read because he genuinely LOVES kids books! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxNyQ21HOugQeDzObN-91ls0GVDnMw3aq1m9eGQiBUDYpy-P16gNVFIgEeKeKQsHSDReA0SXm3JurgG1cf8im71dAh5sv9P6kicUcgu38CkBcpc3CyecegfMCOudtdoONtGUvx-87aGGx/s1600/IMG_5558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxNyQ21HOugQeDzObN-91ls0GVDnMw3aq1m9eGQiBUDYpy-P16gNVFIgEeKeKQsHSDReA0SXm3JurgG1cf8im71dAh5sv9P6kicUcgu38CkBcpc3CyecegfMCOudtdoONtGUvx-87aGGx/s320/IMG_5558.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister librarian, Anne Marie Doyle, Mr. Schu, and me.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />He reminded me of why I became a school librarian. Every week when I was a child my sister, my mother and I would walk a mile to the Mystic & Noank Library (mom did not get her license until I was in 3rd grade). We were allowed to check out as many books as we could carry home. I remember snuggling under blankets in the winter as my mom read T<i>he Little House on the Prairie books</i> aloud to us. I remember how much I loved<i>The Day Fletcher Hatched</i>, one of the books I wanted reread to me over and over again. I remember countless hours reading as a child....laying on my bed and outside in our backyard. Those memories are filled with the love, light, hope, and laughter that Mr. Schu talks of sharing with students through books. They are the same kind of memories I hope my own son will have and I absolutely wish this for my students as well. (Side note: my sister is a librarian too...my mom and dad did a great job instilling the love of reading and learning in us.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is not about reading level, test scores, and phonics...it is about creating a love of books...they way they smell (Mr. Schu rates book by smell - truth!), they way they feel in our hands, and more importantly, they way they make the readers feel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mr. Schu connects with kids through books with questions like "W</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hat book is your best friend?" "What book did you ask to be read over and over again when you were in Kindergarten?" "W</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hat book helped you understand yourself?" "W</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hat is your heart print book?" I LOVE THOSE QUESTIONS!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />My goal is to translate the energy and enthusiasm for reading that grew even bigger today into my work with teenagers. Just last week I gave a book to a senior and she hugged me she was so excited. That is the kind of excitement and joy about reading I want for all my students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>My favorite Mr. Schu quotes:</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>"Every child deserves to go to a school with a </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>full time school librarian and and library with a budget."</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Every child deserves to go to a school every day where they feel warm, safe and loved...</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And </span>every adult deserves to teach in a building like this."</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>"Spread more books and joy."</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: red; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.27px;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"What will I tattoo on my students hearts this year?"</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>"What does your library or classroom tattoo on hearts?"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>"What do you want your students to remember about your school library in 10 years?"</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>"Putting books in the hands of kids is an art."</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>"Standing up for reading lives of child is an art!"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>"Sharing your heart through story is an art!"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: yellow;">"Share books filled with love, light, hope, and laughter!"</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Find links to books recommended by Mr. Schu <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WSiRe7uvA7sUF1-AQjKlhwOpEtfXi6SoBdHkXfvaNVA/edit" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="141" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/SfOdBQ5D__3MD7DZfdUXNJEvn7WiexYy4bHJMOfSysg7aRoFRiW6CidMZA4dR9O0iway--i3fi02nLFrOkmPDttaFreIPoeOzX6255cDe2RQQnZwQB8Nvcwy_wnHmxiqLw-JpzqL" style="border: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from Mr. Schu's digital handout.</td></tr>
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-76196079637328300292018-09-27T08:38:00.001-04:002019-06-05T11:37:58.417-04:00Intro to Research: An Interdisciplinary Project for Freshman<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1STd4BHiwFSMcJMJPvI-oWq2CNuCR4OrXMjNW2ZG_ggI/edit?usp=sharing" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FrYhxxPA3k0sCPLeZVt4KY-0ss36bpIubQdMh6SVNHo3WeoKq50z-gz8CBVC6kpTXJVut7GnXcfgk8jBiIPSTyzDcbYl5yyC6-iS20aCr-lLZUylg4MCtKf4EuwJ2OvXCNKPDLVJM9Ox/s400/Copy+of+Tools+for+Freshman+2018.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every fall the freshman history teachers assign an research project to introduce students to research skills and tools they will need at the high school. At the same time, the same students were writing a paper for English class. Last year we combined these assignments in to an interdisciplinary research project. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Students are asked to choose a revolution and answer the question "What causes a revolution?" They are to find causes and evidence for each cause (the number of causes and the amount of evidence required depends on the level of the class).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The project requires close collaboration with the school librarian (me). </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the things we noticed during last fall's work with students was that </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">students become frustrated with all tools they are learning for the first time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year we dedicated more in class time for students to complete their research. Each block the students had specific tasks and tools they were to use. This allowed plenty of opportunities for students to ask questions and request help from us. Note: our blocks are 80 minutes and we have an A/B rotation. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We began the unit in English class on the third day of school (but in the blog I will refer to it as Day 1 of project). We have two freshman English teachers and 3 freshman World History teachers so there were some blocks that where I combined and taught two classes together to keep everyone on the same timeline. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end I asked student to reflect on the process to find out what they learned, what they would do differently and what I could do differently. Most students were comfortable with the tools and thought our timeline and ability to work in class with teacher support if needed was beneficial. Some students stated they learned not to procrastinate and to spend more time pre-researching before committing to a research topic to ensure they could find enough relevant and readable information. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was an absolutely crazy busy 16 days. Was it worth it? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">YES! It was absolutely worth it knowing we were setting students up for research success! I am so lucky I have so many teachers who are eager and willing to work collaboratively with me. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span>Below is my teaching timeline (<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rPeU4aBqOVnp4lBfgkhPMtgPFH2hBcgQPYyDcgO2GKI/copy" target="_blank">direct link to Doc</a>), the Student Prompt & Research Process, and the English & History Rubrics.</span><br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jC6-OQ5ex7Z18sIjhUEtWolyWgxy-44tRO6Pzol4Ids/edit?usp=sharing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Student 1 Paper </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgracOFOoVndVZr4IQhwHgWcLkZ5oTKcxHsVu3s0S7kfGtVv805pNMrTYh-lTDb6pvH9m9DC-U_iW83suxz16GnnYDgqqvhcnQFJ6Pqgdg-03bO7M26TDeuMxwe3OWM3Je7tpSovTTvHO7T/s1600/SA+NoodleTools+++Notecards+%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="635" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgracOFOoVndVZr4IQhwHgWcLkZ5oTKcxHsVu3s0S7kfGtVv805pNMrTYh-lTDb6pvH9m9DC-U_iW83suxz16GnnYDgqqvhcnQFJ6Pqgdg-03bO7M26TDeuMxwe3OWM3Je7tpSovTTvHO7T/s400/SA+NoodleTools+++Notecards+%25283%2529.png" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VjySdCAgoYFMDyK6Ntcrnkh5eEKzqqROzi5wWAgumrtW6qdcnZMHOy529ZTOlVGYr6L-xgPyIBmkV7Jk73tHZsPHsVdi4mbz8v_G3JCu7m_uwZNXse5sDzWsGGYjKNQ-RC0bvVq0O5QA/s1600/SA+NoodleTools+++Notecards+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="1080" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VjySdCAgoYFMDyK6Ntcrnkh5eEKzqqROzi5wWAgumrtW6qdcnZMHOy529ZTOlVGYr6L-xgPyIBmkV7Jk73tHZsPHsVdi4mbz8v_G3JCu7m_uwZNXse5sDzWsGGYjKNQ-RC0bvVq0O5QA/s200/SA+NoodleTools+++Notecards+%25282%2529.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Hzw3FMpDAOeQgipmNOmClGmpwqN63MkcaKjALYCq3E/edit?usp=sharing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Student 2 Paper</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjd_kMs4V4baVy_EceANYTZCG5LiHtkMi5ynDzKLGrS-8GIrcV0GEisCeH55p9sl0zSuyF5L8DaJBN0L5EHmWclUlUYZeohPdRmYdwugIY4SqHP2rY78XYEP7jzUgLqW7pdZRTl_9o8M3/s1600/NoodleTools+++Notecards.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="1343" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjd_kMs4V4baVy_EceANYTZCG5LiHtkMi5ynDzKLGrS-8GIrcV0GEisCeH55p9sl0zSuyF5L8DaJBN0L5EHmWclUlUYZeohPdRmYdwugIY4SqHP2rY78XYEP7jzUgLqW7pdZRTl_9o8M3/s200/NoodleTools+++Notecards.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlN0dS9wXn9_lOmtkRu-IcpIwJ22-tQTa6JYAqOgXYNjJbv6ObBE1VMctaPyIBmXemex3AFOQ10bOBh3PUQshVEQRzKQBhroKP5661XE7JtA1msg79mk0QPsbpZtyusaku59IBgjgEE1-/s1600/NoodleTools+++Notecards+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="738" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlN0dS9wXn9_lOmtkRu-IcpIwJ22-tQTa6JYAqOgXYNjJbv6ObBE1VMctaPyIBmXemex3AFOQ10bOBh3PUQshVEQRzKQBhroKP5661XE7JtA1msg79mk0QPsbpZtyusaku59IBgjgEE1-/s400/NoodleTools+++Notecards+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-29512631652262753662018-09-16T20:01:00.000-04:002018-09-16T20:01:01.920-04:00How are we teaching students about reliable news?<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was a child, I did not read newspapers or news magazines nor did I watch the news. However, I recognized news brands because I would collect the newspaper and mail for my parents and because in our small house I would hear the nightly news broadcasts that my parents faithfully tuned in to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That was almost 40 years ago. Both of my parents felt (and thankfully instilled in me) a civic responsibility to stay informed of local, national and global events. In addition, my father was a history teacher and taught me at a young age that today's news events are both shaped by and become history. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Time</i>, <i>Newsweek</i>, <i>U.S. News & World Report</i>, <i>The New York Times</i>, <i>The Providence Journal</i>, <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>, <i>PBS Newshour</i>, <i>60 Minutes</i>, <i>NBC Nightly News</i> were mainstays in our home. I did not read or watch them myself unless I was directed to by a parent or for a school assignment but I knew the names of these news sources that were committed to reporting facts. I would also hear my parents discussing events of the world and, as I got older, I was included in those conversations more and more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a mom in the digital world, I read my news online, usually on my phone</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">. When my son collects the mail, there are no news magazines, nor are there multiple newspapers on our lawn. I have digital subscriptions to quality news sources. Which means, my child, is not learning to recognize reliable news brands, he simply sees me on my phone. He is only 6 but how can I help him recognize news brands? How do I show him reading the news on my devices is not a case of FOMO or an addiction to SnapChat?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even if I was never exposed to these journalism brands through my family, I would learn about them through my academic research in high school and college. Navigating my way through the <i>Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature</i>, I would chose relevant articles from the pre-selected list of verified news sources. After the (sometimes painstaking) process of locating the articles (remember microfiche?) and reading the articles, I would created a citation, by hand. I would be forced to write or type the name of the sources in my "Bibliography". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, we have a vast amount of information at our finger tips. Teaching students how to research no longer requires hours at the library selecting a stack of physical sources that are dragged home and plopped down on their bedroom floor. No longer are students handwriting notecards, noting the source. No longer are students independently creating citations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Instead, students are toggling between tabs on small Chromebooks screens. Quality research is easy to locate with the help of databases, type in a few key words and a list of results is returned that can be sorted by material type, date, and reading level. Students are reading the headlines and blurbs from this list. They may consider the date of publication as they skim the article and its headings before deciding to read more closely. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">They take digital notes in another tab through a tool like NoodleTools. They create citation by copying the MLA provided citation directly in to a citation generator tool. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, stubborn students will insist a search engine like Google is better and then find themselves having to select a site from the thousands of results generated. Then we ask them to CRAAP test, triangulate and assess sources. The problem is that if you give the kids a list of sources, they can't recognize quality. They do not know that The Onion is satire. In fact, many of them do not know what satire or parody means. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">How do I know this? </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">As an activity prior to the research unit, freshman played</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Factitious, </i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">a web based game that shows players an article, including the source and asks if the story is real or fake. The game was developed by American University JoLT, a collaboration between the school's GameLab and School of Communication to teach users how to recognize fake news.*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While playing <i>Factiitous</i>, I asked students to name a reputable news source. A few were able to name one or maybe two news sources. I shared with them a graphic I created based on an article in Forbes Magazine by Paul Glader. In early 2017 Glader wrote "10 Journalism Brands Where You Can Find Real Facts Rather Than Alternative Facts." Students admitted they had hard of maybe one or two of these news brands which did not surprise me as research has shown that </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">both students AND adults get their news through social media. Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat are not news sources. Do students understand that the news they see in their feeds are based on algorithms and may not even be news? </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I asked students if they understood what satire and parody sites were and most students could not even define those terms. We also took some time to check out Snopes and how to check the veracity of the sensational stories they see on social media. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEwONVinM5MejhYc_DSl3ImwSZy4pRd4D0c5iGG5jwmnETUq-9oEDyMtYgB-WsOfzs3KtiFOLpyzbiuIhUrSA6wfM1pf6kJuYTjl9v0OoL3e82S6vv9H4WrzEEgATpBP3AU5DV8YpYYjL/s1600/Forbes+10+Journalism+Brands+Real+Facts+%2540PaulGlader.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="959" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEwONVinM5MejhYc_DSl3ImwSZy4pRd4D0c5iGG5jwmnETUq-9oEDyMtYgB-WsOfzs3KtiFOLpyzbiuIhUrSA6wfM1pf6kJuYTjl9v0OoL3e82S6vv9H4WrzEEgATpBP3AU5DV8YpYYjL/s400/Forbes+10+Journalism+Brands+Real+Facts+%2540PaulGlader.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">I created the graphic based on Glader's article to help students recognize news brands and link to them directly. For PDF with hyperlinks </span><a href="https://ledyard.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=29089734" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana; text-align: start;" target="_blank">10 Journalism Brands</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If we want Americans (and future voters) to be well informed we, as educators, need to do a better job providing opportunities for students to meaningfully engage with news sources that are committed to providing facts. This can start in elementary school with age-appropriate sources such as <i>Time for Kids</i>. As students get older, a variety of news sources should be included in curriculums on a regular basis. How do we do this? Ideally, through a Media Literacy Curriculum that is embedded in core subjects. In the meantime, as a librarian, I subscribe to credible news journals and make them accessible in areas where students work in the library. I ask students to take notice the sources they are using from their database searches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a parent, I believe it is important that I change to reading print versions of the news in order to model the civic duty of staying informed and for my son to begin to recognize reputable brands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you encourage students to read, watch or listen to news?</span><br />
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*SIDE NOTE: (big sigh) When using the term "fake news," I am talking about news that is completely fake, not an accusation with a pointed finger because the truth is inconvenient. News is a for-profit business, more competitive now than 40 years ago but there are journalists and journalism brands that adhere to a code of ethics. Students should be taught to be critical thinkers not cynical citizens. With all the negativity in the world today, especially surrounding the news, I believe that before we can have deeper conversations with students about bias and news outlet agendas, students need to be familiar with news outlets that do strive to report facts and<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures;"> adhere to the </span><a data-ga-track="ExternalLink:http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp" href="http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Society of Professional Journalist's code of ethics</a>. <br /><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Works Cited</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Factitious</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. American University JoLT, factitious.augamestudio.com/#/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2018.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c89fdf53-7fff-c591-a28a-6293e5026138"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glader, Paul. "1,322,772 viewsFeb 1, 2017, 01:10pm 10 Journalism Brands Where You Find Real Facts Rather Than Alternative Facts." </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forbes</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, 1 Feb. 2017 Accessed 16 Sept. 2018.</span></span></span>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-7473562102300925372018-09-03T18:41:00.000-04:002018-09-03T18:41:12.436-04:00Digital Tools & Tips: Setting Students Up for Success<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow is the third day of school and we are about to have freshman students creating accounts for a variety of digital tools. I know their heads are spinning just trying to navigate their way around the school building. I also know when I was transferred to the high school library 3 years ago, I struggled with keeping all the tools and accounts straight, what to use when, how to logon, etc. And I am a school librarian, not a 14 year old! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I created this </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vS7Z9B-_mxbYnqYwMn0OcF0FaAahAJRvk7X1z4RsRbAMbXeLdAI6S7jtHFN_msuGBGM76uhR-wHciay/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">slidedeck</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to help students keep all the accounts straight, as something to refer back to and to help guide any absent or new students who need to set up accounts later in the year. I am sure I will be editing and fine-tuning to meet student needs. Further lessons will go deeper in to each of these tools but I am hoping this helps our students remember what is what and to set them up for success! </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="299" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vS7Z9B-_mxbYnqYwMn0OcF0FaAahAJRvk7X1z4RsRbAMbXeLdAI6S7jtHFN_msuGBGM76uhR-wHciay/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe>kcurriesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002770686183406558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584805073110584417.post-20750175741395875832018-07-25T13:01:00.001-04:002018-07-26T06:37:16.878-04:00Thank You Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show and Tomi Adeyemi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dear Jimmy, The Tonight Show Staff, and (of course) Tomi,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you!! From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you for promoting reading, for making it fun, for making it cool!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Tonight Show Summer Reads is brilliant! As a high school library media specialist and an avid reader, I am constantly trying for find ways to encourage students to read. Sadly, our educational system is sucking the joy out of reading with never-ending assessments. I love seeing the excitement on Jimmy's face and hearing the thrill in his voice as he talks about reading <i>The Children of Blood and Bone</i>. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I0ZApHw1ozhyphenhyphen9M_xPK1m3maHU6-Hi48_x5kTCccnxA2hP1fQXWWFc7zKxJdYscGwmxc2n7nBaHmio_CpREFwXsSyTqG3hFI4cVqEJRqw7DErO3sFXpCbkAHTg-qii0WzPvu2DF0yszvW/s1600/IMG_4774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I0ZApHw1ozhyphenhyphen9M_xPK1m3maHU6-Hi48_x5kTCccnxA2hP1fQXWWFc7zKxJdYscGwmxc2n7nBaHmio_CpREFwXsSyTqG3hFI4cVqEJRqw7DErO3sFXpCbkAHTg-qii0WzPvu2DF0yszvW/s320/IMG_4774.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love that you chose a YA Lit book, one with non-stop action and edge of your seat suspense that both men and women (boys and girls) will want to read! I love that it is written by a young, hip and sassy Nigerian American woman, both celebrating diversity and inspiring young writers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tomi, thank you for writing such a powerful book that is not only entertaining but has encouraged readers to learn more about African mythology and religion. I love the way you integrated themes of genocide and racial oppression. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In our selfie (and dare I say narcissist?) society, it is crucial that we encourage people to read books that are windows, not mirrors, in order to build empathy and to create understanding in our world today. Tomi, thank you for doing just that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, thank you for inviting me to be a part of the Q & A session on July 24th. It was AWESOME listening to Jimmy and Tomi talk about the book. I cannot wait to share this experience </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">with students when we return to school in the fall. I can guarantee that <i>The Children of Blood and Bone</i> will not be sitting on our shelves! It will be bringing joy to readers and fostering important conversations!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you for putting reading and books in the headlines!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sincerely,</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kathleen Currie Smith</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Library Media Specialist</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ledyard High School & Ledyard Middle School</span></span></div>
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