Beyond the Stacks
Park Tudor Library News by Sara Rogers & Suzanne Russell
March 2014 Issue
- Bits & Bytes
- Featured Database
- Upper School Update
- In the Middle (Middle School, That Is)
Bits & Bytes
Mike Mullin Visit
- son of Shirley, owner of Kids Ink Bookstore
- author of the Ashfall trilogy
- out special visitor on April 11th
The Library will be closed that day as we host Mr. Mullin. Please let Sara know if you would like your classes to attend.
Crash Course
Crash Course is a phenomenal educational resource that truly highlights how educational material can organically emerge online. Started by John Green, New York Times Bestselling Author of books like The Fault in Our Stars and Looking For Alaska, and his brother Hank Green, an entrepreneurial musician and ‘vlogger,’ Crash Course is a YouTube channel with tons of instructional videos on subjects as varied as biology, world history, US history, chemistry, English literature, and ecology.
John and Hank Green have a knack for explaining complex ideas in simple, comprehensible terms. With over 1 million subscribers and over 45 million views across the channel, Crash Course has developed an avid following largely because of John and Hank’s lively approach to subject material, which keeps viewers interested and engaged. If you want to understand why Crash Course has developed such a huge following online, you need look no further than the videos themselves; here are a few of our favorites:
- Crash Course World History: The Persians and Greeks
- Crash Course Biology: Water – Liquid Awesome
- Crash Course US History: The New Deal
Young, Robyn. "Crash Course by John and Hank Green." Media Minute (Feb. 2014): n. pag. Print.
EasyBib Now Integrated with Several PT Databases
EasyBib announced last week that it is now fully integrated with all Gale In Context databases, as well as the Gale Virtual Reference Library, Gale Literature Resource Center, and InfoTrac. It is also integrated with ProQuest's SIRS Knowledge Source.
Be sure to instruct your students to check their exported citations for accuracy. Each database includes a disclaimer similar to the one below with good reason.
Citation export disclaimer:
While the data elements for the following citations have been formatted to meet the latest citation standards set forth by the respective agencies, these citations provide the available publication data for the document cited and should only serve as a guide and not as a replacement for the latest guidebooks -- or those required by your instructor. Please refer to the provided examples for proper formatting.
It was discovered that not all of the required information was included in a few of our test citations, mostly missing article titles. Also, MLA 7 does not required URLs (and they really aren't useful anyway for databases), but EasyBib includes them. Students need to be aware that they may need to edit the citations.
For those of you who dislike the citation placeholders, N.p, n.p. and n. pag., EasyBib gives students the opportunity to select whether or not to include this information.
Featured Database
SIRS Knowledge Source
Great news! We subscribe to SIRS, the easy-to-use, Internet-based teaching and learning solution for students and teachers. Best of all, it’s available at school or from home
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Updated daily, SKS provides relevant, credible across the curriculum information on social issues, science, history, government, the arts and humanities. Full-text articles and Internet resources are carefully selected from thousands of domestic and international publications and respected organizations.
A few other features include:
BookCarts allow teachers and librarians to customize
learning resources into digital lesson plans for focused
research activities for students.
Publication browsing of curriculum content area
and professional journals benefits teachers who
need to stay current in their subject and profession.
Support for Students include resources that walk students step-by-step through the research process such as, the Research Guide for the Critical Thinker and My Analysis, a Guide to Academic Writitng and a free, online, exportable Note Organizer to name a few.
Click here to watch a two minute introductory video. But to really see the power of this database, contact Suzanne or Sara for a personalized tutorial session.
Google Presentation for Notecards
Upper School Update
RAOK Rocks in the US Library!!
Monday--M&M Guesstimation
Students guessed the number of M&Ms in a glass container. We were impressed by the students who grabbed a ruler and used their Mathematical prowess. Alex Kortepeter won with his guess (no mathematics involved) of 899.
Tuesday-Hot Chocolate Bar and Match the Famous Literary Couples
Students were eager to partake in the hot chocolate bar! While they sipped their beverages, they matched famous literary couples in the day's contest. Winner was Fariya Shamrin.
Wednesday--Candy Quiz
What happy person takes care of animals? A Jolly Rancher! Hagar Weinstein knew the answer to that and other candy-related questions. She emerged as the Candy Quiz winner.
Thursday-Blind Date with a Book
Students were asked to take a "blind date with a book". Books of varying genres were wrapped up to disguise their title and author. Based only on a plot summary, students were asked to select a book and start reading! If it was not a love match, students were not obligated to keep reading.
We were thrilled at the student response to each day's contest! We've already begun to plan for a week of fun around St. Patrick's Day.
Blind Date with a Book
Candy Quiz
Hot Chocolate Bar
This Just In!
Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis by Robert Edsel
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi
Say This, Not That: A Foolproof Guide to Effective Interpersonal Communication by Carl Alasko
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert Edsel
The Goldfinch by Donna Tart
In the Middle ( Middle School, that is)
March Reading Challenge - Reading BINGO!
What's New on the Shelf
After Eli by Rebecca Rupp
Here Lies Linc by Delia RayOne for the Murphy's by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Four Mile by Wyatt Key
Jump into the Sky by Shelley Pearsall
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth
The Extra by Kathryn Lasky
Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper
Dodger by Terry Pratchett
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Burns
"Sorry, can't."
Although most of the students were disappointed by Michael Grant's response, it hasn't discouraged them from picking up and reading the remaining FIVE books in the series.
***Images taken from Amazon and mikemullinauthor.com and easybib.com