News from your IMC!
Spring 2017
In this newsletter ...
- NEW BOOKS JUST ARRIVED!
- BPL is bringing author, Eric Larson, on Wednesday, April 12th & 13th to discuss his book, Devil in the White City in celebration of National Library Week!
- Keepin' It Real: Tips & Strategies for Evaluating Fake News
- Bringing the museum to the library!
- PSA Video Projects: From Digital Citizenship to the Power of One Voice
- FMP Library Escape Challenge
- "Read an Abe, Win an Abe" winners
- Milner's educational librarian talks research
- Book Spotlight for Autism Awareness Month, ACT/SAT suggested reads, & 101 books recommended by the College Board
- February's Book Speed Dating
- STEM Adventure Kits for check out!
- Make It & Take It
NEW BOOKS!
Keepin' It Real: Tips & Strategies for Evaluating Fake News
This has been the focus of my recent lessons in Mr. Beal and Mrs. Renchen's English classes as well as earlier in the year with Mrs. Unsbee and Mrs. Freeman's US History classes.
The goal of this lesson is to teach students to be skeptical and not believe every viral video and click-bait-y news source they see. The primary objective is for students to be more confident in their ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability of news reports, websites, viral images & videos, as well as those shared through social media.
The IMC Research Assistance page provides several resources, tip sheets, and fact-checking sites to help students evaluate information they find online. You will also find my presentation embedded at the bottom of the page.
Below: Mr. Beal's class is reviewing the credibility of two viral videos. While both are entertaining, one is real and one is fake.
Bringing the museum to the IMC!
Student groups completed an artifact analysis write around activity by rotating to various stations arranged by themes (i.e. women on the home front during WWII, WWII propaganda, rationing during WWII, etc.). At each station groups analyzed and discussed the artifacts and responded to the artifact analysis questions on large paper at each table.
PSA Video Projects
Students will produce better final products that demonstrate their knowledge if the following steps are considered:
- Outline: Students should start by outlining what they have to say, what they intend to show, and their main points.
- Script: Students should know what they are going to say before they begin.
- Storyboard: Having students produce a storyboard will help them plan each step of the process and encourages them to gather their resources in advance.
- Filming: This usually takes some time since students often have to do multiple takes. Blocking off or scheduling time for this is beneficial.
- Editing: Tools such as MovieMaker, iMovie, and YouTube's video editor easily allow students to add music, voice overs, special effects, captions, and titles.
- Publishing: Where will students publish and share their videos (YouTube, Vimeo, Animoto, Google Drive)? Have they followed copyright guidelines?
Below are a few examples of student created PSAs.
You Make It & Take It
The IMC tables are a great place for students to work collaboratively on group projects. Charging stations are also available at some of the tables as well as the laptop bar.
BOOK SPEED DATING
In February, Ms. Utesch's English III classes partnered with Mrs. Garard, Mr. Hoder, and Mr. Kerr's English classes for Book Speed Dating in the IMC. Each student had one minute to “sell” their book to the student sitting across from them. Afterwards they rated the book they were introduced to using the "Rate Your Date" form before rotating to the next person. This proved to be a fun way to promote reading interest while exposing students to a variety of books enjoyed by their peers.