Friday, February 21, 2014

February 20, 2014

Every Other Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter.  It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, a Common Core implementation idea and a shameless plug for the programs I offer.  Enjoy! 

If you are new to EOT or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And please tell your friends about it!

In this issue:
·         Library Quotes
·         Host a Family Reading Night to promote reading
·         Common Core help from Galileo!
·         Shameless Plug  

Library Quote/Smile –
“You should never read just for “enjoyment.” Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own. Pick “hard books.” Ones you have to concentrate on while reading. And for god’s sake, don’t let me ever hear you say, “I can’t read fiction. I only have time for the truth.” Fiction is the truth! Ever hear of “literature”? That means fiction, too.”
-John Waters, author of Role Models

“Be awesome! Be a book nut!”
-Dr. Seuss

Promote (From the “Promote Reading” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)
19. Host a Family Reading Night. I have seen this done a variety of ways. Sometimes it is called Family Literacy Night, but I like Reading better. (I’m more likely to go to a Reading Night than I am a Literacy Night. We LOVE reading, but we are already literate at my house.)

You can set up stations for genres, age groups, independent reading or read-alouds. Keep in mind your theme for the year and decorate/promote accordingly. For example, if you are doing a Reading Round Up, all reading stations could be like cowboy campsites and the stories would be about life on the range, excerpts from Hank the Cowdog books, folk tales like Pecos Bill and biographies of Annie Oakley and Wild Bill Hickok. You could even invite a motivational reading show performer (see www.tommyjohnspresents.com for more info!).

Common Core Help
(This tip is for GA media specialists only. There may be a statewide database in Alabama or Florida that does some of the same things. If so, I’d LOVE to hear from you!)
I attended a media specialist training session in January and Karen Minton (not the WSB meteorologist, but the GALILEO expert) shared some of the hidden treasures you can find in Georgia’s statewide education database, GALILEO. GALILEO stands for GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online, an initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. GALILEO is an online library portal to authoritative, subscription-only information that isn’t available through free search engines or Web directories. Participating institutions may access over 100 databases indexing thousands of periodicals and scholarly journals. Over 10,000 journal titles are provided in full-text. Other resources include encyclopedias, business directories, and government publications.

Here’s one super cool feature – Go to SIRS Discoverer. You’ll need to go to http://www.galileo.usg.edu/kids, login and click on SIRS Discoverer. Here you can find “Common Core Standards Correlations” and find resources for lesson plans, suggested reading and a LOT more! Learn more at http://www.proquest.com/assets/downloads/services/commoncorestds_sirs.pdf.

Also at http://www.proquestk12.com/demo/10/k12videos/2Min_Menu.shtml, there are a lot of short videos that can help you when planning collaboration and teaching research. At the top of the video box, there is a drop down menu where you can select videos by Grade Level, by Subject or by Product. Take a few minutes and see what SIRS Discoverer has to offer!

Next time – hundreds of unlimited access DK informational full color e-books that are tablet formatted and ready for use by your students and teachers!

And don’t forget to check out www.CurriculumDivas.org for lots of resources for your school!

Shameless Plug
It’s the time of year to start thinking about those end of the year reading rewards. You COULD place an order with Oriental Trading and buy a bunch of plastic stuff that nobody really wants OR you could give your students an experience that will remind them to read all summer long! Look over the many programs offered at www.tommyjohnspresents.com/programs.htm and choose one that fits your theme and needs. Give me a call or send me an e-mail and let’s book a visit to your school!

Here’s what one of your colleagues has to say about the shows we offer:

“Tommy’s shows are an amazing combination of fun and learning - and what better way to learn than to have so much fun doing so that you don't even realize you are! Students gain vocabulary, thinking skills, questioning skills, AND excitement about magnifying those skills by using the library for fun reading and independent research.

“The fact that you care about learning more than anything else is evident - you don't find that in many "entertainment" programs. Fantastic!”
Elizabeth Foster, Carnesville, GA

Let me know how I can help! See you in two weeks!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns Educational Entertainment Specialist
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com
Call (770) 640-6509 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ
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Your peers appreciate your advice about quality programs. Please tell them about your experience working with us. Our best sales people are our many loyal clients.

Call (770) 640-6509 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ

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