Smart Librarians

Thursday, September 19, 2013

September 19, 2013

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!

In this issue:

Quotes about busting library and librarian stereotypes
Using the school news to promote reading
Common Core Lesson Plans for the NY Times Ed team
I’ll see you in Hinesville and Macon!

Library Quote/Smile – Stereotypes Broken!

"It's funny that we think of libraries as quiet demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-balancing, bespectacled women. The truth is libraries are raucous clubhouses for free speech, controversy and community. Librarians have stood up to the Patriot Act, sat down with noisy toddlers and reached out to illiterate adults. Libraries can never be shushed."

-- Comedian and author Paula Poundstone

National spokesperson for Friends of Libraries U.S.A.

"As a general rule, librarians are a kick in the pants socially, often full of good humor, progressive, and naturally, well read. They tend to be generalists who know so much about so many things that they are quite the opposite of the boring old poops they have been made out to be. Most of them are full of life, some even full of the devil."

Bill Hall, editorial page editor, Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune

Promote (From the “Promoting the Library and Its Value to the School” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

2. Use the news as a propaganda tool. Many of you are in charge of the morning news at your school every day. Even if you are not, you can use the news to promote reading! Film students and teachers sharing book talks, do genre overviews, show off new books the media center has added, recruit volunteers, reward readers, offer search tips or even do training snippets to increase media center usage and awareness. You might as well use it to promote YOUR agenda. And who can argue with promoting reading?

Common Core Connection

Over the last several days, I have enjoyed reading some of the amazing CCS information available from the education team at the NY Times. Wow! There are lesson plans, ideas for standard alignment, defense of the Common Core and so much more, and there is helpful information for every grade from K to 12^th. Forward this link:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/lesson-plans/common-core/

to your teachers and encourage them to scan the page for ideas. I think you will find one more way that you can become the school’s curriculum super hero!

Shameless Plug

There are two great professional learning opportunities (and a chance to hang out with other cool media specialists!) coming up soon and I will be at both of them!

The Liberty County Media and Technology Expo is Friday, September 27^th in Hinesville, GA, and I will be leading one of the sessions, “Becoming Indispensable - Convincing the rest of the world that a well stocked media center and a well trained media staff are essential for student success. It’s free and is a great opportunity for idea sharing and training. Find out more at http://www.mediamatterslcss.blogspot.com/.

I will be at COMO (in Macon, October 10-11) in the exhibitor hall, teaming up with Ryan Jett of Bound to Stay Bound. We will be giving away a half day of assemblies and a library program. Stop by and register to win!

I know I have readers of EOT who are in other states. If you’d like to have me come to your area to do teacher training, let me know!

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

Encouraging kids to read, I am

Tommy Johns

Educational Entertainment Specialist

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com

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.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

September 4, 2013

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

In this issue:

· Library Quote (includes a bonus quote!)

· Promoting reading through BIG events

· Helping colleagues with Common Core

· What is your theme for the year?

Library Quote/Smile

“Never judge a book by its movie.”

J. W. Eagan

"At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better."

President (then Senator) Barack Obama

Promote (From the “Encouraging Readers and Non-Readers to Read” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

8. Celebrate milestones often. Recognize progress along the way. We all know the importance of recognizing those who finish first at the end of the year, but recognizing progress along the way minimizes attrition and keeps enthusiasm high. My own children, who were highly motivated readers, would often see the person who got an early jump on the AR points as impossible to beat. And since first place was the only important spot, they would stop taking tests or tracking minutes, making the success of the program hard to assess. Constant encouragement and a chance to start over every 3, 6 or 9 weeks can keep kids from giving up. Consider helping your readers set short term as well as long term reading goals. Everybody (especially the students) benefit from the sustained motivation!

Common Core Connection

I am a big fan of The Teaching Channel (www.teachingchannel.org). The content is solid, the videos well done and the information is understandable. They offer this as a fee service if you sign up. I get an e-mail from them about once a week and can usually find something worthwhile in every one.

This week I got an e-mail that takes you to a page called “Ask the Experts” where you or your teachers can ask a question of a panel of CC experts and get answers via e-mail. The web address is https://www.teachingchannel.org/ask-the-experts. You can see some of the questions that have already been asked and answered at https://www.teachingchannel.org/questions. Spend a few minutes and learn something about this major nationwide curriculum shift and become the expert your teachers rely upon as they make their own adjustments!

Shameless Plug

Three plugs this edition –

1. Special pricing for September only – go to http://smartlibrarians.blogspot.com/2013/08/august-22-2013-were-back-and-youreback.html for details and save big!

2. Elementary Media Specialists should have already received the new TJP brochure of all our current programs. If you don’t have yours, let me know and I’ll drop one in the mail to you right away!

3. Whatever your theme for the 2013-2014 library media center emphasis, I probably have a program that supports it! If I don’t have a show that fits the theme, I can always adapt “I Love to Read!” with a costume and books that will support your emphasis for the year!

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

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist
www.TommyJohnsPresents.com
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.

You are receiving “Every Other Thursday” because you have attended one of my workshops, invited me to your school, or registered for a free half day of assemblies at a conference. If you’d like to unsubscribe, simply click reply and let me know. Have a WONDER-Filled Day!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

August 22, 2013

We’re back! And you’re back! And they’re back! Welcome back!

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

In this issue:

Quote from Carnegie

Promoting reading through BIG events

Helping parents with Common Core

Media Specialist Training workshops

Library Quote/Smile

“There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration.” ~ Andrew Carnegie

Promote (From the “Promoting Reading” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

#27. One way to promote reading is to kick off the school year with a big event. I have seen pep rallies complete with cheerleaders and athletes, music videos, bubble parties, bouncy houses, and all kinds of creative ideas used to get kids excited about reading. Of course there are some great special guests you can invite in to speak to your students who can teach, encourage and motivate your readers to explore the library and its resources, including yours truly. An exciting, well executed kickoff event can really make a difference in boosting participation in your program!

To make it easier for you to do this, I am offering special pricing for August and September. Full Days (up to 6 assemblies) and Half Days (up to 2 assemblies) are usually $875 and $550, unless 2 schools schedule on the same day, in which case they split the full day fee ($437.50 each). The reading kickoff special pricing is just $650 for a full day and $400 for a half day (with 2 schools on the same day paying only $325 each!). And be sure to check the updated website for new reading shows about career awareness and the genre study! Call or e-mail me for availability.

Common Core Connection

In addition to being THE source for your teachers and staff when it comes to Common Core resources, you can help parents become more informed and involved in supporting their children in this curriculum. One EXCELLENT resource can be found at http://www.scholastic.com/commoncore/common-core-for-parents.htm. Spend a few minutes browsing the material here and you’ll find things you can use!

You can point your parents to this resource or use bite sized pieces of it in a Reading for Common Core section in each issue of the school newsletter. And it should come as no surprise that when the author Patrick Daley lists “Five tips to help you support the Common Core at home” three of the five tips are about reading, one is about writing and one is about math. Reading is HUGE in Common Core, and that makes our jobs even more important to student and school success.

Shameless Plug

Speaking of your importance to your school’s success, I am excited to be presenting a training session at the Liberty County Media & Technology Showcase on Friday, September 27. The title of my session is Becoming Indispensable: Convincing the rest of the world that a well-stocked media center and a well-trained media staff are essential for student (and school) success! The workshop will cover 12 things that you can and should do to convince decision makers about the indispensable nature of what you do.

This is my 4^th year to lead a session at this event and I hope you will consider attending! It’s free and Jaime Rearley and the crew always do such a great job with this event! Plus the snacks are always amazing! For more information, go to http://mediamatterslcss.blogspot.com/. This showcase has grown every year and I’d love to see you there!

If you can’t make it to Hinesville, I would love to come to your area and do an in-service workshop for you and your colleagues. I have presented these for as few as 5 and as many as 100 at COMO. To see the list of the workshops I offer, go to http://tommyjohnspresents.com/teachers.htm. You would be surprised at how affordable this can be. Ask about how to get a workshop for FREE when you contact me (not a contest – any system in the state can get this at no cost. Ask me how!)

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

Encouraging kids to read, I am

Tommy Johns

Educational Entertainment Specialist

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com

tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com

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

Thursday, May 9, 2013

May 9, 2013

This is the last EOT of this school year! I have really enjoyed this and have gotten great feedback from you about it. I hope it has been helpful and fun! If you have missed any previous EOT issues, you can read them all at http://smartlibrarians.blogspot.com/.

Library Quote/Smile

“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.”

~Author Unknown

And one more, since it’s almost summer.

“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

~Attributed to Groucho Marx

Promote (From the “Promoting Reading” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

6. Place carts of Quick Reads on the halls before the library opens for the year and after the library closes during those last days of the school year. Books can be on curriculum standards or for leisure. From the first day of school till the last we should be saying and showing that we believe that reading is important, but if we don’t get books in their hands, we send a mixed message. Providing a cart of grade level appropriate quick reads on the halls near the rooms, we can get them reading from day one until the last day of the year.

Common Core Connection

Find a way to communicate with parents about the importance of summer reading AND getting/staying prepared for the fall. Maybe a Summertime Media Center newsletter or a paragraph in the school bulletin or even a postcard. Include the information about the FREE summer reading promotions mentioned in the last issue (http://smartlibrarians.blogspot.com/2013/05/april-25-2013-every-other-thursday.html) and tell them about this great resource JUST FOR PARENTS. Scholastic has a super segment of their website devoted to parents and the Common Core. It’s where I learned a lot of what I understand about the CCC, and it wil help them too! Got to http://www.scholastic.com/commoncore/common-core-for-parents.htm and see what they have to offer!

Shameless Plug

I may be coming to a library near you this summer to perform “Dig a Little Deeper!” my summer library show about GENRES! Or I may be doing a magic workshop or the VERY popular TeenBoss Workshop. Find out more about the programs and check out my calendar at www.tommyjohnspresents.com! I’d love to see you this summer!

Let me know how I can help!

April 25, 2013

I missed an issue during spring break, but we are back on track! Just 2 more EOTs this school year!

If you have missed any previous EOT issues, you can read them all at http://smartlibrarians.blogspot.com/.

Library Quote/Smile

The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries. (emphasis mine)

~Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Promote (From the “Promoting Reading” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

DOUBLE BONUS SUMMER IDEAS!
Summer reading is a HUGE factor in academic success! Encourage your readers to keep on reading all summer long!

11. Don’t reinvent the wheel for encouraging summer reading. Barnes & Noble, Scholastic, and your public library all have summer reading programs. Promote theirs and save your money! Links are www.BN.com and www.Scholastic.com. Search for summer reading promotions.

12. Bring your public librarians in to promote the summer reading program – it’s free and they know how to talk to their audience. And they WANT to come to your school! Every library system has a person assigned to do programming for children and teens. Often they are sadly the best kept secret in the county. Get to know your library’s staff and find out what they are doing to promote reading in the summer.

Common Core Connection

As the year begins to wind down, this would be a great time to survey your colleagues and ask them how the media center has supported the transition to Common Core in the first year and how we can improve for next year. Part of making yourself indispensable is demonstrating and proving your value to the ADULTS in the building as well as the students! Look for ways to strengthen the link between the media center and the classroom AND the media center and the grade/department level meetings. They cannot do CCS without a well stocked, well staffed media center! And if they don’t know it yet, show them!

Shameless Plug

I still have a few dates and times available to reward your readers for the end of the year! Reward the top readers with a single show they will talk about all summer, or show the whole school how proud you are of the great work they’ve done all year with a half or full day of programs. Remember, that trinkets from that Oriental trading place will get lost of broken, but experiences stay with children a LONG time! Check out my calendar and fees at www.tommyjohnspresents.com!

Let me know how I can help!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

March 21, 2013

If you have missed any previous EOT issues, you can read them all at http://smartlibrarians.blogspot.com/.

Library Quote/Smile

“The best of my education has come from the public library... my tuition fee is a bus fare and once in a while, five cents a day for an overdue book. You don't need to know very much to start with, if you know the way to the library.”

Lesley Conger, children’s author

A fun thing I just HAD to share! - http://www.1112.net/lastpage.html. This made me laugh out loud!

Promote (From the “Promoting Reading” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

#18 - Ask the local high school video department teacher to assign booktalks or reading promotion as a video assignment. Got an idea for a great video to promote your reading emphasis or special event? You’ve got trained, creative, enthusiastic and equipped high school students who can help. You’ve got classes that need assignments. You need to promote reading and resources. A perfect storm!

One of my elementary school clients in Alabama convinced the video technology teacher to assign 90 second booktalks as a project and the results were terrific!

Common Core Connection

If you haven’t discovered www.Pinterest.com yet as a resource for common core and library skills teaching ideas, go NOW and get started. I thought Pinterest was just for sharing recipes and funny stuff, but my wife Linda (an elementary school media specialist) has found dozens of great resources to help her get her students ready for the CRCT, connect literature to the standards and lots more. Media specialists are generous, sharing, smart people and Pinterest will allow you to connect with colleagues all over the country.

Not only that - you can find a GREAT recipe for Reese’s Cup brownies! http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=reese%27s+cup+brownies

Shameless Plug

There’s still time to schedule the CRCT Prep Rally, “We Can Do This!” for your students. We discuss test taking strategies, the importance of healthy habits, and over practice questions in a fun memorable format. Go to www.tommyjohnspresents.com/programs.htm and scroll down the page to find out more!

Let me know how I can help!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist
www.TommyJohnsPresents.com
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com
Call (770) 640-6509 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ

Thursday, March 7, 2013

March 7, 2013

If you have missed any previous EOT issues, you can read them all at http://smartlibrarians.blogspot.com/.

Library Quote/Smile

Do people complain about overdue notices and charging patrons for lost books? Tell them it could be worse!

“For him that stealeth a Book from this Library, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with Palsy, and all his Members blasted. Let him languish in Pain crying aloud for Mercy and let there be no surcease to his Agony till he sink in Dissolution. Let Bookworms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, and when at last he goeth to his final Punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him for ever and aye.

~Curse Against Book Stealers, Monastery of San Pedro, Barcelona

Promote (From the “Rewarding Readers” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

#9 - Design and print READ posters for top readers, classes, administration, and staff with favorite books. I have designed a series of READ type posters you can use for your top readers and others in the school. I usually print these 11X17 so they are big enough to see, but affordable. Most big office supply stores run specials so that an 11X17 color copy of one of these posters is less than $2.00. No money? See #26 below.

And if you are interested in seeing and using the templates I have created, send me an e-mail!

BONUS idea!

#26 - Turn in all toner and ink cartridges to Office Depot, Office Max or Staples for money to buy things not in your budget like banners and color printing. Get them from teachers and students as well. Again, our school gets several hundred dollars every year while recycling! Most stores offer a rebate of $2 per cartridge and a minimum has to be purchased each quarter to get the rebate. Make sure that anyone who uses the store and does not already have a rewards membership of their own, gives the school’s (or your) phone number when they shop so you will get the credit. See individual stores for details.

Common Core Connection

Careers and career readiness are a big part of Common Core. (See http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/CTAE/Pages/CTAE-Georgia-Career-Clusters.aspx for specifics.)

Your school counselor may have already come into the media center and asked for books about careers. If he or she has not, be proactive and pull some books (or print a list) and show them how the media center can help!

This might also be a good time to go and weed that book about being a writer that features a lady in a beehive hairdo sitting in front of a Royal manual typewriter!

And you may want to order these books about being a media specialist! I especially like the last one on the list!

http://www.warriorlibrarian.com/ROFL/morebooks.html

Shameless Plug

One other way to encourage your students to work hard to make their career dreams come true would be to get your counselors to pay for my newest reading show, “I Had This Crazy Dream!” “Crazy Dream” is a show that features the stories of 7 people who overcame obstacles and worked hard to make their dreams come true! Like all of the shows I offer, this show encourages library use and reading as it entertains and inspires students to do their best. Hank Aaron, Martha Berry, Ellen Ochoa, Philo T. Farnsworth and others are included in this fun and motivating program! Get in touch with me via e-mail or phone for more information!

Let me know how I can help!