Odds+and+Ends

"Best practices" is a term often used in education. What are best practices as they relate to our world as teacher-librarians? Take a look at these web sites to view a few of the information literacy and technology-oriented best practices. [|**http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/aaslinfolit/learningthrough.htm**] ALA's Learning Through the Library Best Practices Archives is a compilation of lesson plans on teaching information literacy skills, categorized by grade levels. The format provides an e-mail contact, web site address if available, and enough details to replicate the activities. [|**http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/ Curriculum+Documents+and+Resources/Beyond+Proficiency.htm**] Beyond Proficiency: Essentials of a Distinguished Library Media Program is a document developed by the Department of Education in Kentucky. This PDF file provides excellent guidelines for developing a best practices philosophy and activities that fit that philosophy. Includes a useful rubric for seeing how your current program rates. [|**http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/tnl/detectives/**] Internet Detectives is an excellent example of a best practice in which students evaluate Internet sites and publish their reviews for the entire Internet community. You will find selected and reviewed web sites, categorized by content area, as well as information and handouts on how your students can start a similar project. [|**http://www.nmmlp.org/**] The New Mexico Media Literacy Project provides several resources for the best practice of teaching media literacy, regardless of your school size or budget. Check out the Media Literacy/Basics link after you enter the site to find prepared handouts for use with your teachers and students. [|**http://www.indianalearns.org/**] Based on a book by Dr. David Loertscher, the Indiana Learns site provides a wide variety of exemplary lesson plans and planning tools. Superb links to a number of other resources round out this Indiana-based look at best practices. Rest assured the tips from my fellow Hoosiers can be used by teacher-librarians throughout the world. [|**http://www.cal-webs.org/aasl101.htm**] 101 + Practical Ideas You Can Use to Improve Your Library Program contains information presented at the 2001 AASL National Conference. Not current? Not true! These practical tips are full of best practice ideas for your library resource center. [|**http://www.ncrel.org/pd/toolkit/lftb/index.htm**] Professional Development: Learning from the Best provides step-by-step guidelines for developing staff development sessions and plans following best practice models. Tips for working with adult learners, sample needs assessments, plus research summaries are included in this site. [|**http://www.wested.org/online%5fpubs/kn-02-02.pdf**] Understanding Young Readers: The Role of Early Literacy Assessment is a 16-page PDF document designed for instructional leaders. The publication discusses the importance of early assessment, the challenges of dealing with young children and assessment, and ways to make the assessment strategies reliable and valid. Excellent background for elementary teacher-librarians. [|**http://www.east-buc.k12.ia.us/lns/inspiration.htm http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html**] Using graphic organizers is another best practice that many teacher-librarians use and model for their colleagues. Whether you have access to Inspiration or Kidspiration for computer-based graphic organizers or choose to use pencil-and-paper organizers, these sites provide you with a number of examples. You will find four years of student projects in web page format at East Buchanan Community Schools' Inspiration Projects page, and a number of ideas at the Graphic.Org site, where examples can be saved for use in Word documents or printed out for students. [|**http://surfaquarium.com/MI/**] Another research-based best practice involves teaching to multiple intelligences. Walter McKenzie has developed a truly one-stop web site for those teacher-librarians who need to brush up on this theory. You will find well-crafted overviews, MI inventories for learners, Internet links for various intelligences and a number of additional resources. [|**http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/bstpract**] Looking for best practices in technology integration? Check out this Michigan site, where you will find teacher-developed lesson plans classified by grade level and subject area. All lesson plans are stored as PDF files, and many ideas can easily be translated to non-technology-oriented activities. [|**http://www.nadtdec.org/itcworkshop/onecomputer2.html**] Another source of best practice ideas for using a single computer in a classroom can be found at this site devoted to integrating technology into instruction. You'll find useful links to lists and various ideas for effectively using and managing that one computer in the classroom as an instructional tool. [|**http://www.edu.pe.ca/bil/**] Developed by educators from Prince Edward Island, Building Information Literacy is an extremely well-crafted site with learning outcomes specified for Grades 1-12. A number of lesson plans for Grades 4-11, complete with web site activities, are available as examples. This site also includes a web-based activity builder. Activity authors need an e-mail address and can access the materials for up to two week for editing. The information may be saved locally as a web page or sent to Prince Edward Island's Department of Education for sharing via the web site. [|**http://cla.ca/slip/english/**] Finally, regardless of where you call home, check out SLIP, the Canadian School Library Information Portal. You will find a wealth of ideas and information on teaching information literacy, best practices for teaching the research process, library management tips, and a number of other topics.