This b&w GN may be ABOUT a fifth grader, but it's so not FOR a fifth grade reader. It's for my middle and high school peeps who struggle against the giants of loneliness, fear, insecurity and pain everyday and don't feel like they have anyone who will stand by their side and raise a sword.

Alexie won the $15,000 award for War Dances, a collection of short stories about ordinary people on the brink of change, interspersed with poems. From the story of a famous author whose father is dying a "natural Indian death" from alcohol and diabetes, to the tale of a young boy writing for his local newspaper's obituaries pages, judge Al Young - California's poet laureate - called it a "rollicking, bittersweet gem of a book".

Saskatchewan Author on Twitter

One of the richest resources on YouTube is an extraordinary channel named SpokenVerse. It offers 466 readings of great poems in English, from Shakespeare to today. Their reader is a pleasure to listen to. He makes no effort to "perform," but simply and clearly respects the poetry, with understated emotion when necessary. (Roger Ebert)

-watch it all the way through

I've talked to some elementary librarians who are a reluctant to order many graphic novels because they're afraid there aren't any good ones for our younger students. Another issue is whether or not graphic novels are important or useful for our students' literacy development. I'm going to tackle both of these issues here.

"12 Books in 120 Seconds," the first in a series of three panic-stricken videos leading up to THE END. Narrated by the infamous Tim Curry and with music by the Gothic Archies, it threatens to expose you to everything the Baudelaire orphans have suffered so far, in less time than it takes to brush one's teeth

Welcome to our online Electricity theme! It is based on the Provincial Science and Technology Document for Ontario Teachers of Grade 6, and is classified under the strand, "Energy and Control". The following resource has been developed for both teachers and students. It is our intention that these resources will also appeal to schools around the world!

great links to tons of information about fantasy for middle years students

A week's worth of news, rapped. New every Friday.

great info about biomes

Are some of your students finished with the Twilight series and suffering from withdrawal?  Try some of these great supernatural reads with a romantic twist.

Displays made by the library staff at NBCHS

Greater Victoria Regional Library provocative and engaging Freedom to Read Week display.

[the YA books in my libraryare] all appropriately reviewed, of course, and many of them are award winners, some several times over-but when it comes to content, they don't pull any punches. So it shouldn't really come as a surprise that I recently got my first book complaint. As librarians, we tend to talk a lot about intellectual freedom and defending our teens' right to read whatever they want. But when push comes to shove, how do we really respond to book challenges in the heat of the moment?

A webquest created in Jogtheweb - very cool - good links, etc.

online curling magazine

Inspirational!! created and performed by Ocoee Middle School

Filmmaker Neil Diamond casts a critical eye on Hollywood's depiction of native people

NASA eClips™ are short, relevant educational video segments. These videos inspire and engage students, helping them see real world connections. New video segments are produced weekly exploring current applications of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The programs are produced for targeted audiences: K-5, 6-8, 9-12 and the general public.