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In July, 2011, the AASL Board approved the Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels. The AASL position statement defines standard directional spine labels and compares them to reading level labels (associated with computerized reading programs) as they are often applied in school libraries. The statement also offers suggestions for concerned librarians to be aware not only of the possible negative effects of these  labels on children as they browse, but also offers suggestions for voicing those concerns. There are proponents and opponents to how computerized reading programs are implemented in schools and their effects on school library collections and students' free access to books of their choice.  A school librarian (name withheld) shares this story of how labels affect students' choices in her school. "Recently I helped a student who came to me while his class was in the library browsing. As the librarian of a middle school library, I often see situations such as this one. The boy had been most recently reading about George Washington and Ben Franklin. His class assignment that day was to checkout two computerized reading program books within his tested reading level and thus was "allowed" only one free choice book. "But I'd rather not have to check out labeled books and there are some books I'd like today that don't have the dots or reading level labels on the backs of the books. Does that mean Ican't check them out?" he asks me. The boy went on to say that he'd rather be allowed to check out three books on his favorite non-fiction topics, regardless of reading level. As he expresses his frustration, he lowers his voice and moves toward a corner of the library where there are no other students. "I'm a pretty good reader," he said quietly, "and I really like reading about the American Revolution. But I have to stay within a certain range. I can't find many books in my reading level that are really interest

WebCHECK Professional, designed for educators and Web designers to use for (1) assessing the quality of Web sites used for assignments and learning activities and (2) determining how to improve the quality of locally-designed personal, classroom, library and/or school Websites. · WebCHECK Senior, designed for high school students (grades 9-12) · WebCHECK Middle, designed for middle school students (grade 5-8) · WebCHECK Junior, designed for elementary school students (grades 2-4) · WebCHECK for Facilitors, designed for K-12 educators, administrators and higher education faculty to use when assigning a single Web site to be evaluated by groups or classes of students or by educators in an in-service or professional development workshop. What makes WebCHECK unique: · based on a foundation of instructional design and motivation theory. · available online, fully automated, and free. · both fun and easy-to-use. · a powerful instructional and learning tool. · generates a full evaluation report to share results with teachers, administrators, students, parents, etc. · uses graphs for visual representation of scores and text for details and interpretations. · On the WebCHECK Web site, you will find all of the instruments, as well as more than 30 lesson plans, designed by school librarians nationwide, that incorporate WebCHECK at various levels and subject areas.

Jennifer Bromman-Bender, librarian at Lincoln-Way West High School (New Lenox, IL) and author of several books on booktalking, including R&L's Booktalking Nonfiction: 200 Sure-Fire Winners for Middle and High School Readers (2013), spoke about how to present nonfiction books to middle- and high-school students. She also gave a presentation of some of her most popular booktalks. Katie Mediatore Stover of the Kansas City (MO) Public Library (and author of several ALA Editions RA titles) was up next, with a ton of practical advice on how to booktalk informally-while in the stacks, or out in the community. She also discussed how to pull out the best elements of a book in order to sell it to a reader. Kaite incorporated a lot of RA tips (talking about tone, mood, warning the reader what to expect) on how to do what she calls a "bookmercial." Becky Spratford, author of ALA Edition's Readers Advisory Guide to Horror (2012) and librarian at the Berwyn (IL) Public Library, gave advice on how to get your staff comfortable with booktalking, and why booktalking is so important. Becky then finished up with a selection of her favorite horror books for booktalking.

The end of the school year can be a nervous time for students, especially those that will be making the jump into elementary school, middle school, high school or college next fall. These transitioning students are left with a variety of questions -- from curiosities about academic rigor to managing a social life and coursework, to worries about using a combination lock. (It took me more than a couple tries.) Fortunately, there are plenty of resources on the Web that offer useful information for all stakeholders -- parents, students, educators and administrators -- that will help ensure successful transition. Here are a few for each major stepping stone in the K-12 pipeline.

"Share your main library websites: elementary, middle school and high school examples and please also share specific examples of effective practice in the following areas: * Reports * Book and Reading Promotion * Digital Storytelling * Inquiry/Information Fluency Instruction * Digital Citizenship * Pathfinders * Presentations/Speeches/Online Instruction Please also add your names to our lists of SchoolLibraryBloggers and SchoolLibraryTweeters and consider linking us to your best presentations "

Oregon Middle School Library's tutorial video collection.

Excellent infographic and list of what a Teacher Librarian does.

"If you need to design a unit or a course for teaching information fluency, here is a suggested sequence of course activities for middle school and high school (the Basic Course may be adaptedfor grades 4 and 5, described below). As you can see in the tables below, we've structured Basic and Intermediate courses around a series of individual study MicroModules and hands-on Flash challenges. As more activities go online, new options will become available and this list will be updated. Use our list of core competencies to choose activities. "

"Dance in science, pop art in Spanish, or photography in math -- there's no end to the ways arts can be integrated into other curricula. Educators from Bates Middle School, in Annapolis, Maryland, share arts-integrated lessons and resources that you can use in your school."

Elementary, middle, and high school research manuals.

JogNog, a website that provides competitive learning games that motivate students in grades 2-12 to learn, has opened up its library of elementary and middle school content to teachers who want to create games that match their specific lesson plans.

Good infographic to use with Middle School students

clever and creative website for book fair at a middle school - with book trailers and lots of web2.0 tools used

by Kathy Adams, Lee County, Florida

Activities and posters suitable for Junior - Middle School students.

Great book reviews.