Mme Singh's Learning Commons Connection!

This is the lesson I created to teach junior students how to critically evaluate the information they find on the web. There are strategies and good questions they can use to help them judge the validity of their websites and videos. 

Check out this Prezi to find out what I would do to help literacy love in my school!

Imagine walking into a space filled with books, fiction, non-fiction, comics, manga, How To Guides, only pictures, only words, computers, tablets, discussion tables, Chromebooks, people, happiness, passion, fantasy, adventure, mystery, the unknown, the oh so familiar. Everything you can imagine, and more. All of this can be found in your school library! 

Literacy, technology, and instructional design; these are the goals Teacher Librarians have for the Learning Commons at their school. Imagine the possibilities... 

Check out my brainstorm for launching this virtual way of working! 

Check out my Popplet to find out what I plan on doing!

Don’t you just love when you’re reading a book, and you get so lost in the story, that you look up, and all of a sudden you’re in a forest, looking into a deep blue lake, and you’ve forgotten all about the world around you... yeah, me too. 

One of our most popular databases for primary students. They love that the information is sectioned by theme and subject! 

What does it mean for a classroom or school to "go Google"? Learn all about Chromebooks, Google Apps for Education and Tablets with Google Play for Education and how together these powerful tools can transform teaching and learning.

The school library provides information and ideas that are fundamental to functioning successfully in today’s information and knowledge-based society. The school library equips students with life-long learning skills and develops the imagination, enabling them to live as responsible citizens.

Embrace the world that gets built while you’re reading! Read in any form; use a tablet, a hardcover book, or even an audio book! 

The library in my school is truly a hub where learning begins, and jumps out into the rest of the school. Our TL tries really hard to create a space that is inviting and friendly. She works well with other teachers, and is amazing at collaborating for curriculum needs and coteaching. I love going to the library to learn with her, and I am often found trailing her around the space, watching her work with students, and helping her shelve books. Students feel comfortable coming to her with questions, and there is no hesitation when they ask her for suggestions of what to read next, both in French and in English!

(Klinger, D.A.; Lee, E.A.; Stephenson, G.; Deluca, C.; Luu, K. “Exemplary School Libraries in Ontario.” Ontario Library Association. Toronto, 2009.)

Why should you use the library's databases for your research when you can just use Google? You'll get better results! 

A commonly used database for research among intermediate students. 

We can develop tools and tips to help with the use of the relevant databases, as well as bibliographic tools to help narrow research within the library.

Chromebooks are already a technology that we have begun to use in our Learning Commons. The current TL and I have been working collaboratively to create projects for my fifth grade class. This year we will focus on using both the databases and the Chromebooks to launch inquiry research projects! I am most excited!