Blogs on Literacy

In January 2007, I was hired by Springfield Township School District to teach English. One of the first pieces of advice I received was, "Seek out Joyce Valenza." I took this advice and sought out Joyce, the STSD librarian, immediately. Joyce and I collaborated on several lessons and she was always excited to help my class find new ways to approach research and Language Arts.

I want you to reach up and feel the bumps on your head. Let your fingers run along the hills and crevices of your dome; examine the terrain. End your exploration by palming your entire head like a basketball. Now I want you to unzip your skull. I can hear the slow clicking of each metal tooth. And inside your head you won't find a brain, but an eyeball: a large, gooey eyeball pivoting on an elastic tendon. Searching. Looking. Staring. It's your mind's eye. And it depends on you, my writing friend, as to how much that eyeball can see.

Today's guest blogger is Kate Brown, a K-8 Librarian and information literacy advocate. She is also an active participant in Edutopia's Library Media Specialists group. Below is her response to a recent thread entitled "School librarians being cut."

You are busy this summer planning and reworking lessons -- adding, adjusting, and tweaking. Here's something to think about, fast forward to fall: We know students do plenty of listening in our classes, but what about the other three communication skills they should be engaging in and practicing daily?