Week 5 Relection on Readings

I laughed when the reading referred to chess as gaming in the library. That certainly brought back old memories for me. My school still has a chess club that meets after school in the library.

Unfortunately technology has also created a new type of bullying in "cyber-bullies." With such easy Internet access, students are able to make their own websites and say what they want. Perhaps, if there was a better way of monitoring it, the Columbine shootings would not have happened.

What Can I Be When I Grow Up?

This research question is quite different from the others that I researched. There is not one specific answer to it but many. The stock answer that I used to hear was "If you work hard and get good grades, you can be anything you want to be." That answer is also very nebulous and does not give much direction to the person asking. I would try to find what the student is interested in and maybe do an interest inventory before researching online. An interest inventory in carer guidance would broaden, stimulate, and provide a focus to career exploration and stimulate exploration of self in relation to career.

Google Search: www.eric.ed.gov
http://kids.gov

These two sites provide information on different types of careers/fields that student may find interestin.

ThomsonGale Search: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/galenet/c

This site explored different occupations.

Print Source: www.chipublib.org
www.amazon.com

Both of these sites contain an abundance of books on career choices at various reading and interest levels.

Week 4 Readings

It was very enlightening to read the ebrary chapter on assessment. I had heard of theBig Six before but many of the others such as Pathways to Knowledge were new to me. I especially agree with the statement that said teachers do not have the time or resources to search each system or network/sites for their curricular needs. I do think that the school library teacher needs to be an instructional partner with the classroom teacher and they need to join forces on assessment.

Week 4 Readings Reflection

Seeing the librarian as the instructional partner with the teacher has really helped me to understand the role of the library specialist/teacher. As a classroom teacher, I have had many opportunities to do some research projects with my students and our school's library specialist which have all been postive experiences.

I also feel it would be very beneficial to be able to teach an interdisciplinary curriculum. Unfortunately, I am in a departmental situation with rigid time slots. Through the different readings, I have been able to "push" my thinking and am looking forward to using many of these ideas in the new school year.

Why do we have seasons?

Night and day are produced when the earth spins on its axis. The earth moves about the sun in an elliptical orbit that requires about 365 1/4 days to complete. The earth's spin axis is tilted with respect to its orbital plane and this is what causes the seasons. When the axis points away, winter can be expected. On the summer solstice, it points as close as it can to the sun.

So, the changes in the seasons are caused by Earth's movement around the sun. Earth makes one complete revolution about the sun each year. The tilt of the axis, called the obliquity of Earth's axis, determines the season.

Google search:
National Weather Service - NWS Flagstaff
http://www.wrh.noaa.gove/fgz/science/season.php

Thomson Gale search:
Seasons
Gale Encyclopedia of Scies, Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008.
http//find.galegroup.com/srcx/retrieve.do

Print Source search:
Farndon, John; How the Earth Works, p. 19. Readers Digest Association, 1996

Week 3 Reading Reflection

As a classroom teacher, the readings have really been eye opening to me in several areas. It has always been a debate in schools as to who is responsible for what. In my school, classroom teachers are responsible for giving a research grade on the report card in grades 1 to 8. This is always a hazy area and I noted in the reading that it is an "unresolved issue." Is it part of the curriculum taught by the teacher-librarian because the classroom teachers don't have the time? If so, how can I justify giving the grade for research when the grade they receive from the teacher/librarian is merely pass/fail and much of the time based on behavior and not skills. After reading these articles, I see others feel the same way.

How do leaves know when to change color?

In the fall, days start to get much shorter and the nights start to get longer. Plants no longer get the amount of sunlight and water necessary to produce energy so it won't need its leaves or chlorophyll any longer. The plant will then live off its stored energy. The dropping temperature also tells plants it is time as trees prepare for winter. The tree's location on earth also makes a difference because it is not the same everywhere. Warmer places have longer summers and the leaves will change colors later in the year if at all.

Source: Google
http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu
"When do leaves change their color?"

Leaves have 3 main pigments. The green in spring and summer is created by chlorophyll which helps plants create energy. When temperatures drop, the production of chlorophyll stops and the amount present in the leaves begins breaking down into simpler compounds. Then other colors, yellow, orange, red and purple, are unmasked. Trees are tuned in to changes in the length of days, light, and temperature. Environmental changes tell trees when to change colors.

Source: Ebsco
USA Today Magazine; Aug95, Vol. 124, Issue 2603, p14, 1/2p.
"Why do leaves change color?"


In autumn or during a dry season, leaves lose their chlorophyll. As the leaves' green color fades, red, yellow, or orange pigments become visible. Trees adjust to the growing seasons.

Source: Britannica Online School Edition
Elementary School. "Leaf."