Using the Site Resources

 It's All About Choices!

Through interviews, brainstorming sessions, focus groups, we have over time collected numerous uses for the resources available at our site.  In the process, we discovered that the value of any instructional resource is best determined not by how we imagined it, but by how our users with their unlimited vision and vast needs imagine it. It's really all about choices…the more resources you have at your fingertips, the more choices you have for how to integrate them. The following lists just a few of their choices as they relate to specific resources. 

1.  Using the Bookfolios 
Choose books that correlate with your social studies program: Many of the titles in the Historical Fiction genre correlate with topics included in the social studies curriculum for grades 3 through 8. Use the story summaries to correlate a book's content with your curriculum. Find activities in the bookfolio that will take students beyond the text to investigate related topics in more depth.

Let your student select group activities: If your literature program is designed to have your students work in groups, or literature circles, have each group read the same book. Then give the group a copy of the group activities and let them decide which activity or activities they want to do. There is enough variety to appeal to most students.

Customize activities: If some of your students need more help with directions, use cut and past to copy activities onto your word processor and customize them to meet the specific needs of my students. You might also want to use this to personalize an activity by adding the names of the students in a group project and/or writing a special message to them. 

Write your own comments: The PDF version of the activity has a space that can be used for your evaluation of the student or group's work, or for a message or comment before the student or group begins the activity. You could write your own comment to the student who will be doing the assignment, such as the references that are available, or if it's a group activity you could add the names of the students in the group and their particular responsibility in the group. The activity sheet can be attached to the activity when it is completed.

Collect your favorite Bookfolios: Create binders for the bookfolios you plan to use for future reference. These can be grouped by level, by genre, by curriculum area and be made available to students so they can choose their activities.

Collect multiple-choice questions: You may wish to collect the multiple-choice questions and keep them in a separate binder and then use them as needed. Some of our users have students complete the questions while reading the book, while others may choose to use the questions as a check or quiz.

Look at the genre collection: If your literature curriculum is based on genre, by using several of the titles in a genre, your students will experience the rich breadth and scope of a genre. Many activities will engage students in exploring the elements of the genre as demonstrated by the best authors of that genre. You could also use the titles among the three levels in a genre as a basis for your title selection process when planning your curriculum.

Multiple reading levels: If your students are reading at many levels and you wish to use the genre approach, then choose books in a genre from among the three levels. Let students explore the genre at a variety of levels, from the easy-to-read to the more rigorous level, and compare the differences and similarities.

Add your own activities: There are unlimited ways to look at a book just as there are unlimited activities that stem from a book. Add other activities that have proven to be successful to your bookfolio. Send the activities for our review. We are planning to add user activities to the database. 

Build from the vocabulary starters: Students can use the vocabulary starters to build their own customized collection of new words.

2.  Using the Annotated Reading Lists
Create summer reading lists: Or any reading list. This is a tremendous time saver! In minutes you can select a list of award-winning books and print an annotated reading list that you can hand out to your students. Also, can individualize lists for your students based on topics that match their interests. surely entice them to read books from their own this summer.

Search for the nonfiction titles: Many students prefer to read nonfiction books, especially topics in science or social studies. Using our search tools, you can easily find award-winning nonfiction and use copy and paste functons to incorporate these titles into your own summer reading list. 

Select the favorites from the children's choice awards: You can use the children's choice search tool to find the books that won the most children's choice awards and printed an Annotated Booklist of the top ten for your children's summer reading list. They are excited about reading books their peers have chosen as their favorites.

Use your state's awards program: You may choose to use the children's choice awards titles that were selected by children in your state. Some students may enjoy electing their favorites from this collection. 

Find award-winning picture books: While most people rely heavily on the Caldecott award books list, you might wish to go beyond it and use our search tools to access a wide variety of award-winning picture books. 

Special topics reading lists: If you are looking for titles that meet the needs of special needs groups or individuals, use our search tool to select titles that deal with such topics as physical disabilities, death, home problems, peer relationships, drug abuse,  and     so on, and then refine your search for specific age levels.

Multicultural titles: If you have needs for multicultural titles, then start with the award-winning books. All of the current awards programs that recognize titles that best portray an ethnic group are now in our database.

Use our logo: You may use our logo to identify a classroom that has become a "literature place". Have your students make a large enough version of our logo and place it on the outside of the classroom door for others to see.

Plan a PTA meeting to demonstrate the parent connection:  Invite your parents to a demonstration of the award-winners database so they can see the many options they have as a site visitor. Consider showing the parents all the features. Once they see the many benefits, many parent groups have used their resources to donate a subscription to their children's school.

3.  Using the Bookviews

Conduct a book awards program for your school: Invite your students to participate in their own book awards contest. You can link to numerous award sites through our links and find out how books are nominated and voted upon at a state level. Then modify the process to accommodate a school level awards program. Have your students create their own bookviews and post them where other can see the winners.

Fill your bulletin boards with bookviews: The bookviews make wonderful bulletin boards. For example, if your students are studying colonial times, use our search tools to choose bookviews on that topic and display them on a bulletin board for students to see. You might also collect bookviews on topics in your curriculum, then use them when it's time to order books. 

Use the bookviews for school-wide reading projects or literature circles: If your school is setting aside a period of time for students to read certain titles from the award-winning books database, choose the bookview for each title and arrange them on a bulletin board in the hall, where all students can see them. As each student reads a book, that student's name can be added to the bookview.

4.  Involving Parents

Plan a PTA meeting to demonstrate the parent connection:  Invite your parents to a demonstration of the award-winners database so they can see the many options they have as a site visitor. Consider showing the parents all the features. Once they see the many benefits, many parent groups have used their resources to donate a subscription to their children's school.

Send Annotated Booklists Home:  Parents will appreciate copies of lists that can be used with younger or older siblings.

Create summer reading lists: Or any reading list. This is a tremendous time saver! In minutes you can select a list of award-winning books and print an annotated reading list that you can hand out to your students. Also, can individualize lists for your students based on topics that match their interests. surely entice them to read books from their own this summer.