Interesting math resource

Iridescent beetles, LEGO gunships, gnomes in peril—math has never been more fun. That’s the point of Math Pickle, a site that employs these and other kid-friendly elements to teach mathematical concepts through creative problem-solving rather than worksheets. Spanning grades K–12, the site offers video clips, including one demonstrating the math structures in the picture book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. And curricular puzzle books featuring beautiful bugs are available for download in Powerpoint, PDF, and Keynote formats. (from The School Library Journal website)

To visit Math Pickle, click here.

School Library Journal rocks

School Library Journal, is the leading print magazine, and now SLJ.com serving librarians who work with young people in schools and public libraries. The two resources give librarians up-to-date information needed to integrate libraries into the school curriculum, become leaders in the areas of technology, reading, and information literacy, and create high-quality collections for children and young adults.

If you think School Library Journal is just for librarians, think again. The journal's website includes blogs, book reviews....a staggering number of resources to keep you reading. Click here to learn more.  Click here to explore the section on adult books for teens.

Free voluntary reading: possibly the best way to improve reading

Free voluntary reading (FVR) is not only conducive to reading motivation, it actually works better than direct instruction. Fifty-one out of 54 students using FVR did as well or better on reading tests than students given traditional skill-based reading instruction (Krashen, 2004). In fact, young people who read have better comprehension, research tells us, and they write better, spell better, improve their grammar, and increase their vocabulary. (Carol Gordon at School Library Journal)

Here is the citation for the article referenced in the above excerpt:
Krashen, S. D. (2004). The power of reading: Insights from the research. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited Inc.