Scholastic's Book Wizard

Have you ever been asked to make a reading list for a student? With all of the millions of books out there, it can be a daunting challenge. Scholastic's Book Wizard is a great tool that can help with creating reading lists, in addition to just finding out the level of a particular book.

Go to Scholastic's Book Wizard. There are different ways to search this tool. You can search by grade level equivalency, Lexile, Guided Reading, and DRA. Next, you can refine your search by selecting certain genres, interest levels, subjects and more. You can also perform a Quick Search and search by title, author, or keyword. Each search brings up a list of books. These books are not just published by Scholastic but are by most publishers. If you have created an account, you are able to save your book lists. There are also pre-made books lists that you can access. For example, there is a book list of realistic fiction for K-2 students, or a list called, "If you liked The Hunger Games..." for grades 6-12.

Scholastic's Book Wizard has a lot to offer and can be a great help when you need it. Check it out!

Summer Reading

Before the kids skedaddle into the summer haze, why not send them off with some great reading suggestions? I'm always impressed with the summer reading lists compiled by the HAISLN (Houston Area Independent Schools Library Network). These books are for children and young adults and are both fiction and non-fiction. You can print the lists in PDF format, or view the lists on Issu where you can see pictures of the books' front covers with their descriptions. These are some of the best summer reading lists out there. Thank you, HAISLN!

HAISLN Summer Reading Book Suggestions

OSLIS Citation Maker

Citing sources is a critical step in the research process, even for elementary students. But rather than have students try to copy the confusing format of individual citations, Citation Maker does it for them. After all, the important thing about citing sources is understanding WHY we cite, not having to memorize the oft-difficult HOW we do it.

When students are ready to create a citation, have them choose what type of resource it is (book, magazine, encyclopedia, website, online database, etc.). Citation Maker provides fields in which the students input the important information found in citations. Lastly, the students click Create Citation, and voila! The citation is created and ready for copy/paste into a Word document.

Citation Maker
http://www.oslis.org/resources/cm/mlacitationse

Welcome!

This blog is designed to share and highlight useful sites, tools, and resources for 21st century elementary school libraries and media centers. Whether you are new to the profession or a veteran of many years, my hope is that you will find something helpful for you and your students. I welcome any suggestions of items to share as well as comments to make it better!