Why I became a Librarian!

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Lib Guide: International Women's Issues

This is part of my Lib Guide on International Women's Day. Click on links in the image to view interesting websites relating to the topic. Go to Brenda's Lib Guide on International Women's Issues to view more.

Romance, War, and What We Learn!

Romance and War, Can they Exist in the Same Place?

Students will explore World War II, the music, and how it affected romance and the lives they left behind.

Click on the above poster and explore the many websites that will provide interesting and relevant information for this project.

If we have heard it once, we have heard it a thousand times from kids, “why do we have to learn this?” and despite our reluctance to answer, we know that it is a great question that sometimes we don’t have the answer to give.   The shift from content based teaching to guided inquiry learning may be one of the best motivating factors that have developed in the field of education.  As educators embrace the shift from a teacher-center lecture to a “community of learners,” and assignments are built around the interests of students, we will observe the change from the doldrums of content material to “schools that provide healthy inquiry communities where interaction is dynamic and challenging gradually build a broad range of social skills.”  (Kuhlthau  11).  Tapping into the social skills of students and incorporating them into the learning process will bring meaning and motivation to their learning endeavors.

During his collaboration with Mrs. History, the school librarian took one look at her lesson on World War II and had a brilliant idea for stirring it up and making it more interesting for the students.   In an article, he recently read by Sherry Crow, she stated, “When students help design their own projects, have input and choice in the topic, and are encouraged to ask their own questions as they investigate they are more willing to and interested and they may learn more too.” (Crow, 50).   He decided to test this idea as he witnessed the doldrums that came with the assignment in the past, and knew that any subject could have a hook to capture the interest of a student.  It was just a matter of what that hook would be.

The two of them set established a time for Mrs. History to bring in her tenth graders.  They had read about World War II in their history books as part of the World Cultures curriculum, so they had background knowledge, but what Mr. Bookweb decided to do this time was to get to the emotion of the era, to hit the teenagers in their hearts. He selected several videos that he found on the Internet of songs from the era. 


Songs with corny names and lyrics, like “ Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else but Me,” and “I’ll be Seeing you in all the old Familiar Places, “ and printed out the lyrics.  
On the page, he placed the following statistics,  416,800 American military personnel were killed in World War II, and in a group discussion, he asked the students to write down what they felt after hearing these songs, what were they about, how did the loss of almost a ½ million American men effect the economic and society after the war?  He asked the students to pick a song from the list, and reflect on the role love played in sending young men off to fight a war and how the girlfriends and wives of these soldiers were forced to cope in a world turned upside down.  He asked them how they would feel if they had to go to a war overseas tomorrow and leave behind their girlfriends, boyfriends, moms, dads, and family members.  He asked them to generate some thoughtful and meaningful questions that these emotions stirred up the idea of war and going to war.

As part of their research project, students will examine the society of the United States during and after the war, and choose several  songs from the era, compare and contrast the message behind the songs.  What are they singing about? Why are they singing?  How do you feel when you listen to these  songs?  Is the message still moving?  How do they compare to the music you listen to? Are the themes different or the same?

Romance.  Soldiers went off to war, and their girlfriends or newly married brides stayed home. What was life like for the soldiers?  What was life like for the women they left behind?  What was life like when they returned home?  Does romance play a role in war? 

The Assignment:   World War II:  Here’s looking at you, kid?

Beautiful clothes, horrible villains, romantic music, and romance.   All the elements of a great movie or a terrific book, but this was real life for 132 million Americans in 1941.  

In her article, Ms. Crow discussed that students may not completely understand how to do a project, and it is through instructional support , such as scaffolding techniques, adult guidance, peer collaboration that the gap between what a student is capable of doing can be closed as he gains confidence and knowledge in completion of the process.  Mr. Bookweb will use scaffolding techniques such as the K-W-L  graphic organizer to determine what students know/feel  about love, about war, and guide them toward learning how the casualties of World War II had an effect on romance and life in the American society.  While tapping into two things, teenagers are passionate about, music and romance, the librarian and teacher  of this course through scaffolding and guidance can provide a motivation to learn more about the era to complete a project of their choice that will showcase their understanding of the problem and the outcomes of war.

Works Cited

Crow, Sherry R. "Information Literacy: What’s Motivation Got to Do with It?”  35:4 (2007) Knowledge Quest. Web. 24 Jun 2013.

Kuhlthau, Carol C., Leslie K. Maniotes and Ann K. Caspari. Guided Inquiry; Learning in the 21st Century. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2012. Print.

Best comment ever from Dr. Sara Johns to me

"You have contributed so much to this topic! Thanks! Your personal experiences help others have confidence that they need. This statement is empowering"

Sara Johns, Instructor of Instruction Collaboration, MU 5501, Mansfield University to me on a class assignment.

My comment on collaboration:  

As teachers are exposed to the many ideas, tools, concepts, projects available to them, and if they are provided with a colleague willing to guide them, assist them, work with them, I think they would be willing to venture into unknown territority, broaden their horizon, shake it up a little to keep it interesting. 

" It should be cross-stitched above your desk, lots of desks!"

How Children Should be Supported by Brenda McPherson-Fry

Dear Mrs. G --

Remember when I was in high school, and I was in your honors English class with all of the top students, and sadly you had a drinking problem, was burnout, and we played Jeopardy instead of doing anything substantial in your class. I remember sitting there reading Of Human Bondage because I felt so disconnected. I remember coming back to high school to visit and running into you, and I said, “I really wish you had taught us how to do a research paper.” I had experienced something that many kids do. I was in the top 10 of my class, not the top 10%, but one of the top 10 students, and I get to Temple University on a scholarship and I do not have a clue how to write a term paper. I know it was not completely your fault, but you let me down

Honestly, I do not remember anyone ever teaching me how to do a research paper. My 8th grade Science teacher came as close as I can remember. He broke us into groups, gave us a topic, told us to write note cards, a paper, and prepare an oral presentation. The part about getting up in front of the class terrified me and that is why to this day I remember it clearly. The subject was fossils, and I had note cards. I wrote a paper. I do not remember much about the topic and I certainly do not think I acquired very many skills from it. We did go into the IMC (Instructional Media Center) and we used print sources, probably just books on the topic.

There was no journey. There was no other path to follow. We were given a topic, sent to the library, asked to take notes, share the information with each other, and then write the paper.

The initial reaction was concern, dread, fear, uncertainty. I felt confused, unable to define the topic, and I do not believe I had enough background knowledge to develop interesting or reasonable questions on the broad topic or specific one. After reading a few things on the subject matter, I probably felt a little more reassured, a little more equipped to tackle the problem, and we divided the topic among the four of us, and I remember feeling a sense of relief when the presentation was over and disappointment when I only received a B for it, but chalked it up to my lack of interest in anything scientific.

• There is a better way to teach children how to do research.
• First, make it interesting. Give them a framework help ease the emotional anxiety and stress of researching.
• Teach them the skills, you won't tell them to bake a cake without giving them a recipe.

 Information Search Process as developed by Carol Kuhlthau

• Stage 1: Task Initiation: Students prepare to select a topic.

Strategies: Brainstorm, Discuss and consult with team members on topics
Actions: Provide a resource lists for print materials, on-line database articles, and allow them to discuss with each other and with the teachers their concerns, interests, and initial findings.

• Stage 2: Topic Selection: Students narrow down and decide on a topic for research.

Actions: Repeat of stage 1 with an emphasis on selecting a topic.
Feelings: Discuss with the students their feelings of confusion and anxiety. Reassure them that these are natural feelings and that as they make their selection and narrow their focus they will lessen.

• Stage 3 & 4: Exploration: Students investigate a topic by locating relevant information, reading material they have researched, taking notes, jotting down facts, and recording ideas while be sure to write down citations.

Feelings: As the students move through the two-step exploration process, their confidence and positive attitude toward the assignment will increase as they acquire the knowledge to construct the research assignment. Teacher and librarian provide positive feedback and words of encouragement and assist students when they reach a hurdle.

• Stage 5: Information Collection: Students gather, define, extend and focus their efforts on collecting and evaluating the information.

Strategies: Use available library resources: indexes, printed materials, on-line database, and the librarian to gather and collect needed information, facts, expert opinions, and ideas on the subject chosen.

Feelings: Focus on increased interest. Librarian provides more guidance and assistance with discovering and finding more sources as students ask more meaningful questions.

• Stage 6: Search Closure: Students conclude their research project by rechecking sources, confirming the information, and citations.

Feelings: At the conclusion of any assignment, most students feel relieved regardless of the outcome. They may or may not be satisfied with their work, but because most academic work has a deadline, they are forced to hand in the completed project. Hopefully, by going through the Information Search Process a student experiences confidence in her ability to deliver a well developed research project.

The information may literally be at your fingertips, but you need to learn how to process the information and make it meaningful. It starts in Kindergarten and the learning process continues until the 12th grade, so when you go to college, become a citizen of the world, get a job, use your smart phone, ask questions, wonder about the world, you will have the skills and the tools to make your journey a life-long learning experience.

Thanks, Mrs. G, for giving me the reason to make a difference.

More information can be founded at: 
Kuhlthau, Carol C., Information Search Process, Rutgers Unviersity School of Communication and Information. Web. 5 July, 2012 <http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/information_search_process.htm>