Digital Collection: AirNow

AIRNOW

Contents: The AirNow website from the Environmental Protection Agency contains maps and data sets related to air quality. Users can search for local air quality conditions by zip code and state. Numerous maps are provided for current and historical data in the United States and Canada. The data is also available through Google Earth.

Classroom Connections: Involve youth in tracking air quality in specific local or national area. Ask students to draw inferences from this data. Use the additional air quality link for additional background information.

Featured Digital Objects:
Air Quality Index in Google Earth - https://goo.gl/9Z4krb
Maps by Location - https://goo.gl/3neC0o

To visit the collection, https://airnow.gov/

Book Review: The Mighty Odd

THE MIGHTY ODD by Amy Ignatow is the first fantasy in the new The Odd Series for middle grades.

After a mysterious bus accident, four children, a teen, and two adults develop strange supernatural powers. This diverse group must work together to solve the mystery of their special abilities.

Librarians will find a following with middle grade students who enjoy humorous stories. The strong female characters and diverse cast adds to the appeal.

This realistic school story has just enough fantasy elements to appeal to science fiction lovers without too much to lose mainstream readers. The author does an exceptional job addressing issues such as bullying and school politics.

Published by Harry N. Abrams on September 13, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Academy of Achievement

ACADEMY OF ACHIEVEMENT

Contents: The Academy of Achievement connects students with extraordinary leaders, visionaries, and pioneers who help to share our world. The collection includes dozens of achievers in the arts, business, public service, science and exploration, sports, and other fields. A biography, profile, and interview is provided for each honoree along with other information such as a photo gallery, quotes, and background information.

Classroom Connections: There are two ways to explore this collection with students. First, students can explore by categories such as arts or public service. Second, they can examine people who reflect six principles including passion, vision, preparation, courage, perseverance, integrity, along with the American Dream. Combine a biography unit with a character education lesson by asking students to compare the people who reflect a particular principle. Use the website along with the biography section of the library.

Featured Digital Objects:
Achiever Gallery - https://goo.gl/Eqbw5A
Keys to Success - https://goo.gl/7AIBXy

To visit the collection, http://www.achievement.org/

Book Review: The Branch

THE BRANCH by Mireille Messier is a heartwarming picture book about a young girl and her neighbor who repurpose a broken branch.

A young girl is devastated when an ice storm snaps a favorite branch off a tree in her yard. After describing her many experiences playing on the branch, her neighbor helps the girl transform the piece of wood into something new.

Librarians will find this multigenerational story of renewal to be filled with learning opportunities. From STEAM projects to library makerspaces, this picture book is a wonderful tool for jumpstarting imagination and creativity.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.mireille.ca/.

Published by Kids Can Press, an imprint of Hachette. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: CLEAN

CLEAN: Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network

Contents: This collection contains 650+ free, ready-to-use resources related to science education. The materials can be searched by key word and refined by resource type, topic, grade level, science literacy principles, or region.

Classroom Connections: The materials in the collection are designed for secondary and college settings. Connect the collection’s materials with the STEM curriculum.

Featured Digital Objects:
The Collection - http://cleanet.org/clean/educational_resources/index.html

To visit the collection, http://cleanet.org.

To explore the teaching resources, go tohttp://cleanet.org/clean/literacy/index.html

Digital Collection: Densho

DENSHO: THE JAPANESE AMERICAN LEGACY PROJECT

Contents: This digital archive includes hundreds of video oral history and 10,000 photographs and historical documents. In addition to the archive, the project also includes additional resources include a timeline, terminology, and

Classroom Connections: Curriculum materials are available that explore key questions related to the Japanese American Internment experience and help teach with primary source documents.

Featured Digital Objects: 
Archives - http://www.densho.org/archives/
Encyclopedia - http://encyclopedia.densho.org/

To visit the collection, go to http://www.densho.org/

To explore the curriculum materials, go to http://www.densho.org/learning-center/.

Digital Collection: The GLOBE Program

THE GLOBE PROGRAM

Contents: This international project contains science data sets that youth can explore using online visualization software. The measurements included in the project date from 1995 to the present. Users can choose from base maps such as the world at night, land surface temperature, and precipitation estimates.

Classroom Connections: Students can make use of the data sets or share their own data. A teacher section contains resources for students, teachers, and citizen scientists from around the world.

Featured Digital Objects:
Visualization - http://vis.globe.gov/GLOBE/
Teacher Resources - http://www.globe.gov/do-globe

To visit the collection, http://www.globe.gov

Book Review: The Light Fantastic

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC by Sarah Combs tells seven interwoven stories during one day.

Told through various perspectives, the story follows the events of a day that involves a series of planned school shootings. Rather than focusing on the violence itself, the story explores the various actions and reactions of the narrators as they experience the events. While the author’s “stream of consciousness” approach will attract some readers, it may annoy others.

Librarians will find this work of contemporary fiction to be of interest to teens who seek out books that describe events through multiple perspectives. A number of recent books have explored the topic of school shooting. However this book presents the topic in an innovative way through the eyes of the planners.

Published by Candlewick Press on September 13, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Case Study Teaching in Science

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

Contents: This project contains a database of active learning techniques focusing on science education. The emphasis is on case studies and problem solving. The collection includes over 645 cases and dozens of science education stories. Users can search by heading, educational level, type, topic, and date.

Classroom Connections: Use this collection to provide teachers with unit and lesson ideas that emphasize active learning techniques. Look for projects that place emphasis on inquiry-based learning and science to library connections.

Featured Digital Objects:
Collections - http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/

To visit the collection, http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/.

Book Review: Every Falling Star

EVERY FALLING STAR by Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland tells the true story of a twelve year old boy growing up on his own in North Korea after his parents are banished then disappear.

The book begins with background information about North Korea and a prologue introducing the story. The memoir describes how the Sungju Lee’s family was banished and how his parents disappeared. The fast-paced story details his life traveling the country in a gang and how he was ultimately reunited with his family. The epilogue does an excellent job completing the story.

Librarians will find that fans of memoir quickly become immersed in Sungju Lee’s life in North Korea. Develop a literature circle of the many teen memoirs available from around the world.

Watch Sungju Lee introduce the book at https://youtu.be/4jaa2sTelk4.

Published by Harry N. Abrams on September 13, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: National Snow & Ice Center

NATIONAL SNOW & ICE CENTER

Contents: This website contains scientific data focusing on glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, permafrost, sea ice, soil moisture, and snow. In addition to data sets, the resource also includes photo collections, maps, and other interesting resources.

Classroom Connections: The data sets in this collections are useful for teaching science concepts along with data literacy. Involve students in examining changes over time and ask them to draw conclusions.

Featured Digital Objects:
Photo Collection - https://goo.gl/4ItvCm
Scientists in the Field - https://goo.gl/YxvwU8
About the Cryosphere - https://goo.gl/bw3fVy

To visit the collection, https://nsidc.org/.

Digital Collection: Dennis Kunkel Microscopy

DENNIS KUNKEL MICROSCOPY

Contents: Award-winning photomicrographer Dennis Kunkel has create a collection of science images as seen through a microscope. The image collection contains over 5,000 scientific, biological and medical subjects. The Zoom-in and Zoomify sections provide the opportunity to zoo in close.

Classroom Connections: This image collection is an engaging way to introduce students to microscopy science. Start by showing students a few photos and ask them to identify the creature. Then, focus on identifying the anatomy of various microscopic creatures. Ask students to select an image and learn more about the creature.

Featured Digital Objects: 
Image Library - https://goo.gl/kMwXBU
Most Wanted Bugs - https://goo.gl/T5wneb

To visit the collection, go to http://education.denniskunkel.com.

Book Review: A Squiggly Story

A SQUIGGLY STORY by Andrew Larsen is a picture book about the art of writing.

A young boy wants to write a story, but he doesn’t know how to write words. When his older sister suggests that he just needs to start with a single letter, the boy’s story begins to take shape. Although his classmates have lots of ideas, the boy soon discovers that it’s his story so he can write whatever he imagines.

Librarians and classroom teachers will find this adorable picture book to be a wonderful way to introduce young children to the creative writing process.

To learn more about the author, go to http://andrewlarsen.ca/.

Published by Kids Can Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Wildscreen Arkive

WILDSCREEN ARKIVE

Contents: This collection contains information about thousands of species from around the world. Users can conduct a search or explore by species, places and topic. In addition to factual information, photos and video are provided for each animal. Users can also explore by conservation status.

Classroom Connections: An educate section contains lots of learning materials organized by grade level. The fun section of the website contains endless activities for kids. Of particular interest is a section on habitats that teachers can use to connect species with the places where they live.

Featured Digital Objects:
Species - http://www.arkive.org/species/
Team WILD game - http://www.arkive.org/education/team-wild
Marine plastics - http://www.arkive.org/c/marine-plastics/

To visit the collection, http://www.arkive.org/

Digital Collections: Walt Whitman Archive

WALT WHITMAN ARCHIVE

Contents: This digital project is intended to bring the works of poet and writer Walt Whitman to the public. It includes the six editions of his major work Leaves of Grass along with other writings, notebooks, letters, articles, and other items.

Classroom Connections: English teachers will find this resource to be useful in exploring the life and works of Walt Whitman. Involve youth in exploring a particular area of the website such as pictures, sounds, editions, or marginalia.

Featured Digital Objects: 
Picture and Sound - https://goo.gl/WSqKkI
Marginalia - https://goo.gl/ROgV91

To visit the collection, go to http://www.whitmanarchive.org/

Book Review: The Graces

THE GRACES by Laure Eve is the first book in a new paranormal series exploring the lives of teen witches.

The Grace siblings Fenrin, Thalia, and Summer are popular. River is the new teen in town and seeks to befriend the Graces. However, her quest for friendship soon becomes an obsession. Multiple twists set the book for a sequel.

Librarians will find that fans of paranormal young adult titles such as Twilight will be drawn into this new series. The somewhat predictable plot and characters aren’t likely to deter fans of this genre.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.laureeve.co.uk/.

Published by Abrams on September 6, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website Review: NBC Learn: Science of Innovation

NBC LEARN is a website contains educational resources for teachers and learners.

The free resources section contains videos and activities on topics related to language arts, humanities, social sciences, stem, innovation, and others.

Topics of particular interest include 20 videos related to the changing planet and a six part series on nanotechnology.

Librarians will find this to be a valuable resource to use with both teachers and students. Consider building a learning center around one of the themes such as the Science of Innovation. This section contains 17 videos exploring the process of innovations with accompanying lessons. Build in books and makerspace activities.

To explore the resources, go tohttp://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/resources.

Digital Collection: Animal Diversity Web

ANIMAL DIVERSITY WEB
University of Michigan

Contents: This animal database including distribution, classification, conservation biology and natural history for thousands of species.

Classroom Connections: This easy-to-use website is perfect for grades 3-12. An app is available for those with handheld devices. Involve students in making comparisons, building life cycle charts, and creating food chain diagrams.

Featured Digital Objects: 
Special Collections - http://animaldiversity.org/collections/

To visit the collection, go to http://animaldiversity.org/.

To explore the teaching materials, go to http://animaldiversity.org/teach/

Book Review: Maxi's Secret

MAXI’S SECRETS by Lynn Plourde tells the story of a boy and his dog dealing with school, bullies, and life.

As a bribe for moving to a new town, Timminy receives a dog that he discovers is deaf. In his new school where his father is the assistant principal, Timminy worries about becoming the target of bullies. However Maxi and blind neighbor help him deal with life in middle school. Each chapter contains an interesting secret that applies to the story as well as life.

Librarians will find this title popular with both middle grade students who enjoy humor as well as dog lovers. With a diverse cast of fascinating characters and age-appropriate humor, this title will be a popular selection. However it’s important to note that like many dog books, it’s a tear-jerker.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.lynnplourde.com/.

Published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing on August 23, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website Review: National Science Digital Library

NATIONAL SCIENCE DIGITAL LIBRARY contains resources related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematic education. Users can search by digital collection, provider, or topic.

Librarians will find a wealth of science resources geared to the STEM curriculum. Mine the collections in this digital library for K-12 resources from government agencies, universities, museums, libraries, nature centers, and nonprofits.

To visit the collection, go to https://nsdl.oercommons.org/.