Between the
Bookends
12/2013
Fun Winter Facts
In Winter, days are shortest and the nights are longest.
No two snow flakes are alike but all snowflakes have 6 sides.
Give Yourself A Gift,
Take A Break from the
Hustle and Bustle and
Relax with A Good Book
The record for the most snow angels at one time was set in Ontario Canada in 2004 when a couple of schools joined to create
15,851 snow angels.
Antarctica set the record for the worlds coldest temperature at 129(degrees Fahrenheit)
Average snowflakes fall at 3.1mph.
Ice is a considered a mineral.
60% of the Earth's fresh water is stored in the polar ice caps.
The tallest snowman was 113 feet 7 inches tall. Named Angus
and made in Bethel Maine in 1999.
Click on the link to view
Animoto promotional video. Learn
how to create your own videos at our
December meeting.
The largest snowflake recorded in the Guinness World Book of
Records fell in Montana and was 15 wide.
The all-time world record for the largest snowfall in a single day
was set in the United States on December 4, 1913, when
Georgetown, Colorado received a staggering 63 inches of snow –
more than five feet.
Winter Blues or Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is
a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year.
Monthly MVUSD Circulations
Chionophobia is the fear of snow.
Hibernation or reduced metabolic activity is common in Winter.
This Month: 35,547
This Year 162,129
Total: 366,509
See Attachment for details
In 1607-08, Londoners held their first frost fair on the frozenover River Thames.
Spotlight:
EBSCO Databases/Promotional Items
Help promote the EBSCO databases at your schools.
All the buttons, pictures, flyers, etc. can be customized
for your site and placed on your web page, printed and
distributed from the library or classroom. Please note—
they all say “See Librarian for details” so be aware.
User names and passwords are school sites and mascots.
Teachers and administrators will find the Professional
Development collection valuable in supporting PLC and
Common Core activities.
Professional Development Collection
Professional Development Collection, designed for
professional educators, provides a highly specialized
collection of nearly 520 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles.
This database also contains more than 200 educational reports. In addition to full text, indexing and
abstracts are provided for more than 700 journals.
Examples of titles offered in Professional Development Collection include: Booklist, Curriculum Administrator, Education, Education Digest, Educational Leadership, High School Journal, Journal of
Education, Journal of Educational Research, Phi
Delta Kappan, Reading Teacher, School Library
Journal, and many others. The majority of full text
titles included in the database are available in native
(searchable) PDF, or scanned-in-color. Full text information in the Professional Development Collection dates as far back as 1965.
EBSCO is now functioning in
One Search /Destiny Quest
Click Here to access
all the files for
downloading the
documents.
Subscription Database vs. Free Web
Digging Deeper / Common Core / Acquisitions
Two offerings delve more deeply into specific topics while shining light on how scientists
evaluate fossil evidence to draw conclusions, new technologies used in research, and the
fact that paleontology remains an ever-evolving field. In Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled
(Houghton Harcourt, 2013; Gr 5-8), Catherine Thimmesh takes on the question, “how do
we know what dinosaurs really looked like?” Featuring commentary and artwork from renowned experts, this fascinating book describes how paleoartists piece together information
gleaned from fossils, plant studies, geological studies, and other scientific evidence, and
knowledge of comparative anatomy and animal behavior, to create “the most accurate representation possible.” A bit of history is provided, and the text shows how earlier depictions
have been rendered obsolete by new scientific findings. Also tackled are subjects such as
how artists reconstruct skulls, determine muscle size, render facial expression, settle on skin texture, and make their best guesses about coloration (though color does not get preserved in fossils, new technologies may eventually provide more info). The
text is genially readable, with an irresistible enthusiasm for the topic that invites youngsters to jump into the field and make
their own discoveries. The striking paintings reflect each artist’s style as well as their knowledge of science and provide varying
visions of the long-ago world..
Christopher Sloan’s Tracking Tyrannosaurs (National Geographic, 2013; Gr 5-8) introduces not only
the famed tyrant lizard king but also the amazingly diverse members of its extended family. Recent
fossil findings reveal a variety of species sporting “large crests, long snouts, and horny faces” (and even
an unusually gigantic feathered beast found in China in 2011), indicating that tyrannosaurs did not
simply “evolve in a straight line from small to large” as believed and are closely connected to birds.
Double-page spreads introduce assorted species by describing physical attributes and behavior, habitat,
and where and how they were found. A final chapter covers how scientists use CT scans, computer
modeling and biomechanics, and microbiology techniques and powerful microscopes to study dinosaurs. Handsome paintings by Xing Lida and Liu Yi reveal an array of razor-toothed cousins adorned
with scales and/or feathers, mostly stalking or feasting upon prey. Helpful family-tree visuals are presented, and charts show each species’ size in comparison to both a T. rex and a human. Interesting photos include a model of a T. rex skull chomping and smashing an ostrich bone, and CT scan of the real thing.
Have students compare and contrast these two texts. Kids can extract key details to describe how reconstructed images are created and utilized to convey information and speculate about the past. How do paleontologists work and how is their research
conducted? What are the latest developments and technologies used in searching for and fossils and extracting their hidden secrets?
The Common Core State Standards below are a sampling of those references in the above books
and classroom activities:
RI. 1.9 Identify basic similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
W. 1.2 Write information/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic,
and prove some sense of closure.
RI. 2.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI. 2.6 Identify the main topic of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
W. 2.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects.
RI. 3.5 Use text features and search tools to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
SL. 1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud….
SL. 3.2 Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in
diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
RI. 3.7 Use information gained from illustrations…and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding
of the text.
RI. 5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic to wrote or speak about the subject
knowledgeably.
W 5.3 Write narrative to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
W 5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation
of different aspects of a topic
Inquiry and Integration Across the Curriculum
By Myra Zarnowski and Mary Ann Cappiello on November 9, 2013
A major goal of social studies instruction is to create engaged citizens capable of making informed and reasoned decisions
for the public good. More recently, the idea of global citizenry has come under discussion in classrooms across the county.
This month we consider one example of active citizenship by focusing on the life of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari
Maathai.
Dr. Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) is known for her extraordinary work as an environmentalist, political activist, and supporter of women’s rights. To achieve her environmental goals, she founded the Green Belt Movement, a campaign that expanded
beyond her native Kenya to other African nations. Her extensive grassroots projects to combat deforestation earned her the
name Mama Miti, or “the mother of trees.” As a member of the Kenya’s Parliament, she worked to promote voter registration and constitutional reform. Her efforts to support sustainable development, democracy, and peace earned her a Nobel
Peace Prize in 2004.
The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards emphasizes the use of compelling
questions to promote inquiry. By drawing on the core disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and history, the framework helps educators introduce their students to the disciplinary perspectives needed to pursue inquiry in the social studies.
Suggested performance indicators for each discipline guide us in shaping this approach. This framework also points to the
many connections to Common Core State Standards in the language arts and literacy.
Inquiry and Integration
Topic/Essential Question: Why is Wangari Maathai considered a global citizen?
Grade Span: Grade 3-4
Disciplinary Lens:
Do you have any of
these titles in your
library?

Civics: In order to act responsibly, citizens must learn the rules by which groups of people make decisions, govern themselves, and address public problems.
 Economics: Economic decision-making involves making choices about how to use scarce resources to maximize the
well-being of individuals and society.
History: An understanding of history requires an understanding the process of change and continuity over time.
Performance Standards:
The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards:
 D2.Civ.6.3-5. Describe the ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including
through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families.
 D2.Eco.1.3-5. Compare the benefits and costs of individual choices.
 D2.Eco.2.3-5. Identify positive and negative incentives that influence decisions people make.
D2.His.3.305. Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities.
Common Core State Standards: (corestandards.org)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1-4.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis
for the answers.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.2-4.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support
the main idea.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2-4.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.2-4.2 Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Inside Stories About Memorable Books
Maria Modugno, editorial director, picture books,
Random House Children’s Publishing
They say you always remember your first…
I had just arrived as a newly minted editor at the
San Diego offices of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
and was faced with the daunting task of publishing
the first list of children’s books from the West
Coast. During my last week in New York, I had
met an artist who told me he lived in Santa Barbara
and was interested in illustrating picture books.
“Look me up if you’re ever in town,” I said casually, trying on my new laid-back California style.
Much to my surprise, he showed up in my office
with several book dummies that he had collaborated on with his wife. “I like to think of picture
books as my own portable art gallery,” he said as
he showed me his work.
His paintings were unlike anything I’d seen before
in picture books. At the same meeting, I fell in love
with a word-perfect manuscript his wife wrote, a
gently rhyming text with an
ending that made me laugh.
“I’d like to see this text illustrated in this art style,” I said,
hoping it was okay to take
what I had been shown and
mix it up a bit.
A new dummy for The Napping House by Audrey
Wood, illustrated by Don Wood, arrived a few
weeks later, and our art director Rubin Pfeffer enthusiastically endorsed my find. Maybe this editor
thing is going to be easier than I expected, I
thought. If only!
Register now!
Beverly Horowitz, v-p and publisher, Delacorte
Press, Random House Children's Books
I believe that one of the deep purposes of reading fic-
tion is to sustain a sense of
connectedness. Delacorte
published The Sisterhood
of the Traveling Pants on
September 11, 2001. I remember that the year before, when the project arrived, we were instantly
riveted by Ann Brashares’s
beautiful prose and unforgettable characters. We
knew we wanted this novel
and that it would make a
difference for young women. In The Sisterhood, readers find the stories of four
young women who have grown up together. They
formed a tight bond long before they find the pants at
a thrift store. Certainly pants that fit and flatter very
different body types and seem magical is a fabulous
story element, but the book is not just about that.
I think The Sisterhood resonates so strongly because
it depicts young women who actually like each other—sadly, a rarity in media for and about this demographic. The book eschews the competitiveness and
cattiness so often ascribed to young women, and
shows them the way I have always experienced them
to be: generous, funny, confused, raw, and looking
for support. The girls of the Sisterhood lead independent, sometimes lonely lives that summer they
spend apart, but they’re buoyed by their love for one
another. Each has inner strength, and although they
sometimes make bad decisions, they grow from their
mistakes.
Every few years we might change the cover art or font,
but the novel’s universal appeal never changes. The book
finds a new audience and is reread by those who love it
and always will. I am proud to be part of the Sisterhood now and forever.