Written by Sarah Culp Searles Hello TASL! I have a special project I’ve been working on and hope to finish soon, and I’m delighted to have the chance to share a bit about it with you here. As you may know, AASL is gradually releasing six books related to the National School Library Standards called... Continue Reading →
by Brandi Hartsell East TN Librarian of the Month Name: Karen Sliger School: EK Baker Elementary School District: McMinn County Schools Middle TN Librarian of the Month Name: Trevenia Jones Hometown: Burns, TN School: The Discovery School School District: Dickson County Grades Served: K-5 Average # of Students Per Class: 17 What do you love... Continue Reading →
by Jordyn Horner When the school year abruptly ended in March 2020, educators scrambled to find ways to support their students and families from home. Schools across the country compiled resources to share, recorded videos to help with the fear of losing progress, distributed meals and supplies to families, and more. While I was happy... Continue Reading →
by Kelly Messerly I don’t remember the year, but I believe my first TASL Conference was at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg – that circular landmark building on the mountain that was probably built in the seventies. I was a new librarian who was thrilled that traveling across the state, staying in a “fancy”... Continue Reading →
by Jordyn Horner The COVID-19 pandemic has been a rough time for all of us, but it resulted in many wonderful things. Educators and school librarians are needed now more than ever. Classroom teachers adapted their practices in new ways. This year allowed school librarians to officially transform into library media specialists. Before the pandemic,... Continue Reading →
East TN Librarian of the Month Name: Emily Haendel Hometown: Campbellsport, WI School: Halls Middle School District: Knox County Grades Served: 6-8 Average # of Students Per Class: 22 What do you love most about being a school librarian? I love the relationship building aspect of being a school librarian the most. I love that... Continue Reading →
Tennessee students have spoken! The Volunteer State Book Award Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020-2021 VSBAs! Primary Division Winner: Cummings, Troy. Can I Be Your Dog? Random House, 2018. Arfy, a homeless mutt lives in a box in an alley. Arfy writes to every person on Butternut Street about what a... Continue Reading →
East TN Librarian of the Month Name: Cristol Kapp School: Red Bank Elementary School District: Hamilton County Schools Follow Cristol on Twitter @CristolKapp Middle TN Librarian of the Month Name: Erin Alvarado Hometown: Chapel Hill, TN School: LaVergne High School School District: Rutherford County Schools Grades Served: 9-12 Average # of Students per Class: 25... Continue Reading →
by Dr. Ashley Stanley Engaging and motivating students in the elementary library can often be a challenge. One way to do this is to implement learning stations in the K-5 library classroom. Library Learning Stations allow students to work collaboratively or independently on various library skills that support student learning. It takes some creative planning... Continue Reading →
by Kaitlyn Benavides Engaging both traditional and distance students simultaneously in a library lesson has been a challenge! I wanted our library to be accessible to all students and to remain relevant to teachers and students alike, but the idea of providing high quality resources and facilitating hybrid student interaction left me scratching my head.... Continue Reading →
by Rhonda Richards One of my goals for this school year was to begin middle school book clubs as a way to create a community of readers at our school. We began the school year virtually, and I surveyed students about beginning book clubs virtually. They said that they were not interested in virtual book... Continue Reading →
