W.H. Beck » links to look at

Between the Vegan Chocolate and the Persistence Quotations

W.H. Beck — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:04:54 +0000

I’m starting a new book this week. It’s my fourth novel, so you’d think I’d have some things figured out. But no. I’m finding myself kind of overwhelmed and not really sure where to start. How do you do this again?

So when I was looking for book trailers to post to my library blog, I had to laugh at this one, for THE QUIET BOOK by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Renata Liwska. I’m stuck somewhere between the vegan chocolate and the persistence quotations.

Online Games on Food Chains

W.H. Beck — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:03:24 +0000

Just came across some fun links on food chains and animal habitats. We’ve been hearing back about teachers using our Follow That Food Chain books in their classrooms; here are some great games to introduce or reinforce their concepts:

Food Chain Game (put the food chain in order)

Animal Diet Game introduces the terms “herbivores,” “omnivores,” and “carnivores”

Producers, Consumers, Decomposers Game introduces….well, “producers,” “consumers,” and “decomposers” (I hope you saw that one coming. )

What’s Your Secret Site?

W.H. Beck — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:00:50 +0000

Husband and I were talking about this with friends this weekend. Do you have a a place online that you frequent regularly–but that would surprise everyone to know about? (And no, I’m not talking about THOSE kind of websites. I’m a children’s librarian, for heaven’s sake! Please don’t spoil my innocence.)

My website confession was this one: the Wisconsin Almanac. I don’t farm, hunt, fish, or even take care of my yard very well. But every week, I find myself checking in to see how Wisconsin crops are doing (look!: manure hauling was slowed by wet weather last week, but apples and potatoes are in fine shape), what I should be doing to my lawn and garden (fertilizing and planting bulbs), and how the seasons are changing around me (salmon are slowing down, but spiders are active and “ballooning”–remember that scene from Charlotte’s Web?). I don’t do anything with this information each week (as, sadly, my lawn can attest), but I love perusing it and knowing the bigger picture of the world outside my window. And I keep coming back to it every week.

So…what’s your secret site?

Create Your Own Comics…in the Library

W.H. Beck — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:00:37 +0000

Last week when I wrote about The Dunderheads, I forgot to link to some of the other online reviews. One of my favorites is by 100 Scope Notes. Yes, he created a “Toon Review”!

Once I got past my jealousy of not thinking of doing “Toon Reviews” first , I had to check out the site 100 Scope Notes used to create his comics: Bitstrips, http://www.bitstrips.com. It was so very much fun that now I’m thinking of how I can use them in the library with students. Yes, we will probably do our own “Toon Reviews” because I love that idea. But with library orientations looming in front of me, I’ve been thinking about having the older students take a library rule or procedure and create a comic for it. Then we’ll share them with the younger students.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this: a conversation I had yesterday with Colonel Mustard.

Stand By Me

W.H. Beck — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:05:03 +0000

You would think that after 14 years of working in schools I would know that I’m not actually going to get anything done in the library on my teacher work days.

Yes, it’s Labor Day, and I’m heading into work to finish up a few things for my classes tomorrow.

Anyway, one of my favorite things of the first week of school last week was this video, shown in our all-district meeting. It’s from Playing for Change–a documentary where they got street musicians from all over the world to collaborate on the same songs.