Using Britannica with Emergent Bilingual Students

 

I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I have a library intern from TWU this semester. Her background is elementary, but so was mine until I made the leap to high school.  She was really nervous about coming to our library, but she has been here a few times a week since January.  She is definitely getting into the groove with our students.  It has been so much fun.  

Last week was her observation with a high school class.  I picked our Emergent Bilingual students because I have a good relationship with the teachers and the students.  And the classes are pretty small.  Of course the downside are the languages they speak.  The predominant language is Arabic with a few Spanish, Vietnamese, Pashto, Farsi, and Uzbeck speakers as well.  So we decided to do a preliminary research lesson using Britannica.  The library intern and I looked at Britannica and discussed the features we wanted to highlight based on the classes we were going to see.  The 3 main features we settled upon were the reading level, the translate feature, and the dictionary.  Then we decided that we would demonstrate what we wanted them to do using one topic, and then the students could pair up and pick one of 3 topics we gave them.  The intern created the research sheet, and we did some mock lessons the week before the kids came to the library.  On the day of her observation, I conducted the lesson with the first 2 classes, and then we set up her observation for the last class.  Her professor wasn't on campus; we had to set up a laptop where she could Zoom and see everyone.  That was different!

Lourdes (the intern) did a fantastic job.  The kids were super quiet, but they worked like crazy.  They participated, and did everything they were supposed to do. It was great.  I know it was such a relief when she finished since high school is really not in her comfort zone.  Her last day is in early April.  I think we will all miss having her around.  She will be a fantastic librarian.

EBSCO Learning Express

 

This is one of my favorite digital resources we have in our arsenal as high school librarians.  I like it because it opens the doors to unconventional classes that I might not see.  This resource is a test prep resource as well as a college and career prep.  It has almost every test we take in the state of Texas.  There are test preps for all of our EOC exams, the SAT, the PSAT, all of our AP exams, and the TSI test.  Not only does it have practice tests; it also has tutorials, videos, flashcards, and interactive worksheets to help students study.  On the college and career side, this resource has a college finder, a scholarship finder, a skills/interest survey to help one find a career, and a resume builder.  There are also eBooks of all kinds of careers in case you want to know more. This is an amazing resource, and I don't think enough of us promote or use it in the classrooms.

This semester I have worked with 16 AVID classes, 12 English classes, and did some one-on-one training with our AP teachers and Science, Math and ELAR specialists.  In the English classes, the juniors always do a College and Career research project.  So we go into EBSCO so they can take the skills matcher, use the College search, and the Scholarship search.  With the AVID classes, we are all over the place.  I usually show them the EOC materials, the TSI materials, and the AP test materials.  AVID can range from Freshman to Seniors in each class.  The Freshman take the most EOCs, and them some will take the TSI to qualify for dual credit classes the following year, and they could be in AP Human Geography.  With them, I have created a tic-tac-toe menu board.  The teachers like it because this activity can count as a grade, and I like it because it keeps me on track and not shooting off on some tangent the class might not need.  With all that EBSCO has to offer, it is easy to get lost.

(AVID classes with the tic-tac-toe activity)

Again, I cannot say enough good things about this resource.  So much so, that this is the topic of my upcoming presentations for next year.  Stay tuned!

Fourth 6 Weeks Check In

 Here we go again.  It's the end of the 4th Six Weeks, or at least it was on February 12th.  The year is just flying by.  Anyway, here are my library usage statistics for the 4th Six Weeks of school.

I think the most amazing statistic this time around was the number of students who came into the library.  Yes, you are seeing that correctly.  We had 11,736 students come to the library.  In a school of roughly 1800 students, that is astounding.  Now I know why I was tired this time around.  I love that we have repeat customers.  

TCEA 2026

 

TCEA 2026

January 31 - February 4

This year TCEA was in San Antonio.  That is a fun town.  I stayed at the historic Menger Hotel near the Alamo; so I was walking distance from everywhere I needed to go.  As usual, my schedule was jam packed with all of the things I wanted to see and do.  I did manage to squeeze in some time to see my bestie, Sara.  Can't leave SA without that visit!

I used the 31st & the 4th as travel days.  Pam and I presented on Sunday the 1st, and this was my schedule for the rest of the time . . . 

Sunday - Feb 1

• Genially  bit.ly/genially26
  

• Matt Miller  https://ditchthattextbook.com/tcea/
  

• FriED Technology - Adobe https://www.friedonline.com/course/tcea2026 
  

• Selfies & Shelvies https://www.canva.com/design/DAG_qhmBgxs/0aTTSQXURNufE4rtgfBlUw/edit 

Monday - Feb 2

• Reading Renaissance https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1iml1oH9PHqbC-5xOJX0_0iSov4twFJjM0dD0wb5354w/mobilepresent?slide=id.g3bdec81d919_0_0
  
  

• FriED Technology - MagicSchool AI https://www.friedonline.com/course/tcea2026
  
  

• Genially Escape Rooms bit.ly/TEEescapegames
  
  

https://view.genially.com/684ca911eb83f900fec54561/interactive-content-tee-play-an-escape-game 

https://sites.google.com/view/techededu/tcea-2026

• Beyond the Bulletin Boards et al https://www.canva.com/design/DAG-avrD5A4/JDy5F2MRs08bTjkmk8xGkg/view?utm_content=DAG-avrD5A4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=viewer 

Tuesday - Feb 3

• Leslie Fischer https://lesliefisher.com/calendar/tcea
  
  

• Book Creator March Madness (in Book Creator) https://app.bookcreator.com/library/-Ojx7dxi8oarOjMoWKdi
  
  

• Tech Tools Smack Down https://www.canva.com/design/DAG-avrD5A4/JDy5F2MRs08bTjkmk8xGkg/view?utm_content=DAG-avrD5A4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=viewer
  
  

https://padlet.com/j2training/tcea26-smackdown-lcf2wslrezak 

https://app.smore.com/n/ja51t 

• FriED Tech - ELL Tools https://www.friedonline.com/course/tcea2026

This was and always is a great conference.  I made the decision not to go to TLA this year as it is only 3 days long and in Houston.  By the time I get there, I will have one full conference day before I turn around and come home.  In addition, Pam and I are not presenting this year.  So I am going to save my money and look towards next year.  At this conference, Pam, Amy and I talked about maybe teaming up to talk about EBSCO.  It's not a new resource, but I'm not sure everyone understands it's full potential.

Our presentation at TCEA was the same one we did for Region 10, Region 11, and the District 7 meeting.  So by the time we arrived in San Antonio, we were good to go. 

Here is our presentation: Small Steps, Big Impact: Cultivating Community Through Your Library Program, and according to Canva, we have had over 200 visitors click the link to our presentation.  So that is definitely a win!

Tuesday's Tome: Say You'll Remember Me

 

Tuesday's Tome is "Say You'll Remember Me" by Abby Jimenez.  I picked this one out on Libby because it was available and many have recommended this author.  And you can guess from the cover, it is a romance. However, it does include some heavy subjects.  The most triggering for me is the mother with dementia.  So if you are also going through a loved one with dementia, just be warned.

The two main characters, Samantha and Xavier, share a perfect first date on the eve of Samantha's big move to California.  Samantha has decided to move back home to help her family care for her mother who has dementia. While Samantha can work from anywhere as part of a social marketing firm for a mustard company, Xavier, a veterinarian who has opened his own practice, is rooted in place in Minnesota.

So the 2 try to navigate a long distance relationship.  In addition to the distance, Samantha and Xavier are also battling some heavy issues like memory loss of a loved one, family dynamics, loneliness and isolation, along with some childhood trauma.  I know this story seems like a total downer, but somehow Jimenez is able to write about such themes with grace and humor.  There are some definite laugh-out-loud moments.  I have a bunch of female students who request a "sad romance" book all the time.  I, however, prefer happy endings.  "Say You'll Remember Me" is, indeed, a happy book dealing with mature themes, and you will like the ending.

New Year - Last Year's Usage Statistics

 Hello everyone.  Just checking in with my library's latest usage statistics.  These are from the 3rd Six Weeks of school, November 3 - December 18, 2025.

This time around I am most impressed with the number of student visits.  I think that I have talked about this before, but it bears repeating.  Summit is one of the smaller high schools in our district, and our student enrollment is a bit over 1800 students.  So the fact that we clocked in 6,482 visitors during this 6 weeks is exciting.  This number obviously means we have a lot of repeat visitors.  These visitors are actual students coming into the library by themselves either during class, before/after school, or during lunch.  We do not count whole classes in this stat.  Class visits have a whole separate category.  So the number of student visitors let's us know we must be doing something right. 

I received this note from a student today.  She came in the library this morning just to deliver it to me.  It made my day, but also made me laugh since I come to work "almost" every day with a smile on my face.  Truer words have never been spoken.  I'm not sure anyone could come to school every day with a smile on their face, but I do most days because I really love what I do.  So I guess I must be doing something right.

Keep Reading!

Most Popular Books this Semester

 

We have checked out a lot of books this semester.  To be precise, we have checked out 3288 books this semester.  Last year at this time, we had checked out 2652 books.  So I am pretty proud we have increased the amount of books from one year to the next.

In looking at the actual books that have been checked out this year, the graphic novel section is overwhelming the most popular area of the library.  Here is the countdown of the 10 most popular books this semester which started on August 13 and ended today.

10 - Slam Dunk

9 - Shatter Me

8 - Death Note

7 - Big Shot (series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

6 - Assassination Classroom 

5 - Allegedly: a novel 

4 - One of Us is Lying  

3 - Naruto 

2 - Bleach 

1 - Demon Slayer

7 of the 10 listed here are graphic novels. 1 is Science Fiction, and 2 are Mysteries.  It always amazes me when I see Bleach and Naruto among the most popular.  Authors are cranking out manga like crazy; yet these 2 old school series are outlasting some of the newer books.  Then there is the Diary of a Wimpy Kid right there in the mix.  Yes, I teach at a high school, but the nostalgia runs deep. Everyone loves this series.  I even have a few volumes in Spanish and Arabic for our English Language Learners.

To learn more about our top 10 books, click on the links which will take you to a great resource called TeachingBooks.  There you will find a summary of the book, something about the author, book guides, activities & lessons, and sometimes even a book trailer or an audio exerpt.

Whether you are a fan of manga and graphic novels or not, the statistics don't lie.  Our high school students can't get enough of this genre.

Happy Reading!