Ella has been the high school librarian at Amherst Regional High School since 2018. Her primary goal as a library teacher is to instill in all her students that libraries are spaces for them and to provide them with the knowledge and skills to be confident and committed lifelong library... Read More →
Monday March 3, 2025 8:00am - 8:15am EST
Ballroom (Tiffany)Four Points by Sheraton Norwood
Students often say, “I like books with photos because then I know it’s real,” but most high-quality nonfiction picture books feature illustrated artwork. Learn how to enhance read alouds by sharing photos. Then discover how giving students access to a range of still and moving images can help them craft more engaging and precise informational writing.
Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 180 nonfiction books for children, including Seashells: More than a Home, Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs, and Can an Aardvark Bark. She is the co-author, with Nancy Chesley, of Perfect Pairs... Read More →
Monday March 3, 2025 9:30am - 10:20am EST
Room 108/109Four Points by Sheraton Norwood
Research with the littles - it can be more than another animal report! Come hear about how I've tackled information literacy with our youngest learners. Come learn from my successes, as well as my failures!
No more blame and shame; let's get curious about teens and screens. We'll discuss mental health, sleep, distraction, the importance of boredom, and how we can help kids and teens have more TRUE FUN by looking at 8th grade survey data. Participants will brainstorm strategies they can take back to their own school communities to start productive conversations with students around screen time, social media, and more.
Laura Gardner, a National Board Certified Teacher in Library Media, is Teacher Librarian at Dartmouth Middle School in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Laura was awarded the School Library Journal (SLJ) School Librarian of the Year Co-finalist Award in 2016 and the AASL Reader Leader social... Read More →
Ella has been the high school librarian at Amherst Regional High School since 2018. Her primary goal as a library teacher is to instill in all her students that libraries are spaces for them and to provide them with the knowledge and skills to be confident and committed lifelong library... Read More →
Monday March 3, 2025 9:30am - 10:20am EST
Room 104Four Points by Sheraton Norwood
How can you Increase your reach and impact? In this session you'll learn about marketing library services to students, teachers, administrators and curriculum coordinators through direct marketing, co-teaching, co-planning, special programs like author talks and holidays, and perhaps a little bribery on the side! I'm planning to divide it into four sections: Strategies for direct marketing to students, strategies for marketing collaborations with teachers (read along lists, curated resources, co-teaching, etc), how to get support for collaboration with/from curriculum coordinators, and getting support from administrators.
No food in this room please! Want to catch up with a friend or have a spot to meet? This space is for you! Not interested in having lunch but you want to sit and chat with other? Stop in!
Monday March 3, 2025 9:30am - 3:30pm EST
Room 106Four Points by Sheraton Norwood
In this session, participants will learn about implementing a One School, One Story program, as well as the challenges and triumphs that such a program can offer. Participants will be invited to share their own experiences and brainstorm ways such a program can provide equitable access to materials and build a stronger community. Benefit from all I have learned and bring your ideas back to your own school library!
Students at the middle and high school levels are required to participate in a student-led civic engagement project. This important learning experience should not be shouldered by the social studies teacher alone! Librarians play a crucial role in helping prepare students for responsible citizenship. Learn about the experience of a school librarian on the team that created PD for MA educators responsible for facilitating the civic engagement project, and what you can do at your school.
Join an elementary Library Teacher, a Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, and a Science Curriculum Coordinator as we share how we completely revamped two traditional units: the first grade National Symbols unit and the second grade Rocks, Landforms, and Mapping units. We incorporated inquiry elements, Breakout Boxes with specifically designed puzzles that align with the unit, and video challenges all tied together with a narrative story that anchors the learning and generates excitement and engagement. Presenters will share both of these units and give participants time to try some of the Breakout Box puzzles.
Laura Beals D’Elia is currently the Library Teacher at the Armstrong Elementary School in Westborough, MA. She has been an elementary school librarian since 2002. She has a BA in English and Children’s Literature from Framingham State University and a MLIS from the University... Read More →
In 2024, two groups of Massachusetts school librarians participated in a nonfiction-focused personal learning community that met monthly via Zoom. In this panel presentation, discover how they supported one another as they curated their collections and implemented new programming to increase student awareness of and access to a broad array of nonfiction books. We will share our ideas, projects, goals, and a few of our favorite nonfiction read-alouds!
Laura Beals D’Elia is currently the Library Teacher at the Armstrong Elementary School in Westborough, MA. She has been an elementary school librarian since 2002. She has a BA in English and Children’s Literature from Framingham State University and a MLIS from the University... Read More →
Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 180 nonfiction books for children, including Seashells: More than a Home, Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs, and Can an Aardvark Bark. She is the co-author, with Nancy Chesley, of Perfect Pairs... Read More →
Explore how your library can begin to approach collection development, classification, and organization around a decolonial mindset. Leave with a better understanding and toolkit to tackling your own scaled projects exploring curricula and space.
Do you wish you could share book recommendations with students and families even when they aren't in the library? Learn how to use Canva to make a digital newsletter of book recommendations, complete with book cover images and links to your catalog, Sora, or other online resources. Then share your newsletter with your school community using a public link. Familiarity with Canva is not required but recommended.
There is nothing like the experience of hosting an author or illustrator at your school. Students (and teachers!) are inspired by connections with book creators, and a visit brings a surge of vitality and visibility to your library program. Let's talk about planning, preparing, and funding a visit to your school - even if you think you can't afford the price tag!
Librarian for 2 public elementaries, K-2 and 3-5. I teach library classes, but also something called Innovation Lab, which is partly a STEAM makerspace and partly research skills. Trying to learn more about guided inquiry and project based learning. Also trying to be more organized... Read More →
Monday March 3, 2025 2:30pm - 3:20pm EST
Room 104Four Points by Sheraton Norwood
This session will take a big picture look at the current landscape of AI in education 2 years since the launch of ChatGPT. We will look at what integration strategies are being trialed, attempts to curb cheating and plagiarism, and future implications for education. The session will also share strategies on improving AI literacy, recommendations on thought leaders to follow, and how to be a leading voice from the library.
Learn about media decoding and how to use it with students at the elementary level. Our youngest students are engaged with media every day. We can help them to start developing the critical thinking skills they need to understand the media messages to which they are exposed.
Jennifer Dimmick is one of the library teachers at Newton South High School, and is a graduate of Simmons School of Library and Information Science. Jennifer came to the school library profession after a career in marketing consulting and has had a deep experience in media and its... Read More →
Want to keep things going with your MSLA friends and skip the heavy rush hour traffic home? We'll be arranging someplace near to the hotel where you can go for an early dinner or just some apps before hitting the road. Details TBD!
