"At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better." ~Barack Obama (from a speech to the American Library Association June 25, 2005)

Reading Conversion Chart:Using grade level, DRP scores, Lexile levels and words read per minute. American colonies: Ms. Valley's American Colonies. Bill of Rights Project: Ms. Valley's Bill of Rights web page. Bully Game: An interactive game. Author & Illustrator Websites: A list of author and illustrator websites. Bellsouth Digital project: A project-based learning activity where students video taped interviews with veterans from WWII and the Korean Wars. Best Online Reference Sites: Citation Maker: Here is a great tool for interactively citing your book, online database, WWW, and lots of other types of sources! Citation Maker by EasyBib: Interactive bibliography composer. Citing electronic sources: How to cite electronic sources using the MLA Style. Cite those sources: An interactive tutorial that explains copyright, fair use, public domain, and answers other copyright questions. It is fun and easy to understand! Citing Sources - Plagiarism: A quick review of plagiarism. Citing Sources MLA Style: Examples and instructions on how to cite books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, magazine articles, newspapers, essays, poems, short stories, online sources, and web sites MLA Style by the University of Minnesota. Copyright Detectives: Taking the mystery out of copyright Copyright in detail: Copyright laws, etc. Copyright Basics: A PowerPoint presentation on copyright basics. Guide to the Internet: Just getting started with E-mail, WWW, FTP, etc. Google Lit Trip for Middle GradesUsing Google Earth, discover where places within the story are. Graphic Organizer: Venn diagram, story maps, persuasion map, goal-reasons web, timeline, and lots of charts. iCONN.orgThrough iCONN, a core level of information resources including secured access to licensed databases is available to every citizen in Connecticut. In addition, specialized research information is available to students and faculty. Information Literacy: Online resources for librarians and teachers focusing on information literacy and research skills. Includes the Big6, evaluating information, evaluating websites, and lesson plans for learning and teaching with the Internet. Internet Public Library: Online library for kids. Internet Safety Guide Leveling Reading Programs by Ms. Valley PowerPoint on different reading programs and how they are leveled Leveling Reading Systems by Ms. Valley Libriarian help: Ask a librarian for help online. Librarian's Internet Index: Websites selected and organized by librarians. My teacher hates me: Really? National Educational Techynology Standards for Students Note-taking: Ms. Valley's Note-taking PowerPoint Plagiarism: Ms. Valley's plagiarism web page. Privacy-What's the big deal?CyberSmart Curriculum Privacy Information Center: includes the latest and archived news about Internet privacy. Privacy-Frequently Asked Questions about the Children's Online Privacy: Protection Rule clarifies the U.S. Federal Trade Commission rule for protecting the privacy of children online, including how it affects schools and libraries. Privacy - Kidz: developed by U.S. Federal Trade Commission, explains rules for protecting children's privacy online and provides information about the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Privacy Seal Program: TRUSTe provides information on the Children Privacy Seal Program, which endorses and provides a seal of approval for Web sites that protect the privacy of children online. Privacy-Common Concerns: Practice safe computing Protect Your Online Privacy: EFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy explains how to configure hardware and software to best protect privacy. Research Wizard: Full of tutorials and wizards for learning to research and evaluate. Searching Online:This tutorial presents an easy-to-follow process on using search engines and subject directories for finding what you need on the World Wide Web. Searching by keyword & subject KidsClick Weekly Reader for Teens: Blogs, games and contests for teenagers. Website Evaluation: Ms. Vally's website evaluation page. Website Evaluation PPT: Ms. Valley's PowerPoint on website evaluation. Websites Eval Criteria for Primary sources 700+ Great , developed by the American Library Association, describes how children's librarians evaluate Web sites for children's use. Website Evaluation: An interactive tutorial on how to evaluate websites. Writing book reviews: How to write a book review. Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing paragraphs and Topic sentences: How to write a paragraph and topic sentence.

Saving a Word as a PDF Defragmenting your hard drive Weather Lunch Menu Gift Card Fundraiser Ms. Valley's Recommendations Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird Interest Level: 4 - 8 Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9 Lexile® measure: 920L Genre: Fairytale About This Book: Gr 4-8 A different take on traditional icons of virtue and evil. In the course of retelling some popular fairy tales, Vande Velde challenges readers' notions of good, bad, and ugly by examining the stock characters' motivations and often recasting them in a different light. Needless to say, these role reversals affect very different outcomes to the familiar, if slightly fractured, story lines. For example, kindhearted Rumpelstiltzkin wins the heroine away from the vain, self-important king, and the Frog Prince, once restored to his princely stature, rejects the haughty princess and goes home to the goose girl. To say nothing of the demonic twins Hansel and Gretel, who have done in one mother and are ready to take on another. Modern references and sensibilities, such as those in the ``And Now a Word from Our Sponsor'' and ``PG-13,'' add to the humor (often the gallows variety). Entertaining and provocative, these selections make good read-alouds and can be used to spark discussion or creative writing exercises. Review by ‘Luann Toth, School Library Journal