Check out our newest materials!

The SERC Library has just posted our latest lists of new acquisitions on our website. Follow this link to browse our new materials in handy alphabetical and topical lists. You can then go to Iluminar to find more details on the items and to reserve them. And here's a tip: you can always see our newest materials as soon as they hit the catalog by scrolling down on the front page of Iluminar, where you'll see links to searches for New Books and New Tests. In the meantime, here are a few highlights:

Fasten your seatbelt: A crash course on Down syndrome for brothers and sisters. By Brian G. Skotko and Susan P. Levine, 2009. (YP 616.858842 SKO)




Think college!: Postsecondary education options for students with intellectual disabilities. By Meg Grigal and Debra Hart, 2010. (371.90474 GRI)




Freedom from meltdowns: Dr. Thompson’s solutions for children with autism. By Travis Thompson, 2009. (FAM 618.928588 THO)





Launching RTI comprehension instruction with shared reading: 40 model lessons for intermediate readers. By Nancy N. Boyles, 2009. (IM 372.47 BOY)

Poverty and Education

This morning The Middletown Eye (http://middletowneyenews.blogspot.com/) posted a story on teen groups from ten Middlesex County churches who spent Saturday night outdoors in frigid temperatures to help them understand and empathize with the plight of the homeless. In Middletown, CT, youth groups set up tents on the corner of Main and Union streets to spend the night in solidarity with those community members who are forced to spend harsh nights without a home. Sue LaTourette, a church director from First Church, explained that the effort is an attempt to keep the plight of the homeless in the public eye after the generosity of the holidays has passed. This event has already motivated donors to drop off food & clothing for distributions to St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen & the Eddy Shelter in Middletown.

According to the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (www.cceh.org), 4,154 people were homeless in Connecticut on the night of January 28, 2009. Of these 430 were families and 801 were children in families. It is estimated that in our state over 33,000 people, including 13,000 children, experience homelessness over the course of the year. That equates to a lot of children, families, and schools that must continually cope with this tragic situation.

In the SERC Library we have over 150 resources that address poverty and education. A small sampling includes:

Invisible Children in the Society and its Schools - (2003) edited by Sue Books, this 258-page book offers a series of reports by some of the most passionate and insightful scholars writing in the field of education today on groups of children whose complexity, strengths, and vulnerabilities are largely unseen in society and its schools. Topics include homelessness, domestic violence, gay youth, children with social disabilities, teenage mothers, poverty, and much more.

Increasing Language Skills with Students from Low Income Backgrounds - (2008) by Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin.

Educating the Other America: Top Experts Tackle Poverty, Literacy, and Achievement in Our Schools - (2008) edited by Susan B. Neuman.

America Beyond the Color Line, DVD - (2003) with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In this 225-minute DVD, Henry Louis Gates travels to 4 very different parts of America to illustrate the splitting of African-American society into 2 distinct communities - the privileged and the disenfranchised. He examines the opportunities and obstacles still being faced and speaks to how a fifth of all black Americans are living below the poverty line and how many feel excluded from mainstream American life.

Keys to Success for Urban School Principals - (2007) by Gwendolyn J. Cooke.

A Framework for Understanding Poverty - (2005) by Ruby K. Payne.

The Kids Left Behind: Catching Up the Underachieving Children of Poverty - (2007) by Robert D. Barr.

Armando & The Blue Tarp School - (2007) by Edith Hope Fine. In this 32-page children's book for ages 4-8, Armando and his father are trash-pickers in Tijuana, Mexico. When Senor David brings his "school" - a blue tarp set down near the garbage dump - to their neighborhood, Armando's father decides that he must attend classes and learn. Based on a true story.

Closing the Poverty and Culture Gap: Strategies to Reach Every Student - (2009) by Donna Walker Tielston & Sandra K. Darling.

Please visit the SERC Library either online or in person to explore more resources on this subject. Stay warm and be safe.

(With thanks to Pablo Picasso for Poverty, 1903.)

Award-Winnning Films At The SERC Library

With the winter break approaching and cold, wintery weather ahead, why not drop by and check out a few good movies to wile away the time and educate the mind. Here is just a small sampling of some of the wonderful movies at the SERC Library.

Accidental Hero - Room 408: 2001 winner of "Best Documentary" of the Ashland Independent Film Festival & 2002 Gold Eagle Award - CINE, this powerful film tells the story of an extaordinary public high school teacher who is changing lives by introducing his students to a little known academic sport called "forensics". This documentary has important messages about the tremendous potential that young people from diverse backgrounds can realize when they are given the support of good teachers and ample educational tools.

King Gimp: Winner of the 1999-2000 Academy Award for Short Documentary, this film follows Dan Keplinger (who has cerebral palsy) for 13 years as he moves from a special education school to the mainstream. Unable to communicate easily with words, Dan's emotional life explodes on to canvas when he discovers art.

Autism Is A World: Nominated for an Academy Award, this is a personal look at autism through the eyes of a young woman, Sue Rubin. It offers a rare and compelling voyage into Sue's mind, her daily world, and her struggles with autism. With the help of a new assistive technology technique, a letterboard, Sue was able to connect with the world. Now a junior in college with a top IQ, she is a tireless disability-rights activist.

Educating Peter: Down Syndrome In The Inclusive Classroom: Filmed over the course of the third grade year, this 1992 Academy Award-winning documentary vividly captures the achievements & frustrations of Peter (a child with Down syndrome) as he makes a place for himself among his peers.

Snowbound? Not to worry. The SERC Library has a generous 3-week loan period.

One child, two languages in action: A guide for early childhood educators by Patton O. Tabors IE 372.6521

Is your early childhood classroom linguistically and culturally diverse? Are you working with young children learning English as a second language? This 253 page book written for early childhood educators provides tools for working with the increasing number of young children learning English as a second language. Topics include assessment techniques for first and second languages, internationally adopted children, responding to linguistic and cultural diversity, working with parents and incorporating literacy practices that help all children.

Children's Eye Health and Safety Month

With approximately 12 million school-age children in America experiencing vision problems, it is no wonder that August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month. The promotion of eye health and safety is very important, and education and awareness in schools and libraries is essential not only during this month, but throughout the year. For more information on how you can get involved, visit Prevent Blindness America. You can also come into the SERC Library and check out some of the books we have on this important subject, including:

Blueberry eyes, by Monica Driscoll Beatty (YP F BEA)
This 32-page picture book, intended for children ages 4-10, is the true story of a young child's eye treatment, including eyeglasses, bifocals, eye patches, and surgery. It focuses on the heroine's positive self-image throughout her treatment, the care and guidance she received from her ophthalmologist, and the love and support of her family.



What if you couldn't? A Visual Impairment Unit (IE 371.911 GUR)

A multimedia kit designed to make students in grades 2-5 aware of the broad spectrum of visual problems ranging from minor disabilities which can be corrected by prescription lenses to total blindness. The kit allows children to investigate the ways that people with visual impairments compensate for their lack of sight and become functioning, independent individuals.

Surprising studies of visual awareness: Volumes 1 & 2 (IE 153.43 VIS)
This DVD can be used to teach about visual perception and awareness during presentations, workshops or inservice programs. It presents 15 striking demonstrations in which visual perception is explored, including some with footage from scientific experiments. Selective attention, failures of awareness and optical illusions are included.



The secret code, by Dana Meachen Rau, illustrated by Bari Weissman
(YP F RAU)
Using a word list of 69 words, this 32 page illustrated children's book introduces children to Braille. Oscar, a blind student, teaches his friend Lucy to read the secret code of Braille. She is curious about what he is doing when he opens his book and is interested to learn how Oscar can use Braille to do the same reading and writing tasks all the other classmates are doing.

December 2008 Acquisitions - Inservice Education

A history of Hispanic achievement in America. By Ambrose Video, 2006. (IE 371.829680 AMB)

How to coach teachers who don't think like you: Using literacy strategies to coach across content area. By Bonnie M. Davis, 2008. (IE 372.6044 DAV)

How to teach students who don't look like you: Culturally relevant teaching strategies. By Bonnie M. Davis, 2007. (IE 370.117 DAV)

Meaningful mathematics: Leading students toward understanding and application. By ASCD, developed with NCTM, 2007. (IE 513.2 ASC)

Surprising studies of visual awareness. Vol. 1 & 2. By Viscog Productions, Inc., 2008. (IE 153.43 VIS)

Visualizing and verbalizing: Professional development videos (set of 5 DVDs). By Nancy Bell, 1997. (IE 372.47 BEL)

Whole-faculty study groups: Creating student-based professional development, Second Edition. By Carlene U. Murphy and Dale W. Lick, 2007. (IE 370.7155 MUR)