When I visit a school, I'm always happy to see a classroom library in addition to the school library. Then I know the teacher understands the importance of books other than texts to the learning of children. When I see that at least some of those books are nonfiction trade books, I rejoice, because I see that the teacher realizes the special benefits of combining the learning of literacy skills with learning "cool facts." When children's innate curiosity about the world is stimulated, they want to learn more, which means reading more. When this happens, they can learn about curriculum subjects at the same time as they develop their reading skills. And when the teacher has a classroom library at her disposal, she can immediately provide the child with just the right book to satisfy his curiosity and keep him reading.
I'm especially aware of this effect because as a child, I wasn't in the least bit interested in "story books." I wanted to learn about "real" things, not read made-up stories. My favorite birthday or Christmas gift was a big fat book filled with color photos of butterflies or frogs and lots of information about the subject matter. The kinds of nonfiction trade books we write today were rare back then, so I sometimes I had to struggle to understand the text of the books, but I worked at it because I wanted to learn.
Because of my background and my convictions, I'm especially delighted to let you know that the final links have been formed to connect our database with our book supplier, Mackin. Now it's easy to purchase any of our books you want.
The process is simple. Just go to www.InkThinkTank.com to register. You don't have to be a teacher or librarian to use the system; anyone is welcome. After you register, you can sign on right away, click on "Use database," and proceed. Choose the grade level(s) and either search terms or curriculum needs from the detailed form and the system will generate a list of our books that meet your needs. You can choose those you want to purchase and order them or print out a list of books for your own reference or for your school librarian to purchase--it's simple.
As you are transferred over to Mackin’s website to place your order, you will most likely notice that your total order amount will change. This is because the prices on Mackin’s website are already discounted up to 35% off list price for your added benefit.
So even if you're not in the market for books, try out the new system and discover the resources that are now available so easily for us all.
Last week, my fellow I.N.K. blogger Vicki Cobb and I tried out something new—at least, it was new for me. We walked over to our very own computers in our very own home offices and put on a live joint videoconference with a group of curriculum specialists, media specialists, and techies down in Allendale, South Carolina.
Vicki lives in New York where it was about to snow. I live in Virginia where the side roads were still impassable from our own monster blizzard. But all the little video interconnections and sample slide shows and cameras and sound systems and live shots of the participants worked just fine—and we never even had to leave home. Besides that, the audience members could ask questions and make comments as though they were sitting next to us in the same room. It was all very laid back and friendly, and the audience was terrific too. (Fortunately, they couldn’t see our shoes.) How cool is that?
Our specific goal was to do what we often do for teachers when we go far far away from home; present a sampling of great ways to get kids so excited about learning that they can’t wait to come to class. Vicki introduced some amazing hands-on science experiments kids can try out in class using everyday items (think plastic bags, paper cups, and toilet paper)! I introduced some wild factoids about famous people from history that can wake up any kid, and I also revealed a few secret tricks teachers can use to help themselves become amazing storytellers—and nonfiction storytellers at that.
Our more general goal was to do a test run on an upcoming offering from INK THINK TANK called INK LINK: Authors on Call. Even though we won’t be hanging out our shingle until mid-April, we were very excited about this trial run. We’re hoping to bring high quality award-winning non-fiction into the classroom. Seems like most schools feature fiction instead! If you’re reading this blog, well, you are probably already a kindred spirit.
Videoconferencing is an exciting technology, I think. I shall now put my hand over my heart and announce that if we can get this project on just the right track, we’ll be able to let groups enter a “virtual classroom” with one or more of our Authors on Call, who will share their experiences, wisdom, and insights, enhanced by a colorful array of slides and other visuals.
Besides that, audience members will be able to make comments or ask questions to some truly inspiring and informative nonfiction authors. And our videoconferencing packages will offer in-services, panel discussions and much more to teachers and other professionals. We’d also like to provide virtual assembly programs for children at a fraction of the cost of an actual school visit. That way, people of every age will have a chance to see, hear, question and interact with well-known authors from afar, as if they were sitting together right in the same room the way we did last week. So far the future is looking very interesting...here's hoping we're ready to come out dancing!
On October 7, 2009, INK THINK TANK: Nonfiction Authors in Your Classroom launched a FREE, searchable database of hundreds of in-print books written by 22 award-winning I.N.K. authors. The database is designed to produce lists of books for every grade level covering content mandated by National Education Standards and state curricula. Instead of feeding kids material from bland, uninteresting books, INK offers a cornucopia of delicious, appetizing titles guaranteed to nourish both reading and learning. No single book can be all things to all students, but the LISTS of books generated by our database will come close. We believe that if kids learn through high-interest, well-researched books that have been vetted for accuracy, they will perform better on the required assessment tests.
Now our big news is that INK THINK TANK has formed a partnership with Mackin Educational Resources , a well-established educational distributor with 26 years in business. Their job will be to fulfill your book orders directly from the INK Database. Currently, if you want to buy a book from our database, we include a link to Amazon.com as a convenience. Each link produces a separate browser window and there is no way to build a shopping basket if you want to purchase all the books on a list produced by the database. This will all change when the Mackin/INK shopping basket goes live at the end of February. During this interim period, if you log in to use the database, you will be prompted to update your profile. This will please a lot of our out-of -the-country users who have told us that they can't register because there was no place to enter a foreign country. Now there is.
In addition, Mackin will be featuring INK THINK TANK in its promotional materials and catalogues. All of this will help focus attention on the best in children's nonfiction and will help get it where it can do the most good--classrooms.
Kitty and Randal Heise, the owners of Mackin sent us this welcoming message:
All of us a Mackin are very excited about our new partnership with the wonderful folks at INK THINK TANK. And what a wonderful partnership it will be as we are truly in concert with one another! As the owners of Mackin, Kitty and I would like everyone to know that our dedication to education has always been on the individual teacher level. We know how important it is for educators to have great resources and to know that they can count on us to assure their value and usability.
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