Wednesday, August 20, 2008   

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Create a List of Great Titles

You can use NoveList's Describe a Plot to create a list of fiction titles that herald the role of women in history.  If you are looking for new titles that address women in history, you can limit the search by publication date.  Consider the following search:

1. Access NoveList and click the START button to go to the New Search page
2. Select the link, "Describe a Plot."
3. Type in "women history" and scroll down the limiters to Publication date.  You can enter 2002 -2004 to retrieve only recent titles that have been published if you are looking for new titles.
4. Click Search and view the search results.  Click on any of the title links to get more information. You can also scroll from one title record page to another without returning to the results list by clicking the "Next" button at the top of the title page.
5. For any title that you would like to use in your list, click on the "Add" button at the right of the record. You can use the "Find Similar Books" button on any title that is of specific interest, or you can run another search that uses some of the headings that draw your attention when looking through the records.
6. After you have added all the titles that you are interested in for your list, you can print, e-mail or save the list.  You can also print or e-mail the search results of any search by using the links in the left-hand margin of the page.

Two of this year's eight honorees by the National Women's History Project have fiction works. They are Maxine Hong Kingston and Leslie Marmon Silko.

1. Click the New Search button at the top of the page (assuming you are still in NoveList, otherwise repeat steps 1-2 above)
2. Select the "Find a Favorite Title" link
3. Enter either of the above names ("leslie marmon silko" for example), and click SEARCH
4. NoveList has three titles by this author

Curricular Materials for Women's History Month

NoveList offers several curriculum support materials that can help you honor women during the month of March:

* Check out the curricular article, "Exploring Strong Female Characters in Picture Books" by Andrea Bittle. Ms. Bittle, a literacy teacher at an elementary humanities magnet school, offers a thoughtful piece on the role of girls and women in pictures books for elementary age children.  Consider the introductory paragraph from this article with included bibliography: "Elementary age children are fortunate to enjoy an enormous wealth of materials and literature defining the contributions women have made throughout history As important as it is for children to know these courageous, outstanding women, it is equally valuable that they understand the larger context of women's place in our culture. Young children in particular do not have the historical and political background to understand the obstacles women have faced, but may already have seen and experienced biases, stereotypes, and limitations regarding gender roles. "

To find this article in NoveList: Access NoveList and click the "Features for Teachers" button at the top of the homepage or top of the New Search page. Under the heading for "Articles with Curricular Connections," select the Preschool and Elementary Articles link and scroll down to "Exploring Strong Female Characters in Picture Books."  The articles are in alphabetical order by title.

To find this article in NoveList K-8:  Access NoveList K-8 and click on the Teacher Resources button at the top of any page.  Select "Books in the Classroom." Scroll down to the Children's section and then keep scrolling past Activities and Author Focus to the subsection called General Literature.  "Exploring Strong Female Characters" is listed alphabetically in this section.

* Also at the elementary level, NoveList and NoveList K-8 offer a standards-based thematic unit on "Heroic Women" designed for grades 4 - 6.  In this complete lesson plan, students learn about heroic women, unusual women for the time they lived in, exceptional women, women who showed incredible strength of character, and what it was like when Susan B. Anthony and her suffragists came to town for a demonstration in support of women's right to vote  Our thematic units include objectives, suggested and alternative texts, skills practiced, vocabulary terms, activities, writing projects, extension activities, resources, a rubric, and more. 

To find this article in NoveList: Access NoveList and click the "Features for Teachers" button at the top of the homepage or top of the New Search page. Under the heading for "Standards-Based Thematic Units," select the Preschool and Elementary Articles link and scroll down to "Heroic Women."  The units are in alphabetical order.

To find this article in NoveList K-8:  Access NoveList K-8 and click on the Teacher Resources button at the top of any page.  Select "Standards-Based Curricular Units." "Heroic Women" is listed alphabetically in the Units for Pre-School and Elementary Grades section.

* At the middle and high school level, take a look at the curricular article called "History as HERstory: Using Literature with Female Protagonists to Teach History" by Betsy Eubanks.  Ms. Eubanks, a library media specialist, explores the perspective of history from a woman's point of view and offers a list of examples from throughout history. 

To find this article in NoveList: Access NoveList and click the "Features for Teachers" button at the top of the homepage. Under the heading for "Articles with Curricular Connections," select the Middle School and High School Articles link and scroll down to "History as HERstory," listed alphabetically. Note that this article is geared for grades 7-12 and therefore is not available in NoveList K-8.

* Ann Wilder, a high school English teacher for over 25 years, offers a high activity that looks at Women Immigrants in Literature.  This short lesson plan offers another way to use NoveList to find books that explore how women overcome differences in inspiring ways.  This brings us full circle back to this year's theme in Women's History Month, "Women Inspiring Hope and Possibility," which celebrates the hope and sense of possibility that comes to our lives from the inspirational work of women.

To find this article in NoveList: Access NoveList and click the "Features for Teachers" button at the top of the homepage or New Search Page. Click the link for "Activities for High School English Classes,"  then scroll down to "Women Immigrants in Literature" listed alphabetically. Note that this article is geared for high school students and therefore is not available in NoveList K-8.

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Updated: January 08, 2008