ERS Portal Featured Resource: TeachingBooks

TeachingBooks is a dynamic K–12 reading and library service that strives to deepen everyone's connections to the books they are reading. Provided by the California State Library and available on the ERS Portals, TeachingBooks brings to life the books enjoyed by your community with hundreds of thousands of engaging video, audio, and online resources.

Within this resource:

• Search for resources about a book, author/illustrator, or subject.
• Explore the resources, including Meet-the-Author interviews, Read-along Book Recordings, Leveled Lesson Plans, Video Book Trailers, Literature-based Vocabulary Lists, and more.
• Instantly connect all your students to audio, video, and other digital materials that bring books to life with QR Code flyers, widgets, and more.
• Browse 293,012 unique resources by grade level, genre, and cultural area.
• Discover special collections, including the Diverse Books Collection, Meet-the-Author and Illustrator Original Resources Collection, or the Hands-Free Book Browsing Collection.
• Integrate with Clever, Canvas, Classlink, Google Classroom, and more.

Video Tutorials:

TeachingBooks Introductory Video (3:00)

ERS Portal Feature Resource: Learn360

Learn360 Plus Classroom Video on Demand is the ultimate streaming resource for K-12 educational communities! Use your ERS Portal login to explore this fantastic resource. Your students also have access via the ERS Library’s Kids Portal or Teen Portal.

In Learn360, teachers, students, and parents can access more than 191,500 media resources from any Internet-enabled device. Engaging landing pages make it easy to find videos, interactives, printables, audio content, STEM lessons & more. Landing pages can be filtered by grade level (all grades, elementary, or middle/high.) The enhanced, state-of-the-art platform makes it a powerful tool for flipped classrooms, blended instruction, project-based learning, and 1:1 environments. Resources are curated from more than 560 top educational providers, including an exclusive partnership with PBS, which delivers access to 2000+ licensed K-12 educational videos.

Created for middle and high schools, Classroom Video on Demand (CVoD) provides unlimited access to thousands of videos for all content areas. Video content is correlated to Common Core, national, state, IB Organization, C3 Framework for Social Studies, AASL, College Board AP, national STEM, and Next Generation Science Standards, as well as 21st Century Skills. Notable series include Globe Trekker, Live from Shakespeare’s Globe, Job & Skills Evaluation, America—The Story of Us, Filthy Cities, A Concise Biography, and many more! 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

[Video] Learn360 New Platform Overview (18:19)

[Video] Using Google Classroom with Learn360 (3:27)

Learn360 Overview (PDF)

Classroom Video on Demand Fact Sheet (PDF)

Holidays & Observances with Teaching Resources! - May 2022

May is National Inventor’s Month. This month we recognize the curiosity, imagination and contributions inventors have made to the nation and the world. Every inventor has brought something into this world that we didn’t know we needed. From medical advancements to fuel efficient homes, inventors and innovators are working hard to create the next big thing. The ERS Library has digital resources and materials for check-out on many inventors.

From Learn360:

Grades: 3-5 Thomas Edison

Grades: 6-8, 9-12 Famous Americans: Famous Inventors and Inventions

In the ERS Library Collection:

Upcoming Holidays & Observances with Teaching Resources - March 2022

April is National Poetry Month, first celebrated in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. Over the years, National Poetry Month has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry's important place in our lives. The ERS Library is excited to provide poetry study resources to contracting educators via our circulating library collection and the ERS Portal's digital content.

You can also visit https://poets.org/national-poetry-month for more ways to celebrate, including a free 2022 National Poetry Month poster!

Learn360 Resources:

How to Write a Poem (Grades K-5)               Poetry (Grades 6-12)

Circulating Collection Titles (reserve via Follett Destiny Online Library Catalog):

Upcoming Holidays & Observances w/ Teaching Resources - March 2022

March is Women's History Month, which has been recognized in the United States since 1987. This month, we celebrate women's contributions to history, culture, and society. From science to politics, it's a chance to reflect on the trailblazing women who lead the way for change. The ERS Library has women's biographies available for check out in Follett Destiny and online digital resources available via the ERS Portals.

Learn360:

Eleanor Roosevelt (Grades: 3-6, 6-8)

How Women Won the Vote (Grades: 6-8, 9-12)

Available for check out:

Upcoming Holidays & Observances w/ Teaching Resources - January 2022

February is African American History Month, also known as Black History Month. We honor and recognize African Americans' past and present -- people, events, and accomplishments -- during this time. 

The ERS Library has both circulating and online resources available for contracting school educators to support teaching Black History Month!

Learn360 on the ERS Portal:

Grades PreK-2: Corretta Scott King and the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy

Grades 3-5: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Grades 6-8, 9-12: Rosa Parks: African Americans Who Left Their Stamp on History

Reserve for delivery via Follett Destiny:

Did You Know? - December 2021

ABC-CLIO is one of my favorite resources in the ERS Portal. It's a phenomenal place to start any journey into history on virtually any topic. Whether dealing with American Government, American History, or World History (Ancient to Modern), ABC-CLIO has the articles and resources your students will return to as they move through upper elementary grades, junior high, high school, and beyond.

Each reference article has a topic library, meaning anything you search for will return a selection of other topics to explore. Each topic library is further divided into sections such as Reference Articles, Biographies, Glossary Terms, Photos & Illustrations, Cultural Documents, and Video content. Researchers can also save, email, print, copy a link, create citations at the click of a button (in multiple citation styles), add to their Research Lists, Listen and even Translate.

Also included is an Academic Success Corner, highlighting various areas of information skills such as Researching, Writing, Reading, Critical Thinking, Working with Primary Sources, and Information Literacy. For example, when students click on Reading, they'll see videos on topics such as looking for meaning, active vs. passive voice, making and using inferences, and highlighting, annotating, and notetaking. That's just under Reading! The breadth of content is impressive.

We're proud to help make researching all history and social science content quick and easy by hosting ABC-CLIO in the ERS Portal. I guarantee that you'll learn something new if you log in yourself!

Upcoming Holidays & Observances with Teaching Resources - December 2021

December 15 is "Bill of Rights Day," commemorating the ratification of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. It's an important day to celebrate America's Constitution and the framework of our society. The Bill of Rights is displayed in The Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., as a reminder to all Americans of their constitutional freedoms.

The ERS Library has books available for check out via the Follett Destiny Online Catalog: 

For streaming video content on this topic, visit Learn360:

Bill of Rights: Grades 6-8, 9-12

Constitutional Amendments 1-5, Grades 3-5

Constitutional Amendments 6-10, Grades 3-5

Upcoming Holidays & Observances with Teaching Resources - November 2021

November is Picture Book Month. During this month, we pay tribute to the importance of picture books in the classroom. Picture books are building blocks that promote literacy, vocabulary, sentence structure, comprehension, and many additional skills. The ERS Library has hundreds of picture books available for check out via the Follett Destiny Online Catalog, including:

The ERS Portal contains ebook and audiobooks versions of many picture books in multiple applications:

 

Sora     MackinVIA     Learn360 Audiobooks     TumblebookLibrary (K-6)

Upcoming Holidays & Observances - September 2021

October 12 is Ada Lovelace Day, it’s an international celebration founded in 2009. Ada Lovelace was the first computer programmer. On this day we celebrate the achievements of women in STEM careers. Ada Lovelace Day also aims to increase the profile of women in STEM, elevate them as current role models who will encourage more girls to enter STEM-related careers, and support women already working in STEM. The ERS library has books available on the biography of Ada Lovelace and digital resources through the ERS Portal.

In Learn360 on the ERS Portal:

Health Care Technology: STEM Careers in Two Years

Advanced Hardware Manufacturing: STEM Job Shadowing

Careers in the Life Sciences

Resources from World Book Online on the ERS Portal:

World Book Kids, Ada Lovelace

World Book Student, Ada Lovelace

World Book Advanced, Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace books in the ERS Library's circulating collection:

Hispanic Heritage Month Resources from Britannica Digital Learning

To help students explore the history and importance of Hispanic Heritage, Britannica’s Curriculum Expert Team has put together a few activities and resources for you and your students. Included are resources that discuss Hispanic Heritage, the history of Latin America, key achievements and contributions from both ancient civilizations and the modern-day world, and the importance of cultures and ethnic groups across Latin America.

Click here to get started!

Upcoming Holiday & Observances with Teaching Resources - August 2021

This year marks the 20th anniversary of September 11th. On that date, multiple airplanes were hijacked and flown into American landmarks. Two crashed into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City. A third hit the Pentagon just outside Washington D.C. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The ERS Library has many resources available for those interested in learning more about this tragedy. 

Digital resources available on the ERS Portals include:

Learn 360, Grades 3-5, "Freedom Tower"

Learn 360, Grades 9-12, "What Happened on September 11th?"

World Book Kids: "September 11th Terrorist Attacks"

Titles available in our circulating collection include:

Discovery Education: Back to School Webinars

Welcome Back to School 2021! 

Over the summer, Discovery Education released many enhancements to save teachers time and engage students with exciting new features and functionality! Register for one of the learning opportunities linked below to learn how your current Discovery Education Streaming service supports multiple learning modalities, new ways to spark curiosity amongst students, and more.  

Come and see all of the tools that are ready for you to dive in and explore, such as the redesigned Educator Supports tile and some of our most popular resources like Instructional Strategies, Studio Boards, and Current Events Channel. Each event features creative ways to save educators time and invigorate your instruction with ready-to-use materials while engaging your students. You won’t want to miss these sessions:  

DE Streaming: Back-to-School Webinars

Upcoming Holiday & Observances w/ Teaching Resources - May 2021

With the 2020-2021 school year almost over, we encourage you to remind your students the ERS Portal online resources are available to them all summer long!

If you need a reminder of your student portal login(s), please contact library@ersconnect.org.

We have multiple resources for digital books, as well as online encyclopedias, streaming video providers, and more!

Upcoming Holidays & Observances w/ Teaching Resources - April 2021

May is Asian American and Pacific Heritage Month. During this month we recognize the contributions and influences of Asian/Pacific Americans to the history, culture, and success of the United States.

On the ERS Portal, TeachingBooks has put together a list of Asian/Pacific American Literature, including resources to support using these titles with your students. The ERS Library has many of these available for check out and delivery to your school site via the Follett Destiny Online Library Catalog.

Learn360 has returned to the ERS Portal! Now with exclusive K-12 educational content from PBS.

 Click image below to go directly to the ERS Portal.

Upcoming Holidays & Observances w/ Teaching Resources - March 2021

April is Poetry Month! 

2021 marks the 25th annual celebration of poets and poetry. It was launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. This festivity reminds us that poets have a vital role to play in our culture and that poetry matters. Also, April 29th is Poem in Your Pocket Day. 

The ERS Library has many poetry books available for check out and we are happy to deliver them to your school site. These books and more can be reserved by searching our Follett Destiny online catalog on the ERS Portal:

TeachingBooks has compiled this list of poetry books along with resources to support using them in the classroom. Many of the resources include book guides, activities, lessons, book readings, and an about the author section.

View a short lesson in Discovery Education (K-12) titled: Understanding Poetry.

The nation saw the power of poetry during the inauguration of the 46th president when Amanda Gorman awakened our senses to the beauty of poetry. You can do the same with your students using timely digital and print resources from the ERS Library!

Upcoming Holidays & Observances w/ Teaching Resources - March 2021

March marks the beginning of Women’s History Month. This provides an opportunity for educators to honor, recognize, and teach women’s contributions to American history. Throughout history, women have made many contributions in science, politics, law, sports, the arts, entertainment, and many other fields. Explore biographies using the ERS Portal resources and online Follett Destiny catalog to reserve books. 

Check out the Teacher Board Discovery Education has created full of unique ideas for celebrating Women’s History Month:

Women's History Month Teacher Board (DE)

These books and many others are available for check out in the ERS Library's circulating collection:

New Items in the ERS Library Circulating Collection - February 2021

Click on each book cover to access more resources via TeachingBooks.net

 

	K-3rd	This is the story of a little girl who just wanted to go, even when others tried to stop her. Experience the true story of lifelong activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins and her participation in the Capitol Crawl in this inspiring autobiographical picture book.
	K-3rd	A joyful celebration of individuality--and staying true to you! Be curious, Be adventurous, Be brave, 'Be you!
	3rd-6th	Agent Moose, the best (worst) secret agent in the Big Forest, and his slightly-more-intelligent sidekick Owlfred are on the case in this new graphic novel chapter book series from Mo O'Hara, author of My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, and illustrated by Jess Bradley!
	3rd-6th	Act is the funny and honest follow-up to the middle school graphic novel sensations Click and Camp. Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier, Shannon Hale, and Victoria Jamieson.
	3rd-6th	Discusses what COVID-19 is, how the virus makes people sick, how to detect and treat it, and more.
	5th-8th	In this graphic novel, Jim Ottaviani and illustrator Maris Wicks capture the great humor and incredible drive of Mary Cleave, Valentina Tereshkova, and the first women in space.
	5th-8th	Narrated by one extraordinary ten-year-old girl, this inspiring memoir tells the story of a daughter of Mexican American immigrants who finds her voice through the power of words and performance of Cervantes’ Don Quixote.
	Young Adult	One girl must make a name for herself--or die trying--in this royal fantasy where an unknown peasant becomes the ultimate ruler. But how long can she keep the crown if everyone wants her dead?
	Young Adult	A group of students are trapped in their school after a bomb goes off, and must fight to survive while discovering who among them is the bomber.

Upcoming Holidays & Observances - January 2021

February is African American History Month, also known as Black History Month. It is a point in time to pay honor and remember the past and present accomplishments of African Americans. Established in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, known as the “Father of Black History,” it began as the celebration of Negro History Week, because it aligned with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The ERS Library has books available for check out as well as online resources by logging into our ERS Portal.

Discovery Education resources:

                  K - 2                   3 - 5                    6 - 8                     9 - 12

In the ERS Library circulating collection: