Celebrate National Library Week from Home

April 17, 2020

The theme for National Library Week 2020, “Find your place at the library” was chosen before most libraries temporarily closed their physical locations because of the COVID–19 global pandemic. The good news is that libraries remain open for business online, providing the virtual services and digital content their communities need more than ever. And though you might not be there physically for National Library Week, which will take place April 19–25, you can still find your place at the library!

You may have to stay home and social distance this National Library Week, but there are still plenty of ways you can celebrate virtually. Many libraries offer eBook loans, streaming programs, and online reading sessions. And most have become forgiving about return dates during this time. During National Library Week, take the time to thank those at your local library who work behind the scenes to keep digital content at your fingertips. You can write letters, or post an appreciation video or photo on social media.

As educational institutions and parents are turning to online learning during the coronavirus pandemic, you can do your own e-learning via the GPO online bookstore. Visit gpo.bookstore.gov to browse our digital products and eBooks covering a variety of important topics. Here are a couple of digital resources from the GPO online bookstore that you can use to help teach your kids about something very important — healthy eating!

Discover MyPlate: Grains (ePub)

It’s all about grains, healthy eating, and reading! This colorful and fun eBook introduces kindergarten-aged children to different grains, while building literacy skills through the use of sight words, optional audio narration and text highlighting, interactive games and activities, and more! This eBook is part of Discover MyPlate Emergent Reader series, which is designed to teach children about MyPlate’s five food groups.

Discover MyPlate: Fruits (ePub)

This MyPlate eBook is focused on fruits to better inform and motivate kids in practicing better eating habits, and using this challenging time to improve on their reading skills too! This illustrated, engaging online resource introduces kindergarten-aged children to different fruits. The more kids get in tune with the deliciousness of fruits (and vegetables), the healthier they will be as adults.

Check out more resources from the Discover MyPlate Emergent Reader series all designed to teach children about MyPlate’s five food groups here. Browse more educational resources here.

There are still so many ways to celebrate National Library Week. We hope you are staying safe and healthy and continue to read during this time!

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Ed Kessler is a Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office.

Leave a Comment » | Children, Consumers, ebooks, Family, Libraries, Parenting, Teachers and teaching | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Modernizing Learning

September 11, 2019

The Department of Defense’s Advanced Distribution Learning (ADL) Initiative recently released its latest eBook, Modernizing Learning.

Modernizing Learning, now available for FREE download in ePub format, emphasizes a “future learning ecosystem,” defined as a transformation from traditional learning practices to “curated lifelong learning tailored to individuals and delivered across diverse locations, media and period of time.” In other words, if you’re planning to upgrade your learning modules to the 21st century, Modernizing Learning provides a blueprint for connecting learning experiences across time and space for academia, K–12, and more.

This comprehensive resource explores data security, learner privacy, analytics and visualization as well as other technological capabilities related to social networking, data sharing, and data collection in a learning ecosystem. The book also covers instructional strategies for the future, competency-based learning, social learning and self-regulated learning.

With competing and constantly changing demands, limited resources and a need for integration across systems, learning professionals have recognized a need for a governance strategy for an ecosystem. This book discusses how to develop a governing structure for a learning ecosystem, how to conduct strategic planning, and what changes in culture are needed to modernize learning for the future.

Discover more free educational resources from the U.S. Government Bookstore here.

Also, check out our 50% off Education & Libraries collection.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS RESOURCE?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Custoer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Trudy Hawkins is the the Sr. Marketing & Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Division supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore.

Leave a Comment » | Department of Defense, ebooks, Teachers and teaching, Technology | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Great Lessons in Small Packages—Tree Books for Kids

August 30, 2016

Great things do come in small packages! In the case of this blog post, the small packages are children’s books that bring to life the themes of growth and nature. GPO makes available two colorfully-illustrated, nature-based publications from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that are ideal for parents and educators, too!

The Little Acorn

001-001-00687-4We usually think of acorns as the staple snack of squirrels. And that they are. In the case of this delightful storybook from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, an acorn can also represent the magic of growing up.

The Little Acorn is written from the perspective of a foraging squirrel who buries an acorn near a stream. As it occasionally checks back on the oak nut, the squirrel bears witness to the tree’s growth amid seasonal and ecological changes. Spring rains, summer heat, and autumn winds condition the baby oak. Its thirsty roots stretch out and it learns that all living things need water to grow.

What starts as a tiny seed encased in a tough shell eventually transforms into a “big, beautiful oak tree…dropping little acorns of its own.”

Why Would Anyone Cut a Tree Down?

001-000-04759-1Sometimes it is necessary to cut trees. Trees have lifecycles—they sprout, mature, grow old, die—and their seeds can be planted to grow new trees. For a renewable resource like trees to healthily propagate, diseased or hazardous trees must be cut down and removed. What sounds like severe measures is actually a good thing for the environment.

This U.S. Forest Service publication teaches kids that “people need to cut some trees down, but that is not the end of the story.” It explores various uses for wood from cut trees—such as materials for construction, nutrients for fresh soil, and stumps for new shoots. The book also includes a note to adults about the basics of tree care.

Cutting down a tree is a form of caring for that tree. It makes room for more life in the exchange of another. Eighteenth century botanist Carl Linnaeus said it best when he wrote “if a tree dies, plant another in its place.”

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE PUBLICATIONS?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

 Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Agriculture, Children, Consumers, Department of Agriculture, Family, Gifts, Parenting, Teachers and teaching | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

“Now You’re Speaking My Language”: Teaching English as a Second Language in the U.S. and Abroad

January 31, 2014

Teaching-American-English-wordleThe English language, according to Wikipedia, is the third-most-common native language in the world after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish and is the most widely learned second language. Not only is it widely used in technology and entertainment, it is also an official language of the European Union, many British Commonwealth countries and the United Nations, as well as in many international organizations.

The U.S. Department of State recognizes that promoting the learning and teaching of English as a foreign or second language both within the United States and around the world is an essential step towards increasing cultural understanding between the people of the U.S. and other countries.  The Department of State created the Office of English Language Programs, under the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to encourage English language education for non-native English speakers.

“As a former Business English professor for Spanish Masters of Marketing graduate students in Spain and a volunteer tutor for young Hispanic ESL (English as a Second Language) students in the United States, I had a hard time finding resources for my students or connecting with other teachers with whom I could exchange best practices and ideas for lesson plans that took into account the cultural differences of non-native speakers,” says Michele Bartram, Government Book Talk Editor and Promotions and Ecommerce Manager for GPO’s U.S. Government Online Bookstore.

English Teaching Forum, the quarterly journal for professionals teaching ESL or EFL English as a Foreign or Second Language, published by the U.S. State Department's Office of English Language ProgramsFortunately, the State Department’s Office of English Language Programs publishes the English Teaching Forum, a quarterly journal that serves as a resource for professionals teaching English as a foreign or second language all over the globe. This publication connects teachers of English as a second language across the many countries in which they are teaching by allowing them to submit articles and share their experiences working towards their common goal of helping others learn the English language worldwide. In fact, the majority of articles featured in the English Teaching Forum are authored by English language classroom teachers. Each new issue of the journal has a distribution of over 85,000 copies across more than 130 countries!

Teachers of English as a second language will find a number of useful articles in the pages of the English Teaching Forum. Topics covered in this quarterly publication include classroom language learning activities, teaching methods and tools, informational articles on potential teaching topics related to American culture, and understanding the needs of the diverse group of students that these teachers encounter.

In the most recent issue of the English Teaching Forum (Volume 51, Number 4, 2013), “Raising Cultural Awareness in the English Language Classroom” tackles the question of how to introduce American sociocultural elements into the language curriculum to enhance the students’ ability to grasp the cultural nuances of the language. It has been said that students cannot master a foreign language without understanding the cultural context in which the language is spoken, and in this article, author Jerrold Frank explores this theory and suggests methods of introducing cultural lessons to language students.

Another particularly interesting feature from English Teaching Forum can be found in Volume 50, Number 1, 2012, in the article “A Call to Service”  by William P. Ancker, which introduces an interview with Dr. James Alatis, a leader in the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) community. The interview with Dr. Alatis, originally conducted in 2004 but reprinted in this issue in honor of the English Teaching Forum’s 50th anniversary, follows this introduction.

The journal even includes classroom exercises and printables, such as this fun quiz displaying the confusion caused by English-language homophones–words that are spelled differently but are pronounced similarly (like there and their).

ETF_Lighter-Side_Homophones-QuizImage: Speak and Spell Quiz from English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 3. See answers at bottom of the post.

If you are a teacher or a student of English as a foreign or second language, or even if you just find language and learning to be topics of interest to you, US-State-Department-American-English-Mobile-Appthe English Teaching Forum is a worthwhile publication to explore!

For more resources for teachers of American English, visit the State Department’s American English website, including downloading their new American English Mobile App for both teachers and students.

How do I subscribe to English Teaching Forum: A Journal for the Teacher of English Outside the United States?

About the Authors: Stephanie Jaeger is Sales & Marketing Coordinator for GPO’s Sales & Marketing Division that markets GPO’s publishing services to the Federal sector. Government Book Talk Editor Michele Bartram is Promotions and Ecommerce Manager for GPO’s Publication and Information Sales Division in Washington, DC, and is responsible for online and offline marketing of the US Government Online Bookstore (http://bookstore.gpo.gov) and promoting Federal government content to the public.

Answers to The Lighter Side “Speak and Spell” homophones quiz from above:

Answers-to-Homophones-Quiz 

3 Comments | Department of State, Language, Mobile and Apps, Teachers and teaching, U.S. Department of State | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Stephanie Jaeger, U.S. Government Printing Office

%d bloggers like this: