National Library Week...

...is coming up, so during April I'm going to be compiling a list of my students' favorite books and authors, figuring out which are available for free at Sacramento Public Library, and then making that list available the first week of May. Public participation is welcome. Please jot down your favorites by making a comment to this blog post. Thanks!

Information Portal

Most of the middle school students I know rely on books and Web sites when they are doing research for a school project. Sometimes you do need to read books to get all of the required information and to get to know your topic thoroughly. But sometimes you need quick, factual information, and for that, encyclopedias, atlases, and other reference books are helpful. But, you don't drive yet, so getting to the public library can be difficult. And the school library might only be open at lunch, which doesn't give you enough time to find all you need.


Here's the good news: you don't always have to go to a library to use quality reference materials. Infoplease is an excellent Web portal to all kinds of information you need for science and social studies projects and reports. Just click on one of the tabs in the horizontal blue bar to access information. Tabs of particular interest are Atlas (maps), Encyclopedia (quick facts and overviews), Countries (flags and more in-depth information), and Timelines. Remember that encyclopedias provide information on a wide variety of topics, like countries, social and political movements, historical periods, scientific theories or discoveries, inventions, and technology. They are a great place to start researching a topic that is new to you. You will learn enough about a broad topic to figure out what aspect you want to focus on, and you’ll probably also discover through reading the encyclopedia entry what words might make good search terms. From there, you’ll be prepared to find a good book and maybe a couple of magazine articles or Web sites, depending on what’s available and what your teacher requires. But honestly, you often only need the type of information that is available in these types of reference materials.

Anyway, using Infoplease can save you from those general, unfocused searches on the Web that either lead to nowhere or everywhere. Why be overwhelmed when you can get right to some reliable, appropriate information? Infoplease has even more useful links in the left-hand blue column on its home page. Of special note: Biography, Sports, and Homework Center. Check it out!

Tree Frogs of Sacramento County

Last night there was a tree frog in our pool! He swam around, perched on the tile just beneath the surface so that his face stuck up just enough for air, and then he swam away to another part of the tile. Eventually he scaled the side of the pool like Spiderman and hopped away.

Is chlorine good for frogs? I kind of doubt it, don't you? We had a pet frog for about three years. He'd been caught by a neighbor. Since he had already been removed from his natural habitat (which I don't think you should do to a frog), we kept him. He had a terrarium with frog bedding in the bottom, real tree branches, a couple of tiny ponds, and a fake miniature tree. His name was Flip. We filled his ponds with bottled spring water, as frogs are very sensitive and cannot tolerate chemicals, such as chlorine. In fact, the health of frogs indicates the health of our environment because their skin is so porous and they are so sensitive.

So, I worry about frogs swimming in pools. There are so many frogs in our neighborhood--I hear them at night--that I was wondering where they are all getting their water. It's not like we live near a stream. Now I know. Backyard swimming pools!

This reminds me that it is vernal pool season in Sacramento. If you are interested in visiting ponds and seeing what creatures and plants thrive in them, go to http://www.vernalpools.org/MatherSchedule.htm for information about visiting the vernal pools at Mather Field. To ensure the protection of this special ecosystem, you can only visit the pools with a guide, but the tours are free. You just have to sign up in advance.