BEYOND THE BASICS: Tips to Maximize Usage

Teen Health & Wellness is multi-use!  Use for project or paper research.  Use as a self-help resource.  Use to address particular curriculum-standards and student needs.

Use as a research tool…  Articles all have built-in citations  Can be ed and shared (no login required for shared articles)  Directs users to related articles  Includes recommended reading that can be found outside of database

Use as a self-help resource…  Multiple ways to search for a topic  Myths and Facts tries to dispel hearsay and exaggeration often heard from unreliable resources  Personal stories send message that you’re not alone  Dr. Jan’s column provides quality advice from an expert  Resources offer credible website and organizations a teen can explore further  Hotline buttons are available with an easy click if a teen wants to contact any of these resources

These are great uses of the database…but only if the teen knows about it in the first place! This is where you come in! How can you tell them about it?

Getting the word out…  Do you have a school or library orientation at the beginning of the year?  Put a poster in their packet or have then download the iPhone app!  Does your library have a website?  Put it on the list of recommended resources.  Do you have a school newspaper or newsletter?  Let parents know about it, too!  Inundate students with posters in the library, on the bathroom doors, around the school…  Put bookmarks out in the library where students will grab them.

Visit the Librarian/Educator Resources!  Web buttons and widgets to put on your website or Facebook page  Posters, brochures, bookmarks, and flyers that you can download and print to use around your school  Program ideas, program ideas, program ideas!

Now…Teen Health & Wellness has lots of great content, but how exactly can I incorporate it into my library and classroom curriculum?

Putting it to use…  Incorporate it into special events:  Bullying week, AIDS awareness, Election year activities, digital citizenship and cyber safety training  Create programs that will use the database  Summer reading tie-ins, Teen Advisory Board, pre-Finals study break  Encourage teens to share their own stories  Personal Story Project, “It’s Your Cause” Video Challenge  Stories and videos can be published in the database—a real plus on college/job applications!

Putting it to use…cont’d  Check out the curriculum correlations!  Use in Health classes  Create video PSAs on a specific curriculum topic  Use in Technology classes  Create “TeenTeach” videos where teens share a message on a certain topic  Use in Special Ed classes  Use with Reading/Writing assignments  THW supports the Common Core goals of students as creators, not just consumers, of content!

Newsletter content…  Sign up for our bi-monthly newsletter to learn database updates and new, innovative uses of the database, such as:  Posters and article lists for Red Ribbon Week  Research training by library staff  Girls Get Real program  Research “glogs” on health topics