The Beginning of MakerSpaces

Next year we are going to have a MakerSpace in the library.  I'm not sure what that is going to look like--do I have it available all the time?  Do I wrap it around a teacher's lesson and only have it available while they are learning that particular thing?  How do I plan for this?!

Well, we are running a test trial this week.  Getting our feet wet, so to speak.  Today was Day 1 of MakerSpace Testing and I'm thrilled with how well it went!

I had two 4th grade classes come in and try their hand at origami.  First I had them watch the video of Tom Angleberger explaining how to make an emergency Origami Yoda:


As we watched, we all made our own Origami Yoda.  If students struggled, I had others at their table help them.

Then, using an ebook from Capstone, we put it on the Smartboard and made the Floppy Ear Puppy.   Then I gave each table a different assignment: they could use an origami book and choose one design to work on as a group or they could look at the new design on the SmartBoard.  It was kid friendly, but still a bit challenging.

It was fun to step away and watch what happened.  Some students struggled with the Crouching Bunny design on the SmartBoard, but they persevered.  Another group stuggled with making a car, but they worked it out as a group.  Creativity was evident.  One student got scissors and cut his own deisng into a piece of paper and created his own story with the design.  They were allowed, for an hour, to create and manipulate paper and they loved it.

I stood to the side and watched and encouraged and occasionally helped.  When they got frustrated that the Origami paper was wrinkled, I told them they could still use the same piece--wrinkled didn't mean broken.  It didn't mean they had to get a new piece of paper-it just meant they had to push out the wrinkles and start over.

Tomorrow is building and designing with marshmellows and toothpicks.  I'll take pictures and post them.

Adding Some Color to the Library

I have this huge lighting structure hanging above my circulation desk.  Today we added some vinyl stickers to it to spruce it up a bit.  What do you think?!

Now my next task is to tackle that long blue wavy piece you see in the background.  I'd like to add some sort of literary quote, or pictures of characters from books.  This is going to take some thought and planning to make sure we do it right!

Capture the Learning: Crafting the Maker Mindset

Capture the Learning: Crafting the Maker Mindset



I love this article.  It is going to be my guide as we embark on Maker Spaces next year in the library!

Reflecting on TLA15

I was so glad to be able to attend the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference last week in Austin, TX.  Not only did I get to hang out with colleagues and friends, I was able to meet some authors and illustrators (!!!), and I even attended some great sessions on how to make my library a better place.

I attended the Bluebonnet 101 session about how to make my Texas Bluebonnet reading program better for my students, and my teachers.  My big takeaway was that I am not supposed to push my students to read all 20 books on the list.  I am to encourage my 3rd - 5th grade students to "read 5, then decide".  Not all books are appropriate for all age levels.  This will slightly change how I approach my Bluebonnet program.  I will focus more on getting the students to read 5, rather than trying to get them to read more.  I have ordered my Bluebonnet books and they should get here in the next few weeks so we can get started!

Me and Oliver Jeffers, illustrator of the 2015 Bluebonnet Award winning book, 

The Day the Crayons Quit.

Another session I attended was a brief introduction to MakerSpaces.  While this is a big trend in libraries, I am learning it is not something most of my teachers have every heard about.  I want to start the school year off with a MakerSpace and I see that I am going to have to spend some time teaching my teachers about it!  I think it is going to be another great way to draw students (and teachers!) into the library and to show them the resources we have available.

I attended the Texas 2x2 Session where I got to meet:

John Rocco

(That's me. I obviously need to do some push ups and tone my arms.) 

Again, I came away with some ideas for the 2x2 program that I can use next year.  I want to incorporate more technology into my lessons, and the 2x2 provides some lesson activities that I can use.  Listening to John Rocco speak inspired me to communicate more with my parents on the benefits of reading aloud and reading together.  

The session on Board Games in the Library gave me some thoughts about my MakerSpace and about my centers that I do with 1st grade.  I'm not ready to buy a bunch of board games, but I do already own some puzzles and checkers boards so I would like to incorporate those more next year.  

The Graphic Novel session hosted by Mavericks was fascinating.  I know I need to bolster this part of my library.  Listening to Jeff Smith speak about his history with graphic novels and the graphic novel industry was really interesting.  I am ready to sit down with my book rep and discuss how to expand this section of my library.

All in all, I did not come away with one big, huge AHA! moment from the conference.  I came away with many little, "I cannot wait to try this in my library" moments, which is really what I wanted.  My library program (and students and teachers) will be the better for it next year.  

Oh the Feels....

From @_Snape_

Transformation Tuesday.. pic.twitter.com/bVx5wwWBK3
— Professor Snape (@_Snape_) April 14, 2015

Magisto

I'm trying out this new website/app I just discovered.  The free version allows you to use up to 10 photos to make a video.  I think it's worth the price to buy a subscription and use more photos.  A one year premium subscription is $19.99 and allows you to upload up to 30 photos per movie and gives you the ability to download your finished movies and create longer movies.

Catching Up

It's been awhile since I blogged.  I've been Tweeting (@SniffsBooks) instead.  But that doesn't mean we haven't been busy in the library!

In March we had a guest reader for Dr Seuss's birthday: the Cat in the Hat!  He read to three assemblies, which allowed every student to be able to participate.  For the rest of the birthday celebration week we played Dr Seuss Bingo in the library.  The students loved it and prizes were handed out for the winners.

We had another puppet show, based on the book Tadpole's Promise by Jeanne Willis.   It was so much fun to play the part of the rainbow caterpillar who was madly in love with her black pearl tadpole.  It was even more fun to see their shocked expressions when we reached the twist in the story!

The teachers and school counselor and I got together to make a video parody of Taylor Swift's song, Shake It Off.  It was meant to be an inspirational, and funny, video to loosen up our students before the STAAR test.








Something else I have been doing with my 3rd - 5th graders is discussing what we are reading.  Every time I see a class, I share what I am reading with them and I ask them to share with me (and each other) what they are reading.  This started off very slowly since my students were not used to discussing what they are reading.  Reading has always been a silent activity.  It's not been something they were used to doing, so it was slow at first.  But the more I share, the more they share.  Even the teachers are beginning to share what they are reading.  I am striving to make our reading an open discussion.  I want them to understand that we are all reading.  We are all readers.  By sharing our books, we are encouraging each other to read and we are promoting books with each other. I share with my students how it is OK to not like a book--it actually makes us stronger readers when we learn what we like and don't like.  This has been one of my favorite activities of the year.  It just takes 5-10 minutes per class, but I've been able to see some of my students grow as readers and some of them are eager to share what they are reading.  I want to demystify reading and let my students see how EVERYONE can be a wild reader.

How to Use Shelf Markers - in Spanish!

One of the 1st grade teachers helped me make this video for our younger bilingual students.  I used the app Puppet to take the photos and then Mrs G recorded her voice on it. 

What we read Jan 19-23

Here is what we read this week:

PreK: Fortunately, by Remy Charlip and The 3 Bears and Goldilocks by Margaret Willey.  Last week we read Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Paul Galdone.  This week I read the same story, but with a few differences.  They really enjoyed the book, Fortunately, and were so glad the little boy made it to the surprise birthday  party!

Kindergarten:  We continued to read books by Eric Carle, including The Very Quiet Cricket and Rooster's Off to See the World.  We discussed how Carle had problems learning math as a young child and how he likes to include counting and numbers in his books as a result.

1st Grade:  We read I Dare You NOT to Yawn by Helene Boudrea.  This is on the current Texas 2x2 Reading List.  So many of them DID yawn while I was reading this book!

2nd Grade:  We read Mustache! by Mac Barnett.  The students noticed so many details in the illustrations, such as the court jester juggling different items on each page.  

3rd Grade:  We read Sam and Dave Dig A Hole by Mac Barnett.  The kids loved the story and couldn't believe Sam and Dave came SO close to finding diamonds...but then missed them.  They also pointed out to me that the picture of the house on the front and last pages looked similar, but had small differences in them.  We're also working on dictionary skills with third grade.

The book trailer:

What we read Jan 12-16

Just a few of the books we read this week in the library!  The Kindergarteners are learning about Eric Carle.  The 2nd graders were studying books that were Caldecott Medal winners (A Sick Day for Amos McGee) and 1st and 3rd heard books that author Mac Barnett has written.  What a fun week in the library!

Why Students Should Choose Their Own Books

According to the book, Reading in the Wild, by Donalyn Miller:

It is important for students to self-select their own reading material because it:

• Allows students to value their decision-making ability
• Fosters their capacity to choose appropriate literature
• Gives them confidence and a feeling of ownership
• Improves reading achievement
• Encourages them in becoming lifelong readers  

page 46.

The First Week Back

We had a great first week back from Break.  We kept it slow this week and reminded the students of library procedures and allowed plenty of time for them to browse and check out books.

For the month of January, Kindergarten  classes will be studying author and illustrator Eric Carle.  We discussed his use of collage in his books and read Have You Seen My Cat? and then watched (and sang!) this video:




1st and 2nd are reviewing library procedures.  Second grade is also starting to study Caldecott Award winning books.  We'll be comparing and contrasting illustration in books that have won the award over the years.

3rd - 5th grade will be voting on their favorite Texas Bluebonnet book at the end of this month so we are discussing those books.   We are also discussing what it means to be a "wild reader" (based on Donalyn Miller's book, Reading in the Wild) and how we can become "wild readers".

Glad to be Back!

It sure was nice to have a few weeks off for Christmas Break.  My family and I went to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.  We spent several days there and thoroughly explored the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  It truly felt like we had stepped into the pages of the novels; Diagon Alley was amazing.  My daughters went to Ollivander's Wand Shop and were chosen to participate and have their wands CHOOSE THEM.  They got to try out several different wands before the right one chose them.  It makes me want to reread the Harry Potter series, and I am putting that on my "To Be Read" list for this summer.

This is a picture of me and my girls in Diagon Alley; Gringotts is behind us.

I also surfed the internet a lot over Break and read up on my Professional Literature.  I found a few things I want to share with you:

This website lists 100 Books Every Boy Should Read.

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On a totally different note, I saw this and thought it was worth posting to generate conversation:

Thoughts?  Feedback?

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I follow Kid President on YouTube (SoulPancake).  He made this video about  #BookItForward.  The idea is simple: share your favorite book with someone.