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.

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.

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.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - -

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

Thoughts?  Feedback?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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

December Newsletter

Here is the December newsletter. We're doing some fun activities in the library!
 

Force and Motion

Here is our video, based on the TEKS of Force and Motion, and the book, The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz.  The puppets acted out the book as it was read aloud, then the classes made videos to show force and motion.  We also watched a video by Genesis JuJitSu, which introduced the students to terms such as rolling and sliding.



It was so much fun to bring science alive in the library and to see the creativity of the teachers and the students!

November Newsletter

A Visit From the Fort Worth Vaqueros

We had a blast in the library today!

Two players, and the coach, from the Fort Worth Vaqueros soccer team stopped by.  They read to the students, answered questions, and signed autographs.  They even played in a quick game of soccer with some students and teachers!  

It was a great experience for the students and a wonderful way for the community to be active in our school.

Marshmallows and Puppets, Oh My!

This past Friday was Puppet Show day in all three of the elementary libraries. At each school we read the book, The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett, and the puppets acted it out.  It was an interactive puppet show as marshmallows were thrown at the audience--the screams of excitement made cleaning up all the marshmallows worth it!

You can see the Knight (with the orange head) in the picture above.  He likes to recite poetry.

After the book, we showed a video about marshmallows and science and had the students predict if the texture, size, temperature and color would change if we placed a marshmallow in the microwave, a bowl of water, and the freezer. 

It was so much fun to see the students excited about the puppets and to see them participate as scientists in our marshmallow experiment.  Puppets, marshmallows, science and even some poetry in the library on this Friday!

Having Fun in the Library

The past two weeks have been a lot of fun in my library (but really, everyday is fun when you work in a library!). 

We celebrated National Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19) with a visit from some pirates via Google Hangout; we also connected with the other two elementary schools in my district so all the kids could participate.

After some pirate poetry, the students participated in an extension activity such as drawing themselves as a pirate:

 

This week, I received my books from DonorsChoose.   I asked for high interest, popular books for my library because I have over 800 students come through my library in a week.  I just can't keep these popular books on the shelves and I want my students to have every opportunity to read.  I am humbled that people have donated to my "cause" (encouraging my students to read) and very thankful.  This week my students and I will be writing thank you notes to our donors and I will take pictures of them reading our new books!

Why This Shelf Looks Good to Me!

This is one of the 

display shelves in my library.  

Looks good, doesn't it?!  

Let me tell you about this shelf.  

Steve is in charge of this shelf. 

For the uninitiated, Steve is the good guy from the game Minecraft.  (see Steve to the right).  

Steve likes to read and he wrote a quick, 3 sentence review of the book, The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman.  He gave it 4 out of 5 stars.  He then placed the review and the book on this shelf.  Soon, 4th and 5th grade students noticed and asked if they could write their own reviews.  Of course!!  Once the review and the book go on display, the books are quickly checked out by other students who want to see if they agree with the book review.

That's why I'm happy this shelf is empty.  My students are taking the initiative to write a short book review and post it on the Steve Shelf.  Other students see that the book is interesting and they check it out! *doin my happy dance*

September Newsletter

A Brief Introduction

It's Coming Together!

I spent the week working in my library, specifically, genrefying the library.  With some help, I was able to get all of the Fiction section arranged by genre.  Here are some pics:

The signage indicates which genre you are looking at.  

This is the beginning of the Adventure section.

This is the beginning of Animal Stories.

This is the beginning of the Humor books.

     Sorting the Fiction books by genre has been a great way for me to get to know the collection in my library and to see some gaps in the collection that I need to start filling.  

     I think that genrefying the Fiction section will empower students.  They can now walk into the library and have a better idea of what kind of book to check out.  This also helps me guide them toward a genre (if you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, you might like Timmy Failure).  It's a way for students to feel like they are part of the library--no longer will they walk in, look at all the books, and ask, "What should I read?" or "Where are the scary books?"  I can now point to the Scary section.

I have worked in other libraries that have genrefied and it has been a huge success.  The students prefer the library laid out this way and they are quick to recommend books to other students, "I just finished Dragon Slayers Academy.  You should try that one."

I also started decorating the Reading Area:

I'm hoping that this will be a comfortable, relaxing space in the library where students and teachers can hang out and enjoy a book.