Make your library the center of your school
April is National Poetry Month, so of course it’s a great time for some poetry activities in your school library. I really love to take advantage of these types of themes to create fun events in the library. Many classroom teachers do poetry units in April, so that makes it a collaboration opportunity too. Using Poetry Month activities in your school library is a win-win
Have you heard about Boom Cards? They are no-prep, digital, interactive task cards that are super easy to use! They are just the ticket to add some fun to the learning in your virtual or in-person library classes! I’ve got some tips to help you get started using Boom Cards in the school library. What are Boom Cards? Boom Cards are self-grading exercises that are
You probably know that I LOVE to create special storytime sessions for my primary grade library lessons. Leprechaun Storytime is always a big hit! Engaging picture books, music, movement and fun lead to high levels of engagement. Since we’re coming up on the one year anniversary of school closures due to the pandemic, I’ve been reflecting on how I was unable to do my traditional
A student comes in and asks you for a book. Do you go to the shelf and grab it for them? Or do you take the time to guide them in some library catalog practice? Do you encourage them to search the catalog themselves? And then do you take the time to give a little mini lesson on locating the book? Of course it is
How many times have you found yourself sitting in the middle of a school professional development aimed at classroom teachers? I know I’ve been there. We doodle in our notebooks and daydream of school librarian professional development just for us. We need PD that addresses the many facets of our roles within our schools. Our professional development must prepare us to meet the needs of
I don’t know if there’s ever been a time in my life that I’ve seen so many people ready to kick the current year out the door and welcome a new beginning! 2021, please be awesome!! The new year brings new goals in our professional lives as well as our personal lives. Are you as eager as I am to reimagine your school library in
December is a challenging time to keep our students actively learning. I’ve shared several ways to keep the fun in our libraries this month. There is so much excitement about upcoming holidays in the air that it’s difficult to maintain a focus on academics. Time to pull out your tricks! I’ve found that my lessons are always more engaging if I make a game out
In a normal school year, December brings changing schedules and lots of fun activities for our students. School librarians are always working at being flexible and maintaining that happy place in our libraries. But December 2020 is bringing unique challenges to schools as we face a holiday season unlike any other we’ve seen. It seems like the fun has been taken out of so many
National Fire Prevention Week is usually the first full week in October. I’ve been teaching about fire safety and fire prevention since my early days as a first grade teacher. My husband, a retired fire marshal, would help and encourage me as I planned my lessons. I continued the fire safety lessons in my school library because I believe it is important for us to
Every year I start out my library lessons with a review and some instruction on how my students can manage their library accounts. With all of the changes this year is bringing to our circulation routines, library catalog instruction is more important now than ever. Because of health and safety concerns from the Covid19 pandemic, some schools are not allowing students to browse for books,
