Make your library the center of your school
Assessment in the school library can be tricky. In my opinion, it’s not strictly a paper-pencil thing. We see our students on a limited basis (for me it was once a week, now it’s once or twice per month). The skills we are teaching in our library classes support lifelong learning – they’re definitely important! Therefore it makes sense that we want to check that
Teaching research skills in second and third grades is fun when you remember a few important guidelines. The key is looking at the big picture. What have your students learned up until this point? And what will your students need as they progress though school? Research skills for second and third grade students build upon an early foundation and lay the groundwork for future learning
When I think of Spring, I think of Earth Day. April brings us outside to enjoy all that our earth has to offer. Earth Day falls at the perfect time to motivate our students to take care of our beloved planet. It’s a great time for a fun school wide event, some engaging lessons, or a special library storytime. These fun Earth Day activities will
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
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
No matter the circumstances, I love to shop for new school supplies at Back to School Time! This year is no different for me. I’ve already shared some strategies for getting ready for this school year in your library. Let me tell you about my favorite back to school supplies for librarians. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. This means that if
A few years ago, I was looking for strategies to keep my youngest learners engaged and ready to learn. It was at that time that I tried Yoga Storytime with my kindergarten and first grade classes. That experience propelled me into a new learning experience in which I stretched myself to become the “singing librarian” I had always wanted to be! All kidding aside, I
As school librarians, we are constantly working to collaborate with the other educators within our schools. We know that these efforts result in stronger and deeper learning experiences for our students. School specialist collaboration takes traditional collaboration up a notch by uniting the entire school community around an engaging learning theme. If you need more convincing, read my previous post: Energize Your School Community With
As we get closer to the Super Bowl, more and more students are discussing football and their favorite teams. They come to school on Mondays talking about what happened at the latest playoff games. Excitement builds with each passing week. This is the perfect time to hook students with a great lesson focusing on media literacy skills. I’ve got a fun and engaging lesson using
Library catalog instruction can be dull and boring. It can be difficult to motivate students to care about library search and location skills when they’d rather be playing a game. Why not make your library catalog search and location practice into a game with additional activities just as fun as playing a game?! This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. This means that
