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
Have Fun with Fire Safety in the School Library
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
Specialists Collaborate for School Wide Engagement
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
How to Energize Your School Community with Specialist Collaborations
We know that students benefit from collaboration between classroom or content area teachers and the school librarian. You can read my previous posts for more information: Students benefit from Collaboration in the School Library and More Ideas for Collaboration in the School Library. I’d like to invite you to consider school specialist collaborations to energize and unite your school community around a common theme. I
More Ideas for Collaboration in the School Library
As school librarians, we are constantly striving to form collaborative relationships with classroom teachers and content area teachers. We know that school library collaboration strengthens and deepens learning for our students. When we work with teachers to support and augment classroom instruction, our students benefit greatly. In my last post, Students Benefit from Collaboration in the School Library, I shared some ideas for collaborating with
Students Benefit from Collaboration in the School Library
Collaboration in the school library has been a key component of school librarianship as long as I’ve been in the profession. Even now, “Collaborate” is one of the shared foundations in the National School Library Standards. We collaborate by working with classroom teachers and content area teachers to ensure the learning in the library augments and supports the learning taking place in the classroom. School
Harry Potter Week for Distance Learning
I’ve been trying to keep my elementary library lessons fun and engaging for my students while giving them choices during distance learning. You’ve read about Yoga Storytime and Star Wars Week already. We saved the best for last with our Harry Potter Week for distance learning. This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. If you click on a link and make a purchase,
May the Fourth Be With You While Distance Learning
May the Fourth Be With You is a favorite day in our school library. You may have seen my earlier post about our Star Wars scavenger hunt. While trying to plan engaging activities for our students during distance learning, my physical education and music colleagues and I decided to try Star Wars Week again. Read all about our Harry Potter Week for Distance Learning! (You
Be the Light!
In the spring of 2019, I was chosen by the teachers in my school district as the educator of the year. It was a tremendous honor that came with a great opportunity and responsibility. I was to speak in front of all of the members of our school district at our opening convocation in August. As I considered what I would say, I decided I
Energize Your School Community with Harry Potter Week!
A couple of weeks before Halloween, our school library was transformed into Hogwarts as our whole school celebrated Harry Potter Week! Over the past couple of years, I’ve teamed up with the music and physical education teachers in my building to integrate our subject areas around a theme for a week or so. Our Harry Potter Week has been our most exciting so far! This