Sharing Your Work-Local Media Outlets

I love having the opportunity to share the work that is happening in school libraries. Advocating for and sharing what you're doing in your school library is SO important. It's important to share how your students are learning with local, state, and national stakeholders.

AASL has included great one-page graphics for stakeholders to relay information about the AASL National Standards and how school libraries support learners.

To help spread the word, share the love, and spread the wealth of information school libraries hold, contact your local newspaper or media outlet. Check websites for the correct procedure to submit an op-ed piece or call their office directly. Fortunately, I have a great relationship with our local newspaper, and they enjoy printing pieces that feature happenings in our local schools.

No Green Screen? No problem!

A few weeks ago, I ordered a Green Screen. During December, we participate in Hour of Code. We planned to have various Makerspace stations for students to rotate through for a week, one week of coding, and then another week of Makerspace rotations. One station was, obviously, the Green Screen Station. We wanted students to see how we convert images and change the backgrounds. The plan was for students to create holiday cards.

Well....the Green Screen didn't get shipped in enough time to make it here for us to use it the first week of Makerspace rotations. I remembered using Pixlr to edit out backgrounds for other blog posts and Snapchat filters. I spent some time exploring and making many, many mistakes, but I came up with a way to change out the background of an image and super-pose it similar to that of a Green Screen.

This may not be new to everyone, but sometimes it's the small victories during a stressful time of year that make the world go 'round.

Our images started like this:

Then ended like this:

For step-by-step directions, the Google Slides presentation is linked in either picture above. I know that I could have gotten a green cloth or paint to create a faux Green Screen, but I really like having the option to work around a problem. It's always good to have a Plan B...or C...or D...

Resources: Arkansas State Capitol

You know how you go places and pick up stuff you think is fantastic with every intention of sharing said stuff? Happens to me all the time. As I was cleaning off some shelves, I found some pamphlets I picked up at the ARA Conference about the Arkansas State Capitol Building.

The Secretary of State offices offer a ton of teaching materials and resources. I didn’t know that they would send someone to your school to do a presentation for your classroom! Programs that they offer include: State Symbols, a hands-on activity program; Virtual Tour program; and a Young Voter’s Program that discusses the Civil Rights Movement, the process and importance of voting, and voter’s registration.

The Secretary of State’s website also has some great information. I spent some time “playing” on the kids’ website.  There you can find virtual tours, information on the history of the capitol building, games, and links to videos. The videos are linked through YouTube. I always give a mini-talk about clicking around in YouTube or on websites. Students should stay focused on the current video. 

On the teacher’s page, there are lesson plans, virtual tours, PowerPoint presentations, and information on ordering materials for your classroom. All materials are FREE! If it’s for free, it’s for me! 

I’ve ordered some just to have on--hand in the library in our Arkansas Resources section. And don’t forget that their staff will travel to our school to speak to your classroom upon request! Guest speakers are always fun.

Sit. Stay. Good, Student.

I am all for giving students rewards. Correction...I am all for giving students awards. I was corrected by the ADE staff once upon a time. An award is earned or given as merit; a reward is offered for doing something that is noble or good.

Over the weekend, a very heated discussion was being had among some friends and myself. Is it good to give students rewards? 

In the article My Biggest Regret as a Teacher: Extrinsic Rewards by David Ginsburg (from edweek’s blog) stated that he regrets ever having started a reward system in his classroom. Why? 
“It sets them (students) up for future failure. That’s because success is about delayed gratification, not instant gratification.” 
Think of Pavlov’s conditioning training. If I do what I’m supposed to do, I get a treat. 

Following the rules and working hard are rewarded with prizes, stickers, a smiley face. Some students respond well to that, but are we hurting the masses or helping them to become successful?

People who are successful in life have learned to self-discipline and self-motivate. They do what they do because they enjoy it! 

How can students become successful if we constantly give rewards for just doing what they are supposed to do? They can’t. And they won’t. 

Many struggling students think they’re incapable of succeeding; slacking off or sabotaging classroom activities become a means of self-preservation. David states, “These kids need confidence, not candy.”

The way to elicit students’ cooperation is to empower them, not control them. We should be making students feel successful by giving them knowledge and power! Think of this: are you helping “students feel[ing] fulfilled because of that they were learning, not because of what they were earning”?

Read the entire article here or subscribe to edweek’s blog for free.

Furry Friends

In an article I read recently, Ron Claiborne and Wendy Brundige stated, “For young kids, one of the big challenges in learning to read is the embarrassment of making mistakes.” I totally agree with them! When listening to students converse over text in the library, I’ve noticed that the closer someone gets to a child reading aloud, the softer their voice becomes until they are no longer reading aloud.

I have received several responses when asking students to read aloud to me that are along the lines of “I don’t know how” or “I can’t do it”.

The article, Study: Reading to Dogs Helps Children Learn to Read, highlights a study from East Norwalk Library in East Norwalk, Conneticut. Children participated in a “D2R2” program where students read to dogs. During the course of the 10 week program, student participants read aloud to dogs. Those students participating in the program who read to dogs improved their reading skills by 12 percent. Students participating but not reading aloud to dogs showed no improvement.

One student participant stated, “I have somebody that listens when I read. If I make a mistake, there’s no one around me to laugh.”

After reading the article and pondering how I could have a litter of dogs in the library? I realize I already had the solution. Stuffed animals! I’ve collected several of Brandt’s and Rhianna’s that we no longer use at home, along with stuffed characters from our favorite books. Kohl's often has stuffed characters for only $5. In the library now, we have a Book Buddy Bucket full of reading buddies for anyone who needs someone to listen without judging.

My Book Buddy Basket is not nearly as cute as these I found on Pinterest, but the kiddos love it just the same!

For the full article, click here.

Charlie May Simon Nominees 2017-2018

I usually put this off until the start of the school year, but I wanted to allow time for students (or teacher-librarian friends) to create book trailers.

Each year, I create a presentation for the Charlie May Simon books. In the presentation, I include some information about who Charlie May Simon was and how to vote. The presentation also includes each book cover, blurb, and a book trailer if it's available. The books without a trailer have a note under the cover image.

I give students the opportunity to create a trailer for those books. This is typically a presentation we do within the first couple of weeks. We post the presentation in Google Classroom and have students work through it independently. I also create a YouTube playlist for the book trailers that students can access any time.

Feel free to use the presentation (with credit to the author, of course) or the playlist!

YouTube CMS Playlist
Charlie May Simon Google Slides




Don't forget about the Lesson Plan Format post to help get you started for the school year!

Arkansas Diamond Books 2016-2017

Earlier this year, I shared my complete presentation of the 2016-2017 Arkansas Diamond Children's Book Award nominees. Each year, not only do we read the nominees aloud in the library, but we also record them! This allows students the opportunity to go back and listen to read alouds they may have missed. Often, teachers in other areas of the school help to read these books in their classes.



To view the presentation, please visit my Google Slides Link.

The YouTube playlist is linked below.



Please, be kind and give credit to the authors, illustrators, and readers when sharing. And, don't forget to COMMENT if you enjoyed the videos (especially those recorded by friends).