Book Character Parade

Today we had a Book Character Parade. I am always amazed at the creative ideas that students come up with for this event. The rule of thumb is that you have to be carry a book that matches your outfit to be able to walk in the parade. Of course there were princesses from all across the Disney spectrum and a few superheroes.
Here are some ideas that might be of use for future parades:
The Paperbag Princess---a dress made of brown paper.
Captain Underpants---oversized undies stuffed
Diary of a Wimpy Kid---boy with white T-Shirt
A Bad Case of Stripes---stripes on the face
Mother Goose---apron, boots, skirt with a big hat

Trying to feel flexible during fixed testing weeks

Today we start MAP testing and the library is used both for our space and our personnel. I always have mixed feelings about these dates---3 times a year at 2 weeks each time--because the library is basically closed. I know that testing is a part of our educational lives and that the data collected is useful for teaching and learning. I'm trying to think about these weeks with a "glass is half full" attitude. Our library is fortunate to have 28 computers for students to use during the rest of the non-testing year. I am blessed with an library assistant who comes in early and works late. So by 7:00 AM we have both the lab and the library set up for testing and we open for checkout before school. Today we did not open because of technical difficulties---yes it all worked before Spring Break when I tested it, but it didn't work at 6:30 AM this morning! Tomorrow we will be open for checkout before school. When we are finished testing during the day, I send an email school-wide letting teachers know we are now open. Some days we don't have that option, but it's my way of trying to be flexible in a fixed world.

Using VoiceThread in the Library

I am including this tutorial because I didn't create an educator account at first and figured that maybe somebody else could learn from my mistake.

Blogging in the "House"

I will admit to one TV show addiction at this point in my life---the medical drama called House. Last week the show was about a lady who was a "blogger". That is how she described herself and how others described her: a blogger. No reference to her as a job title or family relationship--just blogger. Of course there is the medical mystery for the House team to figure out, but the subplot was about how blogging had affected her personal life with her husband, friends and her "followers". In the face of impending death, what relationships did she think mattered? Well, at first she thought it was the online people in cyberspace, but she realized that it was the real-life person that mattered the most. This made me think about blogging and how it is affecting our lives. The reason we blog, the people we blog for...etc.
I'm still thinking...uh, I mean blogging.

"I am..."
Writing assignment using Photo Story 3

Listen to a podcast of this post:

Can you guess the animal?

I'm brainstorming ways in which to use Wordle with students.

How To:
The easiest way to save a Wordle is to take a screen-shot of it (Alt-Print Screen) then paste (Control V) it into Microsoft Office Picture Manger (under Microsoft Tools in MSOffice). Crop it there and save as a picture file. It was easy to insert into a PowerPoint after it is saved as a picture file too.

Idea:
I want students to create a Wordle that describes an animal that they researched first. Then we could all guess what the animal is. Wordle allows you to print too, but I have no place to display printed work in the library. So, it will have to be an electronic presentation.

This is my "How to use a computer" Wordle:

How Many Books Should Students Be Allowed To Check Out?

It's the end of the day. My wonderful assistant has emptied "The Cart" and all the books are re-shelved for the moment. There's a lot of books in here. The shelves are full. Something is wrong with this picture.

Two reasons for this come quickly to mind: 1. I need to weed the collection or 2. Kids are not checking out very many books. Both reasons have validity and I realize that I need to work on both areas. Weeding is ongoing and needed right now because we have been so lucky to have great funding this year for library books and there really is not space to keep everything even if I wanted to. So weeding aside, what about circulation?

Our flex/fix schedule is not the best for encouraging lots of circulation. For one thing, kids are not "allowed" by their teachers to come to the library because of the rigid schedules classroom teachers must adhere to. Some teachers work around this well, most do not. We do a crazy-busy amount of checkout before school from 7am-7:30---but that is the most stressful time of day and so rushed. We have the school store and the morning TV show in the library during that time also. Hurry-hurry-rush-rush.

During the fixed week, it is really up to the classroom teachers to make sure the kids bring their books back when they come to the library for Specials time. If the students forget their books they can't go back to the classroom to get them. Other issues that affect checkout during Specials time is the fact that some classes come directly from the recess on the playground and they don't bring books. The 5th grade goes directly to lunch from Library Specials and the kids don't want to carry books through the lunch line then out to the playground for recess. Again, it is the classroom teacher's attitude towards all the schedule issues that affect if her kids checkout books.

One thing I've been considering is changing the number of books each student can checkout at one time. Last year I upped the number for 2nd-5th grade from 2 books to 3 books. Kindergarten is 1 book and 1st grade is 2 books. Should I raise the number this year?

The last thing is my observation on what is happening with circulation. Teachers are not checking out books for their classrooms like they used to. Why? I think it is because the kids do not read books much anymore. They read computerized programs designed to increase test scores, they read printed-out on paper leveled booklets, they rotate through "stations" that are laminated worksheets and paper games, and they listen to teachers read from books that are deemed to teach a certain comprehension skill. They also have tubs and tubs of paperback books called "classroom libraries". My final observation is that kids are not checking out chapter books as they get older--they really do not want to checkout picture books either. They are choosing non-fiction books more often than a picture book or chapter book. This is interesting and I've added more non-fiction books to the collection in the past few years than fiction books because of the demand. What this means I do not know...I'm still observing.

Author's Last Name Starts with "K-I-N"

I just entered an online contest for classrooms and libraries to win a viewing of the new movie based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I could also win a class set of books which would be nice also. We have 2 hardback copies of each title in the DOWK series and multiple(5-6) paperbacks that I get from the Book Fair each year. The copies of these books are always checked out and they are the most often requested books. Until I read the first book I didn't fully appreciate the appeal of Jeff Kinney's characters. The format of the book--well, yes I saw the appeal of a font that looked handwritten with lots of doodle-like drawings. But until I read and laughed out loud I did not grasp the popularity. The way Kinney writes about relationships between siblings is so true that it is funny: laugh-out-loud-funny even for an old lady like me! Because of the daily requests for this book I have developed a strategy for encouraging kids to use the online catalog to find the book on the shelves.

Scenario #1:
Student: Are there any green Wimpy Kid books?
Me: Did you check the the shelf?
Student: No
Me: (I start walking towards Fiction shelves--most of the time they follow) Last name of author is Kinney---Fiction Section, K-I-N shelf...here are books with authors whose last name starts with K...read the spine...etc.

Scenario #2:
Student: Do you have any Wimpy Kid books?
Me: I don't know. (I really do know because I can glance at the spot on the "K" shelf where the books are if they are available) Have you looked it up in Destiny?
Student: No
Me: Well then, lets go look it up...last name of author starts with K-I-N...

Do I ever just go grab the book that I saw laying on the top of the shelves waiting for re-shelving and hand it to the student? Honestly--yes. But I try to do the "teacher" thing and seize the teachable moment. Thanks Jeff Kinney! I hope I win that contest.

For The Youngest of Researchers--Where's The Info?

My mantra this past week has been an old one in the teaching profession, "Monitor and Adjust". My lesson with 1st graders doing research on animals was monitored and adjusted every day after each first grade class. I realized in retrospect that I went a little overboard with expectations for this lesson---thought we'd even get to a "wall-wisher" at the end of the lesson. (big-sigh) The first big ah-ah moment came Monday afternoon with the first of the 1st-grade classes when it was quite apparent that they cannot read yet. They are learning to read Mrs. Bell! Why didn't you remember that? I was briefly waylaid by the bells & whistles of technology and forgot to start at the beginning especially with beginners. My database of choice for animal research was Encyclopedia Britannica via SC DISCUS. It has an "Animal Kingdom" option that has the most user-friendly search I could find. It still was to hard for more than 75% of the first graders. Coincidentally a discussion on the SCASL Listserv last week was about animal research for young students. This led me to a resource that I'd never heard of before called PebbleGo Animal Database. I immediately signed up for a free trial (https://www.pebblego.com/UserLogin.aspx) and thought it would be great for my 1st graders. I didn't get the trial to work for multiple users though and am looking into the yearly subscription. (pretty reasonable $) Back to EB for the first graders and I changed my lesson to focus on finding pictures of animals to start with---learning what the words "images & media" meant and how to navigate the web page. That worked better, but it was still a struggle because the students became frustrated very quickly when things didn't work quickly or easily. Another insight...problem-solving is a technology skill as is patience and perserverence.

My "Fixed" Week

Just finished this week of my "fixed" schedule. I was the special area (ie teacher planning period) for this week. The classes will go to Guidance next week and it will be flex in the library. I am lucky to have 28 computers in the library that I can use and my thinking this year is that if they are here---I should be using them with students. After all our goal in library is to make students independent users of information. So this week every grade from K-5 used the computer in some fashion during the library lesson. My reflection for this week will focus on what "worked". I tend to follow a demonstrate-it then go-use-it pattern for use of computer programs.

I use the video projector with my laptop and demo what I want the students do with the specific computer application. Even if the class has used the program before, I review it. This week we used Encyclopedia Britannica Online, the Jan Brett Website, an online version of The Snowy Day, www.thecolor.com for snowflakes, and www.vancouver2010.com (the Winter Olympics official website). I think what really made my lessons "work" this week was the fact that I was continually monitoring students at the computers. I walked around reminding, restating, re-directing and responding. I try to make student use of technology an interactive experience--not a passive way to fill time.

An example of the Flexible-Fixed Library:
While I was writing this blog I received a call from a 1st grade teacher asking that I help with their animal research during the next "fixed" library week. Yeah! --an opportunity for collaboration. I said sure and also suggested that if more time was needed, classes/students could also come for extra library time during the following "flex" week in the library.

One Less Thing to be Schizo About

The American Association of School Librarians just announced that our official title is "school librarian".
"The leadership of AASL says the title “school librarian”
sufficiently reflects the role of the 21st-century library
professional as a leader, instructional partner, information
specialist, teacher, and program administrator."
read article here

To be honest I always had a hard time with "Media Specialist"...people do not know what "media" means. Of course, I still get call lots of other names like Li-berry Teacher, Library Lady, their teacher's name, my assistant's name or even the AP's name because it sounds like "Bell". I've even been called "mom" a few times. That was nice.

I wonder if I should stop calling the "Library" the "Library Media Center" now?

I've looked at life from both sides now...

Our LMC is scheduled both fixed and flexible right now. In my 20+ years of experience, I've had schedules that were all fixed, all flexible and mixed. I still cannot decide what is absolutely, for-sure, the best form of schedule. My answer keeps changing with the ever-changing environment of education, so for now I'm content to just ask the question and try to make some objective observations and keep learning as each school year progresses.

Introduction: The Flex-Fixed Librarian

I was reading The State newspaper one Sunday morning twenty-some odd years ago when I came across an article about critical-needs teaching areas in South Carolina and the “Library Media Specialist” one intrigued me. I found out more and signed up for a graduate class at USC-Beaufort. After that first class I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree in Library Science. My husband quit teaching for a year also and we moved to Columbia,SC to become grad students full-time. After graduation in 1989, our job search landed us in Horry County in and we’ve been here since. I am currently the Library Media Specialist at Waccamaw Elementary. My husband and I live in Conway with our two teenaged sons.