1. Is anyone else exhausted after this week?
I emailed the other librarians in my school district, and I found out that they are just as tired as I am. I don't know if it is because it is halloween week or there was a full moon, but it has been one wild and crazy week. Our principal wasn't here for 2 days this week because he was at a leadership conference. There were 2 fights, 6 ISS students (that I know of), and an elementary student tried to run away. Education is not for the faint of heart!
2. Does anyone else have the added responsibilities of RTI as well as housing students in ISS?
I found out that one of our librarians actually has to work cafeteria duty. She has to bust tables and keep the kids quiet during this time. She works in the biggest school in our district. I guess I just find myself wondering, if being a librarian has always been this way? A lot of times, I find myself too busy doing my "added" responsibilities and neglecting my librarian duties. For example, I have a whole cart of new books that need to be cataloged, labeled, and shelved, but I find myself ignoring them because I need to accomplish other things first. (And that's not to mention yearbook, which is also my responsibility).
3. What could I add to my activities for Halloween next year?
One of the other librarians in my district had a great idea for Halloween. She encouraged her students to create literary pumpkins. She collaborated with her teachers, and this became an extra credit project. She displayed the pumpkins in the library for everyone to see, and she chose winners who were given a free book and a movie ticket! I thought this was a wonderful idea to get students involved in a fun way. I definitely want to remember this for next year!
I chose to reflect on my week for this post! All I can say is wild and crazy, and I hope next week is a little slower. I have my first observation on Monday. I've got my plans and materials ready to go. Now I'm awaiting my preconference this afternoon.
Happy Halloween!
Friday, October 30, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Retelling and Summarizing
1. Is this a skill that I need to spend time on?
After talking with other librarians in my district, I found out that this skill was one that students sometimes find the most difficult. They are not sure what the most important parts of the story are to retell. So, we spent time going over the retelling rope to review what we needed to include. After introducing and doing a few practice questions, I could tell that students did need extra work with this skill.
2. Is technology the best way to reach middle school students?
All of the other librarians in my district use technology on a daily basis with their middle school students. Some are teaching them how to do prezis. Others are teaching them how to use word. While another is creating book talks. I plan to incorporate more technology into my middle school lessons.
3. Do I need to incorporate more technology with younger students?
Most of the librarians in my district agree that this was a tough question. Many students are not confident enough or experienced enough to use technology on their own. However, as a group, students seem to benefit from the use of more hands-on tools like technology. I hope to incorporate more technology with my younger students as well.
This week I introduced the concept of retelling and summarizing to my students K-8. For the elementary students, we used a retelling rope (which reviews all of the basic story elements that we have already discussed: character, setting, plot, beginning, middle, end, problem, and solution). After reviewing the retelling rope, I read aloud the book The Big Ugly Monster and the Stone Rabbit by Chris Wormell. After reading the story, we made a foldable about the B.M.E. (Beginning, Middle, and End). Then we sang the Parts of a Story song that I found on YouTube. I thought that 4th graders would think that the song was dumb, but they seemed to love it more than the younger students.
In my junior high classes, we have been researching Edgar Allan Poe per request of their Reading teachers. We started by watching a brainpop cartoon about his life. I have read the Tell-Tale Heart and the Raven to them to get them intrigued and to give them some examples of how he wrote. Then, I sent them on a webquest to find information about specific questions that I wanted them to answer about him. This week, we are completing our research. I couldn't think of a better way to retell or summarize the information that they found about him other then by writing an obituary. I gave them an example to follow and a rubric to follow for grading purposes. Next week... we start making prezis!
Overall, I'm very pleased with how the skill for this week has gone. I'm really starting to enjoy the library more and more and finding new ideas to get students interested in reading. I still find that junior high (especially 7th and 8th grade) is my biggest challenge!
After talking with other librarians in my district, I found out that this skill was one that students sometimes find the most difficult. They are not sure what the most important parts of the story are to retell. So, we spent time going over the retelling rope to review what we needed to include. After introducing and doing a few practice questions, I could tell that students did need extra work with this skill.
2. Is technology the best way to reach middle school students?
All of the other librarians in my district use technology on a daily basis with their middle school students. Some are teaching them how to do prezis. Others are teaching them how to use word. While another is creating book talks. I plan to incorporate more technology into my middle school lessons.
3. Do I need to incorporate more technology with younger students?
Most of the librarians in my district agree that this was a tough question. Many students are not confident enough or experienced enough to use technology on their own. However, as a group, students seem to benefit from the use of more hands-on tools like technology. I hope to incorporate more technology with my younger students as well.
This week I introduced the concept of retelling and summarizing to my students K-8. For the elementary students, we used a retelling rope (which reviews all of the basic story elements that we have already discussed: character, setting, plot, beginning, middle, end, problem, and solution). After reviewing the retelling rope, I read aloud the book The Big Ugly Monster and the Stone Rabbit by Chris Wormell. After reading the story, we made a foldable about the B.M.E. (Beginning, Middle, and End). Then we sang the Parts of a Story song that I found on YouTube. I thought that 4th graders would think that the song was dumb, but they seemed to love it more than the younger students.
In my junior high classes, we have been researching Edgar Allan Poe per request of their Reading teachers. We started by watching a brainpop cartoon about his life. I have read the Tell-Tale Heart and the Raven to them to get them intrigued and to give them some examples of how he wrote. Then, I sent them on a webquest to find information about specific questions that I wanted them to answer about him. This week, we are completing our research. I couldn't think of a better way to retell or summarize the information that they found about him other then by writing an obituary. I gave them an example to follow and a rubric to follow for grading purposes. Next week... we start making prezis!
Overall, I'm very pleased with how the skill for this week has gone. I'm really starting to enjoy the library more and more and finding new ideas to get students interested in reading. I still find that junior high (especially 7th and 8th grade) is my biggest challenge!
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Book Fair Week
1. What can be done differently to make the Book Fair run more smoothly?
* Overall, I feel like the Book Fair was a success. However, I do feel like there could be some changes made in order for it to run more smoothly. I researched to find some ideas that other librarians used, and this is what I found:
1. Include parent volunteers.
2. Shorten shopping time to cut back on playing.
3. Brief the students before they are allowed to shop on your expectations.
4. Small groups are allowed to shop at a time.
5. Have a smooth checkout routine and stamp and bag items purchased as they are checked out.
6. Make it a fun environment.
Source: https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/61-book-fairs-tips-for-success
2. Would it be beneficial to have more than one Book Fair?
* I have made a ton of money this week for the library which means lots of new books for my students. So, I can absolutely see where it would be beneficial to have more than one Book Fair. The only problem with that is finding the time in between testing schedules during the spring. If I could find a time, then I definitely would have a second fair so that I can buy more new books for my students.
3. Should the librarian be solely responsible for organizing and running Book Fair?
* Since I am the librarian, I have mixed feelings about this. I feel like parents and the PTO should be involved. I did not get much teaching done this week since I was solely the one responsible for running the book fair.
This has probably been the busiest week of my life as a teacher! Not only have I been running the Book Fair single-handedly, but I have also been in charge of sending out business yearbook ads, collecting yearbook money, preparing for fall festival, collaborating with teachers, and working on the school improvement plan. Whew! The biggest positive from the day is that I sold more than $1700 during the Book Fair, so that means lots of new books for my students. The negatives from the day were that some classes could not handle the change in structure in the library. So, I had to deal with some behavior issues. Overall, I am very happy with how the day went, and I am very excited about how well my first Book Fair went. Could I make changes? Most definitely! However, I survived the first one, and next years will be even better!
* Overall, I feel like the Book Fair was a success. However, I do feel like there could be some changes made in order for it to run more smoothly. I researched to find some ideas that other librarians used, and this is what I found:
1. Include parent volunteers.
2. Shorten shopping time to cut back on playing.
3. Brief the students before they are allowed to shop on your expectations.
4. Small groups are allowed to shop at a time.
5. Have a smooth checkout routine and stamp and bag items purchased as they are checked out.
6. Make it a fun environment.
Source: https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/61-book-fairs-tips-for-success
2. Would it be beneficial to have more than one Book Fair?
* I have made a ton of money this week for the library which means lots of new books for my students. So, I can absolutely see where it would be beneficial to have more than one Book Fair. The only problem with that is finding the time in between testing schedules during the spring. If I could find a time, then I definitely would have a second fair so that I can buy more new books for my students.
3. Should the librarian be solely responsible for organizing and running Book Fair?
* Since I am the librarian, I have mixed feelings about this. I feel like parents and the PTO should be involved. I did not get much teaching done this week since I was solely the one responsible for running the book fair.
This has probably been the busiest week of my life as a teacher! Not only have I been running the Book Fair single-handedly, but I have also been in charge of sending out business yearbook ads, collecting yearbook money, preparing for fall festival, collaborating with teachers, and working on the school improvement plan. Whew! The biggest positive from the day is that I sold more than $1700 during the Book Fair, so that means lots of new books for my students. The negatives from the day were that some classes could not handle the change in structure in the library. So, I had to deal with some behavior issues. Overall, I am very happy with how the day went, and I am very excited about how well my first Book Fair went. Could I make changes? Most definitely! However, I survived the first one, and next years will be even better!
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