Adjusting to Virtual Life

 We are now 3 1/2 months into our hybrid learning, and it is still a daily adjustment. Not having over half of your student population here on campus is definitely a challenge for this librarian I definitely feel like the role has shifted more toward teacher support more than student support, and I'm feeling pretty successful. 

Teacher Support

Our district has moved to Canvas as our Online Learning Platform, which was a huge change for our teachers. In previous years, we have used Google Classroom. However, with the current pandemic and need for remote learning, our district made the shift to Canvas. 

Let's be honest for a moment, while Canvas is amazing, it was not easy to learn. There is a MUCH BIGGER learning curve involved when it comes to Canvas. So, most of my hours have been spent helping teachers adjust. I am really enjoying that part of my role. After working in education for 20 years, and all 20 of those focused on the student, it is refreshing to be able to support the teachers more. That is my silver lining from the situation we are in right now. 

Virtual Library 

In the past, one of my favorite activities to set up has been a book tasting. I love setting the books out on the tables, and students rotate around the library to preview the books. It is always a BIG hit with the students. I've done this activity in elementary and middle school settings. 

This year, we could not do this in person for two reasons:

1. over half of our students are remote learning from home. 
2. we can't go around touching all the books and rotating to tables. 

So, I got my creative juices flowing and made a Virtual Book Tasting. 

The students are really enjoying it!! I've had several come into the library with screenshots asking to check out the book. Most of the books on the activity are checked out. 

Copy of Virtual Book Tasting

First Chapter Friday - Adventures of Coyote Sunrise

 

Digital Learning Day 2020

Using Novelist with 8th Graders 

Digital Learning Day is a celebration in February that our district has been doing for a few years now. It is a day where campusses focus on the many ways teachers and students are using technology and digital resources. I typically spread this out for an entire week so that I can get more classes in. 

Our campus has an online readers' advisory program called Novelist, that I use often. I decided, for the 8th grade classes, we would do a scavenger hunt with Novelist and tie in Pear Deck. If you have never used Pear Deck, I sugggest you look into it NOW! It is great for student engagement. 

I made the theme of the lesson a 'dating/matchmaking' theme. They got a kick out of that! And I was so happy that most of them found a book and either checked it out or put it on hold! This is a HUGE accomplishment for 8th graders!!

BookSnaps with 6th graders 

One of my favorite activities to do with students is to have students create BookSnaps in Google Drawings. On my campus, every student has their own Chromebook, so this makes activities like this much easier. 

To create a book snap, students insert an image of the cover of the book, then choose a passage from the book that they relate to. It can be a text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-worl connection. They then use the camera to take a picture of the inside of the book, and insert that into the drawing. Then, students add their responses/connections and some images or emojis. 

There are several examples and instructions, you just have to search up "booksnaps". The students always have a great time with this, and the teachers have an activity they can do later in the classroom. 

Fall in Love with a Book

February is going strong in the AAE library! I have had lots of fun with the activities and displays this month. I broke in my new Cricut, and made a saying for the circulation desk.

Blind Date with a Book 

This year, I thought I would try the "blind date with a book" display. I really didn't think it would be as popular, but I had over 70 of these checked out. My student aides helped me decorate the bags, instead of using wrapping paper. Using the bags made it so easy. 

On the front of the bag I wrote the barcode number so we could check out the book, and I wrote some words and phrases to describe the book inside without giving away the surprise. The students were told to not open the book until they got home, then when they return the book their name is entered into a drawing. 

Speed Dating with Books

In the past, I have done book tasting with my elementary students, but I thought I would try something different with 7th graders. So, I found the idea on Pinterest to do "Speed Dating". It is the same as book tasting, just with a different theme. I threw some red plastic tablecloths on the table, and put a centerpiece in the middle. I decided to categorize the tables by genre, so I made a genre sign for each table as well. 

During the activity, students moved around to the different tables. The directions were to:

1. At your table, look at the book covers and see what appeals to you. 
2. For 3 minutes, spend time with a book to get to know it. Read the summary on the back or the back jacket, or read the first couple of pages. 
3. If you find a book you want to spend more time with, take it with you. You can always change your mind if you find a better book along the way. 

While students browsed the books at the tables, I played oldie love songs. They loved it, especially when SWEET CAROLINE by Neil Diamond played. 

Mindfulness 

Students in middle school today are really stressed and have a lot of school work they have to do. I try to relieve that stress as much as possible by providing them a quiet, relaxing place to come to. This particular morning I set out coloring pages and provided markers. 

It makes my heart happy that so many of our students enjoy coming to the library and know that they have a relaxing place to come to when they need to chill out. 

January Breakout

Did anyone else feel like January lasted forever? I'm pretty sure toward the end of January, we made it to January 75, 2020. But, we finally broke out of January and headed into February now!

"The Outsiders" Breakout Box

Our 7th grade English classes just completed the novel study over THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton. I was so excited that they had asked me to be a part of their study, and I helped introduce last month. And now I was able to end the unit with a FUN breakout box activity. 

The students had to use the clues and their knowledge of the novel to be able to open the locks. One of the clues, students had to match the quotes to the characters. On the backs of the quotes were colors, which gave students the color code. Another clue was a cipher code, that spelled out "Who was Johnny's least favorite of the gang?" This gave the word clue. 

They all worked really hard and collaboratively to solve the puzzles. The fastest team from each class period received candy, but at the end of the week, the group with the lowest time overall (with no hints used) got to choose a new book. 

Shakespeare Research

Our theatre group is putting on a play over Shakespeare's MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, but set in the 1980s. I cannot wait to see it! Meanwhile, the 8th grade English Enriched Honors classes are starting their unit on Shakespeare's works. To set the stage, I created a hyperdoc and an internet scavenger hunt so that students could get more background knowledge over Shakespeare. I think they were most fascinated by the fact that Shakespeare married an older woman!

STEAM projects

Since we are an academy, all of our students are required to participate in at least one competitive science event. This year, I was excited that some of the events are taking place on campus, which means I can be a bigger part of the event. The event in January was the Gumdrop Tower competition, to see which group could build the tallest free standing tower out of gummy bears and toothpicks. My  main  job was to monitor, but I loved talking to the groups about their designs.

There were tons of squeals happening this afternoon as some towers stood on their own, but others CRASHED!

Books, Books, and More Books

Soon after coming back from the Winter Break, one of our book orders was delivered. It was like Christmas all over again! My library aides helped me unload and check the invoice, and my book club was able to have first dibs on checking out the new books. 

Our display for the month was "Reading with our Friends", and I displayed books that the library had more than one copy of. Mostly, our female students used this display, but I'm proud to say that this display is now almost empty. I have several friends that checked out the same book to read and discuss. 

Now we are into February, and it is Book Fair week! I love seeing the excitement on their faces!!