Citations and Curation

The past two weeks have been fun, seeing all of 7th grade and all of 8th grade English classes. Collaborating with the teachers is a favorite part of my job! 

Digital Book Portfolios  

The eighth grade teachers asked me to help them come up with a place where the students can write about what they are reading this school year. So, we came up with digital book portfolios using a Google Site. 

The main goal when they visited the library was to set up the Google Site and learn how to write a good book review. The students spent about 10 miintues setting up their site, exploring the themes and fonts, and choosing background photos. They also spent a little time coming up with a title: some were simple titles and others were really creative. One student name her site Book-Tacular! 

Next, we learned what to include in a good book review. 

Coming up with creative titles for their book portfolio sites. 

Citations 

The 7th grade English teachers asked me to teach citations because they will be doing research this year. A requirement is MLA citation page. I didn't want to just teach them to go to Citation Machine or another site that creates it for them, but instead I want them to start to understand the format 

I did tell them they won't memorize this format until using it a lot, and that I still have to look up using MLA citations sometimes when I cite my sources. 

We first talked about the importance of citing our sources and why we do so. Most of them said plagiarism, and a couple said so we don't go to jail. We talked about the reality of the consequences, especially how it can affect you in your higher education. We then looked at 4 types of citations: book, magazine, website, and online database. 

I wanted to make the practice fun, so I decided we would use manipulatives. I created citations for the four types that we discussed that day. I then cut up the citations and put them in bags. Each group had a set, and they were color coded so they knew which parts went together. 

The students' challenge was to put the citations back in order correctly within their groups. I think it went well. Even though they didn't have it memorized, they now have a better understanding of citations and sources to look at when they have to create their works cited page. 

National Dog Day

While my dog doesn't visit my school library, I can't leave her out on National Dog Day. This is our cutie, Bellatrix. She is a silky wire haired miniature dachshund, and spoiled rotten by every member of our family. And  YES, she is a slytherin. 

Sometimes it is OK to Shhhhh!

 Morning in the library

Our middle school first period class starts at 8:50, but many of our students arrive around 8 a.m. most days. Students wait in the cafeteria for the most part. If you are a band student, orchestra student, or art student you can go down to those rooms when the teachers come pick you up. When the cafeteria starts filling up, students are taken to the hallway to wait. 

My first year at this campus, I opened up the library with games for the students. I didn't mind that it was loud because they were having fun. As the weeks went by, I noticed fewer and fewer students coming in the morning. I went out to the hallway where I noticed one of the regular morning visitors was sitting with a book looking very frustrated. I asked him why he didn't come to the library to read. He said it was too loud in the library in the mornings. I then started surveying some of the other students that came the first week, but then stopped coming. The majority of them told me they were hoping for a quiet place. All the other rooms were noisy, and they needed a quiet calming place to stay in the mornings. 

So, I decided to change up the library in the morning. It is now a quiet place, and the rule is to respect others and not be above a whisper. In my three years I only had to send a group out one time that was not following the rule and being extremely loud and watching videos on their phones. I have over 40 students in the library most mornings that come to read, study, or just be in the quiet before class. In my tiny library, 40 is A LOT! 

The moral of my story -- You have to get to know your students and find out what they need. In my case, my students needed a quiet place, so I provided that for them. 

Back to School 2022

 How did this happen? I am starting my 24th year in education, 8th year as a librarian. I spent 16 years in an elementary classroom, then 4 years as an elementary librarian, and now I'm in my 4th year as a middle school librarian. I still think I have the BEST JOB in the world! 

First day of school 

August 8th we welcomed our students back on campus. The first day of school I usually only see the kids in the hallways. I spend passing periods helping the 6th graders and new students find their way in this new building that is twice the size, or more, of their elementary school. Most of the students are looking for a smiling face. 

Teachers are setting the procedures in the classroom, so students don't get to come check out the first day, which is fine. There is usually still lots to do to get ready. I spent the day finishing up the new library passes and creating book lists for students. 

I got the idea for the book lists and this display from Melissa Corey and LibrarianBookEnds on Twitter. If you don't follow them yet, you should! They have tons of ideas for school libraries. 

Check out the books 

On the second day of school, students were starting to come visit since the teachers now had their library passes. My goal the first week of school is to get books into the hands of as many students as possible. In order to do this, I make a video with library procedures and send to the classroom teachers. The teachers show the video in class, then come for a 20 minute check out. This allows me to book more than one class in a period. This week, I had over 500 students visit to check out books. This is a little over half of our student body, so I call this a SUCCESS! 

Another goal my first week with students is to train my student aides. In our middle schools, we do not have paraprofessionals to help us in our libraries, so we have student aides. These student aides help me check in the book, shelf the books, and make book displays. I have a great group this year, and I cannot wait to see what they come up with for book displays. 

Bulletin boards 

I have 2 bulletin boards outside the library in the main hallways. This year I got an idea from pinterest and took an idea from a recent TikTok trend. 

My Pinterest find was a cute welcome board that I think I will keep up all year. It has a word cloud of all the things you can find and do in the library. 

The second bulletin board was an idea from the recent TikTok trend "He's a 10 but... " I wasn't really keen on the idea of our students rating each other, so I changed it to be "They are a good friend but...". So far it has been a hit and students have even requested some of the books. 

How is your first week going? What success did you have this week?