We ❤️ Books in February

 February is one of my favorite months in the library. I could do without the middle school pre-teen dating drama, but there are so many fun activities to do the month of February. 

Speed Dating with Books 

One of our favorite activities is Speed Dating with Books, also known as Book Tasting. Same concept, I just call it speed dating because I do it in February. 

Each table is a different genre, and students rotate around to each table. They have about 3 minutes at each table to browse the books. They can keep the book if they are interested to check out at the end of classtime.  

This is really easy to set up. I cover the tables with pink and red tablecloths, and put a small centerpiece in the middle of the table. The centerpiece isn't necessary, but I found some cute ones at the Dollar Tree. Each table had a sign with the name of the genre and a definition of the genre. The morning of, I set the books out, but have a cart of books set aside to replenish the tables throughout the day. 

During the event, it's fun to play Oldies Love songs to listen to while they browse the books. The students love it, and most of them find a book from the tables that they are excited about. 

Blind Date with a Book 

This one is a little more difficult to set up, but it is worth it! The students get so excited about the mystery! 

I've seen this done up more fancy with actual wrapping paper, but I don't have time for that. So, we just use a brown paper bag and decorate it with markers. One year I used the white paper bags, but this year I couldn't find them. It was just as popular as any other year with just the brown paper bags. 

One the pink label, I put words and phrases that describe the book. This helps the students pick out which one they want. I also print out the barcode label without the title to put on the outside of the bag so it can be checked out. 

After they read the book, students fill out a review and their name is entered into a drawing. 

Monthly Statistics 

New School Year

 ** I forgot to post this back in September, so here it is late. 

Adjusting to a new school year 

Last school year was a huge adjustment with over fifty percent of our students learning from home. This school year, everyone is back at school in person. It was like the first year teaching again in some ways. Adjusting back to lessons in person instead of on a screen, and back to a full house in the library was necessary for all. 

I open up the library every morning before the first class begins. Together, the students and I decided that we needed it to be a quiet space in the mornings. The majority of students coming in were wanting to get away from the loud noises in the cafeteria each morning. Other rooms, such as the band hall and theatre room, were also loud. We discussed it, and it was decided that the library would provide a quiet area. I think it is important that I let the students help me make that decision. 

Banned Books Week

During the last half of September, we celebrated Banned Books Week. This year I teamed up with the 6th grade Social Studies teachers and tied it in with the Nazi Book Burnings. We disussed reasons why Hitler wanted to burn the books and why some people try to ban books from libraries. There were some really good conversations. The the kids are always really surprised to find out that Captain Underpants from their elementary years had been challenged multiple times. 

October

October is one of my favorite months! I like to highlight the scary books that we have, even though it is my least favorite genre. Middle school students just seem to flock to the scary books, and some of my reluctant readers get excited about the scary books. 

With the classes I did a lesson over Edgar Allan Poe. Together we researched his life, but then groups had to solve the mystery of his death. We learned in our research that his cause of death is unknown, but there are several theories of how Poe died. Groups took the clues from their research and came up with the theory they agreed with based on their information. They had loads of fun! This is definitely an activity I will repeat in the future. 

Virtual February

 While about 1/3 of our students have returned face-to-face on campus, the majority of our students continue to learn from home. Each month, librarians continue to reach out to our at-home learners in order to build relationships and to encourage a love of literature. 

I am taking a lot of things I did in past years, and turning them virtual. 

Virtual Blind Date with a Book 

Blind Date with a Book was a HUGE HIT last year at my middle school, but I knew this year I needed to do it differently. Even the students on campus wouldn't be able to pick up the wrapped books to read the descriptions. So I made it virtual this year. Students were given the opportunity to fill out an interest survey, then I matched them with a book. I actually had a LOT of fun matching books, and even some teachers joined in and wanted me to match them up with a book. 

You can get a copy of the google form to change to fit your campus needs. 

After I matched the book according to their interest survey, I wrapped the book in a brown lunch bag (nothing fancy), put some candy and a bookmark in the bag, and put a label on the outside. Then the books were delivered to classrooms, or picked up via curbside pick up for remote learners. 

February Book Talks 

One program I started this year that I plan to continue is the book talk videos. I started them so that all students, on campus and remote, would have access to my book talks. They have helped tremendously with promoting literacy. 

6th grade book talks 

7th grade book talks 

8th grade book talks 

Even though I am adjusting to this virtual librarian thing, I am definitely ready for everything to return to normal safely. I miss large groups of students hanging out in the library! I miss being able to have makerspace and coding with robots in the library! I miss classes coming to the library to solve the BreakoutEDU boxes! 

January Book Talks

 

6th grade book talks 

7th grade book talks

8th grade book talks

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.