Blog Share

    

          Library Learners is a blog that is written by Cari White.  She spent 15 years as a school librarian and is now a curriculum writer.  When I was looking for a blog to share, I was really looking for one that would give me tips and tricks to use in my own school library since I have newly acquired this position.  With this being my very first year in a small library that only serves primary-aged children, I have a lot to learn.  The librarian that served my school before me had been at our school since it was opened, close to twenty years ago.  She retired at the end of last year but left me with extensive notes on how she ran the library and is only a phone call away when I have questions that I need answered.  This year is definitely a “learn as I go” year, so I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can so I can implement new ideas along the way as well as take advice from other seasoned school librarians.  The four biggest sections of Cari’s website that drew me in are Library Centers, help with Library Lessons, Library Management, and ways to Promote Reading.

          Just like in all primary-aged classrooms in our school, having centers available in the library is a way to ensure all students are actively working on their own levels as well as a great way to differentiate across the curriculums.  In the blog post entitled “What works for school librarians in 2019,” a section of that entry was dedicated to how one of the Learning Librarians organized the centers in her library.  “She had 4 basic centers and just changed the theme and had 1 rotating center for k-2.  Her basic centers were: make a bookmark, book making, listening to stories with QR codes (eventually teaching kids to maneuver around BookFlix), coloring, puzzles and secret spot reading (kids take a cushion and a flashlight and read under tables).  Rotating centers were library skill activities (like abc order games or cut and paste fiction or non-fiction from old book fair flyers), games (book related board games or puzzles), etc.”  (White, 2019).  Included in that same post is an example of the pocket chart that’s used for organizing the management of how many students can go to which center.  There are also ideas on the blog for library centers specific to each month under separate blog entry posts.

          On the Library Learners blog, there are a plethora of ideas for lessons taught in the library.  There is definitely something on there for all levels of students.  One entry that caught my eye was entitled, “5 Terrific Tips for Picture Book LibraryLessons”.  The first tip was to “choose quality books that will engage your students” (White, 2023, July 17).  Her suggestion is to refer to lists of books that have won state awards because “those lists have typically been vetted by a committee of librarians who work regularly with children” (White, 2023, July 17).    Secondly, “plan ahead for standards-based discussions” (White, 2023, July 17).  Jotting the questions you plan to ask on sticky notes to add to the specific pages of the book helps you not forget what you’ve planned to ask even when interruptions occur.  The third tip is to “incorporate STEAM challenges in your picture book library lessons” (White, 2023, July 17).    These challenges will help students “learn to collaborate and to overcome obstacles” and the book you choose to read aloud will “provide context and meaning to the task, helping students be more invested in the outcome” (White, 2023, July 17).    Fourth “provide engaging work to help check-out run smoothly”. (White, 2023, July 17).   Any library who doesn’t have a library assistant can attest to how difficult it is to keep students calm while they wait their turn to check out.  “Keeping students busy with a printable activity related to the picture book lesson can be the perfect solution” (White, 2023, July 17).    The fifth, and final, tip is to “enrich the lesson with extension activities” (White, 2023, July 17).    “Extension activities can reach students of different learning abilities and interests” as well as “make great links to add to your school library website, for families who want to continue discussions at home of what their students learned about in school” (White, 2023, July 17). 

          For library management, there are many ideas available, from supplies to order off of Amazon, to getting a Donors Choose project up and running, to using quiet critters to manage the noise level in the library, to weeding library books.  The blog entry in this section that grabbed my attention was entitled, “20 Great Ways to Celebrate Library Book Returns”.  Any librarian faces the dreaded task of making sure all students bring back the library books they have checked out from the week before.  Under each idea that is shared on this particular blog entry, there are several different ways to see that idea through.  “Stickers to reward library book returns”, “Food treats for library book returns”, “Raffles to encourage library book returns”, “Free rewards for library book returns”, and “Displays to focus on library book returns” are the ideas suggested (White, 2023, May 6).    Some of these ideas were geared towards the teachers of each classroom receiving the reward, the students as individuals, or working together as a class to receive the reward.  This is an area I want to improve in my current library.  Right now, I am not providing any incentive for returning library books other than getting to check out a new book for those students who return the book they checked out from the week before.

          The last, but certainly not least, important section of the blog post entries are ways to promote reading.  Isn’t that what the library strives to do: promote reading?  Whether that is promoting reading for students or for the adults in the building, there are a lot of entries on this blog devoted to this coveted task.  In the blog entry entitled, “How to Encourage Reading with Wrapped Books,”  a guest author for the blog, describes how she allowed her older elementary students to partner up and choose a picture book or an easy non fiction book that didn’t circulate very often in the library.  They then read the book several times and created a teaser for the book they would wrap and decorate in a future lesson.  No where on the outside of the wrapping were they to write the title of the book.  After each book was wrapped, the teaser and a barcode for checkout was glued on and the book was displayed for the younger children to check out.  The younger children were not allowed to unwrap the book until they got home with their book.  Children today love to buy mystery toys where half the fun is unwrapping them to see what’s inside.  This idea reminds me of those mystery toys yet this one promotes and encourages all students involved: the older students who created the book wrapping and the younger students who got to choose a book to unwrap and read.  I can’t wait to see how successful this idea for promoting the reading of library books is in our school library!

          If you are new to the librarian position, or you are in need of some fresh new ideas, the Library Learners blog is definitely one you need to check out.  I have bookmarked this blog so I can be sure to check it for new posts from time to time.  I’d love to hear your awesome ideas and suggestions of something you’ve tried in your library that has worked.  Please comment below if you have anything you are willing to share.

 

Works Cited

White, C.  (2019, June 15).  What works for school librarians in 2019.  

    Library Learners.  https://librarylearners.com/what-works-for-school-

    librarians-in-2019/

 

White, C.  (2023, July 17).  5 Terrific tips for picture book library lessons.  

    Library Learners.  https://librarylearners.com/5-tips-picture-book-library-

    lessons/

 

White, C.  (2023, May 6).  20 Great ways to celebrate library book 

    returns.  Library Learners. https://librarylearners.com/20-great-ways-to-

    celebrate-library-book-returns/

 

Lamoot, D.  (2023, March 27).  How to encourage reading with wrapped 

    books. Library Learners.  https://librarylearners.com/how-to-encourage-

    reading-with-wrapped-books/

Books I'm Currently Reading

Paul Bunyan by M. J. York

Pecos Bill by M. J. York

Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart by Pat Mora

Jackrabbit McCabe and the Electric Telegraph by Lucy Margaret Rozier

Miss Sally Ann and the Panther by Bobbi Miller

John Henry Vs. the Mighty Steam Drill by Cari Meister