Expanding Horizons with Diverse Books

The middle-school years are a time when students are extremely self-absorbed. It’s just a part of growing up, but that isn’t going to stop me from trying to get students to read and think about others, with the hopes of developing some empathy!

The English teachers in my district are being asked to promote the “Reading Without Walls” challenge to their students. This challenge encourages students to go outside of their comfort zone and try three types of new books. Challenge #1: Read a book about a topic that you don’t know much about.  Challenge #2: Read a book that’s written in a format you don’t normally read.  Challenge #3: Read a book about a character who doesn’t live like you or look like you. It’s fairly easy to set up displays in the library to support this initiative. The books get checked out and replaced with new ones, so it’s an area that can be left up for more than a couple of weeks. Both staff and students can get involved in this challenge!

• Find more information about the challenge here: http://geneyang.com/the-reading-without-walls-challenge.

The month of February is a great time to promote Coretta Scott King Award books. For much of my student population, these CSK Award books could meet Challenge 1, 2, or 3.  According to the American Library Association, “The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.” (2017).  When classes arrive, a few of the books can be book talked while leaving time to browse and place holds.  Because I want to expose many students to as many of the books as I can, we will place holds and begin checking out the award books two weeks after the first class visits. Normally I would want students to have the book in their hand immediately. However, a fellow librarian had great success with the hold method; more kids were exposed to more books and reading books in June that were book-talked in February!

• Find out more information on the Coretta Scott King Award here: http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards.

• Read the CSK Award blog here: http://olos.ala.org/csk/.

What are your ideas for expanding the horizons of your students? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

--Christina St. Clair

ALA. (2017, December 18). The Coretta Scott King Book Awards. Retrieved February 04, 2018,
from http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards
Yang, G. L. (2016, May). The Reading Without Walls Challenge. Retrieved February 04, 2018,
from http://geneyang.com/the-reading-without-walls-challenge

Makerspaces: What are they and why are they beneficial?

Makerspaces can be found in most libraries these days: elementary, secondary, academic, and even public libraries. A large number of students and educators have embraced the makerspace. However, some still remain skeptical. The main reason for this, according to Patrick Colegrove, is because those people don’t really know what makerspace is and why it’s important. Before I started the second half of my library classes, I fell into that category as well . I quickly learned how makerspace can have a positive impact on students in school.

I believe that when schools and communities establish their own type of makerspaces, they are allowing students to build knowledge in curriculum topics such as design, science, technology, coding, art, and math. Students are then working on life-long skills such as cooperation, collaboration, communication, and creativity. In my mind, I can only see positive outcomes by having makerspace in the library.

Throughout my research on makers, I have learned that as the maker-phenomenon started taking off, educators immediately recognized and embraced its potential. Makers help enhance learning and catalyze innovation with children at all levels and backgrounds.The O’Reilly/DARPA Makerspace Playbook describes makerspaces as “a gateway to deeper engagement in science and engineering but also art and design”. Through makerspaces, students are building literacies across multiple domains and are deeply engaged. This is what makes core library values, therefore relating makerspaces to the libraries. Makers are innovative, engaging, and part of 21st Century learning. Will they stick around or fade out? Time will tell.

Avery Long (February 2018)

Interested in creating your own makerspace? This blog is has fantastic ideas: 
http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2015/10/14/looking-to-create-a-makerspace-in-your-library-here-are-some-ideas/

Colegrove, Patrick (2013). Editorial Board Thoughts: Libraries As Makerspace? Information Technology and Libraries, 32(1), 2-5. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/60a4c12c79d7d3f0e733c48a8720b976/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1156335.

PebbleGo-- A Librarian's Best Friend

Saturday, February 3, 2018

PebbleGo-- A Librarian's Best Friend!

If you are an elementary librarian, PebbleGo can be the best friend you never knew you needed!  PebbleGo is a research database owned by Capstone.  It is primarily designed for use by Kindergarten, first and second grade students.  There are six different databases available for subscription, including Animals, Biographies, Science, Social Studies, Dinosaurs, and Animales (animals database in Spanish). 
PebbleGo offers a free trial for anyone who wants to test it out.  The cost is significant, but Capstone discounts each database, so the more you purchase, the less each one costs.  To learn more about PebbleGo's free trial, click here.
I purchased PebbleGo for my library two years ago, and I can't say enough good things about it.  It is a phenomenal source for nonfiction material in my library instruction.  Each database is broken down into different categories.  Students are able to see high-quality photographs and even watch video clips for most of the topics. 
I have many classroom teachers who rely on PebbleGo to give them valuable information for their students that is written on a reading level that is age appropriate.  PebbleGo is ideal for classrooms that are 1:1, but it is also great to use in a whole group.

PebbleGo Next is a new set of databases from Capstone that is
 geared toward upper elementary students.  It must be purchased
separately.  The databases contain more information and secondary
sources for older students, but it still reads the information to them.  My second grade teachers love the American Indians database!

Capstone provides tons of resources for librarians and teachers when using PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next.  Capstone Community is full of good ideas--check it out here!

I can't say enough good things about what PebbleGo offers!  If you want a safe, closed database that supports early readers and ELL students in an amazing way, you should definitely check it out.

Amy S.

Capstone. 2018.  PebbleGo.  Retrieved from https://www.pebblego.com/

Virginia Reader's Choice: What is it?

The Virginia State Reading Association (VSRA) sponsors the Virginia Reader's Choice (VRC) Award.  This annual award is given to a deserving book at the primary, elementary, middle, and high school levels.  According to the VSRA, the purpose of the award is to "encourage young readers to become better acquainted with contemporary books with outstanding literary appeal, to broaden students' awareness of literature as a life-long pleasure, to encourage reading aloud in classrooms as a means of introducing reading for pleasure, and to honor favorite books and their authors."

Each level has a committee of ten members who meet in April and October of each year.  During the April meeting, committee members bring book nominations, published within the last three years, to share with the other committee members.  The number of nominations brought depends on the level of the committee (i.e. the middle school committee members bring three nominations).  Between that meeting and the October meeting, committee members must read all the books nominated.  In October, members vote on which ten books make the official reading list, which is then released in the spring.

What makes the Virginia Reader's Choice Award more meaningful is that the official winners are voted on by students.  Virginia school children must read four of the ten books on the reading list in order to vote.  Votes are submitted online by the adult sponsoring the school/library VRC Program.  Votes are calculated and a winner is announced.  Being a Virginia Reader's Choice winner is like winning a People's Choice Award because it is given by the kids reading the books, not by experts in the literary field.

For more information on the Virginia State Reading Association or the Virginia Reader's Choice Award, please visit the VSRA website at www.vsra.org.

As a member of the middle school committee, I feel I am committed to reading more books than I may read by choice.  I read books that take me out of my comfort zone, but make me better informed when recommending books to students.  It is an honor to be part of such a special award program.

Virginia State Reading Association. 2018. Virginia Reader's Choice. Retrieved         from https://www.vsra.org/vrc/ 

Escape from Breakout EDU

Maybe your library budget is better than mine, but I certainly don’t have $60 just to be able to access Breakout EDU for the year.  It would be one thing if that amount was credited to your purchases, but each kit is an additional $90.  $150 to purchase supplies for just one escape room?  I don’t know about your class sizes – but we are usually running 2-3 simultaneously just to accommodate one teacher.  Our solution was to start building them ourselves.

Pinterest to the Rescue!

My motto as an educator has always been “Beg, Borrow, Steal.”  There are thousands of ideas on Pinterest on how to build elements for an escape room – from different puzzles and locks, to full bundles available through Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT).  See what’s been done – then adapt for your own needs.  We recently took inspiration from TPT to create a Crucible themed escape room from a bundle titled “Escape the Noose”.  The bundle included facts about each character, themed timed challenges, and different trivia from the book.  This allowed us to have a starting point to expand upon – and with a little “Pinspiration” we created lots of great clues.  From puzzle overlays to games of Hangman (get it?) our escape room was a blast. 

Thank you, Amazon Prime

Webster recently added Prime to its list of words; that’s how much it has saved my bacon since I’ve been in the library.  Once you know what type of clues you want, it’s easy to order all the supplies you need.  We’ve purchased a set of four directional locks, three-number and four-number locks, three-letter locks, UV pens and flashlights, hasps (the thing you attach all the locks to), and USB drives for our basic kit.  For additional supplies we often borrow the bank bags and keys from our school bookkeeper and the cash boxes from athletics.  Many of the cyphers we build with supplies available in our Maker Space, and sometimes we find we bring in things from home.  Since the supplies are so generic they can be used repeatedly – keeping our budget intact.

Custom Creations

Escape the branches of the government?  Want to do SOL review?  Need to introduce Shakespeare? Not a problem.  With a little bit of leg work and maybe a case of the giggles, creating your own escape room is a piece of cake.  Talk with your teachers to see what their ultimate goals are and click here to check out some more tips.  You don’t have to break the bank when all it might take is an e-mail to an escape room in Budapest for inspiration (true story).  Just be sure to do a trial run on some willing teachers to make sure all your ends are tied up – and have fun!

Jennifer H. (February 2018)

Mayer, B. and Toates, L. (2016) All about Escape Rooms. School Library Journal.

http://www.slj.com/2016/09/technology/all-about-escape-rooms/

3D Printers in the library: Here to stay or just a trend?

According to Educause Learning Initiative (2012), 3D printing is the “process of creating an object using a machine that puts down material layer by layer in three dimensions until the desired object is formed.”  3D printers have been called the modern sewing machine or compared to a blacksmith when automobiles were being developed.  With technology changing at a more rapid pace than ever, it is also becoming increasingly important for schools to keep up with these changes to make learning in our hands-on environments both practical and relatable. 3D printers open a world of possibilities with projects ranging from replacement parts to obscure concepts. A 3D printer provides students with the chance to see their visions come to life.  Do you think 3D printers are here to stay or just a trend? Click Here for one librarians story and suggestions for using 3D printers with kids.

-Christina Burge, Feb. 2018

Click Here for a Basic Guide to 3D Printers in Libraries and Information about workshops from 3D Herndon

Educase. (n.d.) 3D printing. Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/topics/infrastructure-and-emerging-technologies/3d-printing

Moore, C. (2015). 3D printing programs for kids. Retrieved from http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2015/01/3d-printing-programs-kids/