Makerspaces

I've been preparing myself for the new school year in a new school, and one of the things that I have been doing is preparing resources for our own makerspace. This is still a new concept for me, but it isn't entirely foreign because I was once an art teacher. My husband and I still craft quite often, in fact, with many recycled and garage sale finds. I've collected a few materials here at home like cardboard scraps, old socks and magazines. I know that there is still a lot to learn! I haven't seen my new library space yet, so there are some details I need to work out. Not to mention the need for various supplies that I am not sure are available just yet. I did a test run with my 8 year old niece, and found that some of the cardboard that I prepared was thick and difficult to cut. This is an activity that students cannot do alone and will require guidance for these types of projects. I have since torn some of this cardboard in half to make it easier to make things. I will update again on the progress of makerspaces as soon as I have more information. In the meantime, I'm sharing some great resources.


Resources:


American Library Association: What is a Makerspace? Creativity in the Library. http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2012/12/what-is-a-makerspace-creativity-in-the-library.html
Great Resource with a Makerspace guide: http://spaces.makerspace.com/
Makerspace: Make Community: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnXaShzuHw
The Steward Library Makerspace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5VSLlG9jQk

Audiobooks!

I admit that I have a new love for audiobooks. I never was interested in them before, and honestly, I somewhat considered it "cheating" to listen to a book being read to me instead of reading it myself. But this summer I've taken a chance with a few popular audiobooks, and I have enjoyed them so much that I now find myself listening in my car, while doing chores, exercising, and I've even used it as an excuse for some "me" time while I go for a neighborhood walk. This has increased the amount of books I've been exposed to, and I've even reviewed a few books from movies that I've already watched, comparing the two and talking about the differences with others. I can't wait for more. What library audiobooks does your library have available?

Library Links:
What is a Makerspace? Creativity in the Library
http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2012/12/what-is-a-makerspace-creativity-in-the-library.html

A Librarian’s Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources

http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/a-librarians-guide-to-makerspaces/

 

All Those Techies Who Predicted the Demise of the Public Library Were Wrong

http://www.alternet.org/books/all-those-techies-who-predicted-demise-public-library-were-wrong

 

Readers win when libraries add e-books, but preserve print, as well

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/readers-win-when-libraries-add-e-books-but-preserve-print-as-well/2015/07/10/bae9613a-25ae-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e_story.html

Informative Library Links

There are so many great articles that I have read recently and I don't want to forget them. I hope to share all that I can with you about libraries and I hope that I can provide some helpful and informative information. Stay tuned!


6 Reasons Why Puppets Will Change Your Classroom Forever
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/puppets-will-change-your-classroom-sam-patterson-cheryl-morris

Collaborative and Proactive Solutions: The Next Generation of Solving Problems Collaboratively - The CPS Model
http://cpsconnection.com/CPSmodel

The Calamity of Disappearing Libraries
http://theconversation.com/the-calamity-of-the-disappearing-school-libraries-44498

Summer Reading Lists

Summer is around the corner and I have been busy wrapping up a number of things going on in the library. First of all, we received our second order of new books! It is like Christmas in May. I'm excited to include many new Spanish books to our collection as well as introduce our new Bluebonnet books! During our Spring book fair I had a chance to write down a list of my very own Summer Reading Recommendations. I have read all of these books and enjoyed them, so I hope you will too!

 

Grades 3 & up

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
Candy Bomber by Michael O. Tunnell
Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by by Brian Selznick
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gridwitz
La Linea by Ann Jaramillo
A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Grades K – 5^th

Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley
Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan
Larf by Ashley Spears
I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black
Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen
Blackout by John Rocco
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown
A Curious Collection of Cats by Betsy Franco
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
The Llama Who Had No Pajama by Betty Fraser
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantha R. Vamos
Tweak Tweak by Eve Bunting
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
I want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers 

Inquiry Based Learning

This week and last week, I have been working for an hour each day with a 5th grade group of students on Inquiry Based Learning. Students have to ask a question and then research and answer their own questions about a topic. This topics in this group have ranged from Benjamin Franklin to the Trojan War. They have spent the last few days conducting research and they will present their topics soon. I am so excited to watch them present their work! Some students have chosen to present using Prezi. I have seen them working hard all week, focused and organizing their work.

 

Here is a short summary of what an Inquiry Based Model follows:

Inquiry - asking a thought-provoking question

Research - researching the question and providing background information

Organization - organizing research and preparing for presentations

Presentation - Presenting research

Evaluation - Evaluating their work and the work of their peers. 

Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month and I am so excited to begin! I have created a poetry display and I will feature poetry activities throughout the month. I also created two Poet-trees, one for students and another for faculty and staff to contribute to. Students and staff will write on leaves that we will display on each tree. Some of the students have already come up with some great work! The students also enjoyed reading the poetry created by staff members.

 

 

 

 

Bluebonnet Club Takes Second Place!

Our Bluebonnet Club has placed 2nd in the annual Bluebonnet Competition! This year our competition took place at Loma Park Elementary school on March 21, 2015. We first were in a three way tie for finals, but beat out two other teams to compete in the final round of the competition. I am so proud of all of the hard work that the students did! Congratulations to Cisneros Elementary for placing 1st!

 

 

The One and Only Ivan

I am reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate to my 2nd grade students throughout the year. It is a book long enough for them to get into, but easy enough for them to understand the general idea of the story. If you haven't read it before, The One and Only Ivan is a book based on a true story. Ivan really was a gorilla kept in a mall, and used for entertainment. He spent 27 years of his life locked in one domain without living with another silverback gorilla. In this fictional rendition of this story, Ivan has several friends, an elephant named Stella, a dog named Bob and a girl named Julia. I often ask the students to think about how the main character feels about living alone in his domain. I ask them to draw images that show where Ivan lives and how they think that he should live. I show them the book trailer. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtPdqV2crQ0

 

Here are a few activities that I use for lessons while reading this story. 

 

I talk about Ivan being based on a true story: http://theoneandonlyivan.com/ivan/ 

 

Worldbook online features some videos of real gorillas in the wild: http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/extmedia?id=ar230200 

 

Discovery Education also features great videos featuring real gorillas in the wild as well:

World of Nature: Mountain Gorillas: Gentle Giants TV Ontario, 1994 . Full Video.
Discovery Education. Web. 17 March 2015. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com/>.  

There is a Wocket in my Pocket!

Dr. Seuss week is an important day in school libraries! Our students created Wocket activities based on the book Wocket in my Pocket by Dr. Seuss, one that I found free from Teachers Pay Teachers! http://https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Wocket-in-my-Pocket-592577

 

I read the story to Kinder - 1st grade students and we talk about rhyming words, and the idea of the Wocket being a fictional, or make believe character.  We also look at the words Teller and the Nellar and the Gellar and the Dellar, and the Bellar, and the Wellar, and the Zellar in the Cellar. I ask them about what these words have in common and what is different about them.

 

Then the students color the wocket. This activity allows students to make up their own rhyming word using ocket as the ending. I give the students instructions about how to glue the pocket, and they write their names on the paper. Usually students work while others check out books. This allows students to remain seated while 4 students can be assisted when selecting their books. 

 

During the 2nd grade library time, I have been using a rhyming word activity with the students, found on page 6 and 8 of this page. http://www.seussville.com/activities/Seuss_PaD_Booklet_WEB.pdf There are so many great activities available on the Dr. Seuss website! I am still reading The One and Only Ivan to them, but our activity focuses on rhyming words with Dr. Seuss as a little deviation from the normal book reading, related activities. 

Bluebonnet Competition featured in the latest Eagle News!

AR Presentation

Here is a short presentation about how to use AR for both students and teachers. Please let me know if I you have any questions about this and I will be happy to help! 

 

Teacher Resources

Here is a video about the new teacher resources that are available in the HBG library!

">