Mission Possible

As part of a project-based learning, I was invited to help 2nd graders research historical figures that showed good citizenship.  This is an important TEK in Texas Social Studies.  So I wanted to tie the lesson of learning about historical figures with a library skill aligned with AASL standards (American Association of School Libraries).

Find the lesson here: Historical Figures Teach Good Citizenship

For the lesson, students would be diving into a short (45 min.) research lesson, learning how to find biographies about specific historical figures in an online database, closely reading the short biography with a partner and drawing a conclusion of what character trait that person showed and giving evidence.

  

This was an undertaking, but well worth the time it took me to prepare the lesson and the effort both the teacher and myself had to give for the students to be successful.

Students were amazingly able to figure out the gist of what these historical people did and how it related to the good citizenship traits.  I won't lie, there was guidance... pointing to a specific paragraph, or showing read-aloud features, or trouble-shooting technology, but the kids really got the idea.

Each pair were able to complete a card, share what they learned with the group and conclude that learning about "old people" can help us learn to be good citizens.  The cards left over were sent back to the classroom to be added to a literacy center and blank cards were sent as well.  Students were encouraged to use the blank cards to add people they knew to the circle map in the classroom.  Of course evidence of the good character trait has to be included!

Be a Dewey Detective

Instead of telling, it's best to explore the answers for yourself.  That is how this lesson is designed.  Students are introduced to the organization of the nonfiction section with a picture of Melville Dewey, a poster and some books.  Then the majority of the lesson students explore and gather clues to how the section is organized.  Find the handouts and more specifics for this lesson by following this link, Be a Dewey Detective.

The carpet I have in my story area that I use starting in Kinder talking about the nonfiction section.  Worth the money!

I take the following image to Office Max and have it enlarged.  My students use it all the time to help them find books.

Writing a Fiction Story with the Littles

How many times do you have students get confused when reading a realistic story and think that it's nonfiction?  So often students think that for a book to be fiction it must have totally made up characters, silly settings or unrealistic things happening.

I created a lesson to help my Kindergarten and 1st grade students see that a real life situation can be made up.  The story can seem real, but if we wrote it about something that didn't really happen, it's fiction!

First we refer to book characters we've read together, talking about how we know it is a fiction.  Their responses include... ducks can't be president, cats don't drive tractors, etc.

Then we move into becoming authors as a class.  I present to them the story plan and basic story elements.  I have preselected character choices, setting choices and problem choices.  I find this allows for the focus to be on writing and not opening them up to so many possibilities.

After the story plan is complete, we move to the computer that is projected with a Keynote template already in place.  Again, I pre-created a 4 page slide show with a title/author page, beginning, middle and end pages.  There are already text boxes with questions like "Who is the main character? What is the problem?"  There are already preselected pictures to match what I had on the plan.

We write the story, very guided.  Then I record the story, turning it into an audio book.  After we discuss how we know it is fiction.  We wrote it!  We made it up even though it could really happen.

Think of the possibilities of how this lesson can then be taken into the classroom... more lessons, literacy centers!

Purchase this lesson here: Write a Story Lesson Plan and Printables

Voting on Favorite Book Character

With elections across the nation, I love to simulate meaningful voting with Kindergarteners in the library.  By this time of the year my Kindergarteners have been introduced to several favorite book characters.  So, after poling the teachers about which book characters all the kinder classes know, I create my ballot.

 Then, on kinder library lesson day, I set up the voting area with a voting booth, ballot box and books on display.

I read to them Duck for President by Doreen Cronin, to introduce them to yet another fun book character... and elections humor.

After the read aloud, students have the opportunity to take part in voting for their favorite book character... from the ballot. (Although write-in's would be fun!)  While students are taking their turn and then going to check out books, I spend time talking to them about the whole process of voting... right to a secret ballot, quiet in the voting area, etc.

Fun is had by all!  This year's winner... Pete the Cat!

Managing a Successful Bookfair

Are your book fairs crazy?  Do you have enough help?  Do you get lots of students at once and then times when there's no one?

Here are just of few of my favorite tips to managing a successful book fair:

1.  Volunteers:  Before you even get started you must get volunteers signed up.  I started this step way back at the beginning of the school year.  When my PTA put out their annual "Volunteers Needed" flyer, I asked for them to add a line for library.  Then under library there were subheadings such as helping weekly in the library, helping with reading celebrations and helping with book fairs.  Then a few weeks before the book fair, I sent out a signup genius (www.signupgenius.com) for those that were willing to work.

2.  Organizing times:  The next was creating a schedule for when each grade level could come "shop".  In past book fairs my library has just been opened all day.  At the beginning of the day the lines to check out were an hour long.  Students were missing class, teachers were getting upset and I was going crazy!  So this year I created time slots for each grade level and we stuck to those times all week long.  Success!  Teachers loved how their day was not interrupted by students asking all day to head to the book fair and I was not overwhelmed with lots of students at one time.

 

3.  Boosting sales:  My favorite way to boost sales is with a classroom wish list.  My parents are wonderful about purchasing books for classroom libraries.  This year my principal added her 2 cents by picking books and creating a display.  Her books sold out!

Good luck at your next book fair!

Online Catalog Lesson

Starting at 1st grade I teach students how to use the automated library system.  It's always fun to see how the library is "opened" up to so many more possibilities once this lesson gets on the way.  Students feel so grown up.

It's also very frustrating on the part of the student and librarian when they are first learning.  So, here is a beginning lesson where I try to reinforce the basics of using the system, but really give them hands on learning to use the "clues" in the library that help them find what they are looking for.

Find the lesson here:

Where are the blank books? Online Catalog

Poetry, Googling and Tech Integration

This year on our campus, we are fortunate to have Technology in our specials rotation.  For the past several years our district has pushed integrating technology into the classroom.  This is a difficult task.  Teachers want to use the technology, but then when a lesson is complicated with the simple task of using the technology and hinders the integration it becomes very frustrating.  So now we have the best of both worlds!  Technology skills in the specials rotation while teachers integrate technology for  21st Century Learning.

Recently, I decided to try out how the technology skills were coming along.  In a short 45 minute lesson my 5th graders were able to accomplish quite a bit.  The teacher wanted me to go over poetry formats and I needed to get a searching skills lesson in.  Using a keynote presentation, we first looked at some poetry formats and created a bubble map comparing two formats.  I then gave them the task of using Google to find poems with the same format and explain how they could tell.  The had to use search terms to narrow their hits, take screen shots of the poems they found, drag the picture into a Word document and add a text box explaining their thinking.  Then they had to save their evidence into a student drive on our Network.  They had success and the discussions about poetry and searching terms were amazing.  Here is some of their work.  Although not "pretty", the work evidence is there.