February is the month of romance, right? So what better place to show the love than the library? I made an quick bulletin board asking students to write what they loved about the library (thanks, Pinterest!!). All participants were entered to win a box of Valentine's Day chocolate... the responses were overwhelmingly positive! Just look at all the positive things written by students and staff about our library! Here are some close-ups below! The lucky winner was drawn on February 29th... congrats to the student and staff member who won!! If you are thinking that you wish you'd known about this post sooner, it's not late to ask your patrons what they love about the library just because February is over... you could do a similar board for School Library Month!
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The holidays are rapidly approaching, and I wanted the media center to feel a little more festive. Last weekend we attended the Festival of Trees in Timonium (highly recommend, BTW! So many craft vendors and amazingly decorated trees - all proceeds benefit the Kennedy Kriegar Institute) and I was inspired... there was a tree called "A Novel Idea": I knew I couldn't pull that off as it was way too much for my missing spatial reasoning skills to try to balance all those books and make sure the spines were the right size. So I compromised by using some old Almanacs that no one has checked out yet this year. Some lights, a little tinsel from the dollar store, and a paper star taped to a ruler... TA DA! Yes, it's a tiny little short tree of books, looking a bit like what Charlie Brown would have created if he had made a book tree... but it's here and the kids love it.
Here's a giggle for you to get through the next few weeks. Happy Holidays! Kids today have access to many different forms of social media, and regardless of how adults feel about it, it's here to stay. Check out this article on a 13 Year Old's View of Social Media. It's eye-opening, to say the least, especially Part 2, entitled Do 13-Year-Old's Even Know What Facebook, Google+, Snapchat, Vine, and Twitch Are? The standout quote for me in that article was this one about Facebook: Facebook is seen as a way for old people to connect with other old people that they haven’t seen for decades. To be completely honest there is no use case for teens my age. The only time anyone used Facebook was when FarmVille and Zynga were still a thing. Old people...? OLD PEOPLE? I'm 35 - not exactly one foot in the grave - and I LOVE Facebook! Of course, by 13 year old standards, I'm practically ancient, so I guess it really is for "old people." So what are we to do about this rabid use of social media by our students? ENGAGE!! Engage the students in using social media for classroom discussions! Have them tweet during a field trip or find an expert in a field to discuss a science topic. Use Instagram to post pictures of their work! Make a Facebook page and maintain it for parents (and students, even if it is for "old people"!) Instagram is big for the middle school set. I'm trying to engage my readers by asking them to take "shelfies" - a selfie with a book that they are reading. I also post monthly challenges. September is "Banned Books" since the ALA Banned Books week is at the end of the month. Check out my display! Before you think I'm too creative, again, Pinterest is my friend. Students can take a picture of themselves with a banned book (or any book) and tag it #SPMSshelfie so I can see. Here are some of my kids' pictures! Even the teachers are getting involved!
So here's YOUR challenge... how can you use social media to engage your patrons? Let's get it! I am just going to throw this out there - I am not a huge fan of bulletin boards. I am not a cutesy-crafty person by nature. It takes me a long time to work on craft projects and frustration levels are high... So bulletin boards are my own personal nightmare. Thank heavens for PINTEREST!! I have four bulletin boards in my new library, and a fifth that is due to be installed soon. I decided to liven up the space with fabric backgrounds and bright colors. I'm trying to make it more warm and inviting for the students! Here they are, in no particular order: Featured AuthorI'm planning on rotating a display of student's favorite authors through the library every month or more. Our first author is James Patterson, an amazing author and children's literature advocate. Along with a picture and short biography, I have posted a QR code linking to his website. Our district recently adopted a BYOD Policy, so kids have smartphones for use instructionally! Awesome Opening LinesThis interactive bulletin board displays books with a great opening line that can really hook the reader. Inside the flap is a photo of the front cover and the call number where students can find the book in the library! Stop And ThinkThis very small bulletin board is near my computer area in the media center. Digital citizenship is a big focus this year for our school, so I wanted a visual reminder for the kids to THINK before they post online. Donors Choose ProjectsI like to post projects on DonorsChoose.org. I am trying to develop our media center MakerSpace this year, and these are just a few project that are open. The QR code takes visitors/guests to my class on the Donors Choose website. As projects are funded, I will post "FUNDED" on the top corner of each picture - see the top right Arduino Uno picture? I already had one funded, and it's still August!
Right now I have projects up for:
I feel like it's critical to show how we are improving our libraries - these projects are making our library transform into a 21st Century Learning Commons! |
About the AuthorHi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Christine Hurley. This is my 17th year of teaching - I've taught Kindergarten, 4th grade, elementary media, and now I am in my 6th year of teaching middle school media! Archives
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