The last few weeks have been difficult. I can't stop thinking about the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other BIPOC. We have to do better. We cannot continue to stand idly by, secure in our privilege, and do nothing. In times of difficulty, I have always found solace in books. I will curate a list of book recommendations, websites, and other resources. May we find the strength to stand together for our black and brown community members and begin the process of healing our deeply divided country. May we listen to the BIPOC in our communities that we can understand what they need. May we end the ingrained, systemic racism in our country and bring about equality for all. Anti-Racism Resources
This library, and this librarian, will always stand with you against racism, against bigotry, against hate. ALWAYS.
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The WCPS Library Media Team put together an elementary and secondary book pass videos. Check out what we're reading while we are teaching from home! The Elementary Team: The Secondary Team: What are YOU reading during quarantine?
While we're all distance learning (quaren-teaching?) because of Coronavirus, I realized this is a GREAT opportunity to remind my readers about the fantastic app Flipster, wherein you can read hundreds of digital magazines online on your iPad! With our subscriptions to Flipster, at SPMS we have access to the following online magazines:
Each of these beautiful, full-color magazines is ready to download at a moment's notice. New editions are released monthly or bi-monthly depending on the magazine, and back issues are available for up to three years! Here's how to login to Flipster through your iPad: Aren't they gorgeous? They are an unlimited number of users, too! I love, love, LOVE Flipster! Happy Reading!!
With the Maryland public school closures extended for four additional weeks, it's more critical than ever that our students have access to high quality eBooks... so here I am again, singing Capstone's praises! In an amazing show of generosity, Capstone has unlocked their ENTIRE eBook collection for students through June 30, 2020. Our students can use their iPads and the Capstone app to access this collection. Here is a quick video with the instructions! Here is the login information:
Username: continue Password: reading It's that simple! Just login to app and read your heart out! If you need additional help accessing these resources with your students, please reach out - I'm just an email away! With the Coronavirus closure for the next two weeks, many authors and their publishers have granted permission via Twitter for teachers to record read-alouds of their books! I knew immediately which book I would select: Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein! This fantastic book details a group of twelve 12-year-olds who are locked in the most technologically advanced library of all time with 24 hours to escape... and the winner gets to be the Mr. Lemoncello spokesperson! I read this book several years ago when it was a WCFL Battle of the Books title. It's fast-paced, funny, and full of puzzles - a perfect read aloud! Listen along with me as I read two new chapters each day, and check out this cool video Mr. Grabenstein put together all about Mr. Lemoncello's Library! UPDATE 6/11/20: Per the publisher guidelines, I removed the link to my read aloud folder at the conclusion of the school year. I hope you enjoyed listening while I read all 56 chapters aloud! It was fun reading to you, even if I discovered that I was not meant to be a voice-actor, HAHA! Thank you for listening!
It's not secret that I love Capstone Interactive eBooks... if you've been in my library for more than a few minutes, you have probably heard me talk to a student or staff member about them! How can you not love professionally narrated eBooks that have an unlimited number of simultaneous users? Note: I am not compensated by Capstone in any way - I just love them THAT MUCH!!! My amazing school has a substantial EL population. How lucky that Capstone has a whole section of books called "Hello/Hola!" These books include books written in Spanish, and even some dual language books! Here' s a quick video I made on how to use the Capstone Library: I knew after reviewing the phenomenal titles that we had available through WCPS that I had to test them out with my EL students... I set up class time with our awesome EL teacher, Mrs. Phillipson, and her students. The books were a hit! The students were able to listen to professionally narrated books read by native speakers in their home languages. They felt "seen"... a critical step in their development as learners and English speakers. Every single student was able to find multiple books that they wanted to read. When it was time to close up for the day, the students groaned and didn't want to leave. THAT is the hallmark of a successful lesson! If you have Capstone Interactive eBooks in your library, what are your students' favorite titles? Drop a comment below and let me know - I'll get it for my kids, too!
A few weeks into school, our two reading intervention teachers approached me to do a lesson for their students. The goal was to expose the kids to lot of great books in a short period of time; these kids are generally reluctant readers who need extra care and encouragement to find a "just right" book. The intervention teachers knew I did a Book Speed Dating lesson, typically in February, and asked if I could do something similar for their students now... and so the idea for the Book BBQ was born! Contrary to what it sounds like, it's wasn't all Fahrenheit 451 in here during the BBQ. I chose a selection of books that were high-interest/low-level and that had great first lines, TV tie-ins, or other ways to "hook" these reluctant readers. A couple of Dollar Tree decorations later, our Book BBQ was ready! The students had 4-5 minutes at each place setting. Their "menu" had a list of all the books on it; they had to rate the book with a 1-5 star rating. At the end of the period, I took their recommendations and book-talked the best books that they rated to the whole group: The 5 star books were TOO HOT TO HANDLE! I picked them up with BBQ tongs and an oven mitt. It was SO MUCH FUN!
The best part, however, was the excitement on the kids' faces. These reluctant readers didn't want to leave the books behind! They were arguing over who was going be first for a book; asking me to put books on reserve; begging me to get copies from other schools. It was AWESOME. What other themes could we do for a book tastings? Drop a comment below! Whether it's checking their hair or makeup, avoiding classwork, or actually answering nature's call, middle school students seem to like to spend inordinate amounts of time in the bathroom, so what better place to promote books to them than the restroom? I decided to make my own tear-off sheets (a la college apartment rental bulletin boards) and hang them up around the school and in the restroom. They looked like this: It was not my idea - I stole it from the Future Ready Librarians Facebook page... but I made ten of these for my students. I sent them to printing and had them printed on cardstock and in full color. When they arrived at school, I was in LOVE with how they turned out! My library helpers hung them up around the school, and almost immediately I had students bring me the little sheets, requesting a book! Whatever it takes to put books in the hands of kids, right? If you want access to my folder full of bathroom signs, you can get it HERE. Note that they are Pages documents, so they will have to be downloaded to a Macbook to be edited. Feel free to make your own with the template, too!
What Bathroom Book advertisements would you suggest I make next? What's new or popular in your building? Drop a comment below and let me know! Banned Books Week is always the last week in September. As in previous years, I ran a contest for Banned Books Week! I took a photocopied page from a popular banned book that the students would know, shredded it into thin strips, and put it in a jar for them to guess. Students guess using a QR code on the top of the jar that takes them to a Google Form. If you can't tell, the book is The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. We had over 100 students enter the contest. Special congrats to Olivia, who correctly guessed the book and is the winner of a $5 Sweet Frog gift Card! Students are always SHOCKED at the books I select for the banned books contest. They can't believe that they would be banned or challenged. It opens up great conversations about books and censorship. I recently read a great article about Banned Books from the National Coalition Against Censorship that I would encourage you to read, too. My favorite quote from it is: “This week is not just about all the books that were challenged or banned. It is also a reminder of the real people whose self-expression is suppressed and whose stories are silenced. It is a shout out to every reader who is told that characters they identify with are unworthy. Every Banned Books Week is a recognition of those who are made to feel unsafe so that others can avoid conversations they find difficult and maintain their status quo.” Of the top 10 banned books of 2018, many of them were banned or challenged for LGBTQ+ content. Look at this video from the ALA showcasing the top 11 most frequently banned and challenged books from 2018: I am proud to say that I have almost all of the 2018 banned books in my collection!
Have you ever had a book challenged? What book and why? Drop a comment below and let's talk about how we can work to end censorship! The SPMS Media Center held our first annual PEEPle's Choice Awards contest, wherein participants made dioramas inspired by their favorite books, starring the popular PEEPS candy! Entries were accepted for 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, and Faculty/Staff. We had some truly remarkable entries! Student voted for their favorites in each grade level - it's a PEEPle's Choice Award, after all! Our winners were: 6th Grade: Ready Player Peep! 7th Grade: Jurassic Peep 8th Grade: Peep Little Faculty/Staff: Winnie the Peep Each winner earned a $25 gift certificate to our Scholastic Book Fair! The entries were amazing - I am so proud of the students' creativity! Check out the rest of the entries below... they are so funny! |
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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