Showing posts with label fixed library schedules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fixed library schedules. Show all posts

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Keyboarding Program

  Typing.com is the online program I am using to teach my middle school students  keyboarding.. It is free and it actually pretty good so far I looked at another program  that  my principal wanted me to look at  but I don't think she was convinced it was worth the price/ ( Not quite sure what is cost- that was never made clear  to me.)
   Typing.com has a great dashboard. For each class , a code was created  so I can view and check on each class ,and their activity on each lesson.This will make it easier for me to do grades.I have not figured out how to import the grades to our School Tool but I am hoping it will work.  Each lesson comes up grades with an accuracy and a percentage.
 
    There are basic exercises,more advanced, typing tests, games and passages to type.

    Does anyone else have a keyboarding program that they like?  Does any other librarian have to teach keyboarding? ( I have 10 sections!!)  Please tell me what you use with your students! 

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Fixed schedule for Middle school?

The beginning of this school year has been crazy! I found out two weeks before school started that I was teaching 10 sections of Keyboarding!!! What a mess! And the administration does not believe that this will ruin my Library program!
 So I have 5 sections of keyboarding each day. We are on an A /B schedule - so I see ALL of the 7th graders.( and a few 8th graders who are not able to take a language)  I did find a program that I can use- more about that later!

  My book  "The Organized Librarian " ( sold here and on Amazon) will really come into play this year as I will be scrambling to get library work done , and also plan activities for Keyboarding.( which is not a full year course - but I will have students all year.
  Does ANYONE else have keyboarding? What do you use? How do you set it up?? As you can tell I am not happy! Please let me know what you do for keyboarding if you have to do it also.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Elementary Librarian- lesson plan resource

  Even though I teach 7th grade Inofrmation Literacy skills, I find that /ElementaryLibrarian.com  is very useful in many cases and also adaptable. Although I am not a subscriber to the entire service, I most likely would be if I were at the elementary level where I had to  plan weekly lessons for   5 or 6 grades.  I did sign  up for their monthly emails , and they come with links to  lessons and the resources needed to go with them.  

  I have used some of the lessons without adapting and some I have changed  just slightly.  The extra resources are printables and also some have power points.     Having just discovered this  I find it very helpful when doing my planning of lessons and it gives me great ideas for things I could include in my lesson rotation.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Library Centers- Middle School- Survey's

  I am still searching for ideas for Middle school  library centers for my 7th grade classes. I have a few ideas of my own.  One activity I set up was survey.  I had four questions printed up about what they had learned and what activity they had liked.   My first attempt I did as a whole group and then I adjusted it to  a center activity.

  I printed out directions and stuck out post it notes.  On each post it , students were to write the numbers 1 to 4 and answer the questions.  They were supposed to answer in one or two words.   Then they stuck the posts it to the tables.  At the end of the  period, we quickly read most of the responses.

 I am planning to do  more surveys such as this  as a center activity.  The whole group survey was a little chaotic and I did not get  numbered answers,  I was thinking of doing a Family Feud type of thing as a review type of thing  when I do a survey of All the students , but that is for the next time.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

New Position!! New challenges!

   Well I am 3 weeks into my new position of Middle School librarian!  It is more focused than the Library Branch Manger and really more of what I am used to be doing- being in school and working with students.  I have 7th grade fixed classes- 5 a day!! Luckily my predecessor left me with a lot of stuff- she went up to the High school so she is my mentor!  The  women  who was at the high school left her with NOthing! ( that is just plain rude I think)
 So that is why I have not posted recently  but now I am finally getting more settled- am learning how to use School Tools which is a biggie.  I am searching for  7th grade lessons and ideas- so please please if you have any please leave comments  below!    I have started off with reviews of the major items. We are calling the class  Information Literacy so I will plug in a lot of tech stuff also. Please if you have ideas or sites to look at let me know!

Friday, July 5, 2013

Library Scheduling( Flex or Fixed?)

    What does your schedule look like? I guess it all depends on whether you are in an elementary or middle/ high school. Many elementary library schedules are tied to teacher plans and that is why they are fixed.  You may also have a semifix4d schedule  if you are at the middle school level.

   What can you do about the fixed schedule ?  It may work out fine if you are in a small school.  And there are advantages to the fixed schedule. A fixed schedule provides the librarian with the fact that he/she will see each class for instruction and every one will have access to getting books and resources from the library.

     With the flex schedule, teachers are more able to collaborate with librarians at the time of need. Many librarians with a fixed schedule may not have any time in their day for collaborating with teachers on lessons.  So is there any way to get some of that time needed?

      Try to work with you administrator who does the scheduling. Think of other ways to accomplish the tasks that you need to have students do during the year.

      Book Check
         Can you allow book check out at the beginning and end of each day when there are no classes?
         Choose and hold: students can put a sticky note on the books that they want with name and teachers name, Then as time allows , library books are checked to the student's and delivered to their classroom , or arrange for a student  from each class to pick up.
     Self Check out: Teach students to check out their own books. It really is not difficult for most programs .Check you program to see if there is a self check mode.

     Instructional Time:
         If you have flexible scheduling , you work out with the teachers each week when they will be coming and what they will be doing. You may have a sign up sheet for teacher's who want to just bring students for check out.  If you have set times for book check out in a flex schedule be careful to not fill up your schedule so that collaboration time is lost, Here's a question : do they need check out time each and every week? Younger students maybe - older maybe every other week
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       Another way to fit in many classes is A/B week. So half the classes meet on week A. The other half on week B. This leaves some times open so there  may be times for open library  for research or collaboration with teachers,

     A variation on this is to have say K-2-4  during the first semester  for instruction with  1-3-5 just coming for book check.  At the semester change then the 1-3-5 has instruction and the K-2-4 gets a 15 minute book check out time.