Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

      Animoto is a tool that students and teachers will love to use.  We can be very creative with Animoto and provide students with a way to show information  acquired through research or creativity.

     Educators can apply for a free Animoto Plus account for use in the classroom. Its many features can be used to create amazing presentations  which can incorporate images, video clips, music and text. 

     Animoto has a variety  of tools for creating videos in your classroom.  Some of the features : share on Facebook, twitter,  or youtube, embed to your blog, Hugh defination video quality. Add image captions, title card to narrate your video or presentation.

      On the site you can also preview some great examples of how other educators are using Animoto with their and for their students.

http://animoto.com/education/

Wired Wednesday - Technology Tools

     I found some  a few more sites that  have library games , so I am continuing on this same thread.  If I find any others I will give them to you.

Quia Library skills comes from St Joesph's Elementary school,  and has quite a bit of items that can be used with students. Check them out before  you use them to make sure they are age and skill appropriate.  There are so many links on here.There are many you will be able to use  with students and for online games to improve skills and just have fun.
http://library.stjosephsea.org/quia.htm


  WartGames has many many games. Again I would suggest before letting students go wild with this you should preview and select which games you want students to use. Perhaps put them in a Pota Portal so that students go directly to the game you want them to do.

 http://www.wartgames.com/

Games in the Library - you make

         There are so many ways that games can be used in the  library. Here are just a few that I have either made and used, thought up, saw in a book or on the Internet.

      Make it your self:


    1. Take cards and make a "Find  the book in the library Game" So Easy to do.

       Take 3 by 5 cards . Make a game for each section of the library: Write down with permanent marker  call numbers with letters for the students to find.   Try to make a lot for each section so that many students can play at once. This is great to do especially after you have introduced the section and how to find  the type of books.   I have made these for Fiction, Non-fiction and Biography, Easy section and easy non-fiction  section. The kids love to do this and think they are really playing a game.

  2. Treasure Hunt /Map game.

     Make a map of your library. Leave out  all the labels. Make another sheet with items to find. I number each one. Tell the students to write the number of each item on the place where they find it in the library. Younger students can work in pairs if you like.
   Items to have them find: Circulation desk, computers, fiction  section, non-fiction section, biography's, reference, tables and chairs  story time area, ect.

 3. Genre Bingo- At the end of the year use this to  review or as a culminating activity.  Make a playing card with Genres or Bingo across the top. In each block, write a genre . Give at least one free token, and you can also include  and non-fiction / reference in this game.  Students can work in groups or singly.  Tell or show titles, they must figure out what genre  and place a marker on the correct spot.   You may also discuss what the genre should be , and may want to check when someone announces BINGO.  Have small prizes for this one.

 4. Dewey Bingo: Similar to Genre Bingo. In the boxes  place Dewey categories and numbers. Show or tell titles of books in your library.  Discussion of what category may be needed, Have small prizes.

Wired Wednesday - Technology Tools

http://www.librarygames.com/

    I found this site and had to use it this week when I am discussing games and gaming in the library.  It is really a great site and it has a lot to offer.  There are lots of free activites and games to help make the library a really fun place to be.  There are tabs - some which are clickable- Funbaraian, Fun Workshops, Activities, Books and Games,
   At the bottom of the page there are links to many different items that can help make your library a really fun and learning place. I can't guarantee it will be quite  but the students will love to come to the library and use the library for all their learning and reading. So check this out and I am sure you will find something fun and useful.


http://www.librarygames.com/

Educational Games in the Library

         You probably have been  reading about gaming in the library. This is reaalivey new topic  that has been discussed on and off with the pros and cons of  using different games in the library.   Of course , there are many library games that librarians have been making and using for many years.
       When I first started doing games in the library, I was in a Middle school setting and I use the games to reinforce  skills that had been taught.  These were simple games that  did not take long to produce and the studnets enjoyed doing .
       Now gaming has taken a new slant, and librarians , both public , and school are having more formal games of many differnt kinds in the library.  The obvious are board games that the students do for fund . My local public library has a chess night  twice a month, and I hear it is quite successful.  
      Games in the library  pro0mote both fun in the library and also promote learning.  This leads us to the notion that libraries are not alway considered  quiet and boring. The key  with games and gaming will be to balance  study and reading with fun activites that inspire and stimulate.
       So hear is a good discussion for librarians everywhere: Do you have/ do games in your library?   What are they  ?  How do you monitor when the games are played?

      Future blogs will cover some more ideas on games and gaming in the library- perhaps latter in the week. Let me hear your thoughts on games and gaming.

Author Studies- Library Sparks

        This is a good time of year- actually any time is a good time for an Author study!   When you work with  teachers when they are doing an author study  the students really get soaked in  the authors works and writing style.  
        Author studies are great for  librarians whether you collaborate with a classroom teacher or not.  Books of the author you are doing  fly off the shelves when you present the author and some of  their works. 
         Always provide some back round on your author besides reading  excerpts  / books of the author selected.   A great site for getting back ground and  lesson plans is TeachingBooks.Net.  If you are  able to use this resource you will find a great many ideas for your author study.   
        Another way to find great ideas is to look at the authors website if they have one. Prolific authors usually do and they most always  provide information on the author. Some have additional acclivities s that go along with the books that they have written.
         Make sure you take the time to discuss the authors life, and their works with students. Reading complete books, or excerpts of the authors work of course is crucial.  Make displays of the authors work. Have students do a poster , pod cast, blog, or wordle /tagxedo of the  one of the authors book is also a great idea to have students really get into the project.

TeachingBooks.Net

    If you haven't seen it yet - the current issue ( Dec) of Library Sparks has my article  about Non-fiction books passes and how to use them to teach many library skills. I hope you will check it out and let me know what you think!

Library Vocabulary Words- Part 3

            Are you using your Library Vocabulary / Signage in your library?  I use mine as a word wall on one of the bulletin boards in the library. This makes it easy to add to and change. On the top I just have  the words  LIBRARY WORD WALL.     The students are used to having many word walls in the classroom.
           Another thing I do is keep a listing of library vocabulary words with each of the library curriculum by grade level.    So I know which words go with each grade, but I do not limit the students or myself when talking about the  vocabulary.
             A fun thing to do with some of the words is to make flash cards with photos. The photos can be either placed on the same side as the term or on the opposite side ( if you do this then you can use the cards also for a concentration game.
           Some other options for the vocabulary are:

 1. Vocabulary Bingo- make up  bingo sheets with the terms on the bingo chart.   Make the center with the free spot. You can get creative  with  the letters up top or you can just use Bingo letters. Call out the defination and students need to mark the correct term.   Younger students can work in pairs if you wish. You might want to offer small prizes like a book mark or pencil .

2.  I have Who Has?-  make up cards with definations and terms. The game goes I like this:  On each card you will put I have  and Who Has. The first person reads the Who Has.  (Example  Who has :  the person who writes the words in a book?    The student who has the Term Author  will read  : I have Author- and then go on to read what their    card says for the question (Who  Has : The person who makes the pictures?)
The student who has Illustrator will read  and say I have Illustrator- then who has - with the next question.

   

Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

         This site Writing Fix is amazing and very useful for librarians and especially teachers.  This is a free source  from Northern  Nevada and has been in existence for 10 years.  There are hundreds of  writing lessons with many have links to children books that have inspired the lessons.  These lessons can be use by teachers and librarians in the quest to help students love to write and be better writers.
         Also there are daily writing prompts, lessons of the month and  techniques for teaching writing. The other items  are curriculum area books:  science, , math writing about reading, history. This site is useful for students in grades K-12. 
         An additional link on this  site to check out  Writing Lesson Ning.  The link  to get to this is on the right . Instructions are given where you can join the site to receive lessons each month.
          Both of these sites are very interesting and helpful. I think you and your staff will love them and find them to be very useful.
  



 Writing Fix

Writing Lesson Ning

School Library Signage & Library Vocabulary

           At the school level, especially the elementary , signage is important.   If you have library vocabulary  for each grade level ( I do- and they are overlapping) then it is a good idea after introducing each term to make the word into some kind of signage.  
     
           After I introduce a term  by the following week, I like to make a sign for it. Depending on the word I may also place it where the items are ( example- Fiction and its defination  by the fiction section)
I make a sign for the word and a separate sign for the definition. This way I will occasionally take the definition down and see if the students knows what the word means.
 
          Other times I will move them around  to different spots in each section, or put them completely in a wrong section. Then we play a game - " What library words/ vocabulary are in the right place?"  This  helps student be more observant of the signs  and gets them to read them.
 
          How does this help? For starters, students see the term and the definition each time they are in the library.  If there is question about the word they can quickly look and see the definition.   I can review  with students by having them notice how many  library vocabulary we have learned each  month and year.

          This also helps to make the library a bright and colorful place to be. I use bright construction paper or colors on black. Sometimes I save the signs from year to year.  Sometimes I make new ones.  The signs also show the staff and administration that in our  learning library  there is always something new to learn and remember.

         I will continue this thread with more ideas on signage and vocabulary.  What do you do about library signs and library vocabulary?

First Grade- collaborative lesson!

First Grade students doing research! The students came down to the library and logged in on the computer. Most of them remembered how to find the library page and went quickly to the data base section! ( I think that is the beauty of showing them this- they were so excited to be doing "work" like the older students that they really listened! ) Some of the students needed a little help to find their animal . After they found it , most were able to read and they started filling out their graphic organizer. The students who read above first grade level actually got some extra facts about their animal. They had to find : what does the animal looks like, habitat, how they take care of their babies, and other facts. I will try and post the organizer if I can figure out how to do it.

Gathering Grid- For research

If you go to this site- which is actually excellent. We received information on this at our Library Council meeting. Go down to the section that says Research and then follow by clicking on graphic organizers you will see the gathering grid. I tried to copy and paste but for some reason that didn't work.

Great Sourceiwrite

The Organized Librarian- lesson planning

I am in the final stages The Organized Librarian and am going through the editing process. It is amazing to see how much work a librarian is supposed to accomplish, but we do it . We need to focus our work on student reading and learning. This year in my district we are also focusing on student writing so I am trying to incorporate more writing and thinking into my lessons.
This month I am developing a unit on biography for 4th grade and going to try a game so I am thinking about how I can engage students into being more active. I think I will be handing out a series of lists of biography books and then have students develop call numbers for these ( as a table group or groups of two) and then have them work as a table group to put them into Alphabetical order. That's for next week- this week is Atlases- I did one lesson yesterday and then decided to change it just a bit for the next 3 fourth grades. That's what I do- develop and then refine the lessons until I feel they are great for a learning experience with the students.

Picture Book Month- November

November is Picture Book Month. I found this wonderful site that has interviews of authors and others on why they love picture books. I love picture books too because they offer everyone a quick read and so much can be done with them. Besides reading them to the younger students, they can be used in so many ways with older students. I will try to give you some of my ideas during the month.
Check out this link: PictureBookMonth

What do you do with picture books??

Vera B Williams

Vera's visit was great ! She talked to the 1-3 grade about writing and did a little skit of how a picture book gets published. Then we went upstairs to our library and she held a special audience with the third grade and talked in more detail about her writing. Students asked questions and took notes. Vera read parts of Amber Was Brave, Essie was Smart.

Mysteries for October

I am hoping to launch a genre study with my fourth graders on mysteries. I have been collecting ideas and book lists . I would like to do a Mystery Wall and have students write Mysteries they have read in an attempt to get more and more students involved in reading Mystery's. I will keep you posted as to how it goes.
What do others do for a Mystery Study? Leave A comment!

Fiction book Pass article

My copy of Library Sparks came the other day and yes- my article :"Please Pass the books"was in there!! Naturally I showed everyone and gave a copy to my administrators! I actually had an email from a librarian who wanted to do the book pass with her students. I will post her comment in the comments below.
Did any of you see the article? Leave me a comment about what you think!

Ficiton Book Pass Article

This week when you get your Library Sparks , Check out my article about Please pass the Books an article about fiction book passes for elementary students. Can
't wait to see it. There is also an online attachment for the book pass which should also work well. Let me know what you think about this article! Comments are very much appreciated!!