Building better libraries- career resources

 Libraries both school and public provide valuable resources for career research and job services, At the school level, many middle and high school have career resources, both print and digital, 

There are also countless websites to assist students in determining what career they might  be interesting in There are also book resources oh specific resources ,  Several teachers did  career research  with students . One year when the goal was thinking about careers, our administrator promoted the career resources  in the morning announcements. 

 On our website we had a career section that had career surveys ( to help students figure out what they would like to do and what they would be good at doing) We also had databases and websites  that highlighted careers and what was necessary to enter in the career.

 Career Resources:

CareerQuiz.com - 

https://careerquiz.org/?msclkid=3b3adcedaea11285ac38bc01cc2599ff

 Occupational  outlook

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

ProQuest\- 

https://www.proquest.com/

Factcite.org

https://www.factcite.com/texis/user/login.html?to=/

Building Better Libraries-II (Books and digital resources)

 Years and Years ago, when we first started with bar-coding and computers, my principal said to me,"We won't need books anymore" And I strongly disagreed with her, saying "Not in my lifetime!"

 And I still feel that way today! Say you want a particular book- do  you just order it online? You could, but say you go to your  library , do they order it and then give it to you? No . But if the library has it you can borrow it for free,  And other patrons can also borrow it.   The book is stored at the library,

If the library does not have the book, then in most cases, they can get it for you on inter library loan.They even track it down for you , if you can't do it yourself. 

 Card holders can borrow digital books to read on their devices( computers, phones, tables)  This is the most basic common goal of the library. Acquiring books and resources that benefit the community of their patrons. A good library system saves money and builds community.

Building better libraries !

  Librarians and Libraries, both public and academic, are the center of building a new future in their schools and communities. We serve as librarians is to promote reading and learning to all users. In our society today is it most important that all continue to learn and grow as technology and information is ever expanding.

  We need to showcase what librarians have to offer . Within the pandemic , I think more and more school and public libraries have done just this.  I am totally amazed and impressed by my local public libraries  and how they have innovated programs and services during this time The dedication to services and information and the connections to the patrons have been outstanding.

  The community has responded to the new online programs and also the way we get books and materials,  I will highlight in future posts about some of the things they are doing. , I also am  searching for ways both public and academic ( schools k- college)  have in the past year to answer the need for more up to date, innovative and exciting ways that libraries can bring their  importance to the whole community .

 What has your library done that is innovative and draws patrons in? If you know of an exciting program , please leave a comment below!

Summer reading!

 What are you doing for your summer reading lists this year? Does your district want a list attached to the website? Is your library open during summer school( if you have it) . I am going to do a little research and see , so let me know what  your school/district does.  In the last district I was in we had to have a list on the website .  

Bookopolis- on line book-site for teachers and students

 

Bookopolis is a wonderful website to assist teachers and students in their love of books and reading. It is used for students in grades 2-7. Bookopolis give new ideas for reading .Students can also connect with other students about what  they are reading.

Students can explore new books, make a bookshelf, recommend books and invite friends to join,

  Teachers and librarians can use Bookopolis to build a team of readers in their classroom and libraries. Students can produce book reviews and they can give book recommendations to their classmates and peers  ( While doing this they are practicing their writing skills  and typing skills)  Students can keep a reading logs online. 

Bookopolis offers badges and  points for students who use Bookopolis to keep book logs, write reviews and report,  and invite friends to use the site. 

Earth Day activities!

     Earth day is Thursday April 22.  Here are a few sites that have activities that engage students and  bring awareness of Earth day and global conservation!

Education. Com

https://www.education.com/resources/earth-day/?msclkid=72ef303863821bc8cebd504f6a6c81cf&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20Spring%20Holidays%20-%20BMM&utm_term=%2Bearth%20%2Bday%20%2Bactivities&utm_content=Earth%20Day

  

  This has some good worksheets and activities for students  to celebrate earth day

Tinkerlab

https://tinkerlab.com/fifty-earth-day-activities/

  Another site using natural materials for students.

Project Learning tree

https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/earth-day-activities/

   Some more interesting activities!

Online story creators

 .https://studentreasures.com/s

Student treasures is an online book creator that student will enjoy. It looks to be fairly straightforward and it is free to create. They do sell classroom books and parents can buy their child's books for  $20.00.

There are many resources for teachers : lesson plans, writing work sheets, and ideas for projects. Check this out!

 https://storybird.com/

  Story bird’s  claim is that anyone can produce visual stories in seconds.  Illustrators and artists around the world have their art work available for use by creators of stories.  Families, student’s & teachers, and authors use story bird to create  & publish their own stories.

  Visitors to the site can read books from their favorite writers. They can create their own stories and share them with friends and families.  Teachers can help their students use Story Bird to have them learn the art of writing and have them produce their own books. (This encourages  reluctant writers and readers) Authors use story bird to give them a growing audience and connect with more readers,

Library Web Page-What is on it?

  I think it is a good idea to periodically check  your Library Web Page. 

1. Are all the links working?  Check the databases or  give student helpers a job and check them. Check other links as well. Sometimes students or teachers may tell you, but more than likely they will just turn to something else on the page or go to Google. 

2. How does the catalog look? is is up to date-sometimes just changing the background if you can , will grab some more attention.

3.If you have a place for comments or questions, check those at least weekly. Or if you have a place for student comments, that needs to be checked.( Glogster, Library Blog, ect)

4. If you have a review section, add reviews weekly. Some catalogs let students review which is a great tool.

5. If you use Google Classroom- make sure it is linking up correctly and looks right.

Wide Open School

 https://wideopenschool.org/  ( Wide Open School) is a new resource provided  by Common Sense Media. It looks to me to be a wonderful site for students, teachers , and parents ,to assist students in learning and growing and furthering their education.

    There are a multitude of learning activities that will work for students.  There is of course, Math, Science, and core school subjects with activity  links- there are also off line activities,  arts and crafts, digital activities,physical fitness,  emotional well being,life skills and virtual field trips. 

     The neat thing is also a  a daily  planning page where a day of activities / lessons are laid out.  They  also provide planning sheets for teachers/ parents/ caregivers to plan their own depending on the student. The plans are based on grade levels so students just pick their grade levels and complete the activities.

   The activities ( games, lessons, ect) are shareable with Google  Classroom , so if you are a teacher you can send specific activities to your student. The plan lays out each day of the week and activities to go with them, The students are even given a screen break and ideas on what to do! 

   I think this site will be invaluable to teachers and parents  working on virtual learning . The activities would also  be doable in the school setting. 

 

StoryJumper.com

  StoryJumper.com  is a great site ! A few years ago I did a very brief post about StoyJumper. It has come to my attention again , so I decided to really look and see what they had to offer.

 

    I think teachers and librarians would really like to use StoryJumper with their students. There  is information on the site for teachers . They give examples of projects for student activities in each subject area.( even Math & Science!!)

   There are also  ideas for different types of writing: nonfiction, expository, collaborative projects, and creative writing ideas. And there is opportunity to use student art work or use the StoryJumper art work.

 Students can have their book published online for free; Of course , there are options for the publication of the book in both hardcover or paperback for a fee.

There is a wide selection of student work,that can be read online, which will also give students a chance for reading and a spark to create their own work,

I 

https://www.storyjumper.com/school

Virtual learning / read aloud ideas

 Here are some sites with read alouds and  ideas for story times. 

Storytime with Ryan & Craig:  These two guys have a ton of  read alouds The site is easy to use . You can also search for specific titles .

Emily Arrow: Librarian Emily Arrow shares singalongs with music and stories on her YouTube channel. This will give you lots to use if you are doing storytimes this is a good place to look for ideas and songs.

Story Time From Space:  This site has  stories from space . Astronauts  read the stories

These may be helpful if you are doing in person or virtual learning. Do you use any others? I am really looking for more for the middle school age level.

Author Presentation for Second graders~

Author Presentation

   This came up on Face book and I thought I would share. As librarian , you get to provide many extras for your students. This was from a time at school when I gave the Second graders a presentation about the story that  had just been published in Highlights. I talked about how I got the idea, how I wrote the story, and then did revisions, I showed them my writers notebook. ( at the time they were working on writing stories and they we keeping a writers note book , so it really fell into place.

  So any time you are asked to do something not on the ordinary, make every attempt/offer to assist This particular event earned me a lot of brownie points with my teachers,

World Read Aloud Day!

     On February  3rd,  there will be a World Read Aloud day with several author volunteers doing a quick virtual read aloud with classrooms around the world to share the joy of reading. 

  Some of the authors are Tracey Baptiste, Debbi Michiko Florence, Hena Khan, Meg Medina, Ellen Oh, Dawn Quigley, Rajanni LaRocca, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Linda Urban, Anne Ursu,  Kate Messner and  Renee Watson. 

  Each  author will  read a five-minute sneak-preview from one of their upcoming books for readers in grades 3-7.  The whole segment will run about an hour.

 The link to the video will be on Kate Messner’s site and she will post it  a day early so that teachers / librarians can embed in Google Classroom if they want . You could also use it in classrooms or share with parents.

The presentations won’t  be long, Kate’s site has the following information.

• 1-2 minutes: Author introduces himself or herself and talks a little about his or her books.

• 3-5 minutes: Author reads aloud a short picture book, or a short excerpt from a chapter book/novel

• 5-10  minutes: Author answers a few questions from students about reading/writing

• 1-2 minutes: Author book-talks about a couple of  other books they love.

https://katemessner.com