New Blog Site

     Wondered why I haven't posted anything in a year?  Last fall I started work on my Specialist Degree in Library and Information Studies at Florida State University and one of my classes was on social media management.  We had to create a blog and the professor required us to use WordPress.  So once I started the new blog there and worked on it for a semester, I did not want to go back to this blog.

The Library Teacher on WordPress.com

     So I hope if you are following this blog or stumble across it, you will consider visiting my current blog at http://thelibraryteacher.wordpress.com/.

    I have continued writing about what I do in my school library and you might find an idea you can borrow and adapt.  I get really good ideas from blogs I follow, so feel free to copy and adapt.  Why reinvent the wheel?

Pinterest

     I have also created a couple of boards on Pinterest. The one I like the best is where I post my bulletin board ideas.  I think it works well as bulletin boards are naturally visual.  Check it out!  http://www.pinterest.com/kmliebert/library-bulletin-boards/

Surviving a Book Fair

Note zombie poster above my office doorway!

Today is the last day of my library media center's book fair!  On Monday one of our volunteers was putting up the posters that were for sale and see which one ended up posted above my office door!  Coincidence or prophetic?  That's pretty much what you feel like after 5 days of helping students spend their money.  Most have no concept of how much things cost (ever with all the prices on each item) or even more baffling...sales tax.

Easy Fiction Activity with 1st Grade

Last week I started teaching 1st grade students about the arrangement of our easy fiction section.  Or as I like to remind them, not all of the E Fiction books are easy, but they are short. After brief overview of how the books are arranged, pointing out the guide letters on the shelves, etc. I give out laminated book jackets that I have attached oversized spine labels.  I love these laminated book jackets...but I think I will devote a whole other blog to the many ways I use them.

1st grade students who have alphabetized themselves by their author's last name.

Alphabetical Order

I then hand out the laminated book jackets, have everyone put their finger on the "E" of their call number and then move their finger down to the author's name (or the 3 letters of the author's last name).  If I don't do this they all say their author's last name begins with an "e".  I then ask if anyone's author's name begins with an "a" and have that student come up in line.  We proceed until we make it all the way through the alphabet. I have included at least 2 authors whose last name begin with the same letter.  "Oh my...what do we do when we have 2 words that begin with the same letter?"  There is always at least one student who answers that we go to the second letter.

Proceed to the Shelves

I have them stay in ABC order and follow the leader (me).  I show each student how to use the guide letters to find the shelf where their author's book would be found. This is the first step in helping them become independent library users who can find books they want to read on their own!

Bring in Nature & Spark Curiosity

I bring natural objects into the library media center frequently and put them on the circulation desk.  I usually place a book next to the object that gives information about it.   These displays spark lots of questions, comments, observations, and conversations.  Sometimes I post a series of questions using the International Baccalaureate concept questions (form, function, causation, responsibility, etc).  Often I have a couple of magnifying lens out for the students to use.

Science Standards

Having these displays help students toward meeting the Georgia Performance Standards in Science, for instance in the Characteristics of Science, Habits of Mind for all the grade levels (K-5) with some variation states: " Students will be aware of the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.  Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers to some of the questions by making careful observations and measurements and trying to figure things out. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating objects in scientific activities. Use ordinary hand tools and instruments to construct, measure, and look at objects."

Cricket frogs?

Cricket Frog?

A couple of weeks ago we were inundated with very small frogs (about 3/4 inches).  I collected a few from my yard and put them in a jar.  I tried to key them using a field guide and I think they might be cricket frogs, but they are so darned small!  I placed a book about frogs next to the jar along with magnifying lens.

This morning I gathered some mushrooms and brought them in.  I placed World Book Discovery Encyclopedia behind the mushrooms.  I got a new idea and included the Spanish edition of the encyclopedia, too.  Hongo is the Spanish word for mushroom!

Naturalistic Learners

In one of my graduate classes we are reading about different learning styles and I realized this practice that I have been doing for years is appealing to our students who are naturalistic learners.  It also freaks out others (and that's okay)! 

Supporting ELA CCGPS in the Library

I want to show the video, Don't Let the Pigeon Touch the Books next week to let the students know how to take care of the books (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW25mqJjEF4).  Since many won't have read the book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, I wanted to read it this week.  I also want to be able to show that what I do in the library media center supports the CCGPS in ELA.  I looked at the lesson plans for first grade and they have been working on the essential question, "How do we identify the most important information in a story?".  They have been using the 5Ws & H (who, what, when, where, why and how).  So today after reading Mo Willem's book we answered the 5Ws & H as a group.  Then I told them we were going to take an Accelerated Reader quiz on the book together, so I projected in on the large screen and we went through it.  Many first grade students have not yet taken a quiz, so I took this opportunity to model it for them.  And besides, it's a really funny book...to first grade students!

Supporting CCGPS: ELACC1RL3-Describe characters, setting, and major events in a story, using key details. ELACC1SL2-Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or
information presented orally or through other media.

Screencast-O-Matic

I made a screen capture video using Screencast-O-Matic to create an instruction tool for school staff.  We have a new way to submit technology work orders via the school system website and I remembered doing a screen capture video in a graduate class at Valdosta State University.  I thought that a video would be a better way to show staff how to do this task than reading printed instructions (which I also created...4 pages of screen capture with call outs, etc.)

It was fun and very easy to do (and it's free).  The software creates a video in MPEG4 format, which requires QuickTime Player, so I also converted it into WMV format.  I emailed both formats to staff so they would be able to play the video.  I was pretty sure that most of our computers had Windows Media Player installed, but wasn't sure how many had QuickTime installed.

Here is a screen shot of my video screencast.
Note the cursor is hightlighted with a yellow circle, so you can easily track the movement.

I'm thinking of other tasks, procedures or instruction that would lend itself to using this technology.  I could see teachers using it to instruct students on how to things.  They could copy them onto the computers in their classrooms.

 I also figured out how to change a screen capture into a jpeg, since this blog only lets you insert video or images.  You use the Prnt Scrn key and open Accessories>Paint and then paste the screen capture there and save as jpeg.

Cicada

While feeding the chickens today I noticed a cicada on the door of the chicken coop.  I usually see the shed of the insect on the trunks of pine trees, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the actual insect.

Also, here are 3 of my chickens!  They are getting bigger, but are still not full size.  We're probably still 2 more months before there are eggs.