Draper Elementary

Library Behavior (PBIS)



As we discussed in our meeting, explaining what appropriate behavior looks like in the library is key to students understanding how to behave.  We not only explain it, but we have a poster that reminds students what it looks like. It has helped out students.  We used our three school rules (Safe, Respectful, Responsible) to set our expectations.

 For the month of March we combed Pinterest and found this bulletin board that we had the students help us with. 

We have each Brain Booster for one hour.  We have plenty of time for various activities.  They were excited to help create the rainbow with these fun paper chains.  




We found St. Patrick's Day celebration music that we will have the kids listen to.  
For the older kids we will read a book by Gail Gibbons that explains the origin of St. Patrick's Day.  
For the younger student's we will  read St. Patrick's Day from the Black Lagoon.  
We will also be playing a memory game.  We will place multiple green items on a table and let the students look at them for one minute.  We then will cover it with a cloth again and the students  will try to recall on a piece of paper what they remember.  
 

 HARRY HOUDINI
MAGIC WEEK

 

These Amazing Magic Trick books by Norman Barnhart were a hit with the students. There are lots of fun magic tricks the kids were excited to try out.  We did several with the kids and they loved it!

 

   Can you fit your body through this piece of paper?
we asked the students to fold the paper in half and cut ONLY on the black lines.  After doing this, and unfolding the paper it comes out as a giant circle that the kids can pull over their bodies.  

                       
We had the kids tear a strip of paper that had a carrot, bunny and a top hat printed on it. (it's important to print the bunny in the middle )  When torn, the only picture that will have two torn edges is the bunny.  When placed in the magician's hat, you can easily pick the bunny picture every time by feeling the edges!  The kids could NOT figure that out!  It was quite a crack up.               

Sprucewood Elementary

Have Books Will Travel

This school year keeping track of library books has been challenging.  Our classes are coming and going from different locations in the building and not returning directly to their classrooms.  We have tried with great success a new process for our library books.  We are using library markers (a cross between a library card and a bookmark).  The library marker, as seen below, has a barcode label with the student name and number on it and can be used as a library card.  However, it can also be placed inside a book that is then placed in a cart. The carts can transport library books without the risk of losing or damaging books. 

Example of library markers

Book with library marker inside placed in cart.

 

 

The process goes as follows:

Classes going to Library 1st

^{Returning and Renewing books}

• Place library books to be returned into cart. The cart is returned to media center first thing in the morning after announcements

• Books to be renewed are brought with the student to the library.

^{Checking Out Books}

• Students use library marker(s) to check out book(s) and the markers are placed in each book(s) and then books are placed in the cart.

• The cart is taken with the class to “Playworks” and then back to their classroom.

• Teachers remove the book(s) from the cart and remove the marker(s). Teachers hand the appropriate book to the appropriate student.

  

  Classes going to Playworks 1^st

^{Returning and Renewing books}

• Place library books to be returned into cart. Place a library marker in any book to be renewed and then place the book in the cart. The cart is returned to media center first thing in the morning after announcements

^{Checking Out Books}

• Students check out books as normal and carry their books with them as they return to class.

• All books from the cart that were to be renewed are placed on the counter next to the staff desk where they can be picked up by students and renewed.

Example of cart

Sprucewood Elementary

May someone grant all of your wishes!

If you are interested in writing a grant for resources for your library, there are a number of helps to get you started.  Demco offers webinars on a variety of topics including grant writing.  The link is   http://ideas.demco.com/webinar/anyone-can-write-grant/ There are also books at your public library that are great resources. 

Purdue University offers an online writing lab that has a section on grant writing that is very helpful.  The link is https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/981/1/

Sprucewood Elementary

 

 Computer "Tip Sheet"

 Who hasn't sat down at the computer and forgot how to spell a word.  Lucky for us and our students there is a way around it.  We have placed these handy computer "tip sheets" next to our student station computers.  They remind our students what they can do, if they don't remember how to spell a word.  To introduce the "tip sheet", we do an actual live demonstration on the computer and then show the students where to find the "tip sheets".   It has helped us and helped our students too.  If you would like copies of the "tip sheets' contact us at Sprucewood Elementary Media Center. 

Dewey Decimal Fun

I found this fun interactive game for teaching the Dewey Decimal System.  I used it for the
4th and 5th grades.  The game is like Jeopardy.  I let the students use the information sheet from the
lessons on Dewey and they could help each other to answer the questions.  The website is www.quia.com/cb/415196.html.  If this doesn't work I typed in Google "Dewey Decimal Fun"  and this website came up.  The students really enjoyed this fun way to learn the Dewey Decimal System.

Oakdale Elementary

The simple ideas are sometimes the best ideas.

For story this week, we are reading "Fortunately' and 'Good New, Bad News' 

to all of our classes. Then we are placing the students on the floor in a big circle. 

 We start a simple story idea such as,

"Brian was bored. He was home alone with nothing to do.  FORTUNATELY, the doorbell rang!

He ran to answer. When he opened the door UNFORTUNATELY..." Then we pass our portable microphone to the first student, who adds to the story.  They continue with 'FORTUNATELY,  and UNFORTUNATELY scenarios until we run out of students.  Then I may finish, by saying "He woke up and realized it was all a bad dream!"

The students loved it and some classes asked if we could do it again.  

Oakdale Elementary

For Earth Day, Shannon made a tree. We cut out leaves from pages of an old dictionary.  We asked the students to write one word that would make the world a better place.  Here are some of their answers.

Oakdale Elementary

Just 18 school days left...

Oakdale Elementary

For teacher appreciation week, we read the students 'Many Luscious Lollipops: a Book About Adjectives" by Ruth Heller.  We then put them in a circle, passed a mic around and had them each give an adjective describing their teacher.  We recorded their responses on paper.  After each class left we made a 'word cloud' for each teacher.  We used the site 'Tagxedo' to make them. We printed them, mounted on cardstock and laminated them.  The teachers loved them. This is how they turned out.

So Many Books

I don't know if you have this problem, but sometimes new books get checked out so fast that only one classroom ever sees them! We've been changing the books on this board, which is right above the computer station. When we get a book order in, we put pictures of some of the new books up (and of course added some older titles). It has helped getting some of our newer titles seen, and gives them ideas about what to search.

Peruvian Park Gets Artistic

We read Andrew Drew and Drew  by Barney Saltzberg and Art & Max by David Wiesner. 

We then had the children create their own ‘art’. The children had two different activities to choose from: 1- Art Dice: children drew the line they rolled to create a picture; 2-children created a picture using the few lines already drawn on their paper.

We continued with our ‘I Spy” theme for the year and created a bulletin board displaying some of the pictures our amazing students created.  We made four books, Panthers Drew and Drew and Drew, out of the extra pictures.

The children loved having a chance to show their artistic side.

Oakdale Elementary

Snow is Falling and Books are Calling

Copperview Elementary

This week we have been reading the book "Callie Cat, Ice Skater"  by Eileen Spinelli.  This is a wonderful books that teaches about feeling joy.  The students at Copperview really loved this book.

Look Whooo's reading at Midvalley!

Just in case you give a hoot!

SPRUCEWOOD ELEMENTARY MEDIA CENTER

TAKE A SPIN...

We invited our students and staff to come in and take a spin through our library to see what's new.  This bulletin board proved a great method to stir up some interest in our newly purchased books. 

Oakdale

These bookmarks are the WINNERS of a Bookmark Contest!!!

We printed enough for the entire school.

What do you think?

Alta View is Wild About Books!

We decided on a safari theme for our library this year.

 

 

Oakdale Elementary

While looking at our new order of Beehive Nominee books, we came across 'Journey' by Aaron Becker.  It is a magical book.  It is wordless and the illustrations are amazing.  After reading it, we found a video done by the author where he talks about the symbolism in the book. (The video is four and a half minutes long.)  We are excited to share this book and video with third, fourth and fifth graders next week. 

'Journey' by Aaron Becker
http://vimeo.com/74464059 is the link to the video.


Other great wordless (or almost wordless) books are:

The Lion and the Mouse, by J. Pinkney
Window by J. Baker
Zoom by I. Banyai
The Arrival by S. Tan
The Red Book by B. Lehman
Un-brella by S.E. Franson
Unspoken: a Story from the Underground Railroad by H. Cole
Flotsam by D. Wiesner


Thank you for all your great ideas!