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Simultaneous Learning in an Elementary Library Media Center

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.schooltube.com/embed/29b463bcb37c4365ba49

 

After seeing a video posted by Buffy Hamilton showing the buzz of energy as multiple classes worked simultaneously in the library, I decided to take a moment to capture a snapshot of the Barrow Media Center.  In this video clip, you will see simultaneous classes doing very separate things.  Our space and collaboration allow for multiple lessons to happen at different times taught by the media specialist, teachers, and paraprofessionals.  While all of this learning is taking place, students are also still able to come to the library to checkout books by themselves.

 

 

 

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Mysteries of Harris Burdick Contest

Over the past month, students from all grade levels at our school have been participating in a writing contest sponsored by Avid Bookshop, a new independent bookshop in Athens.  We had over 50 students enter the contest, and I’ve heard that Avid received hundreds of entries from local schools.  Today, the finalists were announced.  They will be honored this Sunday November 13th at Avid from 1-3:00PM.  Some of the students will read from their stories and the top winner will be announced.  The top winner’s story will be submitted to a national contest sponsored by Chris Van Allsburg in celebration of his new compilation, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick.  

Congratulations to our Barrow finalists:

Amelia Ray and Hanna Lee

We hope to see lots of supporters at Avid on Sunday.

Avid Bookshop

493 Prince Avenue

Athens, GA

 

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Summarizing with Sock Puppets

Brainstorming for the script

I recently blogged for the Georgia Library Media Association about using the Sock Puppets app on the iPad.  Since that post, I introduced the app at a faculty meeting.  I recorded a quick, light-hearted puppet show to introduce our faculty meeting.  Then, a couple of teachers came up and did an impromptu puppet show to show how easy sock puppets is to use.  We finished by having teachers think about how this app might be used with their students.

During the faculty meeting, Mrs. Freeman emailed me to collaborate on a summarizing lesson using sock puppets.  Her 4th grade class has been working on summarizing skills during reading, and she thought that the 30-second time restraint of this app would encourage students to carefully think about how to summarize a story.

Checking in with Mrs. Freeman

We read Spork by Kyo Maclear.  Students worked with partners to fill out a graphic organizer to help them think about summarizing the story.  The organizer included setting, characters, beginning/middle/end, and conclusion.  On the back of the organizer, partners created a script for their sock puppets.  I encouraged them to be as creative as they wanted to with the script, but that the one thing that had to be in the script was a summary of the story.

Most groups wrote scripts that had the puppets talk back forth in this manner:

Sock puppet 1:  What are you reading?

Sock puppet 2:  Spork.

Sock puppet 1:  What’s it about?

Sock puppet 2:  It’s about….

Other groups had the puppets do a summary but then ended with the sock puppets getting into an argument or singing a song.  Other groups tried to get the sock puppets to become actual characters from the book and act out the events of the story.  Each group had their own take on how to weave in a summary while still being creative with their scripts.

Before each group could get an iPad to begin recording, students showed their script to an adult:  Me (the media specialist), Mrs. Freeman, our instructional coach, and two paraprofessionals.  Finally students recorded and saved their sock puppet stories.  While they were recording, I walked around and gave tips on features of the app that students were forgetting to use.

Recording the script

At the end, we sat in front of the smart board and used an adapter to display the puppet shows.  We had fun and laughed together, but we also pointed out things in the puppet shows that could be improved for next time.  Students noticed how background noise affected the recording and how the pitch of each student’s voice affected the way the sock puppet talked in the end.

All in all, I felt like it was a creative, successful lesson that we learned from for future lessons.  I loved that students were creators of new content and that their work had an immediate audience ready to give feedback.

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PreK and iPads: A Counting Story

Last week, I was sitting in a faculty meeting analyzing grade level math data with PreK.  As I listened in, I heard them talk about students from the previous quarter who had not met the standard for counting to ten.  They were making plans for new standards that were coming up in the current quarter, but also thinking about how to continue to support this group of students who needed to work on the previous quarter standards.

Counting Lite App

I pulled out my iPhone and searched the iTunes app store for counting apps, and found multiple free apps that we might try.  Most of the free apps were limited versions of the larger paid versions, but for our purposes, the free versions were enough to try.  I suggested that we might try some of these apps on our 10 iPads, and the teachers were eager to give it a go.

Today, the 2 teachers pulled together a group of students and brought them up.  I gave very little whole group instruction on what to do other than introducing the iPad and how to touch the screen.  I went around to each iPad and opened the app that students needed, and they started.  As usual, I was amazed at how quickly students started interacting with the iPads.  The teacher, a volunteer, and I went around to each student and prompted them to talk out loud because part of this lesson was to have the students practice counting.  They touched objects on the screen, counted aloud, and the apps also counted aloud and wrote the number on each object as it was touched.  I appreciated the ease of use of the iPads with PreK because the adults were able to focus on content instruction rather than having to instruct on how to use the technology.  Students left feeling successful with using the technology and with counting, and the teacher left feeling like students had practiced multiple standards through a few apps and was eager to come back to use the iPads some more.

I started this year with a flexible plan for the iPads that the district is having me pilot.  I’ve listened to teacher and student needs and searched for how the iPad might be a tool to support those needs.  The excitement over the device is growing, and I have a feeling that our small cart of 10 iPad is going to be in high demand very soon.

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Photo Story Seasons: A 1st Grade Collaborative Project

Each student had a chair to put pictures in, a camera, and a cord for downloading

Over the past few weeks, students in 1st grade have been working on a seasons unit around their weather standards in science.  This collaborative project involved the 1st grade teachers, the art teacher, and the media center.  In class, students learned about weather in the various seasons, dressed paper dolls in appropriate clothing based on the seasons, and wrote sentences about each season.  In art, students created background images on construction paper for each season.

In the media center, students came for 2 sessions to create  photo story about their creations.  They took digital photographs of their paper dolls in each season, imported their photographs onto the computer under their own accounts, and used photostory to record their scripts for each season.

The amount of technology that students used in the media center was  a bit overwhelming, but they accomplished so much.  To do this project, students had to figure out:

  • how to turn on a digital camera and take a photograph that included all of the subject in the shot
  • how to login to a computer with their own username and password, which included understanding how to use the mouse and keyboard
  • open multiple programs on the computer and go through program wizards to complete the various tasks
  • save pictures into their picture folder and delete photographs from a camera
  • import pictures into photostory
  • arrange pictures in the correct sequence to go along with the script
  • use a usb microphone to record scripts for each photo in the photostory
  • save and view their final piece
Once I actually listed out all of those skills (and I’m sure there are some that I missed), it really is amazing what we accomplished in 2 days.  I won’t pretend that it was smooth and quiet, because it was very chaotic, messy, and loud.  It took multiple adults supporting the students, but the students were eager, excited, and productive.  I also won’t pretend that every student got their pictures in the right order or that they recorded the right script on the right picture.  I CAN say that every student went through the process and learned something about using technology to create a digital product.  They had permission to explore without endless instruction on what to click on and what to push on.  Instead, they had some freedom to try things and had a lot of adult support individually.
I think that as a result of this project, we’ll see many more uses of technology in our early grades, and we will continue to collaborate across multiple subject areas.
 
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National Picture Book Month

November is now National Picture Book Month.  We’re excited to be celebrating this important month here at Barrow.  Students in every grade are tracking how many picture books they can read or listen to during the month.  Each grade level has a recording sheet (see below) to track their books.  As students participate, they will earn a certificate, bookmark, and their name will be put into a drawing for free reading-related prizes, including picture books.  Also, students will be creating picture book posters to display in the media center and writing and recording book reviews of their favorite picture books.  Teachers will be guests on our morning broadcast show to book talk some of their favorite books.  I’m sure that even more exciting things will develop as we dive into this fun month.  Join us in our celebration and feel free to share some of your favorite picture books in the comments section of this post.

Authors and Illustrators Team to Create Picture Book Month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“I have always believed that literature begins in the cradle — the poems we say to the babies, the stories
we tell them — prepare them to become part of the great human storytelling community. We humans are
the only creatures in the known universe who make and remake our world with story.” – Jane Yolen from
her Picture Book Month essay
The New York Times declared, “Picture Books No Longer A Staple for Children” in an article
published in October 2010. The controversial article incited a barrage of responses from the children’s
book industry, many in defense of the venerable picture book. In addition, the digital age has ushered in
an unprecedented amount of ebooks and, with devices like the iPad, the color Nook, and the Kindle Fire,
picture books are being converted to the digital format.
Thus, Picture Book Month was born. Founder Dianne de Las Casas decided it was time to
celebrate picture books in their printed format so she created an initiative to designate November as
“Picture Book Month.” Katie Davis, Elizabeth Dulemba, Tara Lazar, and Wendy Martin came on board
to champion the cause and spread the word. A logo was designed by Joyce Wan. A website
(www.picturebookmonth.com) was created to feature essays from “Picture Book Champions,” thought
leaders in the children’s literature community. Each day in November, a new essay will be posted from
such notable contributors as Suzanne Bloom, Denise Fleming, Leslie Helakoski, Eric A. Kimmel, Tammi
Sauer, Dan Yaccarino, and Jane Yolen.
Better World Books and organizations like Scholastic Book Fairs Philippines are lending their
support. The website will also feature links to picture book resources, authors, illustrators, and kidlit book
bloggers. In addition, parents, educators, and librarians can download the theme calendar to help them
plan their picture book celebrations and access picture book activities.
Join the celebration! Visit www.picturebookmonth.com.




			


	

	


		
			

	

				

						
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							If you missed AASL 2011…there’s still time to learn and take action! « Georgia Library Media Association
					

			


	
	

		
If you missed AASL 2011…there’s still time to learn and take action! « Georgia Library Media Association.

			


	

	


		
			

	

				

						
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							Storybook Celebration 2011
					

			


	
	

		
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Usually around this time of year I post about Barrow Storybook Parade.  However, this year we revised the name a bit to “Storybook Celebration”.  After tons of feedback from teachers and meeting with my media technology committee, we began to craft a new plan for this annual event.  A major concern from teachers was that there seemed to be less of a focus on reading and more focus on dressing up in a costume that wasn’t related to books.


This year, we decided to speak to this concern by making the entire day a focus on reading.  The morning started out in our traditional way with an assembly in the gym.  Each class had a chance to walk across the stage to show off their books and costumes.  Some classes had a class theme such as “heroes inside of us” or “Chicka Chicka 123” or “Folktales and Fairy Tales” while other classes had students dressed as characters such as Willow Smith, Despereaux, the Grouchy Ladybug, and Where’s Waldo.  After the assembly, we continued our yearly tradition of walking to 5 points and back shouting “Read More Books!”.


When we returned to school, classroom teachers planned rotations within their grade level or planned a day of literature activities within their own classrooms.  Each class also signed up for one specials class in art, music, PE, social emotional learning, or health.  The media center isn’t typically part of the specials rotation, but we were also one of the options to sign up for.  Each of these specials planned a literature-based lesson that focused on their subject area.




In the media center, we had skype guest readers.  A HUGE “thank you” goes out to all of these volunteers who took time to read exciting stories and interact with our students.  Author Laurel Snyder skyped with 4th grade and read Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman.  Linda Martin, media specialist at Sugar Hill Elementary in Hall County, skyped with Kindergarten and read Shake Dem Halloween Bones.  Kathy Schmidt, media specialist at Rock Springs Elementary in Gwinnett County, skyped with 3rd grade and shared her “boo bubbles” science experiment.  Laura Landstrom, former Barrow teacher, skyped from Washington DC with many of her former students who are now in 5th grade.  Marsha West, former Barrow media specialist, skyped with 2nd grade from her new home in Nebraska.  For many of our students, it was the first time to use Skype, and they were amazed by how it worked.  After each author’s session, we brainstormed ways Skype might be used at school and I encouraged the students to share their ideas with their teachers so that we can continue to reach beyond our school walls into the world.  For the second half of the media center time, students used the Sock Puppet app on the iPads to create 30-second stories with a partner.  Some students also chose to use this time to read on our e-readers.  There were some very imaginative and hilarious sock puppet shows that students created in a matter of minutes.  It is amazing what students can create and figure out when they have the space to explore.




I’m awaiting feedback from teachers and students about how the day went, but from my perspective, it seemed to be a success.



			


	

	


		
			

	

				

						
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							National Day on Writing
					

			


	
	

		
Students and teachers began writing blurbs about why they write


Today, October 20th, is NCTE’s National Day on Writing.  Many authors have contributed audio testimonials to their page about why they choose to write.


I created a Wallwisher page for students and teachers to contribute why they choose to write.  A few teachers and students began the conversation today, but because we are in our early release days for parent conferences, there wasn’t a lot of time to participate.  We’re going to continue to contribute to this page and invite you to visit the page and contribute your own reasons for writing.

			


	

	


		
			

	

				

						
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							Foundation for Excellence
					

			


	
	

		
Tonight was the Clarke County Foundation for Excellence banquet where I was honored with the Kathryn Hug Instructional Leadership Award.  This awards banquet is always an inspiring event.  I was very honored to have David Richard, 5th grade student poet who has been featured on this blog, to do my introduction.  He did a fantastic job, and his words had me on an emotional roller coaster before I had to do my acceptance speech.  Several people asked me if I would share my speech, so here it is.


I recently heard author/illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi say that when you get to be an adult, you’re able to look back at your life and name the moments and people who impacted your path in life to bring you to where you are today.  Each of us in this room has a story to tell of what has brought us together today.


As a leader in education, I hope that


    

  • my spirit of transparency and making my work public
    • 

  • my collaboration with teachers, students, and families
    • 

  • my risk-taking to dive into the unknown exploring innovative technologies, texts, and ideas
    • 

  • my constant pursuit of developing myself professionally and being a model of lifelong learning
    • 

  • and my philosophy of giving students the space to participate and be creators of content rather than just consumers of information
    • 



will somehow positively impact the paths of the students, educators, and families that I work with.


This evening, I want to honor some of the moments and people that brought me here today and invite you to reflect upon your own story and how you might continue to foster opportunities to impact the lives of individuals that cross your own path.


 


Where I’m From


 


I’m from the Blue Ridge mountains


From winding dirt roads and cool, misty creeks


Beauty shop gossip and old men gathered at the post office


From Fall leaf lookers and apple pickers


Banjo music and late night revivals


I’m from pickled corn, sliced tomatoes with salt, and Sues’ Best Hamburgers in Town


I’m from the enchanted trail through the forest from Mammaw’s to home


from the rusty, white trailer by the creek, metal storage buildings, worn down vehicles,


and discount stores


 


But I’m from more than a place


 


I’m from my family and countless educators


who paved the way to where I am today


with love, encouragement, perseverance, and support


 


I’m from my dad, Joe


high school education


factory worker


mechanic


cracked, grease-filled hands scrubbed with a toothbrush and gojo after a hard day’s work


round the clock phone calls to fix it, fix it, fix it


from “You know I love you, don’t you” and “You’re going to go to college”


I’m from the perfect model of working hard to provide for your family


 


I’m also from my mom, Cindy


high school education


factory worker


Thinking of others before herself


weekly trips to the library for an armload of books


picnics in the park in the front seat of the van


I’m from “You make your own choices, but you have to live with what you decide”


 


I’m from my grandparents


Pappaw Bob, Mammaw Hazel, Pappaw Bone, and Nanny Sue


Faithful church-going Christians


“Stay in touch with the caretaker cause you never know when you’ll need took care of”


I’m from trips to Cherokee to the dirt place and yearly visits to Santa’s Land


Picnics at Vogel, waterfall tours, adventures in Helen, and late evening fishing


I’m from storytelling into a tape recorder


And made-up recipes in the kitchen


 


I’m from my wife, Denise


activist for homeless animals


Creative spirit and outside-the-box ideas


Encouraging words in times of stress


Lifelong friend


 


I’m from my daughter, Alora


eyes open to the world


helping me see everything again for the first time


 


I’m from my teachers


Ms. Burger’s comforting smile as my nerves and anxiety grew


Skilled storytelling with a thick southern accent from Ms. Deloache


And the pain of beloved artwork being destroyed from Ms. Montgomery


 


I’m from the independence learned from a space project with Ms. Pugh


and Vis-a-vis math with Ms. Shinpaugh


A push from Ms. Weaver to break past my deep-rooted fear of public speaking


and a lunchbox full of notecards for Ms. Mercier’s senior research paper


 


I’m from Mr. and Mrs. Moates


band directors who treated every student like a family member


my ticket out of a small town life with limited opportunities


 


I’m from the 59 on my first college English paper


and the ridicule of  a trombone professor


From a career-changing guidance counselor


and my critical friends


 


I’m from Mary Ann Fitzgerald


Forward thinking about what libraries should be


a professor and friend who pushed me to create information


and think of my patrons first


 


I’m from Colham Ferry and Barrow


Mentor teachers


Collaborative partners


Path-paving administrators


Innovative students


Pushing me to always reinvent my beliefs in education


 


I’m from each of these people and moments


My memories


My struggles


My foundation


Carried with me wherever I go


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