Elementary Practicum: WCE Library Lesson 2

Questions:
1. How do you plan for a meaningful and interactive read-aloud?
2. How do you get students to return library books at the end of the year?
3. How often do you take library inventory?

Answers:
1. I usually have to carefully read the book and look at the illustrations beforehand. I look for teachable moments. I usually add sticky notes with the questions I want to ask my students so that I don't forget. Some of the questions I asked for this particular lesson were: "How did the character change?" and "When you look at this picture, what do you think Baby Bear is thinking?" Then I let the students turn and talk, and I listen in on their conversations. These second graders had some really great responses!
2. Getting some students to return their library books at the end of the year can be difficult. I do not like to use rewards all the time, but you would be amazed at the power of a ring pop! One child comes back to the class with a ring pop for returning a book, and suddenly 10 books that I thought I would never see again are returned!
3. My school system typically requires us to take inventory of the collection once per year. This year I was not required to do inventory due to the fact that my new library is under construction, and more than half of my library's collection is in storage.

Reflection:
Today I presented my second lesson in my Compare and Contrast Goldilocks unit, and my school's literacy coach observed me again. I was not as nervous this time, especially since I took all the suggestions she gave me last time, and put them into practice. The activity that I planned involved cutting and pasting (which the second graders loved!) the key details of the story while working cooperatively in a group. The literacy coach and I debriefed after the lesson, and she offered praise for the changes I made for a more meaningful read-aloud and a more engaging activity. She also offered suggestions for making clear my objectives for the lesson. Hopefully my third lesson will be perfect!

Elementary Practicum: WCE Library Lesson 1

Questions:

1. How do you handle discipline in the library?

2. How do you differentiate instruction?

3. If you need help planning for lessons or differentiation, what do you do?

Answers:

1. Our school has a discipline plan in place and it is called a Wolf Pact Plan. Each day every student starts the day with 20 points. The goal for each student is to keep all 20 points each day and earn enough to participate in the "Fun Friday" activity. When students are in the library, if they misbehave or are off-task, they can lose up to four Wolf Pact points. If they lose all four points, then they may have to spend some of their time with the librarian during their recess. Fortunately, most of my students are very well behaved in the library. I rarely have to take any points, and I have never had to take any recess.

2. Sometimes I just differentiate by requiring less work from a student. For instance, if the class is required to write three events from a story, I might just require a student to write one event from the story. If it involves reading, I might partner a strong reader with a less advanced reader. Today I provided a cut and paste activity for my differentiated learners. Instead of having to write the setting, characters, events, and ending to a story, they had to cut, sort, and paste the events of the story.

3. Of course when I am planning my lessons, I always try to go to the teacher whose class I am planning the lesson for. I can almost always get ideas for lesson plans from them and ideas for differentiated learning activities. Our school is also very fortunate to have our own full-time literacy coach, and she is a blessing to our school. She can answer pretty much any question regarding literacy.

Reflection

Today I presented my first EdTPA lesson to a group of second graders. I asked our school's literacy coach to come in and observe me during the lesson. Normally I am not nervous while teaching a group of second graders, but today I totally was! I was presenting a lesson on comparing and contrasting different versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the whole time my literacy coach was furiously taking notes! In my mind I was thinking, "What is she writing? Am I doing something good or bad???" At the end of the lesson she showed me her notes and assured me that everything was great. She wanted a running transcript so that we could go over the lesson together and see what worked, and what I could do better next time. She loved my activity for my differentiated learners, and actually suggested using it to do a group assignment for the next lesson. After speaking with her I felt very good about how the lesson went, and had a lot of great ideas for my next lesson.

Elementary Practicum: Day 3 McConnell Elementary

Questions:
1. Which Book Vendors do you use?
2. How do you handle discipline?
3. How do you manage the websites the students use on the computers?

Answers:
1. The vendors I use are Junior Library Guild, Bound to Stay Bound, and Follett. I LOVE Junior Library Guild! Some feel that the Junior Library Guild memberships are expensive, but you only have to subscribe to as little as one book per month in order to have access to the sale catalogs, where you can purchase current library bound titles for as little as $5.00!
2. Well, students who are misbehaving or distracting others during the library lesson are asked to go sit at the "Shush" table. (This is a table in the library with a displayed "Shush" sign.) Students sit there until they feel they are ready to control their behavior, and then they are welcome to come back and join the group. During centers, if a student is misbehaving or not following the center's procedures, they will be asked to reflect on their behavior in the "alone space" (desk that is set apart from the centers).
3. I have a Symbaloo account for the library's computers. The Symbaloo page has all of the library's approved websites displayed so that students can easily access. Some of the websites I like to use in the library include: BrainPop, Newsela, History, Reading Eggs, and of course some of the databases from the Tennessee Electronic Library. I have the Symbaloo page organized into grade levels, so the students know which sites are approved for their use.

Reflection:

Another great observation day! Each new library that I visit I frantically take notes and pictures  all day so that I can remember everything! Today, the librarian had a fabulous interactive lesson about Digital Citizenship (from the website Common Sense Media), and I can't wait to try it out in my library!

This librarian also allows the students to check out their own books, but has parent volunteers who come in everyday to assist with checking out or shelving books. This really gives the librarian the freedom to circulate through the centers and oversee the learning and answer questions the students may have. 

The centers in this library are a little less structured; the students have the freedom to choose which center they go to, under the condition that during the five week rotation they must participate in each of the five centers. The librarian has a centers checklist, and she keeps track each week of which centers the students have already done. Her centers are: Story/reading, research, maker, maps, and computer, and the tasks at each center change every five weeks.

Now that I have visited three different amazing libraries, I am really overwhelmed by all the fabulous programs, centers, and ideas for lessons, discipline, and management that I need to bring back to my own library. I hope to take the best ideas and strategies from each of the libraries I have visited and incorporate them into my own library immediately, but I know that it will take some time. In the meantime, I know that these librarians will be my inspiration, and I am grateful for their willingness to mentor me.

Elementary Practicum Day 2: Dupont Elementary

Questions:
1. How do you manage centers for six grade levels?
2. What is your procedure for checking books in and out?
3. Do you conduct author studies with any of the grades?


Answers:
1. It took me a while to figure out how to manage my centers, but now I have it running like a "well-oiled machine!" I have a chart paper tablet with a page for each class/teacher. My groups are color-coded (orange, green, blue, and yellow). Each week I rotate the centers for each group. In fifth grade, for instance, I have one group working on their PowerPoint presentations on the computers, one group is in the listening center, one group is conducting research at the library skills table, and another group is working on accelerated reading at the Ipad station. While they are working at their centers I will call students a group at a time to check out books. The hardest part about managing the centers is that there is not always enough time between classes to reorganize the centers or switch out materials for the different grade levels. Every now and then I have a volunteer to help me, and that makes things so much easier to manage!
2. I start teaching the students how to check their own books in and out starting in kindergarten. The students know to check out their books in groups of two, so they can help each other and be accountable for one another. I have the volume set as loud as it will go so that I can hear the notifications...if a there is a whistle alert, the students know to wait for me to see what the problem is. By the time the students are in fourth grade, I start selecting students to be library helpers. I typically solicit input from the teachers for students in good standing. During the last half hour of the school day the library is open for accelerated reading rewards, free check-out, and library helpers. I rarely shelve the books anymore because I have trained my fourth and fifth grade helpers to shelve the books...they are great at it and they love it!
3. I love conducting Author studies! That is pretty much what I do with the first graders all year long! We are just finishing a Don Freeman author study this week! Some of the other authors we studied this year were: Chris Van Allsburg, Dr. Seuss, Simms Taback, and Kevin Henkes, to name a few. Once we conduct a study of an author, the students are lining up to check out the books!

Reflection
This school was specifically selected for me to observe by my principal, who has been working closely with the principal of this school. When my principal saw the way this librarian runs the library, she was very impressed, and hoped to someday have a similar type of library program in our library. The librarian at this school has been there for years, but she has energy like you have never seen before! It is easy to see that her students are just crazy about her, and the feeling is mutual. I was a little intimidated at the thought of trying to get a program like hers up and running, but she reminded me that Rome was not built in a day, and the best thing to do if you want to do centers in your library is to just try to do one or two grade levels to begin with (Don't try to create centers for the whole school at once!) and to always align the centers with the standards. I felt so relieved when she assured me that I could call or email anytime, and she would be happy to mentor me and share her expertise whenever I need it.

Elementary Practicum: Day 1: Charleston Elementary

Questions
1.What are your thoughts on Accelerated Reader?
2. How do you choose read-alouds?
3. How much time do you spend in the summer planning for the school year?

Answers
1. I feel like Accelerated Reader is a good tool to use for assessing if students are reading at home. Sometimes the prizes will turn non-readers into readers. I like to use the program as a filler, but it should not be used as a substitute for teaching reading. One of the features of accelerated reading that I find helpful is using color coded dots for the different reading levels. That can really be helpful for students trying to find books on their level.

2. I like to use the Read 20 guy's list of read-alouds...the books on that list are always crowd pleasers. Another way I choose read-alouds is by looking at the Social Studies and Science standards and finding books to go with the themes. Monthly themes and holidays are another way to find good read-alouds.

3. This year I only spent about 2 or 3 days planning during the summer, but I have found that the better notes I take (about what works and what doesn't work) throughout the school year, the less time I need during summer. I build units throughout the school year to re-use each year with different grades. This summer I will probably take 3-4 days, maybe more, because I plan to attend a grant writing seminar.

Reflection of the day

This librarian was fantastic! I found out that she was a literacy coach before she became a librarian, so maybe that is how she makes her job seem so easy! For this particular day I observed a lesson that a fifth grade teacher was delivering. The lesson was about the writing portion for the state testing, and this teacher wanted the librarian to teach the lesson to all of the grades 3-5, so she came in and demonstrated how she wanted it done, and gave the librarian the materials she would need.
Later on in the day I observed a cause and effect lesson that went with the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" and a Lego lesson utilizing educational Legos (obtained by a grant!). The gracious librarian shared many resources with me, and agreed to let me come and plan with her this summer.

Day 5 Bradley Central Library

Questions:
1. Why did the library seem so packed today? How many non-library events are held here?
2. I noticed a card catalog in your library. Are you still using one of those?
3. How often do you collaborate with teachers?

Answers:
1. Goodness! Everybody in this school seems to want to use the library for purposes besides reading and instruction! Today was a busy day for two reasons: Signing Day and Court Day. Signing day is when the senior athletes sign the papers for the college they will attend. It is an exciting day for them! Representatives from the college come, as well as coaches, parents, grandparents, friends, sometimes the local news, and today we even had a priest! We have a special sign we put out for photo ops, and of course I take yearbook photos! Usually they will set up refreshments and then mingle for a while. On top of that, it was also court day. Court day is usually held during report card time, and students who have missed too much school will have to bring in their parents or guardians and meet with the attendance officials. If you noticed all the extra parents and students waiting in the library, it was because the "courtroom" is just off of the library. I don't mind the activities held in the library as long as I can stay open, to provide access to my students. It really pushes my buttons down when I have to close the library so that students can be tested. Sometimes they will make me close my whole library for just 10 students! Seriously? Is there no other place in this facility?
2. You noticed my card catalog? I love it! I had more than that but the county took them away! I had to fight them to let me keep it! Can you believe it? You may have noticed that I enjoy displaying relics of the past in the library; there is a collection of old phones, typewriters, and of course my beloved card catalog. We do not use it though, it is purely for decoration. There are still some cards in there and you should check them out! Mostly cards for the old media like filmstrips and such. As much as I love the card catalog for decoration, I am so glad we do not have to catalog like that anymore!
3. Sadly, I do not get to collaborate with teachers nearly as much as I would like! I am almost always available for them, but many of them have so many time constraints to cover curriculum that they don't utilize me as much. In the beginning of every school year many of the ninth grade teachers will collaborate with me so that I can help orient the freshmen with all of the library resources. I am happy that I am able to support them with curriculum needs though; our class books sets collection is pretty extensive, and I never say no when I am asked to purchase more titles. I will do anything I can to help get books into the hands of the students.

Reflection:
Another teaching day! YIKES! I had collaborated with the librarian for a lesson with theater students; a fun activity involving fractured fairy tales. My librarian (who used to be an English teacher, and  involved with theater and drama) warned me that while this was a fun activity, it might be difficult to reign it in. She was right. I had the lesson about fractured fairy tales, and we discussed elements, so the actual lesson went pretty well. Students seemed engaged and even a little excited. When we broke into groups for the activity, things got a little loud to say the least! I found it difficult to gauge how much time was needed for group activity, so we were not able to see all the groups' work, and then suddenly it was time for them to go. The one big difference in teaching in high school and teaching in elementary school is checking out books! In elementary school the students come to the library for a lesson, and then get to check out books. In high school the students have the lesson and then they just leave. I wanted to call them back and say "Wait! You forgot to check out a book!"😢

Day 4 Bradley Central Library

Questions:
1. How do you schedule the library's computer labs?
2. Do you have librarian meetings with the county? If so, how often?
3. I noticed that you still use due date slips in the back of the books...why?

Answers:
1. The library's computer labs are scheduled on a first come first serve basis. We keep track of which class is scheduled for which computer lab and when, with a calendar. My library assistant uploads the calendar onto the library website monthly, but checks the schedule daily to see if updates need to be made. On days when the computer labs are not being utilized by classes, students will come with library passes to work on research or assignments in the lab.
2. Yes, we have countywide librarian meetings; they like for us to meet once per month. Usually during the school day, in fact, we will be having one this afternoon at 1:00 PM. You should come with me, and see what a Bradley Librarian meeting is all about.
3. Probably the best reason why we still use due date slips is ease of use. I know that many librarians are using printed receipts nowadays, but in my opinion, those receipts are easily lost, and then you forget when the book is due. HA! I probably have a dozen of those receipts in my purse from the public library! The due date slips are nice! The students who check out books only have to look in the back of the book to see when the book is due, instead of having to keep track of a printed receipt. It also helps a lot when I am weeding. I literally have a printed record in the back of the book showing me how often or how recently a book has been checked out. To some these are relics of the past, but we like them!

Reflection
Today was a busy day! My first day of teaching and that was stressful! When you are used to teaching elementary school students, high school students seem huge and terrifying! Thankfully, the librarian was right there with me, and she knew the kids, so there were no discipline issues. But NERVOUS MUCH??? When we were discussing the features of Tennessee Electronic Library, and I was showing students some of the features like the citation tools, I was glad that the students seemed so engaged, wanting to ask questions, but later my teenaged daughter said, "MOM, we do that to student teachers all the time: ask questions to get them off track!" In any event, they seemed especially interested in the citation tool, because in the words of one student, "It's one less thing we have to do!" I am not sure the group activity went as well as I would have hoped. As I circulated the room there were some groups where it seemed that only one person was doing the work and the rest were off task, so it got a little bit rowdy, and then we ran out of time before I was able to hear every group's paragraph, but overall it went better than I expected.
In the afternoon I went to the librarian meeting with the librarian. I thought it was nice having it during the day. The librarian meetings in my district are always after school. They spent a good part of the meeting talking about ways to "Breath new life into the accelerated reading program," because apparently there are rumors that they may lose some funding for that. A guest speaker came to invite us all to attend The Children's Book Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi on April 5-7. Kate DiCamillo will be there to receive the "Southern Miss Medallion." I would love to go, but sadly I have a book fair to oversee in my own library that week. Oh well! Maybe next year.