Monthly Archives: October 2015

More Reading Promotion

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Posted on behalf of guest blogger Stephanie Jones

ChaseStElemSchool-SkypeWithKateMessnerTanya Hudson is the school librarian at Chase Street Elementary School in Athens, Georgia.  As part of Library Card Sign-Up Month, she was one of  several school librarians in the Clarke County Public School District who arranged for their students to get library cards at the public library.  Mrs. Hudson wrote about her school’s participation on her library blog, the Tree Frog Blog! During the Night at the Library event, 14 students and their families visited the recently renovated Athens Clarke County Public Library for fun events including a library tour, a raffle, and of course, new library cards.

After receiving their new cards and selecting some books, the students were thrilled to be able to scan their new library cards at the self-checkout stations. (I agree that the self-checkout stations are fun to use and so convenient!) The Night at the Library is just one of many library reading promotions at Chase Street. Every fall they have an event called the Reading Tailgate which occurs at one of the apartment complexes in town where many of the Chase Street students live. It’s a drop-in event in a big, open, grassy field. There are many activities for the students to do at different literacy stations including make-and-take centers and a used book give-away.

In the spring, they have a Poetry Picnic at the school with a potluck dinner and “tons of different poetry reading and writing stations” for students to visit. The whole school collaborates to plan and implement these events and the turnout is always great! Mrs. Hudson also takes advantage of technology to promote reading. In September the Chase Street library hosted a successful Skype visit with Kate Messner, author of Ranger in Time, one of the most popular books at their spring book fair. Prior to the visit, Mrs. Hudson prepared the second and third grade students for the visit by sharing the Messner books and brainstorming questions for the author. To see photos of these events and learn more about the happenings in the Chase Street library visit the Tree Frog Blog. They would love to hear from you too so make a comment. You can follow them on Twitter @chaselibrary

Stephanie A. Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Instructional Technology
Georgia Southern University

Photograph used with permission

 

Celebrating Literacy-Globally and Locally

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The walls of the OrchardDSCN0706 School Library Media Center faded away last week as young learners from South Burlington, Vermont met with friends in several elementary schools across the country via Skype and Google Hangout. As participants in the Global Read Aloud project, readers throughout the United States and beyond read and discuss books both synchronously and asynchronously for six weeks beginning in October. Educators who jump into the Global Read Aloud are encouraged to find creative ways to incorporate the joys of shared reading both locally and globally.

Through the GRA website and wiki, teachers and librarians can collaborate with each other and their classrooms through Twitter, Edmodo, Skype, Kidblog, and other social media sites. The project began in 2010 with a Wisconsin educator, Pernille Ripp, who envisioned a read aloud that would connect kids and books beyond the classroom. The program has grown exponentially, from 150 in 2010 to over 300,000 student participants from over 60 countries in 2014.  The GRA 2015 has kicked off with four middle grade titles for discussion this year, and an author study for the picture book crowd.

GRA in Action at Orchard

At Orchard School, the library media specialist, Donna Sullivan-Macdonald also wears the tech integrationist hat, and the school library program is an active hub of learning and literacy that connects the school to the world beyond. The Global Read Aloud Project is high on Donna’s list of real world connections.  She has participated in the GRA since 2011 with one class of fifth graders, and this year the project includes all twenty classes, kindergarten through fifth grade. Each class is paired with a class in another state, and the students have had fun getting to know one another through Mystery Skypes, Google Hangouts, sharing Padlets, writing and responding to blog posts, tweeting, taking surveys, and exchanging emails. To get a flavor of how the connections work, Donna tells about using the 2015 GRA with some of her students:

“For the Amy Krause Rosenthal picture book author study, kindergarten and first graders heard the first book in the project, Chopsticks, and then learned to use the tool. We’re now creating a shared book of pictures of students eating with chopsticks with some new friends in the state of Georgia.”

When I visited last week, Donna read another book by Rosenthal, It’s Not Fair, to a class of second graders, and explored concepts about fairness and taking turns by arranging for two activities for the class.  The object was to make sure that all had equal time for the activities. Fifteen minutes before the end of the class time, the students got together via Hangout with their buddy class in Indiana to discuss the book and ideas about fairness.  It was amazing to see the Orchard students actually having an interactive discussion with kids miles and miles away.

DSCN0732

Local Connections

Connecting reading to the world is not limited to just the Global Read Aloud at Orchard School.  Another ongoing project is a Food Drive that has been inspired by Katherine Applegate’s newest book, Crenshaw. The author of The One and Only Ivan has provided much food for thought for her reading fans. The topic of homelessness is sensitively addressed, and readers can make connections with real world problems and can learn to make a difference.  The publisher has launched a program #crenshawfooddrive that invites independent bookstores to raise awareness about childhood hunger based on ideas from Applegate’s book.  Crenshaw is imaginary. Childhood hunger isn’t. Help us feed families in need. http://www.mackidsbooks.com/crenshaw/fooddrive.html

In August, Donna contacted Phoenix Books in Burlington and suggested that they could work as partners to contribute to the food drive for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.

Donna explains how Crenshaw sparked a study of childhood hunger at Orchard School:

“The fifth grade teachers read Crenshaw as their first read aloud this school year. In the library, we researched childhood hunger and presented this information on posters, created in both in the makerspace and on the computer. Students also created a slide show on childhood hunger and ran a whole school morning meeting introducing the food drive to the school. There were speakers from both Phoenix Books and the Chittenden Food Shelf. No teachers spoke. It was student driven. Heading into the final week, we’re at 819 items donated!

Back to Crenshaw, many 2nd through 4th grade teachers have since read the book to their classes. I have used Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s message about random acts of kindness in my discussions with K-3 students who are reading her books.

On Friday, after reporting final totals to the school at morning meeting, one fifth grade class will load all of our donations on a bus and we’ll head to the food shelf for a tour and a weighing of all the donated food.

It’s heartwarming to witness the kindness and empathy shown by  young children through participation in this project.

Although not formally a part of GRA, the food drive has fit in nicely.”DSCN0699

For Donna, and the many other talented teacher librarians and educators in our schools, celebrating literacy is an everyday joy that is embedded within the fabric of a culture of collaboration that makes a school a vibrant and caring place for our students and our colleagues.

Thank you Donna for sharing your enthusiasm and energy, and thank you to your students who are making a difference locally and globally!

Resources:

Applegate, Katherine. Crenshaw. New York: Harpercollins, 2015.

Kaplan, Judith. “Donna Sullivan-Macdonald.“ Personal Interview and email correspondence. 20 Oct. 2015.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/dsmacdonald

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/donna-macdonald/35/723/416

Orchard School Library Media Center, 2 Baldwin Ave. So. Burlington, VT 05403 Web. Oct. 25, 2015.<http://library.sbsd.orchard.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/integrated_home.phtml?gid=771938>.

Ripp, Pernille. “Home.” GlobalReadAloud. Wikispaces, 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. <http://globalreadaloud.wikispaces.com/>.

 Images:  Judy Kaplan Collection

Family Literacy Night – Success Through Collaboration

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We know the importance of literacy across all disciplines there are a variety of types of literacy…media literacy, digital literacy, information literacy…it seems like the list grows every day! According to Dictionary.com, one definition of “literacy” is “a person’s knowledge of a particular subject or field.” Literacy applies to every aspect of education, so what can librarians do to include all educators in the building and all members of the school community in a literacy event?family-469580_1920

As a middle school librarian, I was looking for an evening event that would bring our school community together. I decided to host a Family Literacy Night. My goal was to include as many different people from the school community in a variety of activities that all centered around the theme of literacy. I put together a small committee to begin brainstorming possible ideas, then I started on the task of getting the teachers excited to participate. A successful event requires participation from many!

As a new faculty member in the school, I noticed we needed something to bring us together. The teachers were working hard in their areas, but little collaboration was happening across the school. Family Literacy Night seemed like a perfect opportunity.

Here are some tips for getting a variety of people involved:

Ask teachers what they want to do – use their strengths and interests. As much as we might want to plan everything according to our interests, others will be more likely to participate if they are allowed to be involved in an activity related to their interests. Our principal was crafty and manned a table where she taught children (and families) how to make their own blank book with a stitched spine. She shared some she had made and encouraged them to make their first entry in their book before they left her station.

Include everyone somewhere – encourage cross-curricular collaboration. Don’t forget the electives teachers. What does literacy mean in their curricular area? Encourage people from around the building to have an activity related to their area. Encourage them to collaborate with people in other areas. For example, does the math teacher also run marathons? Why not encourage a collaboration in the gym with the gym teacher and math teacher? Their activity can relate to math and exercise – easy!

Involve parent volunteers.  There are usually some parents who are anxious to help out when they are presented with specific tasks. Family Literacy Night is the perfect opportunity! Involve the parent volunteers in the preparations for the event – designing and hanging signage, setting up the activity rooms, baking treats for the culminating activity. Then encourage the parents to bring their families and participate in the activities that night. This is their night – make sure you have teachers and others from within the school lined up to man the activities so the parents can have fun with their families.

Plan a culminating activity for the event. At our event, we decided to have an “open mic night.” Some parent volunteers turned the cafeteria into a lounge theme, complete with bean bag chairs, strings of lights, and cookies and hot chocolate. Teachers and students were allowed to share songs, poems, and other creations at the microphone. The art teacher hung student art work around the room. We ensured participation by personally asking some students and teachers to participate so we knew there would be something going on. Others were happy to join in that evening. It was a relaxing and fun way to end the evening.

The key to a successful event is collaboration. There is too much to do alone, but an event of this magnitude is relatively easy to pull off if you have many hands invested and excited.

Let’s do some brainstorming: What are some ideas for stations you might include in a Family Literacy Night event? Later this week I will post some ideas for different curricular areas.

Reading Rocks

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Posted on behalf of guest blogger Stephanie Jones

When my colleague Lucy Santos Green asked me to write a post for her while she did research in Brazil, I began reflecting on the theme for this month: collaborative reading promotions and literacy events. I teach courses in the school library media concentration in the Instructional Technology program at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. In my work it’s important to me to keep up with what is happening in the school library field, but it’s been eleven years since I worked as an elementary school librarian and my experience in such matters is definitely outdated.

So I turned to the experts, school librarians here in Georgia, and asked them to share with me what they are doing to promote reading in their school communities. In response I heard about an abundance of creative and exciting reading programs. In this blog post I will share two stories that I think exemplify the kind of effective reading programs that can happen when your school library collaborates with members of your school community. The first is from my good friend and fellow storyteller, Linda Martin. On Thursday, I’ll share the second story from Tanya Hudson whom I met when I was a doctoral student and she was earning her Master’s in Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia in Athens. (Go Bulldogs!)

ReadingRocketLinda Martin, who is the school librarian at Sugar Hill Elementary School in Hall County, told me about a summer reading program she has been involved with for the last three years. The program was developed in response to a problem; during the summer many students in Hall County do not read because they do not have transportation to the public libraries. In order to avoid the summer slide, county media specialists working with school personnel brainstormed to find a way to get books to these students. The solution was the Reading Rocket, a bookmobile created from a school bus which the school system donated for this use. The bus was retrofitted by students in a high school shop class who painted it with bright colors and installed gutters to hold the paperback books from Scholastic.

The Reading Rocket operates two days of the week during the summer, traveling to schools, community centers, and trailer parks to bring books to children. The bookmobile is staffed mostly by volunteers: teachers, principals, media specialists, teachers, and even some students who enjoy helping their friends find books to read. Now in its third year, the Reading Rocket is just one part of a year-round reading program developed by a collaboration between Hall County Schools and the public library. You can read more about this innovative reading project at the Reading Rocks website and you can follow them at Twitter @HCReadingRocks.

Stephanie A. Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Instructional Technology
Georgia Southern University
@sajones53

School-Public Library Partnership

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Moreillon_Bookmarks_Fun_Fun_Fun_0915Cooperation and Company was a Dewitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Library Power grant-funded project. Two public library children’s librarians, Mary Margaret Mercado and Char Maynard and two school librarians, Terri Moschetti and yours truly, collaborated to co-author, co-promote, co-produce, and co-celebrate three puppet plays.

We worked in public librarian-school librarian teams to develop the puppet plays based on three public domain stories from traditional literature: Borreguita and the Coyote, Whale in the Sky, and Whose’s In Rabbit’s House? We purchased the puppets, created the scenery, and used the then Tucson-Pima Public (now Pima County Public) Library’s professional puppet stage.

We had a blast! We performed the plays at two branches of the public library and at both elementary schools. We involved students in bookmark contests to promote the plays and the hours and contact information for the libraries. (See above selection of bookmarks, circa 1995.) Students also learned the puppet play refrains so they could assist in the performances. Mary Margaret and I continued to perform Borreguita and the Coyote for the public library’s summer reading program for many years after the grant project.

School library and public library collaboration can be a rewarding and high-impact activity for all involved. While the school librarian’s support for the public library programs during summer reading is essential (especially if our school libraries are shuttered during the summer months), we can make the extra effort to involve students and families in taking advantage of what the public library has to offer year round.

School librarians collaborating with our colleagues at the public library is a win-win for the readers in our shared communities.

Literacy Is a Team Sport

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This month the BACC cobloggers will share ideas about collaborative reading promotions and literacy events.

While every school librarian strives to make the library the hub of learning, we also know that it takes a whole-school approach to supporting students as they engage in literacy for the 21st century. Enlisting all members of the school community in promoting reading is necessary.

And as this video demonstrates, it’s fun! Stony Evans is a library media specialist in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He collaborated with Lakeside High School (LHS) coaches Joe Hobbs and Karrie Irwin to co-develop the “Train Your Brain Ad” video starring the LHS Cross Country Team. Lakeside Superintendent Shawn Cook made a cameo appearance in the video. Kevin Parrott was the videographer.

Congratulations to the whole team at Lakeside High!

This is one example of how library leader Stony Evans is reaching for his goal “to create lifelong learners through literacy and technology.” Visit Stony’s Library Media Tech Talk blog.

How did I learn about this outstanding example of collaborative reading promotion? From Stony’s Twitter feed @stony12270, of course.

Which members of your faculty will work with you to promote literacy in your community? What about your library student aides? How can they reach out to their classmates and serve as cheerleaders for reading? Here’s an archived example from Emily Gray Junior High/Tanque Verde High School from Teen Read Week: Books with Bite (November 2008)!

We can accomplish so much more when we work in collaboration with others. On Thursday, I will share a school library – public library literacy collaboration.

Video linked with permission – Thank you, Stony and your team