Ms. Salinas, a second-grade teacher at Old Town, is full of energy and creativity. Whenever I approach her with an idea, her answer is always yes! I went to her with an idea I had for stop motion as a… Read More ›
elementary school
12 More (mostly cheap) Teacher Tricks that Work in an Elementary Library
In 2017, I wrote a blog post titled “12 (mostly cheap) Teacher Tricks that Work in an Elementary Library.” What I did not realize when I wrote that post was the positive response it would receive. The goal was to… Read More ›
Fiction Genrefication at the Elementary School Level
This summer I undertook the huge project of genrefying my library. This gargantuan task involved lots of stickers, tape, and sweat. Now that the dog days of summer are over and a new school year has started, I am so… Read More ›
Pairing Picture Books and Primary Sources: When Washington Crossed the Delaware by Lynne Cheney and Peter M. Fiore
Last month I helped to give a workshop in Lexington, Kentucky, through a grant called Project CHARGE (Civics History through Advanced Research and Geography Education). Over five days, elementary and middle school teachers focused on mid-17th-century history through the adoption… Read More ›
Makerspace Made Easy
Don’t be intimidated by the idea of setting up a makerspace in your library. If you are an elementary librarian with a fixed schedule, you may think that you don’t have the time or the space for a makerspace. Creating… Read More ›
Books We Love
We can’t argue that school libraries have changed and changed for the better. When you walk into a school library, chances are that you may see one or more of the following: Legos, 3D printers, Break Out Boxes, or iPads…. Read More ›
Creating a Makerspace in an Elementary School Library
For the past two years I have wanted to create a makerspace in the school library. While I don’t technically have the space, I decided to set up stations to make it happen. The week I set up the stations… Read More ›
3 Ways to Address the Black Lives Matter Movement in Your School Library
With the Black Lives Matter movement front and center in the news this summer, it is heartbreakingly evident we still have a great deal of work to do to heal racial issues in our society. Our students are absorbing… Read More ›