During April we specifically celebrate School Library Month, but also in April is National Library Week (April 7-13, 2019) where all kinds of libraries get in on the celebrating. As school librarians my co-librarian and I generally focus on the… Read More ›
student engagement
Missing the Classroom
Can I let you in on a little secret? I miss being a classroom teacher. After teaching for 19 years, I became an elementary school librarian. With a fixed schedule, I teach all grade levels, but it doesn’t feel the… Read More ›
Research Ambassadors
In my school, third graders reign supreme. The school consists of three grade levels: first, second, and third. There are approximately 225 students enrolled in each level, so it is a fairly large school. For most people, it is difficult… Read More ›
Community Building and Learning through Curation
Curate is one of my favorite Shared Foundations. According to the AASL Standards school librarians should have a key commitment to “make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance.” Oftentimes, when we think… Read More ›
Changing Mindset to Increase Student Engagement
Have you ever experienced a convergence of events that caused an unsettling in your thinking? I did, and the result pointed to one conclusion: transform my approach to student engagement. Since September, a series of events caused me to consider… Read More ›
Make It Meaningful to Me: Authentic Learning for Students
Over the course of many years, I have learned that there are no two schools that are the same. Even within a city, you will find that there are significant differences between the resources that schools have and their cultures…. Read More ›
What’s a Student-Centered Library?
“Your ideas matter here.” “Some of the best parts of this library are because of your great ideas, so please share them.” This is part of the library orientation that all new 9th graders receive when they come to the… Read More ›
The Future Ready Librarian in Practice
I have gathered the June 2017 professional development for you. Speaking of professional development, earlier this month I attended a session offered by Shawna Ford about what it means to be a Future Ready Librarian. Ms. Ford is the Future… Read More ›
Breaking Into New Collaborations with BreakoutEDU
It’s true. I’m obsessed. My students are obsessed. My teachers are obsessed. We can’t get enough of BreakoutEDU in the library! We only have one BreakoutEDU box, and we’ve only had it for about a month, but we’re officially hooked…. Read More ›
Survey the Students
Why Survey Students: Maybe you administer a student survey every year, or maybe you have never surveyed your students. With all of the evaluation systems required by programs like “Race To the Top,” etc. and with every state setting different guidelines for librarian evaluation,… Read More ›