Strange Things Are Afoot in the Media Center

Maybe it was the full moon this week or the whole Daylight Saving thing, but this week was totally weird. The kids were wild as could be, as was the weather.  Not that I don't enjoy warm weather, but it went from like 40 degrees to 86 degrees in a matter of days.  No wonder we're all sick.

Midway through the week, a DEMCO, Library Video Company, and Bound to Stay Bound order came in, but not everything was there. Only half the Bound to Stay Bound order arrived and 2 books out of that order were on back order...the first two books of the Hunger Games triology.  Of course the third book came in, but I really don't want to put it out yet.  Reading the third book first will ruin it for anyone who hasn't read the first two books.  *sigh*  Hopefully they will come in soon.  In the meantime, I am still waiting for my Permabound order to even process.  It was sent in on the same day as the DEMCO and btsb order, but it is much further behind in the process, I guess.  That's what I get for trying to order for the lowest price.

Then the strangest thing of all happened.  Random socks kept popping up around the Media Center several times this week.  No kidding...SOCKS!  Luckily I always have my camera with me so I was able to snap a picture of these strange happenings, cause otherwise, who'd believe me, right?

I found a pair of socks under a chair.

And I found a very dirty, smelly sock laying on the story time rug.

Still don't know who left them there or why.

Like I said, strange happenings in the Media Center.  But I tried to keep my sanity as best I could with an unusually full week of classes scheduled for Media lessons.  Don't get me wrong.  I was tickled pink that so many teachers signed up for a lesson this week and now I have taught all 2nd-5th grade classes about the Genre of the Month for this month...Biographies/Autobiographies.  I made a PowerPoint to cover the basics and had an activity to check for understanding at the end.  I even made bookmarks for the kids, cause you know they love their bookmarks.  =)

You can snag your copy of these bookmarks here or click on the picture above.

All in all, it was a good week.  I definitely felt like I earned my paycheck.  And I get to do it all again next week. Thank goodness Friday was a furlough day holiday, in my county.  I needed the day to recoup.  I also rewarded myself with a bag of some plain ol' fashioned deliciousness.

Yummo!  I didn't even check the nutritional facts so that I could thoroughly enjoy every chip.  =)

Next week it's all about research for third and fourth graders and I will be reviewing with second graders how to use Destiny to search for books in the Media Center.  I have found that many of them need a refresher course.  Tuesday I go to our system's Media Consortium to meet with other Media Specialists across the area. Super excited about this.  Lots of great stuff on the agenda.  Thursday I meet with my Media Committee to talk about Media plans for the rest of the year and I will wrap up the week with an AR party for the 3rd nine weeks.  I have a "Bug Carnival" planned to go with my "Catch the Reading Bug" theme for the Media Center this year.  I have only managed to get 2 parent volunteers to help me out, so I hope it goes smoothly.  I'll have to post pictures afterward, if I am able to get any. Chances are I will be busy running 2 or 3 carnival games at the same time if I can't round up a few more helpers.  Here's hoping.

In case your week is as busy as mine and you need a little pick me up, here are a couple of fun websites I came across this weekend:

Wimp Yourself is a fun game that allows you to customize a "wimpy" character to wimp yourself.  Cute!  This would be fun for the kids to do as a promo for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.  There isn't a way to print out the characters, though.  Bummer.

Wimp Yourself

Here's me all wimped out.

Draw a Stickman is a website I came across a while back.  It was a fun site that allows you to draw pictures to go in the story, but the storyline didn't change so after using the site a few times, it got old.  Well, now there is a second episode!  Hopefuly that means there will be more episodes to come.  Check it out for yourself.

Draw a Stickman

Hope your week is a fun one!

Genre of the Month

When I became a MS, I decided I was going to do whatever I could to get students excited about reading and to read different types of materials so that they can become well-rounded. So in keeping with that goal, I started the Genre of the Month program where I teach a different genre of literature in the Media Center in the hopes of getting students excited about reading.

The GOTM is highlighted on a special bulletin board, and I do a lesson once a month to make sure the students understand the genre.

  

  

I also put up signs about the GOTM on top of the shelves and pull books from that genre to go next to the signs to make these books easy to find.  (If you're interested, you can get a free sample copy of these signs here or click on either of the pictures above.)

I put special signs on the computer about the GOTM to make it easy to look up a GOTM book and I put out GOTM bookmarks, cause you know these kids love them some bookmarks.  ;)

I have made 28 genre bookmarks that you can now purchase on Teacher's Dojo.  Click to HERE to go there now.

As an extra incentive to read a book from the Genre of the Month, I hide a "secret symbol" (examples seen in the picture above) in random books that fall into that genre.  When a student finds the "secret symbol"  they bring the symbol and the book to the Media Center. I quiz them on the book to be sure they have really read the book, and if they pass the short quiz, they get to pick a prize from my treasure chest.  The treasure chest is filled with items from Oriental Trading and toys from kids' meals, stuff the kids go crazy over.  If a student finds a secret symbol, I take their picture and put it on a bulletin board.  They are so proud to see their picture hanging up.

You can find the posters, bookmarks, and secret symbols all in this Genre Mega Pack in my Teacher's Dojo store for just $8.00.  Click HERE or on the picture above to check it out.

During "slow" weeks (is there really a such thing in the Media Center?), I will do a genre review game I call "Genredy."  The winners of the game get a roll of Smarties.

I also have made a fun hands-on activity called Genre Detectives that I used mid-way through the year to reveiw all the genres we had covered.  I used it with 2nd-5th grade classes and they really seemed to enjoy it.

This is how I set up the activity.  I put 8 books, one from each of these genres in the white bucket:
tall tale, fable, legend, science fiction, historical fiction, realistic fiction, mystery, and non-fiction.  Large craft sticks and genre labels are in the small bin.

The poster lists the 8 genres and their definitions.  Students work together to match the genre to its correct definitions using the craft sticks.

Next, students label each book with the correct genre label.

This is an example of how the book would be labeled.  The shapes on each book correspond to a genre which the students find out at the end of the lesson when they check their answers.

The Genre Detective packet is available on my TpT store and is included in the Leap Day sale.  It's normally $3.00, but you can get it during the sale for $2.40.  You can get it here.

I also have a second Genre Detective packet.  It is also $3.00.  You can get it here.

I recently came across a new blog, The Library Patch, started by another elementary librarian, Sonya. She is starting a similar program to the Genre of the Month in her library, but with fiction books.  She calls it the Roundup for Reading program.  You can find her post about the Roundup for Reading program here.  She even has some downloads about the program.  I am definitely going to keep this program in mind for next year, just to kind of mix things up.  I highly recommend stopping by and checking out her blog, The Library Patch.  Tell her Mrs. Nase sent ya!  =)

As for the GOTM program, I feel like it has done a great deal to get students to read different types of books, mostly because they want to find the "secret symbol," but hey, if it gets them reading, I'd stand on my head and juggle fire, if I knew how to do that, that is, 'cause that's just how I roll.

Book Care

Next week I will be letting the Kinders and Firsties check out from the BIG shelves for the first time this year.  It's a big step for them and I know they are really excited about it.  To get them ready, I have prepared a review lesson about how to choose a "just right" book and also how to take care of library books.  It seems they need a gentle reminder about book care as some of their books have begun being returned with extra pictures or missing pages in them.  I found a really cute book on the Kindergarten...Kindergarten blog called Forest Friends Go to School:  A Very, Very Sad Story (With a Happy Ending!) that I downloaded, printed, and put together.  You can find that book here.  It's perfect for this lesson on book care.

I tied our lesson together with these cute book care bookmarks.

Book Care Bookmark

Hope you enjoy the bookmark. You can get it HERE.