The clipart came from Pretygrafik on TpT. You can check out their store HERE.
There is one large bulletin board in the Media Center. I broke it up into two sections this year.
The first section I used for our Media Center stats.
You can find the signs I used for this bulletin board in my Gaming Themed Stats mini bulletin board set. Click HERE to see it now.
The second section I used for our Stick Together poster from Demco. The posters range in price from $29.99 to $59.99 and also come in sets for $99.99. Check them out HERE.
For a video tour of our media center, checkout the highlight videos on my Instagram profile.
I also made some of the decorations using pixel art from Shutterstock. You can download the pixel heart I used HERE.
I used our poster printer to print off large pixel hearts and then covered boxes in black paper to make the "3D" hearts.
For the "snowflakes" I printed the pixel hearts on cardstock, laminted them, and cut them out.
Next, I cut black paper into squares, then rolled the paper into cone shapes and taped the ends. Then I used hot glue to stick the cone shapes together in a circle. Next, I glued the laminated pixel hearts to the front and back of the "snowflakes." I used fishing line to hang them from the ceiling. I love the finished look!
So how are you powering up your students this year?
I worked on my professional development book TBR pile this summer and have some awesome book recommendations for library media specialists to pass along.
This was one of THE BEST books I've read for professional development for school librarians. There were quite a few practical suggestions given that could be implemented right away. Even as a veteran school librarian, I found some gems of ideas. I highlighted a lot of sections and can't wait to start trying some of the ideas shared in this book this year.
As a side note, the companion Facebook group for this book is just as awesome. Do yourself a favor and go join that group! Click HERE to go there now.
This book is full of great ideas and tips for becoming a leader from the library in your school and beyond. Leadership ideas to implement at all levels are given-from building collaboration within your own building to collaborating with others across the globe. If you're looking to be inspired to lead in your school and beyond, this book is for you!
I was not prepared to have my thoughts on social media tested the way this book tested me. Wow! This book challenged my thoughts on social media, not only as an educator, but as a parent. I took so many notes, highlighted and wrote noted ideas in the margin-my copy is totally marked up! This book has inspired me to try some new things in my school, or to at least talk to my admin about trying some new things. And I have also begun talking to my own children about how they currently use and how they could be using social media in a positive way to not only impact their lives, but others as well. This book would be a great PD book study for a faculty at any level. Start out with the young ones teaching them how to use social media in a positive way so that when they are released on their own to these websites they will know and understand not only how social media works, but how it can be used to make a difference in their lives and the world. Such a great read!
Books I Read in the Past, And Continue to Recommend
This book is great to pair with Social LEADia as it gives practical suggestions for using social media in the school library, but also for professional development. If you are looking to grown your PLN, you can't get much better than the advice given in this book. Think you can't use social media at the elementary level? Think again. Find fantastic ideas for safely using social media at any level and learn how to connect to others on a global scale in Connected Librarians.
As the name implies, this book gives you a clear idea of what fair use is and isn't. Examples of correct ways to use copyrighted items and incorrect ways are given throughout the book. It's a great book to keep on hand for those copyright dilemmas that always seem to pop up.
Responsive Classroom for Music, Art, P.E., and Other Special Areas
I loved this book so much that I volunteered to lead a PD book study for it this year. This book contains so many great examples of classroom management and strategies for special areas. Even a seasoned pro will find something useful in this book. Everything from what to do when students enter your space to when they exit is covered. You'll want to keep this book close to refer to when you have those "tough" classes.
And of course, there are these that I read five or more years ago, but still recommend because there are so many great ideas about running and organizing a school library:
This book was such a great resource for me when I first started as a media specialist. I used it to create my scope and sequence for the year and have since used the same format when planning instruction each year.
The Centered School Library
by Cari White
(You can purchase an updated copy on TpT or if you already have the book, you can just purchase the updates to the book on TpT for a lower price)
If you are thinking about implementing library centers into your school library curriculum, this is the book for you! With ready to use examples, this book gives you what you need to make library centers successful in your school library.
I first read The Book Whisperer back in 2013 because I saw so many people sharing about it on my PLN. After reading it, I knew what all the fuss was about. Miller shares oodles of ideas for getting students excited about reading, ideas which can easily be used in the school library. She emphasizes the importance of modeling being a reader-one reason I started my reading goal display that I have used for years now. Reading interest inventories are given in the book, which could be used both in a classroom and in a school library. One of the things I most admire about Miller is that she is a huge advocate of student reading choice, which is so important in getting students to be life-long readers.
Books still on my TBR List:
The following books have been mentioned more than once in several of the librarian facebook groups I am in, so they are definitely on my radar.
I'm currently in my 8th year of being a Media Specialist at my school. And I've held a few book fairs during that time. Our school uses Scholastic Book Fairs. One of the incentives that Scholastic offers for holding book fairs is Scholastic Dollars. These are like bonus points that you can spend like cash either at your fair, at a Scholastic warehouse, or on the Scholastic Dollars catalog. Depending on how many fairs you host during the year and how much you sell during those fairs, you can earn up to 55% of your sales in Scholastic Dollars which don't expire. This means you can save up for some really awesome purchases.
One of the first Scholastic Dollar purchases I ever made was right after our first book fair. I had heard from others that a change sorter might come in handy for those who come in with bags of coins. I had no idea just how much of a difference that change sorter would make, but I can't imagine holding a book fair without it.
The change sorter is currently $149.99. You might be able to find a change sorter for less, but using Scholastic Dollars won't cost you any actual cash. It really is worth the investment.
Another favorite Scholastic Dollars purchase was a bit more costly, but it has just about paid for itself in less than a year. It's the CoverOne Book Repair Machine and supply kit. I decided to take our profits all in Scholastic Dollars for our fall fair so that I could purchase this machine. It is truly worth the investment!
The first time I used it, I saved 9 books- books that would have been trashed otherwise. I have since repaired about 30 more books this school year and have a stack waiting to be repaired. I can't say enough good things about this machine!
The CoverOne can be a bit tricky to use at first, but after a few books, you get the hang of it. And the CoverOne tutorial videos on YouTube are a big help!
If Scholastic's price tag is a bit too much for your budget, try checking eBay. I found a similar machine for much less. I can't vouch for how well the other machine works, but it might be worth trying if you need to save money. Be sure to check with your system first to make sure that you can purchase from eBay.
A few years ago, I was able to start a MakerSpace in our Media Center. If you have a MakerSpace, you know that building up our MakerSpace with materials can get expensive. That is why I was so excited to find that Scholastic offered so many MakerSpace items through the Scholastic Dollars catalog.
Because I took all Scholastic Dollars for profit for our fall book fair, I had quite a bit to spend. So I used part of our profits to purchase a Cue Educational Bundle. This bundle has so much! It includes the Cue Robot from Wonder Workshop, a sketch kit and pens, a mat (ships separately), a year subscription to support materials from Wonder Workshop, and a digital teaching guide. As soon as I took Cue out of the box and turned it on, I knew it would be a hit with our students. Cue has a spunky personality which makes learning with it super fun! Note: Scholastic does not offer just the Cue robot by itself, but you can purchase the robot separately directly from Wonder Workshop if you feel that the bundle isn't something you'd use.
One favorite MakerSpace items for fourth and fifth graders is littleBits. The kits can be quite expensive, but using Scholastic Dollars, I was able to purchase 6 kits to add to our MakerSpace-enough to give students plenty of parts to Make with.
So those are some of my favorite splurges using Scholastic Dollars. Do you have any favorite Scholastic Dollars purchases? Anything I should add to my wish list?
The Dilemma: A student has overdue books or owes a fine for a lost or damaged book and cannot check out due to fine policies, but you don't want to discourage the student from reading. What to do?
There are several options I offer in our Media Center for these instances.
1) Students can put books they would like to check out on hold for up to one week. If they bring in the overdue items or pay the fines, they can quickly pick up the books they put on hold. At my school, we don't charge for overdue books, but students cannot checkout any more books until the overdue items are returned or renewed. Offering to hold books for students shows that you trust them to bring back what they owe and the majority of the time, those overdue books will show up the next day.
2) Students can get a book or two from our Honor Book section. This is the section of books that have been donated over the years, but aren't sturdy enough to be library books. Students are on their honor to bring these books back-thus the name "Honor Books." The books are designated with a sticker on the front. Read more about our Honor Books on THIS blog post.
3) Students can adopt one book from our Adopt a Book shelf. These are books that have been weeded due to poor circulation or because the book just can't be repaired any more because it is so well loved. This book is theirs to keep. They must sign a pledge that they will take good care of the book they adopt and READ it! Read more about our Adopt-a-Book program on THIS blog post.
4) Students can read a book while waiting for their classmates to checkout, but cannot take the book with them.
And for students who are having trouble paying their fines, I offer alternatives for "working off" their fine.
1) Work off the fine during recess time on Fridays (or whatever day works for you). 15 minutes of work = $5 off the fine I only offer this option on Fridays, as I do not have classes on Fridays and am able to supervise students.
2) Read off the fine in the Media Center. Students may come into the media center during their free time to read in one of our reading areas. 15 minutes of reading = $5 off the fine The reading must be done in the Media Center so that I can document it.
3) Can the Fine- students can bring in non-expired canned goods to be donated to our local food pantry. 3 cans = $5 off the fine
Whichever option the student chooses, they must bring back a signed permission form. This way I know for sure that their parent or guardian knows of the fine. I have made the permission slips I use available on a Google Doc so that you can edit it to fit your needs. Click HERE. Note: You will be asked to Make a Copy. Once you click the Make a Copy button, you will be able to edit the notes to fit your needs.
I never want a student to hate coming to the Media Center or to hate reading, so I hope by offering these alternatives, students still feel welcome.
What options do you have for your patrons who cannot check out books due to overdue policies or fines?
March is Women's History Month and I have a freebie for you to help you celebrate this month. It is just a few printable signs that you can use to create an eye catching bulletin board to promote books in your Media Center for Women's History Month.
This is how I used it. I looked up biographies of famous women and printed off book covers. I then used those book covers to make a bulletin board.
Monster Wrangler Mike also has some awesome posters available for free on his blog that you could use in place of book covers. You can download his freebie HERE.
You can download this freebie HERE. Hope you enjoy'!
