When does my child have Library? Flexible Scheduling

In our library we use a flexible scheduling model for our upper grade classes.   Flexible scheduling is an alternative to a rigid weekly schedule. With a flexible schedule library or research skills are taught in tandem with the content of the teachers.  Some weeks, grade 3-5 classes can come twice/week; during other weeks, a class may not come at all.  In addition to whole-class visits, the library provides "open checkout" twice daily for children to come independently to exchange library books.   This slide show (esp. pages 11-18) shows the benefits of a flexible scheduling model in the library.

Flexible Scheduling from Nerine Chalmers

When the Library is Closed: Professional Development for the Librarian

by Jackie (our student teacher in the library) and Cheryl

On October 29th we headed out to Citifield, not for a Mets game, but to attend the NYCDOE's School Library System’s Annual Fall Conference. The theme of this year's conference was “Connect, Create, Lead.” Jackie, a student at Pratt Institute’s School of Information and Library Science, and I split our time between sessions, compared notes, and enjoyed talks by authors James Patterson and Jerry Spinelli. Along with the sessions on ebooks, graphic novels, Common Core alignment in the library, inquiry, and technology, there was a larger message regarding reader engagement and how that can be implemented in the school, in the library, and most importantly, at home. Keynote Speaker James Patterson introduced the conference with a talk on his self-proclaimed “missionary work” to get more kids reading. A distinguished author and New York Times bestseller, he has recently started Read Kiddo Read, a website for parents and educators. The site has parent and educator reviews, tips for parents on how to get their kids reading more, and book lists such as the “I-Hated-To-Read-Til-I-Read-This-Booklist for Boys.” Patterson spoke of his experience with his fifteen year old and how he and his wife got Jack reading. Here are some takeaways from Patterson’s keynote: 1. Kids HAVE to read in the summer. As Patterson says, “Jack didn’t have to mow the lawn, but he had to read for 45 minutes each day.” 2. It is a shared effort of parents and educators to get kids engaged in reading. Patterson told us, “if parents don’t get their kids reading, it’s like giving them a disability.” 3. Let them read what they want to read. “It's our job as parents & educators to make kids read but we also need to find them books they love.” Let your child read It’s Disgusting and We Ate It. Any active reading is going to lead to active learning.  Similar to Patterson, author and teacher Torrey Maldonado gave a workshop called, “Getting Reluctant Readers to Read.” Maldonado grew up in Red Hook, Brooklyn in the 1980s. He explained to librarians that he grew up in a village that began to disintegrate. When this happened, his mother created a patchwork village. This included the Red Hook librarian and store clerks who would exclaim “here comes the reader!” and “when are you going to write me a book?” Along with the celebration of good grades and an emphasis on the power of the written word, Maldonado had a positive self-fulfilling prophecy with his powerful novel, Secret Saturdays. Now, Maldonado teaches at Park Slope’s M.S. 88 and gives lectures to young people about the power of reading.  Kids should have a huge influence on collection development as it is FOR them.  This is a philosophy we have been adhering to for years in our school library.  How can a young person develop a love for lifelong literacy if lifelong literacy doesn’t love them?

Maldonado also advocates for books that show children's race/gender/culture in a positive way.  Maldonado referenced a New York Times article that pointed to the lack of Latinos in children's books.

We attended a session on purchasing ebooks for libraries, taking away the message that school libraries should not (yet) be investing money on ebooks, at least until we can work out a more sensible model of pricing.   We also went to a presentation by the founder of a kid-friendly book review site called Biblionasium, a safe site where kids can keep track of their reading, share virtual shelves, and rate books.  We think our upper-grade students will love this social forum to connect around books.   In addition to the concurrent sessions, we had a chance to walk around the exhibitors area to peruse new books, apps, software, and hardware, and to get to talk to the various vendors who provide our students with resources.

While we are apologetic for having to close the library for the day, this kind of work is essential for us to continue to grow in a field that is continually changing.  In November, Cheryl will be attending the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Conference, the national conference of school librarians.  She is looking forward to a stimulating time of learning, and bringing back lots more to our community of learners.

Colonial America

Web Mix for Colonial America
Here are some interactive websites we've been looking at in the library, in connection with the 4/5 grade investigation of Colonial American life.  Have fun exploring!

 

100 Great Picture Books/100 Years

I love book lists.  And now, The New York Public Library has just published a list of "100 Best Picture Books," on occasion of their current exhibition The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter, "an examination of why children’s books are important: what and how they teach children, and what they reveal about the societies that produced them."  The exhibition is really geared for adults interested in the history of children's literature; however there are some fun hands-on displays and lively spaces--like the recreation of Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon's great green room, that will occupy kids while their grown-ups examine the contents of the display cases.  

You can browse the list here

published 1928

Most of these books are in our school library's collection, and they circulate regularly, proving that these "classics" on our shelves withstand the test of time--and children!  

published 1938

published 1962

published 1972

BookPALS Group Read!

Last week, we inaugurated a visiting readers program in collaboration with BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools).  Professional performers volunteer as readers in elementary school classrooms. BookPALS is a national program administered by the Screen Actors Guild  (SAG) Foundation.  To learn more, go to their website.  

Another literacy program offered by the SAG Foundation is the website StoryLine OnLine. There you can hear (and watch) great picture books, including Betty White reading the classic picture book Harry the Dirty Dog and Satoshi Kitamura's Me and My Cat? read by Elijah Wood.  

Reading Interest Surveys

I like to begin the school year by asking students what they like to read.   In the lower grades, students draw a picture of what kinds of books they like.  This week, to launch our year of Library with third graders, I am reading Wild About Books, a tribute to Dr. Seuss by Judy Sierra. After reading this entertaining, rhyming narrative in which all the zoo animals go crazy for reading (and writing), students completed a survey (below) that will help me get to know their preferences as readers.

Click HERE to listen to Judy Sierra reading Wild About Books

Summer Reading!

We have been distributing NEW New York Public Library library cards these last weeks.  If you have not filled out an application for your child, please see Cheryl in the library or Fidelina in the lobby.  She is there each morning with a stack of personalized cards for each child.  The major advantage of this card is that the library will forgive prior fines and no longer charge any late fees. This is major!  

"Miss Thea," librarian from the NYPL's Ottendorfer Branch, visits
classrooms to get kids excited about the summer reading program.