Sip and See Our New Books

I just received two gigantic book orders, and they were almost all beautiful nonfiction.  I was so excited to share them with everyone at my school, but I wanted to make sure they were seen by my teachers...and seen for their value as a part of their curriculums.  I stole the term Sip & See from The Real Housewives television show, yes I watch it every now and then, when one of the housewives had a party so that her friends could sip puch and see her new baby.  I thought this would be a great concept for our new books!  My intern and I sent out an invitation by email:

Then, we began sorting our books according to a few categories that we created.  We grouped by Literary NonFiction, Graphic NonFiction, Collaboration and Organization, High Interest, Fiction and NonFiction Pairs and Primary Sources.  Each table was filled with books that fit into the category, and we made small signs with lesson ideas and Common Core Standard tie-ins. 

Of course, we had a table of refreshments and prizes.  Our Sip and See was a hit, and the conversations started were great!  I had several teachers asking how they could use these books in their classrooms, and one collaboration is already underway.  This was a simple way to get my teachers in the doors to look at some of my new resources and to talk about what is happening in their classrooms.

Happy sipping and seeing!

It's Monday...What are you reading?

I'm working on finding my next book club selection, and my students are begging for something else like Divergent.  I have a mixture of boys and girls, and they are all big readers so it is a challenge to find a title that the majority has not read.  I also try to find something that is out in paperback because I purchase the books.  Here are my two choices:

I just reading Variant by Robison Wells, and I loved the beginning.  It is about a boy, Benson, who applies for a scholarship to a special private school.  He is selected for the scholarship, but he quickly learns that the school, with no adults, is not quite what he expected it to be.  This was a quick read but not quite what I was looking for my book club.

I just started reading Legend by Marie Lu, and I believe this is going to be the winner.  The Western United States is now home to a Republic that is always at war with its neighbors.  This is the story of two teenagers from different walks of life who are trying to survive the terrors of their country.

Until next Monday...Happy Reading!

It's Monday (a little late)! What are you reading?

Ok...I have meant to do this every week for some time, and I always remember on Tuesday.  I say that I will wait until next week, and I forget again!  So this week, on Tuesday,  I am going to tell you what I was reading on Monday. 

I have been anticipating the release of Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys after I fell in love with her debut novel, Between Shades of Gray.  She writes with beautiful voice, and her characters are so memorable.  I guarantee that you will fall in love with her books!

After finishing Out of the Easy, I began reading I am a SEAL Team Six Warrrior.  My boys at school have been raving over this biography, and I decided it was time that I read it.  I can see why they love it after reading three action packed chapters.

Thank you to my friend and colleague, Tamara Cox, for giving me the inspiration to begin these Monday posts!

It's Getting Artsy in Here!

We have the most fabulous art teacher at our school!  She is creative and fun, and I am constantly amazed by the creativity she is able to pull from the most unlikely students.  She came to me at the beginning of the school year to talk about how to integrate technology into her art classes, and we decided to use iPod touches for an elements of art project.  The students worked in groups of 4 to explore the library and the side yard of the school to find objects that represent the elements of art.  They saved their pictures, added text to label the elements and created a collage of their photos.  It was like a scavenger hunt to the students, and they absolutely loved using the iPods.  Each group used one iPod so it did not require an entire class set of devices.  The outcome of the project was great, and the students' enthusiasm for this project increased their knowledge and understanding of the art elements to create the perfect foundation for the nine week course.  We used the free apps Aviary (for taking the photgraphs and labeling them) and Photo Collage Free (for putting the photos together).  I saved them all to my computer and put them into a Dropbox folder that I share with my art teacher.

It is Going to be a "Wonder"ful day!

On the eve of our next book club meeting, I just realized that I never posted about our previous meeting.  Our faculty and student book clubs read Wonder by RJ Palacio, and it was a hit!  We met for an hour and fifteen minutes after school, and we could have stayed to talk longer.  I was so proud of the wonderful connections the students made between their reading and real life!  We began our discussion using the questions on the Wonder website.  The students were able to take the questions and run with them.  My favorite connection was between Julian's character traits and the character education program that we use at school.  Our current trait was nobility, or the courage to do the right thing even when no one is watching.  A quiet little sixth grade girl slowly raised her hand and said, "you know how we have been talking about nobility? Well, I think Julian is the opposite of nobility because he always does mean things when no one is watching."  This sparked a conversation about how we have all been in situations where people act differently depending on their company and how much that can hurt our feelings. 

The last twenty minutes of our meeting, the students created mosaics out of tissue paper that represented what Wonder meant to them.  We had a short period of time to work, but the students enjoyed creating their symbols and scenes.  Here are a few examples...

Wonder has taken our school by storm!  Since participating in the faculty book club, many of our teachers have been reading Wonder aloud to their classes.  It is a hot commodity in the library, and the hold list is a mile long.  Thank you Ms. Palacio for a beautiful book that transcends all things to make us see that on the inside we all have the ability to be the same no matter what we are like on the outside. 

Tomorrow, we will be moving on to Divergent by Veronica Roth.  This is another must read, for what my opinion is worth.  I spent my weekend re-reading Divergent, and I have loved it every bit as much as I did the first time around!  We will be wearing the colors of the faction we believe we would belong in so stay tuned for pictures! 

Happy Reading!

Want to know Smore about my library?

I always start the year with the goal of updating my website more often so that I can better communicate with my students and parents.  Somehow, in the rush of each day, this task always gets pushed to the side.  I will admit, my website was in dire need of an update, and I decided to keep it simple and informative.  I will add items for projects as they arise, but I didn't like how all of the links were cluttering my page when they weren't always in use.  So here is my new and improved Wren Middle Media Center webpage.  (But please keep in mind it is a work in progress!)

My favorite part of my new page is my newsletter!  In the past when I heard the dreaded word NEWSLETTER, thoughts came to mind of hours at the computer formatting and reformatting, typing lengthy articles and trying to get my logo positioned just right.  Those days are long gone thanks to Smore!  I learned about this website because Twitter was all abuzz with librarians across the country using this newsletter creator.  I learned about it from Tamara Cox, and you can read her blog post to check out the librarians she learned from.  I decided to give it a go, and I am in love!  It's simple drag and drop format makes it quick and easy to arrange and select a background and theme.  Simply upload your own photos, videos, links and text, and you have a beautiful newsletter that can be shared across platforms.  Embed it in your school website or blog, post it on Facebook and sharet it on Twitter.  Instantly, you will have given your library exposure like it has never had before.  I am also including a section each month with book reviews, and those books are already flying off the shelves!  Check out my newsletter, and sign up for your free account to start yours today!

Your Common Core Secret Weapon

I am so lucky to work with two fabulous librarians and friends, Tamara Cox and Monique German.  We have made it our mission to make sure that we are indispensible to our schools and our districts, and when we started hearing talk of the Commom Core Standards, we started listening closely.  Tamara invited herself to a meeting, we volunteered to lead staff development, and we started talking about how the librarian is really your secret weapon when it comes to implementing Common Core Standards.  This was the beginning of what has become a very fun ride!  Our district has started asking us for advice and help when it comes to all things Common Core, and we are happy to step up and offer anything we can provide!  We are quick to let everyone know we are not experts on every aspect of the new standards, but we are able to use our expert knowledge of inquiry, research, informational text and literature to help make the transition to the Common Core easier and less scary for our teachers.  When they come running, and often panicking, we are ready with a solution or a resource.

We presented at the Upstate Technology Conference in Greenville, SC to a group of administrators about how they can use their media specialist as their Common Core Secret Weapon.  Many were pleasantly surprised that they have a wonderful resource already waiting in their schools, and they were overwhelmingly supportive of the ideas that we offered!

We are excited to talk about how we are becoming the Common Core Secret Weapons at our schools at the TL Virtual Cafe on October 1 at 8pm.  We hope to "see" many of you there and hear about the ways you are helping to implement the Common Core into your own schools.  

Still wondering where you fit in the implementation process at your school?  The time is now!  Jump right in, and don't wait to be asked to join the party.  Bring the party to you!  You will quickly become the go to person for calming the fears of the new Common Core Standards.  You don't have to know everything about them, I certainly don't, but you can offer what you know best...inquiry, research, resources and literature.  You've got it all!

Check out this EdWeek article about the role of the school librarian in Common Core.  I think you will see that much of what is being done by librarians around the country is what we have always done, but now we are getting more attention.  We don't always crave attention, but that is what is going to make our jobs indispensable.  So I challenge you all to get out there, invite yourself to a meeting, talk to your principals and reassure your teachers.  Our time is now, and we can all work together to show the education world that we are an integral part of our school teams!

Happy planning!