In the spring of 2021, the 6th grade science teacher and I began forming a plan. She had seen the engagement of 6th graders in our afterschool Maker Days program and wanted to find a way to bring that into her classroom so that ALL of our 6th graders could have this opportunity. We … Read more
This is my 12th school year as a teacher librarian. That also makes it my 12th year of teaching some type of library orientation to my students. Things have changed a lot over the years – from a pretty boring PowerPoint my first year to having to go to each socially distanced classroom individually … Read more
Banned Books Week is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about censorship and the right to read. There’s tons of great banned books activities and displays out there, but many of them work best in-person. Since the pandemic has most schools meeting either virtually or in a hybrid model, students likely won’t be able to … Read more
It’s back-to-school season! Some schools have been back for several weeks while others are gearing up to go back. But no matter when you start back up, your mind is likely buzzing with the possibilities of a fresh school year. The beginning of the year is a great time to try something new, whether it’s … Read more
You can’t design a library space and program that meets the needs of your teachers and students if you don’t know what those needs are. It’s hard to develop an effective library collection if you have no idea what genres and books your students want to read. Using surveys with your teachers and students can … Read more
A few weeks ago, we held our very first Mini MakerFaire at my school. Our Makerspace is still in it’s infancy (it’s really just a bunch of tables set up in the middle of the library) but I wanted to have an event that would raise awareness of what we are doing among students and … Read more
You may remember that a few weeks ago I wrote about how I started a K’nex club at my school. We’ve only had a few meetings so far, but the kids are loving it, and I feel like they’ve already really started to bond together. So far, I’ve started out each meeting with a brainstorming … Read more
As I’ve been researching and reading up on the Maker Movement, one of the most common things I hear from other librarians and educators is that they aren’t sure how to start, or they’re worried about teacher perception. One easy way to get your students and teachers exposed to the Maker Movement (or really, DIY … Read more
Taking Baby Steps Towards Starting a Makerspace As you know if you’ve been following my blog and Twitter account, I’m a bit obsessed lately with the concept of Makerspaces in libraries. I’ve been brainstorming and grant writing. I’ve been telling everyone I know about my vision for what I want my school’s library Makerspace to … Read more
For the past several years, I’ve wanted to have a media center fundraiser that involved crafts. Students at my school tend to be very kinesthetic, and they are so much more engaged when doing something with their hands. I’ve also been learning a lot lately about Maker concepts, and I wanted to incorporate some … Read more