The Marshmallow Challenge: Starting a Yearlong Conversation about Communication, Creation and Collaboration

Last week was the first week that I saw classes in the library. I have been thinking hard about where to begin this year and about the big goals for the students. Because this is the 3rd year I've had with these students, I have an idea of where they are when it comes to the way they use the library. I have worked over the past few years to focus on the tools in the library and about building independence. This year, kids will be checking out themselves so that we are freed up to do more work with students as they dig into their learning.

After looking hard at our state Library Guidelines and thinking about the skills our students need to be literate in the 21st Century, I wanted to move to a new level of what kids could do in the library. I continue to refer back to NCTE's definition of 21st Century Literacies as I think and plan.

When I watched the TED Talk on The Marshmallow Challenge, I knew it was the activity I wanted to kick off our year in the library with. So, this week, every 3rd, 4th and 5th grade class participated in the Marshmallow Challenge. Each team of 3-4 had 18 minutes to create a structure using the materials included with a big rule being that the marshmallow had to be on top. I had several goals when I decided that it was worth counting out so many pieces of uncooked spaghetti.

First of all, I want the library to become a schoolwide community. One challenge that is different from the classroom is that not all members of the library community are in the space at the same time. So I need to connect their conversations in different ways. I knew that if I did this with all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, it would become a topic of conversation on the bus, at dinner tables and at recess. From what I heard from the kids, I was correct in my thinking. I will also expand on the conversation by creating a display in the library highlighting some of the things that each group created and learned.

I also want the library to continue to be a place where kids can create--we'll build on the work with film-making that we did last year, do more content-connected projects, etc. and I want them to have thought hard about collaborating and problem solving.

So, every 3rd, 4th and 5th grade class spent the first 18 minutes of their library time this year participating in THE MARSHMALLOW CHALLENGE. ( I let them use tape on the base which may be against the official rules, but I think that was the only difference.) I learned so much from watching the groups. I know that if kids are going to use the library in the ways I hope they do, collaboration is key. It was interesting to watch them share ideas, deal with frustrations, and stay focused (or not) on the task.

The powerful piece was the conversation kids had afterwards. The challenge is designed so that groups MUST collaborate. There is not enough time to not collaborate. So the conversations following the Marshmallow Challenge about collaboration were key. It seems that many young children think that collaboration is about being nice, being a team player. But I think when I look back at the work in 21st Century Literacies, I want more than that for our kids. I want them to problem solve collaboratively--to listen to others' ideas, build on people's thinking and to be able to create ideas and projects together that they could not possibly create on their own.

So, following the activity, each class talked about collaboration. They shared the things they did that felt collaborative. Just as I used to do in Reading Workshop, we had a 2-column conversation. I asked them to answer these two questions: What does collaboration look like? What does collaboration sound like? These initial conversations were amazing. Kids really thinking about the kind of collaboration they did and how they might improve it next time. Did they listen to others' ideas or just try to push their own? How did they deal with frustration? How did they include teammates? What did they do when another teammate became frustrated. Kids said things like,

"When something messed up, we didn't complain. We laughed and fixed it."

"It is better when you talk before you work.

"We learned from our mistakes and to combine ideas to make something we like."
“Wh learned to learn from our mistakes and to combine ideas to make something we all liked
This led right into a conversation about creating because they quickly realized that so much of collaboration comes from problem-solving when things don't go well. We also talked about creation and the fact that trying things that didn't work forced them to think about a new way to do something. So many kids are so worried about doing things the right way and not making mistakes that I loved this part of the conversation.

Follow-Up
For the classes I've seen a 2nd time, I did a quick 15 minute follow-up activity using Marbleworks. Kids were again assigned to a team of 3-4 and we talked about setting challenges or goals for ourselves. For the last few years, kids have been doing lots of great exploration with many of the building toys and games. Although I think free exploration time is important, I also want to bump it up a bit since it hasn't happened naturally. I want the toys to be a source of independent hands-on research. So, I gave kids a challenge--"In 5 minutes, create the tallest structure you can with only 8 pieces." The 8 pieces threw them a bit but they quickly took on the challenge. We discussed the difference in free play and committing to a challenge and they talked again about having to dig in and try new things when something didn't work. Then they brainstormed other challenges that kids might try with Marbleworks. (Build a track in which the marble goes through all of the pieces. Build the lowest structure you can that works and used 8 pieces. Create a track that takes exactly 45 seconds for the marble to travel on.) I will add these challenges and spaces for kids to add new ones to the area around the Marbleworks--inviting others to think differently about the way they design. I think this piece will be key when it comes to research--asking your own questions, finding answers, documenting work over time. For young children, this step will help them understand more text-based research.

I'm glad that we started the year like this. Yesterday, I developed the 180+ pictures that I took and will add those to a wall display near the door, along with quotes from the kids on what they learned about collaborating and creating. I am hoping that conversations will begin to happen across classes and that kids will see things in the pictures that spark new thinking and talk. I have always believed that it is these yearlong conversations that make a difference to student learning and this one on creating and collaborating will be one we add to every week throughout the year.

Columbus Metropolitan Library Website Demo

Have I mentioned lately that our public library system, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, won Library Journal's 2010 Library of the Year Award?  We are SOOOO lucky to have this library system in our community.  I imagine we take the library for granted at times and we probably shouldn't!

I have to admit that I don't visit many of the library's branches. I need to make some time to get downtown to the main branch. But our Dublin branch is so good and I always bump into one of the children's librarians there, that it is the one I visit most frequently. The 3 children's librarians at the Dublin Branch have been so supportive of our school and we have done great partner activities over the last few years to build relationships between the students and the librarians there. The 3 are all very familiar faces to our students and at least once a week, some child comes in to tell me that they talked with one of them on a recent visit to the library.  

As I move into my third year, I am able to bump things up a bit in terms of student learning.  This year, when Loren Scully and I met to set our year plan, one of the goals was to help students be more independent at utilizing the tools at the public branch library and to help them know the resources available. So, this week, Ray, the teen librarian at Dublin, spent time with every 4th and 5th grade class. He spent about 35 minutes with each class, giving them a tour of the CML website and some of the resources they could find there. He demonstrated how to go about reserving a book that they were hoping to read.  He also shared some resources available to the community such as CultureGrams. Kids learned how to search available books by favorite authors and more.  And, of course, Ray can't leave the school without sharing some great new books with kids.  He is so knowledgeable about books for this age group that many kids found new books to add to their "to be read" list.  The kids were GLUED to his talk. They seem excited to explore the CML website on their own.  I have to spend more time on it myself--there is so much there--really amazing resources. 

I know the librarians are hugely busy and we appreciate the time they give to the students at Riverside.  Our kids LOVE when they see one of the Dublin librarians whether they are at school or at the Dublin Library. Our students love anything connected with the library because of this.

New Learning Tools in the Library

This is my fourth year in the school library and I think I am finally finished moving shelves and big furniture. For the most part, at least.  It took me about 2 years to get the space to really work for the students. I am lucky to have a very supportive principal, an amazing library aide, and a wonderful custodian. They've all been hugely instrumental in recreating the space with me. This year, there are not many big changes.  I felt like the space was working--lots of spaces for different groups of students. Lots of spaces for different types of work.  So, this year, kids will come back to the space they know (and hopefully love).

We do have some new learning tools in the library that I am very excited about.  They aren't all in yet but here are the things that I think will open up new possibilities for students this year in the library.

I am most excited about my VuPoint Magic Wand Scanner.  I attended a workshop in August and Sara Kajder (@skajder) was the speaker.  She shared this tool during the talk. Luckily, my Internet was up and I believe that I purchased it before she was finished talking about it! This is a portable scanner. One that doesn't need to be housed in one spot or connected to anything. It works like a camera but is more of a scanner. (It is battery operated with a camera card so that photos can be easily moved.)  I can imagine scanning student work that I want to keep in an assessment folder. Students can scan writing or art that they might want to add to a blog post.  They can scan things to plug into presentations.  So many possibilities of what we can do with this tool--helping to put anything kids do in some digital format. (You can read a little bit more about this one on my husband's technology blog.)

Our library has several different building toys. I believe strongly that a library needs many tools for learning and building tools are definitely a learning tool. My hope is to add more challenge-based options for students who want to use these tools this year.  A friend mentioned Flexeez in a recent blog post and once I saw what could be done with them, I ordered them. The box didn't seem to hold much when it arrived but these little pieces can create some very cool things. They are flexible and that allows for a different type of building. I can't wait to see what kids create with these!


I also have a very inexpensive Document Camera, the IPEVO Point 2 View.  I wanted a document camera that kids could use.  And when I tried it out, it works out great. I want to work with students on quality work, quality presentations, sharing information, etc. this year.  I also am pretty sure that with access to this, kids will think of ways to use it that I haven't thought of yet.  It is pretty portable so there are lots of possibilities.




We have a five Kindles in the library. I am not sure where we are going with eReaders but I think it is important that kids have access to the many tools people use to read.  I want students to experience reading in a variety of ways and to know what is possible. So, I purchased two Color Nooks this summer. I loaded them with mostly picture books, thinking that these would be used mostly for that. I want kids to have access to various ebooks and the Color Nook seemed like the smartest purchase for picture book reading.

We have 4 iPads and 2 iPod Touches on the way.  Our goal this year is to get lots of the technology that has traditionally been stored in the library out to classrooms so that students have access to the tools they need all day.  So, we will add some new technology tools for use mostly in the library. I need to work with our Technology Specialist about apps for both the iPods and the iTouches but I am thinking most of the apps we purchase will be production type tools that allow students to create things. I want them to have access to various ways to create. And of course, I will add a QR code reader.   (I also have 2-3 Wacom Bamboo Tablets that I am hoping kids find ways to utilize with draw programs, etc.)

And last, but definitely not least, may possibly end up being my very favorite learning tools is the Dry Erase Table that is currently on order. I've cleared out a corner of the library to create a type of "production area". This will be the area where kids will have space to film, think together, etc. The green screen is housed on a wall in this area and the cameras, flip videos, iPod touches, etc. will also be stored here.  The dry erase table will be a tool for collaboration. This will be a space where small groups can think, plan and design together.  When I envision an learning community, I think that this piece is key--a place to think off of one another's thinking, a place where it will become evident that what we can do together is often stronger than what any one person can do individually.

Those are the new tools that kids will see in the library over the next few weeks.  I know it will take a while for the newness factor to wear off and I know students will need a time to see what these tools are about but I am certain that each of these tools will add new invitations for learning to students.

The Homework Help Center at the Dublin Branch Library

The Columbus Metropolitan Library did not get to be the 2010 Library of the Year for no reason! I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have such a resource in my city.

This week, during library classes, each group was able to meet and learn from Miss Val, who runs the Homework Help Center in Dublin. Miss Val was able to meet each class, read some books and poems, and share information about the new Homework Help Center.  The kids were all excited and I am sure many of our students will visit the Homework Help Center soon.  Our students love knowing the librarians at the Dublin Branch. They love to see Miss Loren, Mr. George and Mr. Ray on their visits to the library. They will now know 4 people during their visits.  The outreach they have done has really helped our kids get excited and feel welcome in the library.

Miss Loren shares her Caldecott predictions
 in December. And she was right!

I think the Homework Help Center is a brilliant idea. Kids can go in and get help with their homework. The center is filled with tables, computers and supplies such as markers, scissors, etc.  Miss Val, Miss Jeanie and the volunteers help students from grades K-12 with their homework.  Having that little bit of support can make a huge difference for kids. And Miss Val helped the kids see that it was a fun place to hang out.   I know as a parent, it is often easier to have someone else help with homework after school on some days. And most days, kids don't need much help--so a place like this would help them be efficient about getting it done.  I also love that kids can use the resources in the library--if they are doing research, they have so many resources available to them. I also love that it gets them to library and most likely, they will start to love it there.  And parents can do their own thing in the library while kids are there. It is not a babysitting service but kids can be in the Homework Help Center by themselves while parents read, browse books, etc.

My big goal for the past three years as librarian at Riverside has been for my students to see the library as a hub for learning and thinking.  A place full of resources and possibilities.  A place where you are in charge of your own learning.  The Homework Help Center and the other programs that our CML children's programs offer supports that message completely.  I am excited about this opportunity for our students and our community!

Reflecting on the School LIbrary: An Invitation to the Possibilities for Learning

From Hugh's Daily Cartoon Newsletter

This is my fourth year as an elementary librarian after 21 years as a classroom teacher. I enjoy lots about the job of a librarian but one of my main frustrations is the limited time I see students. We are on a fixed schedule so I see each class for 45 minutes every four days.  When I started the job, I knew it would take 2-3 years to really build a program and I have to say, that I think that the library is a great place to be. But I don't often take the time to realize what is happening and I really don't always even notice. With 400+ K-5 kids, it is so easy for me to focus on what didn't get done in a week and how much more we wish we could do. This week, I decided to stop and take a breath and notice the little things that were happening in the library. Buffy Hamilton often reflects on her library in this long-term way and I thought this might help me see things more clearly so that we can move forward.

One of the philosophies I have been living on this year in the library is Inviting kids to do things rather than Commanding that they do it. (#invitationnotcommand). (Tony Keefer has a post about this new philosophy and how his class is embracing it in a powerful blog post today.) I want kids to see the library as an Invitation to Learning.  I want the library to offer lots of opportunities to kids and to build in authentic choice. I feel like much of my job is to open possibilities for students but not to necessarily "assign" them extra things to do.  That is not to say that we never all do the same thing. We have a minilesson type time in which we all gather to learn/introduce/think about something for about 15 minutes each session.  With the time limits, this is hard to pull off and it often feels like we aren't getting anywhere. But when I force myself to really think about how it is working, I realize lots seems to be happening.  The challenge for me is having enough quality Invitations in the library and to keep options fresh so that kids can find the things that matter to them as learners. Over the years, we have added books, games, building toys, tech tools, etc.  Here is some work I am excited about that has happened over the last few weeks--some big things and some great moments:

2nd grade classes are in the midst of a unit in which each child is creating a comic ebook. This is a collaboration between the classroom teachers, the art teacher, the technology support teacher and myself.  We've been working for weeks learning to look hard at graphic novels and comics, to think about the characteristics, to think about ways to tell stories in this format and to plan out our stories. This week, the kids started using the draw tool, PIXIE to begin creating. We'll use their illustrations and drop those into Comic Life. Then we'll save them as ebooks to be viewed by others on computers and iPads.  A long process but kids are doing a great job and the steps leading up to the actual creation have been worthwhile.  The kids have learned a lot and are creating pieces that they'll be excited to share. (This one is a #command-all kids are expected to create this. Once in a while, I am good with that when we all coordinate efforts and when I know the skills they learn will transfer to other learning for years.)

Some 3rd graders are working on book trailers.  It is not an assignment--just an invitation for those interested. As a group, we've studied book trailers and I've shared the process I have used in my own creation (much harder than I could have imagined--more to come at a later date...). In the process, they are learning about quality writing of book reviews, finding copyright free photos, using and editing imovie choosing sound that matches feel of book, and more. Kids are learning lots and I think many will choose to create book trailers for our morning news show and for our website.

I am getting ready to begin to introduce Diigo to our 4th grade students. Diigo has a new educator account with privacy settings for students.  There are so many options for student research and nonfiction reading with this social bookmarking tool. Excited to jump in.  A few students helped me figure a few things out with it this week and they were all excited about the possibilities of the tool. It is fun to watch people when they discover a new tool and imagine what it can do. These 9 year olds said exactly the same things about diigo that I did when I discovered social bookmarking--they can't believe there is something that can not only organize their bookmarks, but also a tool that lets them share with friends and lets them access bookmarks wherever they are. 4th graders seem to be a good age for this since they understand bookmarking, online reading, etc.

The Newbery Club has met twice but I touch base with kids in this group daily.  They are in and out of the library trading in books and choosing others constantly from the JOG THE WEB list I created for them to browse. Many have finished 1-2 books on our list of 30 and they are thinking hard about these books. It is fun to see a few like WONDERSTRUCK and BIGGER THAN A BREADBOX being passed around from one child to another.

We have 5 Kindles in the library.  We haven't done much with them because of management but since I had so many Newbery Club students interested in reading THE UNWANTEDS by Lisa McMann, Since all of the copies are always checked out, I decided to add that book to our accounts and a few of the kids have chosen to read this one on a Kindle. We met for a while to learn about notetaking and highlighting features. It will be fun to see what they have to say about the experience.

A child stopped me in the hall today to say, "Mrs. Sibberson, I don't know what is happening but I have been finishing a LOT of books this week!" as she flew past.

Several students are using the Popplet App on the iPad to think through books.  They are brainstorming thinking, ideas, etc. and are really pushing themselves. Since Popplet invites collaboration, many kids are working together to do this type of thinking.

Kids are playing lots of games and learning a great deal in the process. Games we've added this year that have become popular are Qwirkle and Make N Break Junior.  Next week, we'll add 4 Way Countdown. Set has also been extremely popular this year. We finally have several sets of games cataloged and with indoor recess happening more often now that it is November, kids are beginning to check these games out for recess time.

Kids are excited about QR codes. I introduced them a bit and have them sitting around the room a bit. This week, I had 6 QR codes that extended thinking around BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY by Melissa Sweet. After reading the book, kids were invited to use iPods or iPads with QR readers to visit various sites if they wanted to dig deeper--Melissa Sweet's author site, an interview with the author about the book, the Macy's Day Parade website,  and a video on how marionettes work are a few options kids had. We also have baskets with QR codes from past lessons that are available in the library.  Kids are noticing QR codes out in the world and are bringing those in to share when they find them. It is fun to predict where online they might take us and then to test that out!

Our kids are using building toys in new ways.  Flexeez are a new building toy that has become popular. It is fun to see the level of sophistication grow as the time kids have with the toy grows.  They are creating some amazing things. One of the things that is happening is that kids are beginning to share with others in new ways. After showing the kids the website I had recently discovered for Straws and Connectors, another favorite building toy, and sharing the "Instructions" pdfs, a few kids began putting together their own sets of instructions to designs they created. These will be posted online soon.

2 groups of students decided to create a series of podcasts for the younger students in our school. They are using Garage Band to create podcast read alouds of several books that will be posted on our website. The first few are basic but they have plans to include sound effects for the next one.

Several book matches were made this week. One of our Wimpy Kids fans  is reading WONKENSTEIN and is ready to begin recommending it by creating posters for the library.

A 5th grader happened to pop in the library while 3rd graders were trying to figure out the loops on garage band as they thought ahead to their book trailer. The 5th grader took a few minutes to share the "tricks" that he knew with this group of boys.  Plans were made for a future recess time lesson for the younger kids to learn more garage band tips from our 5th grade expert.

We used Wallwisher to record questions we had about our online reading this week. Students loved the tool and saw lots of possibilities.

We used Wordle to think about what we understood about research. Each of the 4th and 5th grade classes brainstormed words they thought of when they thought of research. We turned each set into a wordle. Then each group was able to look at all of the wordles to see how their thinking might change and grow based on others' definitions/thoughts about research.  I had never used wordle in this conversation-starting way but it was a great way to build talk and connect ideas between classes.

JOG THE WEB is a new favorite tool. I have used it to connect information for students. We now have a few kids who are beginning to create their own sets of sites on a topic.

Our fall book fair was the biggest ever. Kids bought lots of books.  And they bought good books. The way they are thinking about their reading lets me know that they are building habits of lifelong readers. They come in asking for authors, topics, books like another, etc. They have become very purposeful about their book choice strategies and that showed up at bookfair. One exciting thing that I noticed was that kids continued to talk about the books they purchased at book fair for weeks.

Many new Pigeon stories began this week. A few kids chose to write new versions of the pigeon story and they are quite hysterical, as you can imagine. I love that young children will work for days over time on projects that matter to them.

It is a funny place, the library. When you look around each day, the learning happening isn't always obvious. The learning in the library rarely stands alone. It is a place for kids to connect the learning that they do all day and to explore new interests.  I am lucky to work in a school where kids have great opportunities in the classrooms and beyond.  I am going to try hard for the rest of the year to focus more on all of the things that are happening in the library than on the things I can't get to.  I am already looking forward to the next several months in the library.  I can see that we are in a good place to move forward. Lots of learning happening when kids are invited to try new things.

A Day in the Library: How We Spend Our Time

I have been thinking hard about the choices our students make in the library.  I am in year four in the library and I've worked to build quality choices for students once we've finished the lesson and check out.  A big goal for students in their use of the library is to find tools and resources that match their need. As the tools of learning expand and grow, I want our students to see how many options there are for learning and to discover the tools that best support them as learners.  

This graph was a Google Doc form that I filled out during each class over the course of a day in the library. I will look more closely at choices over time but wondered how kids were spending their time when given the choice.  I found the results very interesting.

There seem to be enough quality choices in the library at this point that kids are all choosing well.  There seems to be something for everyone and I try to introduce new options every so often.  We have spent time as a school talking about the importance of quality educational games so I wasn't surprised to see that so many kids chose to play one of these on the day I observed.

I was thrilled to see the number of kids who chose reading during this time.  Reading Online covered all reading that wasn't traditional book reading--so ebooks, websites such as Tumblebooks, researching a topic, etc. all fall under that category.

And I loved to take the time to see what kids are creating with the variety of tools we have available. From creating a new story about The Pigeon in a blank book stapled together by library volunteers, to creating a book trailer, kids are working to create project and to learn new tools. I am amazed at how quickly kids can envision what a tool can do- they don't hesitate to think about all that is possible and then to problem solve to figure out how to make it work.  One second grader taught herself to add video to a Pages project on the iPad while another learned how to create stop motion on the iPad this week.

This was just a first step in looking at the choices in the library and how they work to meet the goals we have for our students in the library.

Dublin Librarians Rock!

I am lucky to teach at a school that is close to our the Dublin branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Libraries. Early in the year, I met with Loren Scully, the children's librarian, who is committed to connecting the work that we do. She had such great ideas about ways we could work together and we've been having lots of fun. So many benefits from working together. First of all, the kids at our school get the benefit of learning from the amazing librarians there. Second, by helping the students at school build relationships with the librarians at the Dublin branch, their visits to the library will be even better. And third, it is always interesting for me to see the kids and watch/listen when I am not the one teaching. I learn so much about them.

Earlier this month, Loren Scully visited the library and talked to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders about the Caldecott Award, sharing her list of possibilities with them. The kids had a great time, learned lots, and have already mentioned to me (since the visit) that they saw her while visiting the Dublin Library. Ray, another one of the librarian, comes to the school weekly to work with a student. We have lots of informal chats about books while we pass in the hallway!

This week, one of the other librarians, George Morrison, came to share stories and songs with our K-1 students. He is quite the entertainer and the kids (and teachers) had a great time. I have never heard anyone read Piggie and Elephant quite like he did--with voices and all. The kids loved it. He shared songs and books and stories. (You can hear the song and others on his blog.) This event was to get kids excited about another event we'll be doing with the library. We have been invited to a PAJAMA STORYTIME at the library. In the evening, when it is dark, kids can visit the library with parents and families (wearing their PJs of course!) and participate in more songs and stories with George.

These three librarians are helping me realize just how powerful the connection to the library can be. I am already hearing comments from kids about wanting to visit the library, wanting to get a library card, etc. These librarians are quickly becoming part of our school community!

Book Shopping With Friends: Junior Library Guild Warehouse Sale!!

What could be better than book shopping with friends? We are lucky to live in the city where Junior Library Guild is located.  I love the services that Junior Library Guild provides.  I feel pretty good about the ways I keep up with books but there are always categories that I am not so good at keeping up with and analyzing.  I usually subscribe to a few categories a year as a way to build up the collection in a certain area. I can count on JLG to provide great new books on a regular basis.

Once or twice a year, JLG has a warehouse sale and sells its overstock books for $5 each. These are all great books--you can't go wrong on any titles that JLG reviews. And they are all hardback. I usually spend about $200 on books for the library and a few dollars on myself at this sale.

This year, I shopped with friends and colleagues, Kami and Katie. You can see by the photo above that we all found great books and we were VERY happy with our purchases. I am happy to let you know that I did not spend the most (although I spent plenty!). It was fun to shop together, talk titles, and leave with great boxes of new books for our students.

Some highlights from my purchases this year:

I bought 2 books for my personal reading that I am extra excited about:

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BARBIE: A DOLL'S HISTORY AND HER IMPACT ON US by Tanya Lee Stone is a book I've had my eye on for a while.  I am anxious to read this book and to learn more about the history of Barbie. From the review, it looks like a great balanced piece.  I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but I do like reading lots about history of toys, pop culture, etc. so I am sure I will enjoy it.

The other I picked up for my own personal reading is THE ASK AND THE ANSWER. I have been hearing about how amazing this Chaos Walking series is and I figure I will get to it sometime.  I think I own 2 of the 3 books now!

I picked up lots of books for the library--about 35. Many are extra copies of favorites such as SIDEKICKS, SQUISH, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and WINTER'S TAIL. It is hard on a small budget to have too many copies of any one title, but at this bargain rate, it will allow more students to read books they love.   Others will be new to the library. Some books that I'll be adding to the library because of this great warehouse sale are:

ALPHAOOPS: H IS FOR HALLOWEEN by Alethea Kontis.  This is a fun sequel to the first ALPHAOOPS in which the letters are all dressed up for Halloween. A fun way to play with words and letters.  We don't have a huge collection of books about Halloween so this will be a fun add. And, since it is an ABC book, I think kids will read it all year round.

There were so many great graphic novels at the sale. Recently JLG has added several levels of graphic novels to the kinds of books they review. I had several from their list and added a few more this week.  I was excited to see ATHENA: GREY-EYED GODDESS by George O'Connor.  So many kids are interested in Greek mythology since reading the Percy Jackson series and I love this graphic novel series. This is categorized as YA and seems appropriate for some of the older elementary readers (targeted audience grades 5-9)

I wasn't aware of THE CARTOON CHRONICLES OF AMERICA so was thrilled to see ROAD TO REVOLUTION. I have a handful of students interested in American History and this looks like a good intro to this time period.

I was able to add a few titles to great series we have in the library.  I added NIKKI AND DEJA: THE NEWSY NEWS NEWSLETTER by Karen English. I love this series for transitional readers and was glad to see another to add to our collection. I also discovered KEENA FORD AND THE SECRET JOURNAL MIX-UP by Melissa Thomson.  From the cover, this looks like a book filled with a bit of preteen drama!

I LOVE the Scientist in the Field series--I think it is some of the best nonfiction available for 4-8th graders. I have a few students who are just starting to look at the series so I added two that we don't own.  EXTREME SCIENTISTS. This one is  a bit different from the others in the series. It is a series of short pieces about various scientists. This would make a great read aloud as each scientist has a fascinating story. The other one that I picked up is SAVING THE GHOST OF THE MOUNTAIN that explores the issues around studying and protecting the snow leopard.

Finally, I've been trying to add to our biography collection since I began in the library 4 years ago. There are so many great picture book biographies and kids have the stamina to read these and learn about the people in history. I picked up NO EASY WAY: THE STORY OF TED WILLIAMS AND THE LAST .400 SEASON by Fred Bowen. I imagine this one will be checked out the minute it hits the shelves.

Still Learning to Read: Thinking About Books and the Classroom Library

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016.

It is August 1st so  many of us are busy getting our classrooms ready for our new students!  We start school in 2 weeks and there is lots to think about.  I have been in twice and thought I'd share a piece of the process I've been through so far. 

My room after being cleaned this summer--my view from the door!

Reorganizing books always takes the most time for  me. I love the room design thinking --especially after reading The Third Teacher and the Language of Room Design a few years ago. I love thinking about spaces in the room and the ways they might support student learning and I will post about those spaces in the next week or two.  Today I'll focus on some of the thinking that I've done as I've thought about revising the classroom library from how we left it in the spring to how it will support students early in the year. I know students will love different books as beginning-of-the-year third graders than my end-of-the-year third graders enjoyed by springtime last year.  So taking a look at the series baskets and the organization is important. I always begin by asking myself lots of questions:

• Which books were popular last year?
• Which books did kids not read--are there any books or series that are maybe outdated?
• What kinds of books support readers early in the year?
• Which books should I highlight during the first few weeks of school to support independent reading?
• Which books did not get enough use because they weren't accessible to kids?
• Which new books/series might I add to the classroom library?
• Are there any authors that I want to highlight early in the school year?

Our meeting area is an area that I have used recently to highlight books we have read or learned from recently.  A few years ago I added this bench from IKEA that would house those books, knowing they would rotate so kids would have easy access to books that we had read recently.  Last year, I started #classroombookaday, a classroom practice that Jillian Heise and Donalyn Miller created. It is a daily that is one of our favorite times of the day. We end each day with a picture book and log these on a wall above our cubbies. Kids loved this time and revisited the books often throughout the year.  I had a basket for these books thinking I'd rotate them in and out as they became less popular but kids used all the books all year.  So this year, I wanted to have a space dedicated to #classroombookaday--a space that I knew would be big enough to hold all of the books we read and one that will grow as the year goes on. I found this to be extremely important to 3rd grade because this routine valued picture books and most kids read a few picture books every day because of it. So I bought several large white baskets to house these books during the year.  There is also space for other baskets that will rotate based on our current units of study, readings, etc.

Another area that I changed was my poetry area.  Last year, I had two full three-shelf units of poetry books. The kids almost never read them. They were spine out on the shelf and weren't engaging enough for kids.  I weeded my poetry collection down by about half and decided to display them differently. I purchased more of the baskets that I used in the meeting area because they hold lots of books that kids can browse by puling the basket to the floor next to them.  At first I used the white baskets but then realized I had 5 gray baskets -the perfect number for the poetry collection I had.  I know that visual clues are important to young children so having all of the poetry in gray baskets will be another way for them to think of them as one area of the classroom library.  I housed them on the bottom shelf of another 8 cubby shelf from IKEA. On the top shelf, some students will house their individual book bins. (Still to do: Label the baskets as poetry.)

My next job was to go through the chapter books in the classroom that were no longer front and center. Our classroom library changes throughout the year as we discover new series, change as readers, grow out of some books and into others.  Because of that I have to go through the books and pull those books that I know will be important to have out early in the year.  I am thinking about what kids might read but also about how to make sure to value books at various levels so that students do not get the message that long difficult books are what is valued in the classroom. I want to introduce them to books that they fall in love with--books that help them develop behaviors as readers early in the year.  This is the stack I pulled today, knowing I have to create new baskets to replace baskets most readers won't get to until the end of the year. All books will still be part of the classroom library because readers need access to lots of books but the books I highlight in baskets and in displays will focus on lots of books like those I pulled today.

Finally, I take a look at books we've discovered recently. I feel lucky as a third grade teacher that so many authors and publishers see the need for quality transitional chapter books. It seems there are new ones coming out more regularly lately.  When a new series begins, it is usually only a book or two but as time goes on, series grow and they are in need of their own basket/space in the classroom library. These are some of the new series we discovered last year and that will be great supports to readers early this year.  Just when you think you have more baskets than you need, you find that you need just a few more. So a new order of baskets is on its way to me from amazon and they will house these new series as well as a few others.

I think I have about 4-5 more hours of work thinking about and revising the classroom library for the fall.  I plan to go in one more day to just focus on that job--pulling the books that I want to highlight to independent reading, weeding through picture books and nonfiction to reflect on what changes are needed there, and creating new author baskets in both fiction and nonfiction areas of the library. Lots to do but some of the most important work to get ready for a new group of readers!

How are you rethinking your classroom library to be ready for the first weeks of the school year?

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook starting September 1 by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read will be released on August 15 but you can preview the entire book online at Stenhouse!

iPad Apps in the Library

We added four iPads to the library this year. They are not for circulation but will be used in the library. We also have 2 new iPods. As we move more of the building technology to classrooms, our library will be a place where we hope students can choose tools that make sense for their purpose.  In terms of technology, we'll have 15 laptops, 4 iPads, 2 iPod touches, 2 Nooks, 5 Kindles and a Smartboard.

I want the iPads to be tools for learning so we made sure not to put any games on these. I believe games are definitely tools for learning--we have lots of games in the library. However, since we are limited in the number of mobile devices we have, I want to give kids more possibilities for their use.  In surveys we've done with our students, playing games is something they already do quite often at home on computers and mobile devices. So, in the library, I want to show them what else is possible in terms of production/creativity/reading. So, we are starting the year with the following apps on our iPads:

Our students are familiar with Pages, Keynote and iMovie so we've added those to the ipads.  We will most likely add Comic Life as well.

As we work toward helping kids read with depth, I thought Flipboard would be a good tool for the library. Flipboard is a reader that allows you to follow sites and blogs of your choice. I will load the websites that kids read often--Wonderopolis, DogoNews, etc. so that kids can enhance their reading experiences with the iPad.

Last week, students explored Screenchomp. This is a great screencasting tool. In just a few minutes, students learned to share their learning, their drawing, their thinking and their stories with this tool. My hope is that screencasting becomes a way for them to share their learning and Screenchomp is  a great iPad Screencasting tool.

Dragon Dictation changes speech into text.  This will be a good tool for lots of things that kids do.

Talking Tom is a fun app that our younger kids will enjoy. Reading to Tom will allow students to hear their pacing, expression, etc.

I am focusing on more collaboration tools and Popplet is a great one for the iPad.  I'll introduce this one to students within the next few weeks.

We added a few draw tools such as Doodlebuddy and a few other draw tools on each iPad.

As we begin to explore ways to use QR codes, we added QR Reader.

A few social bookmarking sites we included were Evernote and Diigo.

We also put 4-5 iBooks on each iPad.  I want students to experience the best ebooks as readers. I also want them to begin to look at these as mentors--what is possible in their own creations later down the road.  Some books we purchased were:

Timbuktu Magazine is a new magazine for kids that looks promising.

Fantastic Books of Morris Lessmore is one of my favorite iPad books. Others we added were Cozmo's Day Off, and The Three Little Pigs Pop Up are three favorites so far.

This is where we'll start with the iPads.  I already have students using the apps they know and exploring others. Will be interesting to see what happen once the newness of the tool wears off.

Games in the Library

National Gaming Day was celebrated on Saturday, November 13 in libraries across America.  ALA says, "National Gaming Day @ your library is an initiative of the American Library Association to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games."

We are celebrating Gaming Day in the Riverside Library this month by learning several new games. I have tried to build our game collection over the past three years.  I have focused on word games, strategy games, math games and games connected to books. All of the games in the library support curriculum in some way.

This week, to celebrate games, I'll share a game or two a day. Most of the games I have purchased have been reasonably priced and are somewhat durable. I would recommend them for elementary kids to play at school or at home.

Pentago is one of the most popular games in the library.  Pentago is a two person strategy game.  The goal of the game is to get 5 marbles in a row. The tricky part is that the 4 pieces of the board move. So, on every play, the player places one marble on the board and turns one part of the board one rotation. So, you really have to look ahead and predict in order to win.  Here is how it works.  This has been a favorite with grades 3, 4, and 5 and I recently introduced it to our younger students. They loved it too.

There is an online version of this game which I LOVE! Pentago Online.  It is a great tool for learning the game. Often, when kids begin to play, they forget to turn a piece of the board after they've placed a marble. The online game won't move on until the board is moved.  Also, the online game allows players to play against a friend or against the computer.  Playing against the computer is a great way to practice great strategies.

Plus, the sound that the online version of the game makes when someone wins makes the library a very happy place.

POETRY MADNESS BEGINS!

Ready for POETRY MADNESS to begin!

I am not a big basketball fan but do keep up a bit with MARCH MADNESS. I really have no choice as my husband is obsessed with it for several weeks each year. But I did pay attention when Tony Keefer started talking about the March "Book" Madness he was doing in his classroom. It sounded like such a great way to create amazing conversations and celebrations around books.  I made a mental note to myself to remember this idea next March. Then came March's #Titletalk on Poetry. It was a great discussion as all #Titletalks are and my head was spinning with all of the ideas. Somewhere in the conversation, someone mentioned that you could do a Poetry type March Madness in April for National Poetry Month. The answer to the part of my personality that hates to wait to implement a great idea!

So, this week, we begin POETRY MADNESS in the Riverside Library! It will be a month long event and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Before I got too far along in my planning, I needed to really think about my big goals. I am not one to do events just because they sound fun. I need to make sure the time spent adds up to something for my students.  And I don't often do the same thing with all classes in grades 1-5. Last year, we did the POETRY PICNIC in the library and kids are still talking about it.  It was a fun two weeks and gave kids lots of experiences with poetry but the interest in poetry didn't carry beyond the picnic.

Poetry seems to be hit or miss in the library. If a class is working with poetry, kids seem interested but I very seldom have kids check out poetry for their independent reading.  I realized that our kids know books, characters, and authors of lots of books but they do not really know poetry books and poets.  Kids stop me in the hall (several times an hour:-) but I realize they never talk to me about poetry.

So POETRY MADNESS is about changing this. One of the things I love about my job is the ability to invite whole school conversations. Because I see all students, I see siblings. I love when one sibling has heard about something in the library from their brother at home over dinner. I love to hear that conversations around books have made it to the dinner table.

One goal I have is to create a whole school conversation around poetry. Because this is a 4 week event/tournament, there is lots of time for this. I am hoping to have a few displays, include some tournament winners, etc. on our morning announcement TV show, etc.  Just quick things to get the entire school community talking about poetry.

I also want kids to begin to see poetry as something worthy of choosing for independent reading time. By getting their hands on 64 books, I am hoping they find books they want to go back to in the future. Because of this goal, I did not bring in any books from the public library, etc. Instead, I pulled them all from our library shelves.

And, I am hoping to have kids begin to know poems and poets in the ways they know characters and favorite authors.  Because we will be really thinking about 16 books, I will have the opportunity to share information, read poetry, visit poets' websites, etc.

So, we started this week with 64 books.  There was no real system for choosing the 64 books. I wanted books from our library and teachers had already checked several out.  I tried to find a variety of authors, forms, publication dates, etc. Each class rotated to 6 tables during their class time to browse the books. Then, every student in grades 1-5 had a chance to vote for 1 book they were hoping would be in the tournament.  It was such fun to listen to the conversations as they revisited old favorites and discovered new books.

After the first round of voting, we will have 16 books in the POETRY MADNESS tournament. I will place the books in a bracket based on votes (1st and 16th, 2nd and 15th, etc.). So, next week we'll have 8 votes to make. I'll introduce the 16 winners/8contests and kids will vote. I am hoping to have time to read a poem or two from each, share a bit about the book, etc. so kids have something to vote from. I know we will revisit some of these books a few more times so that gives me some flexibility.

The following rotation, we'll be down to 8 winners and 4 contests. And so on. I figure each week, we'll get to dig deeper into the books that are still in the running.  During these last weeks, I will build on opportunities as they occur based on the books chosen and the conversations.

My hope is that conversations around poetry will become part of our school community.  I hope that kids share some of this at home with families at the dinner table and that they begin to include more poetry in their conversations as readers.

Below is a list of the books that we have started with. Can't wait to see this play out!

African Acrostics by Avis Harley
Animal Poems by Valerie Worth
Amazing Faces by Lee Bennet Hopkins
Antarctic Antics by Judy Sierra
The Arrow Finds its Mark by Georgia Heard
The Basket Counts by Arnold Adoff
Beast Feast by Douglas Florian
Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant by Jack Prelutsky
Beyond Old McDonald by Charley Hoce
Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Blackberry Ink
Bookspeak by Laura Purdis Salas
Busy in the Garden by George Shannon
Butterfly Eyes by Joyce Sidman
Button Up! By Alice Schertle
Chicken Scratches by George Shannon
City I Love by Lee Bennett Hopkins
The Cuckoo's Haiku by Michael J. Rosen
Dark Emperor by Joyce Sidman
Dear Hot Dog by Mordical Gerstein
Dinothesaurus by Douglas Florian
Dogku by Andrew Clements
Dogs Rule! By Daniel Kirk
Doodle Dandies by J. Patrick Lewis
Emily Stew by Thomas Rockwell
Emma Dilemma by Kristine O'Connell George
Every Day ís a Dog's Day by Marilyn Singer
Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein
Falling Down the Page by Georgia Heard
Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George
Forgive Me, I Went to Do It by Gail Carson Levine
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex
Good Books, Good Times! By Lee Bennett Hopkins
Good Rhymes, Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Good Sports by Jack Prelutsky
Guyku by BobRaczka
Happy Birthday! by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Here's a Little Poem by Jane Yolen
Hey World, Here I Am by Jean Little
Hip Hop Speaks to Children by Nikki Giovanni
Laugh-eteria by Douglas Florian
Loose Leashes by Amy Schmidt
Lunch Money by Carol Diggory Shields
Mathematickles! By Betsy Franco
More Pocket Poems by Bobbi Katz
My Dog May Be a Genius by Jack Prelutsky
On the Farm by David Elliott
Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies
Red Sings From the Treetops by Joyce Sidman
Scarum Fair by Jessica Swaim
School Supplies by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky
Splish Splash by Joan Bransfield Graham
Spot the Plot by J. Patrick Lewis
Step Gently Out by Helen Frost
Take Two! A Celebration of Twins by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen
Tap Dancing on the Roof by Linda Sue Park
This is Just to Say by Joyce Sidman
Truckery Rhymes by Jon Scieszka
A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk by Deborah Ruddell
The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
A World of Wonders by J. Patrick Lewis
A Writing Kind of Day by Ralph Fletcher
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Scary Stories by Mary Ann Hoberman

Books About Books and Reading -- Revisited

In early August, a post at Creative Literacy caught my eye -- Picture Books About Books.

Our list of Books About Books and Reading has been sitting over there in the sidebar along with 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature just waiting for some new additions.

So, here's the list! Let's look again. Do any new books come to mind? What kinds of conversations do these books spark in your classroom or library?

Picture Books

How a Book is Made by Aliki
Read Anything Good Lately? by Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman
Souper Chicken by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
The Best Place to Read by Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom
The Best Time to Read by Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom
Wolf by Becky Bloom
The Day Eddie Met the Author by Louise Borden
Across a Dark and Wild Sea by Don Brown
Arthur and the Race to Read by Marc Brown
But Excuse Me That is my Book by Lauren Child
Petunia by Robert Duvoisin
Book! by Kristine O'Connell George
Check it Out! The Book About Libraries by Gail Gibbons
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Jake's 100th Day of School by Lester Laminack
Book by George Ella Lyon
Santa's Book of Names by David McPhail
Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail
Edward in the Jungle by David McPhail
Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
Amelia Hits the Road by Marissa Moss
Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr
The Girl Who Hated Books by Manjusha Pawagi
Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
Reading Grows by Ellen Senisi
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra
The Hard Times Jar by Ethel Footman Smothers
From Pictures to Words: A Book About Making a Book by Janet Stevens
The Library by Sarah Stewart
Library Lil by Suzanne Williams
The Old Woman Who Loved to Read by John Winch
The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
Baby Bear's Books by Jane Yolen

Chapter Books

Magic by the Book by Nina Berenstein
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Seven Day Magic by Edward Eager
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Big Green Book by Robert Graves
Fly By Night by Francis Hardinge
The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup
Looking Back: A Book of Memories by Lois Lowry
Summer Reading is Killing Me by Jon Scieszka
At the Sign of the Star by Katherine Sturtevant
The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley

Poetry

Good Books, Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins
The Bookworm's Feast by J. Patrick Lewis
Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis

Quotations

Quotations for Kids by J.A. Senns

Books For Adults That Could Be Used For Exerpts

Life is So Good by George Dawson
Grand Conversations by Ralph Peterson and Maryann Eeds
The Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby
Better Than Life by Daniel Pennac
How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen


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Check this out, too: A Notes from the Windowsill annotated bibliography of book-books by Wendy E. Betts.