Library STEAM Centers

It's safe to say most students really enjoy their time at STEAM centers. At South Prairie, students work at a center on their check out day. I get asked to take a photo of students at their centers at least twice a week! It makes me truly happy to see students proud of their time and work in the library. Here are some of the pictures I've taken so far this year!

I really don't remember what these are called. I ordered them from Scholastic (with book fair profits 🥳), and students have been so creative with them!

The Mix a Million bird puzzle is a hit- even with the older kids! There are 10 birds to put together. All of the pieces are interchangeable, so students can make funky colored or wacky bodied birds!


Find these puzzles HERE.

These brown blocks are very lightweight and hard to build with. I have challenge cards with these blocks.

Above: one of the challenge cards asks students to write their name out in blocks.


Right and Below: both pictures show students completing this challenge: Can you build a structure 25 blocks high?

Right: Students constructed a very tall tower using Structures blocks. This is actually a still from the slow-motion video of the destruction of the tower!

Find Structures HERE!

Left: PowerClix are magnetic shapes. This student created a robot!


Find PowerClix HERE!

Right: Students created a very long chain using Interlox- square tiles that fit together.


Find Interelox HERE!

Mr. Schu Visit

Remember when I said I was going to post once each MONTH? Whoops.

Way back in October we were SO lucky to have the amazing John Schu visit South Prairie. He presented to our 4th and 5th graders. Mr. Schu is a blogger, lecturer and former Teacher Librarian. Most importantly, Mr. Schu is a LOVER OF READING, and his passion for books is truly infectious. We are so lucky he came to visit us! The kids were so engaged that day (hanging on every word), and they are still talking about his visit and the books he shared with us.








Here are a few more pictures from that awesome morning.

After he presented he came into our library and started taking pictures! He also showed me pictures of other libraries he's visited. So much enthusiasm for libraries!

Back to School

Wow! It has been quite a while since I last blogged. It was a busy second half of the school year- I had a baby! 👶 My goal is to post monthly this year. 😊

Last year, many books sat in boxes because we had some difficulty getting the correct number of shelves in the library. I am SO excited to say the rest of the shelves have arrived and ALL of the books are out of boxes and ready to be read! 📚

I have been busy working in the library this summer. There is lots of new signage that I'm really excited about. 🙌 Check it out:

Tables now have colorful supply caddies and numbers on the tables rather than table tents.

All of the device and library expectations are updated and posted where students (and myself) can easily refer to them!

Sections are now identified with large lettering. This will help students find what they are looking for! There will be nonfiction signage- it just isn't up yet!

Another project this summer was the table arrangement. The library acquired 3 more tables, so that meant I had a lot of shifting to do! This year the library will have 6 big table groups rather than 8 small table groups. I think students will enjoy this because they'll have more space to work and more friends to work with! I'm excited to see their reactions to the new set up. Excuse the mess 😬

Mock Caldecott Unit

Second grade students at South Prairie have recently named Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima as the Mock Caldecott winner in the building.

To start their work, second graders learned about the criteria for the true Caldecott Medal and looked at several winning books along with Caldecott Honor books. We started with a favorite of Mrs. Sedrel's, the 2015 Caldecott Medal winner, Beekle by Dan Santat.

Students worked in table groups to evaluate 28 books using the sheet below: 

Based on scores, students narrowed choices to these top four titles:

To evaluate the finalists, students used the same scoring sheet- except they did this part individually. Students independently watched a video of each book being read while they completed the scoring sheet. 

After students finished scoring the final four books, Not Quite Narwhal was crowned the winner for South Prairie's 2018-2019 Mock Caldecott Award! 

Building an epic LEGO Wall for the Library

Last spring, I posted a project on the Donors Choose website and was lucky enough to have the project fully funded! Now, this dream has become a reality; our library has a new awesome to create with LEGOs!

Creating the walls themselves was actually pretty simple! Here are the steps:

1. Gather your materials.
       - Hardboard (like this...Lowe's will even cut it for you 👏)
       - Baseplates (I used peel and stick baseplates from QT Creative)
       - LEGO blocks (you will need some pieces as you assemble the wall)
       - Velcro strips (I used 3M Picture Hanging Strips)

2. Trim the baseplates to fit your surface.


3. Sand the corners where you trimmed.

4. Peel backing from baseplate and stick on your surface. The first plate is most important!! Make sure it's straight 😆

5. Follow the directions on the baseplate package to apply the remaining baseplates.

6. Attach LEGO wall to your surface (or use them as portable boards)! 3 of my boards are attached to doors in the library with the 3M Picture Hanging Strips. They are super-easy to remove and display in the library window!
       - Make sure to let the Hanging Strips set for an hour before kiddos start using the
         boards!

I've also created a video talking about the benefits of a LEGO wall, and it includes clips of the LEGO wall creation! Find the LEGO Wall video here or watch below!

Library Scavenger Hunts: A Back-to-School Adventure

To get back into the swing of things at South Prairie, 3rd-5th graders worked on different library scavenger hunts! Each hunt had students search for important places in the library as well as the locations of popular books and series.


3rd graders did a BINGO-style hunt. Instead of a BINGO, students wrote the number that appeared next to the item/location they found.

4th graders got to do the QR code scavenger hunt this year. QR codes are a handy and easy tool to use in the library when students need to access information! With a partner, students worked to locate QR codes around the library. Each QR code provided students with essential beginning-of-the-year information. Students would then record the answer on their paper.

5th graders did something totally new to them! I created a library scavenger hunt in the GooseChase app. GooseChase is a scavenger hunt app that asks users to complete missions using photos, videos, and text.

Here are some of the missions in our GooseChase:

This was my first time using GooseChase as a facilitator and not a participant! 5th graders loved taking selfies to complete missions, working in a group, and using a new app on the iPads!

New Agriculture and Farming Books at DC Elementary

Earlier in the school year, the Dallas Center Elementary library was awarded a $200 grant from the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. This grant allowed for the purchase of several new farming and agriculture books to add to the collection and to use with units of study.

Recently, second graders completed a mini-unit that reinforced the main idea/detail note-taking work they had been doing in their classrooms throughout the year. Students could work individually, with a partner, or as a trio to read all or part of a new book, then complete the handout, identifying one main idea and two supporting details.

Access the handout HERE

Below are some of the things students learned in their work:

Once students had read and completed the handout, it was time to return to one of their favorite web tools, Flipgrid. This group of students has used Flipgrid several times and with very few reminders were able to record their learning.