Interview with a Librarian- Part 4: Include

This is the fourth and final post in a series of blog posts on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards and shared foundations. In each post I will be reflecting on an interview with a school librarian about one of the shared foundations. Although all six AASL standards and shared foundations are essential to the success of a library, I have chosen four to focus on in my blog series.

Curate- Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance.

Explore- Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection.

Inquire- Build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems

Include- Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community.

              For my final post I interviewed Kelley Rider about the shared foundation of Include. Kelley is the librarian at Pendleton High School (PHS) in Pendleton, SC. We started our discussion by talking about examples of ways that she implements the competencies in her library program. At PHS is she strives to purchase and promote library materials that are inclusive. The materials represent different interests, perspectives, life experiences, racial groups, socio-economic groups, religious groups, and more. Materials are also chosen to represent varying ability levels, formats (novels in verse, graphic novels, and children’s books, etc.), lengths, modes of delivery (physical material, digital material, audiobooks),  and genres. Ms. Rider also strives to cultivate an open and inviting library environment. She believes it is important that ALL students feel welcome in the library’s spaces. This requires an intentional effort to set clear procedures and expectations so that the greater school community is comfortable in the space because they understand the library is fair, open, and welcoming. Ms. Rider also uses the district, school, and library vision statements as a compass when making decisions about the collection or the library to prevent her own person preferences and biases for influencing that library. I admire Ms. Rider’s inclusive attitude and the intentional way that she goes about selecting materials for the collection as well as setting up her library.  Many people believe inclusiveness is simply choosing books that represent all types of people, but it goes beyond that to the reading levels, formats, modes of delivery, the library space, and the atmosphere in the library.

              We also discussed the resources she using within her library to implement the competencies under the shared foundation of Include. The school district mission, vision, and policies are used often. In addition to those she also references South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) and  AASL tool kits and best practices when implementing the Include competencies. She also utilizes book review platforms such Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Horn Book Magazine, and Booklist to make informed decisions about the materials that she is selecting for the library. Paying attention to some of the major book awards such as Coretta Scott King, Newberry Awards, Pura Belpre Awards, and the Michael L. Printz Award also informs some of her decisions about library materials. This is an excellent way to insure that quality materials are a part of the collection and that the library is an inclusive environment.

              We also discussed how she included collaboration while implementing the shared foundation of Include. Ms. Rider collaborates informally and formally. She says that she informally collaborates daily by brainstorming, asking leading questions, and giving advice or offering the library as a resource to teachers. Ms. Rider collaborates formally several times per month by teaching or co-teaching lessons . She assists teachers with curating inclusive collections of materials for teachers to use in lessons or units in their classrooms. She also collaborates with school leadership to plan inclusive book clubs and helping with the school reading plan. I know that using collaboration to implement the competency of Include will look different in the elementary library than in a high school library, but Ms. Rider has some excellent strategies that I can apply in my elementary library. 

              I asked about the challenges that she faces when implementing these competencies she communicated that she often feels pulled in many directions. She has worked hard to create a space that is the heart of the school, a hub for learning, collaboration, and school culture. She is excited to have accomplished that, but at the same time when so many students and adults use the library regularly, it becomes very busy. It is sometimes a struggle to balance everything but having a clear vision, understanding and adhering to policies, practicing clear and kind boundaries, and prioritizing the libraries goals helps to keep things balanced. However, as we all know, sometimes that is easier said than done. I can definitely see where this would be a struggle in the library. It is tough to accomplish and maintain all the areas things that are needed. I would also think that another challenge in being inclusive is there may be a time when books or materials are challenged by parents or community members because they are inclusive and may not be everyone’s personal preference.         

              Ms. Rider was very insightful and offered a different perspective than the elementary and middle school librarians I interviewed. She has created a very inclusive library and learning environment at Pendleton High School. That is obvious when you enter the library and see the students enjoying the library or when you look at social media and see all the great activities that take place in the library at PHS.

References

American Association for School Librarians. (2018). AASL standards framework for learners. AASL. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL- standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pd

Interview with a Librarian- Part 3: Inquire 

This is the third post in a series of blog posts on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards and shared foundations. In each post I will be reflecting on an interview with a school librarian about one of the shared foundations. Although all six AASL standards and shared foundations are essential to the success of a library, I have chosen four to focus on in my blog series.

Curate- Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance.

Explore- Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection.

Inquire- Build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems

Include- Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community.

              For my third post I interviewed Amy Marshall about the shared foundation of Inquire. Mrs. Marshall is the librarian at Mount Lebanon Elementary. Mrs. Marshall has been a librarian for 15 years. When asked about examples of how she implements the competencies under Inquire she discussed how she likes to allow students choice at the beginning of research projects and encourages them to choice topics that interest them when they are discussing research or learning how to use a database, find informational texts, or biographies in the collection. She notes that often student work to find answers to teacher given questions or locate information they stumble upon new questions. She tries to help them with deliberately recording answers to those questions or finding new materials that will help them in their ever-changing search. She has specifically done this with 5^th grades working on biographies and 4^th graders working on poetry about individual topics. I am inspired by how she encourages inquiry not just with older students but also with her younger students. I often tend to just assign my younger students something to find or give them a list of questions to find the answers to rather than encouraging them to use their own inquiry skills to choose topics or develop questions. Mrs. Marshall also teaches broadcast as a part of her librarian duties. During this time students get the opportunity to write, record, ask/answer questions about topics they find interesting. The students then record segments that make up the weekly broadcast. In addition they conduct research about broadcast personalities and careers. Her broadcast team uses inquiry constantly. On one of my visits with her I was able to see the broadcast team in action, and they really do create and write their own scripts and develop their own interview questions based on their interests and inquiry.

              We then discussed the resources in her library program that she uses to implement these competencies. Students in her school are equipped with chrome books on a 1 to 1 ratio, which enable them to use online resources often. She teaches the use of Discus databases such as Britannica Elementary, Britannica Animal Kingdom, and Gale in Context Biography. Access to these is provided through the state library. She is also fortunate to have resources such as Scholastic Trueflix and Bookflix that her school pays for yearly. In addition to these digital resources, she has many print resources available to students for inquiry. These are all amazing resources, and she does an excellent job of showing students how to use a variety of resources and not just one type of resource.

              We also discussed how she includes collaboration while implementing these competencies. This year she has implemented the inquiry competencies while collaborating with 1^st grade teachers to have students complete research activities. She has also collaborated with 2^nd grade teachers while having students use inquiry to find out about animals before an upcoming field trip. She has worked in collaboration with 3^rd grade teachers to develop inquiry and problem solving in 3^rd grade with a library escape room. Mrs. Marshall has also helped implement inquiry with 5^th grade students working on a wax museum and 6^th grade teachers to work on a dystopian fiction unit and historical fiction units. Many of these collaborations occur via email due to scheduling restrictions since she is on a fixed schedule and a part of the related arts rotation for most grade levels.

              Mrs. Marshall states that one of her greatest challenges is getting teacher to realize that she can be a resource and getting administration to see that she is more than a related arts teacher who just provides a planning period. She finds that it is very difficult to find an adequate amount of time with students to build inquiry when you only see students for 45 minutes once a week or 45 minutes once every other week. I can definitely see how this is a major challenge. Unfortunately, I think it is the reality for most elementary librarians. Mrs. Marshall does a great job with creative solutions to tackle this issue and is an excellent resource for me as I begin my library career.

References

American Association for School Librarians. (2018). AASL standards framework for learners. AASL. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL- standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pd

 

Interview with a Librarian- Part 2: Explore

This is the second post in a series of blog posts on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards and shared foundations. In each post I will be reflecting on an interview with a school librarian about one of the shared foundations. Although all six AASL standards and shared foundations are essential to the success of a library, I have chosen four to focus on in my blog series.

Curate- Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance.

Explore- Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection.

Inquire- Build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems

Include- Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community.

For my second post I interviewed Jamie Gaines about the shared foundation of Explore. Mrs. Gaines is the librarian at Townville Elementary where I currently teach. Jamie has been in education for 37 years and been a librarian for 21 of those 35 years. Jamie currently has a fixed schedule in the library and says that time constraints are one of the biggest challenges to meet all the standards and skills that should be taught in the library. Due to the fact that she is in the related arts rotation for some grade levels it is difficult to make herself and the library available.  Mrs. Gaines strives for the collection to contain a wide variety of genres and levels that will appeal to all readers. She believes that having variety encourages students to find something that appeals to them.  She also uses current events to lead discussions and debates within the library. The library also contains a variety of STEAM related makers space activities that students can interact with. Mrs. Gaines uses resources such as print books, MyON daily news, Scholastic News, hands on materials and problem solving activities to encourage students’ curiosity and exploration of topics. Often these are topics that are suggested by classroom teachers that connect with the current curriculum standards.

              I have been observing Jamie run her library for many years.  I have seen her maximize her fixed schedule and make the most of the time that she has with students. She incorporates as many of the Explore competencies as she can with the schedule she has, and has provided me with a great skeleton of how I can effectively operate a fixed schedule elementary library. Exploration is important for developing student minds. It is essential that they have a variety experiences and experience learning through a variety of ways: print books, digital books, magazines, hands on exploration and makers space activities. One important factor will be working with classroom teachers to coordinate activities that support the classroom curriculum to further students’ learning. 

References

American Association for School Librarians. (2018). AASL standards framework for learners. AASL. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL- standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pd

Interview with a Librarian- Part 1: Curate

 

    This is the first post in a series of blog posts on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards and shared foundations. In each post I will be reflecting on an interview with a school librarian about one of the shared foundations. Although all six AASL standards and shared foundations are essential to the success of a library, I have chosen four to focus on in my blog series.

Curate- Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance.

Explore- Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection.

Inquire- Build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems

Include- Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community.

For my first post I interviewed Tara Jenness about the shared foundation of Curate. Tara is the librarian at Riverside Middle School in Pendleton, SC where I did my primary internship. Tara has been a librarian for over 10 years and has experience at the elementary and middle school level. We first talked about examples of how she uses the competencies under Curate in her library and the resources in her library that she uses. Tara works hard in her school to teach students how to search for information using library catalogs, online databases, print materials, and search engines. The primary resource that she uses in the library with her students is SC Discus. Mrs. Jenness also provides instruction on evaluating the credibility and reliability of sources through lessons with different ELA classrooms. I believe these will be important activities especially with the older students I teach such as fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Student often take anything they see on the internet as the truth. They do not consider bias and reliability when they are conducting research. In my opinion, this is an excellent way of showing students a variety of choices to use when gathering information and curating assignments.

When I asked about using collaboration to promote the foundation of Curate, Mrs. Jenness discussed how she works with classroom teachers when she is implementing these lessons. Teachers will work with her prior to beginning an assignment or project that will require research. Mrs. Jenness is then able to schedule times for those classes to come to the library for a lesson on searching effectively, using available resources, and credibility and reliability of resources. She also schedules in times for these classes to come in to work on their research when she can be available to assist and help students with finding reliable sources as well as organizing the information they are gathering. This will be more challenging in and elementary school with a fixed schedule rather than a flexible schedule. My library may not be available at the times that teachers need to bring their classes to the library for instruction so I may have to be more creative. I could possibly create some videos on the topics of credibility and reliability, selecting resources, and citing information that teachers could show students at times that are convenient. Another option would be to take a few class periods at the beginning of the year before they do any research and teach lessons on these topics before they need them in their classrooms.

We ended our discussion by talking about the challenges that she faces when trying to implement these competencies. She says the biggest challenge she encounters is that student constantly just want to Google something rather than look through the reliable sources that she recommends to them. They don’t want to use the resources in SC Discus or in the print resources that she has in the library. I see this also at the elementary level and saw it in the middle school setting when I was completing my internship there. My conversation with Mrs. Jenness was insightful and provided me with some valuable information for the future. 

References

American Association for School Librarians. (2018). AASL standards framework for learners. AASL. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL- standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pd

 

Blogshare #2

Introduction

            The blog I’m sharing this week is called The Library Voice. The author of the blog is Shannon McClintock Miller. She is a district teacher librarian from Iowa. In addition to being a librarian, she is a speaker, consultant, and author. She has received multiple awards for her work including awards from ISTE, AASL, and SLJ. Miller also works for Capstone and regularly promotes their products on her blog and Instagram. Along with her blog, Miller has an Instagram account where she shares about her personal life as well as making posts pertaining to libraries. She recently created a new website where readers can learn about her and find resources that she created and makes available. One of the big features of her blogposts is choice boards. She shares choice boards multiple times a month to help students and teachers with finding information.

Blog 1

            The first post that I want to highlight is from October 15, 2023 and highlights digital citizenship week. This post seemed especially relevant considering the rise in technology use in elementary students and the need for education about digital citizenship. Miller shares choice boards with readers that are broken down into K-2 and 3-6. It was nice to have them broken down because the needs of 1^st graders are very different than the needs of 5^th graders. The choice boards shared websites, videos, and activities for different grades all related to digital citizenship. The highlighted resources include Commonsense Media, Peeble Go, PeebleGo Next, and Capstone. This is definitely a post that I have bookmarked for future use as a teacher and librarian.

Blog 2

            The second post I have chosen to highlight is from October 9, 2023 focuses on forming partnerships between the school library and the public library. In this blog Miller shares how her school library and public library partner together. She also discusses creating logos and marketing materials to promote the partnership and how she uses those materials. She provides instruction and guidance on using Canva to create stickers, bookmarks, posters, and other marketing materials that she uses in the promotion of the partnership. This was very informative because these instructions and information could be used in other aspects of the library not just in promoting partnerships with the public library.

Blog 3

            January 19, 2023 Miller wrote a blog that centered on 2^nd graders sharing their stories and research on Martin Luther King Jr. She started by sharing the choice board that she made for Martin Luther King Jr. research. It contained videos, books, and websites students can use for their research. This ensures that students are visiting sites that are reputable, age appropriate, and contain valuable information. Miller then shared about her visits with various 2^nd grade classrooms and how they were using the choice boards in their research. She also shared how they used the information they collected to create their own stories using PeebleGo Create. Finally she shared some pages from the students created books for readers to view. I teach elementary school currently and hope to be an elementary librarian, and this is an activity I could definitely see myself using in the future.

Blog 4

            The final post I am going to share is from December 23, 2022. This post is day 23 of 25 days of digital tools and apps. During each of the days of this series, a guest librarian shares a digital tool. The guest librarian gives a description, uses for librarians and uses for students about the tool they are sharing.

This particular day they are highlighting Buncee/ PeelbleGo Create. They share a short video and some information about the uses of the tool. Near the end of the post is also a choice board with the numbers 1-25. Readers can click on a number be taken to the digital tool that was shared on that day of December. This post was very helpful in sharing many digital tools that I had no experience with.

What I’m Reading

            This week I’ve been reading a variety of comedy books. I love reading funny books for several reasons. One of course is because who doesn’t love a good laugh. The other reason is kids LOVE books with humor. Books with humor always keep children engaged and listening to the story (not to mention the sweet sound of kids laughing!). I chose the books I wanted to read by looking at a few online lists of humor books published in the last 3 years and searching Destiny. When I searched I chose humor as one of the criteria and also narrowed the date range to the last three years. As you can imagine I got a lot of results. I chose about 10 to grab from our school’s library shelves and also grabbed a few from the lists I had viewed online. I chose 7 of my favorites from the ones I read to share with you.

***All book images from www.amazon.com and all other images from https://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/***

 

Sensory Storytime

What is sensory storytime?       

As you read the title of this blogpost you may be wondering, what is sensory storytime? Sensory storytime is a special storytime designed for children with autism. It was a way to make storytime accessible to a population of children and families who may not otherwise feel comfortable coming to storytime. It fills a need in many libraries across the country. According to Cottrell (2016) in 2015 1 in 45 kids was diagnosed with autism. Sensory storytime allows the parents of those children to feel comfortable bringing their children to storytime and allows the children to experience storytime in a setting designed just for them.  

What does sensory storytime look like?

            Sensory storytime means meeting families where they are rather than expecting them to fit into the mold of traditional storytimes. These children often have a hard time being quiet, sitting still, handling crowds, and may be sensitive to noise so sensory storytime is designed with this in mind. Sensory storytimes need to be responsive to the needs of the children and feedback from parents is vital in making that happen. That means they may change from week to week or month to month depending on the audience. According to library personnel with the Akron Summit Library (2014) sensory storytimes have to be extremely flexible. The needs of the children that day may warrant the need for the storyteller to pivot: if something isn’t going well end it early or if the children are really enjoying something else then extend it or do it again.

            According to personnel at the Akron Summit Library (2014) sensory storytime should have a very simple setup with minimal distractions. She usually just has a simple table up front with a simple toybox containing her materials for the storytelling. It is also suggested by Frick (2018) that you turn down the lights and noise since many children with autism are sensitive to these things. Other helpful tips include providing a visual schedule displayed and go over it at the beginning of storytime. This is helpful because children on the autism spectrum need to know what’s coming and have a way to transition from one activity to the next. Workers at Akron Summit Library (2014) also suggest having some sensory tools in the space such as a sensory balance beam or something similar. Overall the space and setup are very underwhelming so that children are not overstimulated by their surroundings.

            Those with experience in sensory storytimes such as Akron Summit Library (2014) and Frick (2018) suggest including several elements in your sensory storytimes. Including simple, repetitive songs is one element. They recommend keeping the songs simple and using the same song repeatedly so the children become familiar with it. Making it interactive and using props helps to maintain the interest of the children. Provide fidgets to the parents if their children need them. They also recommend a social time where children and adults get to interact with one another. Allowing time on the sensory tools such as a sensory balance beam is also a great addition to a sensory storytime. Don’t be afraid to try new things. If they don’t work, cut them short, and try something different the next time. Sensory storytimes are an ever evolving program.

What are the benefits of a sensory storytime?       

            According to Taylor (2023), children with autism have improved language skills, improved listening skills, increased attention spans, develop curiosity and creativity, and gain a better understanding of nonverbal communication when participating in storytelling activities. Improved vocabulary and comprehension are two language skills that are increased by hearing stories told. Listening to stories builds a cognitive framework for understanding, and this becomes even richer through dynamic storytelling (Taylor, 2023). Incorporating a social time into sensory storytelling also gives children with ASD an opportunity to build their social skills in a structured and safe setting. Not only is the social time beneficial to the children, it also provide their caregivers an opportunity to relax knowing their children are safe and engaged. Caregivers also have an opportunity to talk and socialize other caregivers. Sensory storytime has a multitude of benefits for patrons with autism and makes the library more accessible to everyone.

What are some good resources?

• ·      This is a website that gives helpful tips and activities to include https://www.theyouthdesk.org/sensory-storytime
• ·      This link is to a informative PowerPoint about sensory storytimes. https://libcoop.net/slc/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SensoryStorytimeSlides.pdf
• ·      A sample outline of a sensory storytime
•       https://www.flls.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Handout-2-Sample-Outline.pdf

What am I reading this week?

            This week I read a variety of classic children’s literature. By classic children’s literature I am referring to those classic stories that are a part of most libraries and that seem like “must haves” for students to be exposed to. I was very excited about this assignment because there are so many books that I LOVE either from my own childhood or from the childhoods of my children. I had a very difficult time narrowing down my list of classic literature to just six titles because there are so many on my personal list. I’ll highlight a few of my favorites. I first picked Curious George and Little House in the Big Woods because these classics were such a large part of my childhood. I can still picture my elementary librarian walking me over to the Curious George section and encouraging me to try one out. I was hooked! Little House in the Big Woods was a chapter book that I read over and over (along with the other books in the series). I was fascinated because I was such a big fan of the tv show Little House on the Prairie. I chose Rainbow Fish as one of my books because it was a favorite of my daughters growing up. One of my daughters checked it out over and over from the public library for about 3 months. We finally bought her own copy so someone else would have a chance with the library copy! I’ll hope you’ll enjoy looking at my list and rereading some of the titles or maybe reading them for the first time.

References

Frick, K. (2018, October 5). Sensory storytime: Tips and tricks for a successful program. ALSC Blog. https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2018/08/sensory-storytime-tips-and-tricks-for-a-successful-program/

Taylor, S. (2023, October 12). Important ways storytelling can benefit kids with autism. Autism Parenting Magazine. https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/ways-storytelling-can-benefit-autism-kids/

Cottrell, M. (2016, June 1). Storytime for the spectrum. American Libraries Magazine. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/03/01/sensory-storytime-spectrum-libraries-add-services-for-children-with-autism/

AkronSummitLibrary.(2014, April 14). Sensory storytime: A program designed for families of children with autism [Video}. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwAT88XQsK4&ab_channel=AkronSummitLibrary

 Free Choice Storytelling Reflection

Before Reading

I will admit I am probably one of the most indecisive people on the planet! That being said, I had a super difficult time choosing a book to read for this storytelling experience since there were no parameters on the assignment. It was very overwhelming to think about what to choose because there are so many amazing books out there, and the longer I’m in this course the more books I add to my list because people are constantly sharing great books in their read alouds and blogs! I decided a good place to start was to look through the books I had considered but hadn’t chosen for previous assignments. I also had to think about what type of storytelling experience I wanted to choose: with a book, without a book, with props, interactive, etc. After a lot of thought, I decided I would do an interactive storytelling experience because it was so much fun to do on an earlier assignment. Once I narrowed down the type of storytelling I wanted to do, it wasn’t too difficult to choose a book. I had two books I had put on my interactive read aloud list: More Bears! By Kenn Nesbitt and Kiwi Cannot Reach by Jason Tharp. After rereading the books, I decided on More Bears! because I thought the audience I would be reading to would enjoy that book more since.

As I began planning my storytelling experience I thought I would read to my group of second graders. They are generally a fun audience and LOVE read alouds. However, as things often do in elementary school, the week turned hectic, schedules were shifted, interruptions happen, and it didn’t work out for me to read to my second graders. Now I had to come up with a new audience. I knew I could always read to someone at home and make them pretend to be children, but it is definitely more fun to read to real children (and sometimes children are more cooperative than grownups J ). After a little juggling of my lesson plans and schedule, I decided I would try reading to a group of my upper elementary students. They are a little older than the audience I originally thought would enjoy the book, but I was down to the wire if I wanted a live audience so decided to go for it.

Preparing for the storytelling had two main parts: preparing the reading of the story and preparing the physical environment. I read through the book multiple times and also did a little research on the author to give background. I read the book multiple times to myself and practice using expression and getting the flow of the book. Setting up the space was not difficult because I was using a space I had used multiple times before. I just had to position my rolling desk in the right spot so that those watching the video would clearly be able to see the book and me, but no students could be seen in the video. It took a little adjusting because there were more students in this group than I had used in the past. I also needed to check the lighting. I made sure all the lights were on in the room and looked at the image on the screen. There was a little glare where the blinds were cracked so I closed the blinds, and we were ready to go.  I use my laptop for videoing because I have found it to be the easiest method. After videoing I can edit if needed and save it to the laptop to easily upload to Youtube. The last thing that needed to be done before reading the book was choose someone to start the camera.

Kenn Nesbitt's website for kids

The Storytelling

Reading the story was tons of fun. I had practiced multiple times so I felt very confident as I sat down to read. I shared some information about the author to give the students a little background and also explained how I needed them to help me tell the story by reading the words in the speech bubbles. As I read the story the students interacted beautifully. There was one moment when someone came to the door (I forgot to hang my do not disturb sign up), and one of the students had to quietly slip out and answer the door. Luckily we have glass doors so I could see who was there, and she was able to tell them to come back in a few minutes. After that brief interruption, we finished up the story without incident.

More Bears! Read aloud

After Reading Reflections

Although I had a little difficulty deciding on a story to tell and my audience didn’t work out as I had planned, overall it ended up being an excellent storytelling experience. The book I ended up choosing was a lot of fun to tell because it was a silly story. Although I intended to read it to a younger audience, the older audience I read it to really liked it. They laughed and giggled through the whole experience and did an amazing job with reading the speech bubbles on the different pages. It was nice to see them engaged in the story throughout- even with the surprise ending. After this storytelling experience I think I could definitely read this book to an older elementary audience like I did, and it would be suitable for a first or second grade audience as well.

After completing the storytelling experience I thought of a few ways I could extend the experience. We could talk about what animals they think there should be more of in books and why. I could also have students write about what animals they would pick and depending on the age have them give reasons. In fact, on a different day, I read the book to a group of first graders and had them write a sentence about what animal they would want more of in the book and why. Then they were allowed to illustrate. With older students I could have them write a paragraph with 3 reasons and still allow them to illustrate. I considered that in a library setting I would do things a little differently. I could have a list of animals along with a fairly simple craft to create those animals (such as using a paper plate or paper bag). The students could choose which of the animals on my list they would like to see more and then complete the craft to create that animal. Overall, this was a great experience and one that I plan to add to my toolbox for when I have my own library.

Nonfiction Read Aloud Recommendations

This week I read a selection of nonfiction picture books. There are so many excellent books out there, but I chose just a few to share with you. 

***All pictures of books from Amazon.com***