What Kind of Car Does a T. Rex Drive? A Fun New Story From Our Friends At Penguin!

There is a new book I can't wait to share!  I know this one will be an instant hit in our library.

What Kind of Car Does a T. Rex Drive? by Mark Lee and illustrated Brian Biggs, will have our readers laughing, excited and wondering what will happen next.

As shared by Penguin,

When a stegosaurus, a pterodactyl, and a triceratops all show up at Uncle Otto's car lot, he doesn't have a clue how to help them. After all, he's never sold a car to a dinosaur before. Luckily, Ava and Mickey--two kids with a lot of dino knowledge--are there to help pair each customer with the perfect vehicle. But here comes the T. Rex, and he wants to buy a car too! And he's surprisingly hard to please... So what kind of car does a T. Rex drive? A microcar? A convertible? A minivan? You'll just have to read to find out!

 

I absolutely love what Mark Lee and Brian Biggs created with book.  The illustrations, paired with this engaging and fun story, bring the story to life.  I found myself looking through all of the details on each page, adding to the curiosity the readers are feeling. 

When I opened my mailbox to find this book, I was happy to receive a cool surprise from Penguin....the What Kind of Car Does a T. Rex Drive? Storytime Event Kit! 

 It was filled with tattoo sheets,

 an event poster,

 and activity sheets like a word search,

 coloring,

 and drawing activity kids will love.

I can think of so many ways to use this book as it focuses around dinosaurs.

I am going to use it as an introduction to dinosaurs and tie in research by having students use Capstone's PebbleGo to learn more about the T. Rex and other dinosaurs from the story.

After reading the story and doing a little research, I am going to pull in a little augmented reality experience with the app Dinosaurs Everywhere! 

Won't they love this app?  I can just see them bring the school and world around them to life with dinosaurs.  We could even make their very own story from the pictures they take, putting a twist on this book and the title.  

I can't wait to do this project with our students! 

You will find the book here. 

Picture Books for Social Emotional Learning

We love finding the perfect books for our teachers and students.  

When Amy Garrison, who teaches 3rd grade at Van Meter, wrote down that she would like books on mindset, gratitude, teamwork, etc..., I gathered a few books together from our collection in the library and dropped them off in her classroom.  

That night I started gathering more up on this Padlet.  There are so many wonderful books that fit into these different themes within social emotional learning.  

I have a column for Social Emotional Learning and then split it into different columns like Empathy, Gratitude, Growth Mindset, Mindfulness and Teamwork too.

And today, I made lots of updates to the SEL Padlet... by adding more columns and lots of new books to each.

...by adding more columns and...

...lots of new books to each. 

You will find the Padlet for Picture Books for Social Emotional Learning here.

Let's keep adding to this over the summer and make it a special resource for all of us to use and share with others, including the families within our communities too. 

Celebrate Dot Day By Connecting Here and Making Our Mark On The World!

International Dot Day is always one of my favorite days (weeks) of the year.  It is a special time to celebrate all of us making our unique mark on the world.

As we look forward to Dot Day which is always celebrated on September 15ish, we start thinking about and planning lots of special connections and celebrations with other libraries, classrooms, communities and especially our students around the world.

When making these plans and connections, my friends Andy Plemmons and Matthew Winner, along with myself, put together this collaborative Dot Day Google Doc each year so we can start sharing our schedules and connecting the dots with others.

Please join us in celebrating Dot Day by joining in on the fun and connecting your own dots at the Google Doc that you will find here.

You can add your schedule, grade levels, locations and any other information that will be helpful as you make Dot Day plans.

Also, as you think ahead to what your Dot Day might look like with your library and school community, here are a few helpful resources to get you started. 

You can sign up for Dot Day here.

I brought together all kinds of resources, songs, project ideas, books and other fun in this Dot Day Collection.  You will find it here. 

Look at all of these wonderful books about Dots!  Please add others with dots to the Padlet here too. 

You can also follow the Dot Day Pinterest Board, which we continue to add resources too.  

I can't wait to celebrate Dot Day with all of you in September.  This is such a special way to kick off a new year of creating, connecting and collaborating within our libraries, communities and with others around the world. 

The Summer 2019 Fueling Future Ready Librarians Newsletter Is Here!

I hope you had a terrific spring and are on your way to a summer of learning, connecting and a little refresh too.

With all of the amazing things being shared for Future Ready Librarians, I thought it would be helpful to bring it all together in one spot for you this summer and all year long.

Over the summer we will have updates and additions to the exciting work of Future Ready Librarians, and things we are celebrating and focusing on this summer and into the fall.

Let's use this as a place to stay connected to news, upcoming events, resources and of course, each other. Please let me know if there is something you'd like me to add to this Smore newletter. My contact information is at the bottom.

And if you haven't subscribed to the Future Ready Librarians Newsletter yet, please read this post to find out how you can sign up today.

Together, let's lead within and beyond the library and make a difference this year for our students, communities and ourselves. We are Future Ready Librarians, friends.

You will find the Summer 2019 Fueling Future Ready Librarian Newsletter here.

Have a terrific summer, Shannon

Sketching Resources and Ideas!

Every summer, as we get out of school, I think of all the innovative things I want to learn and bring to myself and to my school community in the fall. This weekend I have been brainstorming a few things and decided to start with sketchnoting. 

Sketchnoting, or visual notetaking, is the creative process of sharing thoughts, ideas and knowledge through the use of illustrations, texts and symbols on paper or digitally with different tools and apps.
This has become a common practice for recording and sharing knowledge, ideas and events not only by teachers in a professional sense but also by students, which I love. 

And in fact, I do it all the time!  I am a doodler and when I take notes, I use the piece of paper as a canvas for my thoughts and the information I am gathering or learning.  I have always been this way, getting in trouble when I was little for writing on my dad's desk calendar or day dreaming in class as I drew all over my notes and papers. 

That is why I love sketchnoting so much.  If students have the knowledge, tools and freedom to use sketchnoting or visual notetaking themselves, this would support the creativity and choice in sharing their ideas and thoughts too.

As I was reading and gathering these resources, I came across this video being shared from Edutopia, The Powerful Effects of Drawing on Learning. It is perfect as it shows why drawing, and in that matter, sketchnoting, is important and beneficial to students.  

I will use this as a start of the conversation and practice at our school next fall. It will definitely open the door to sketchnoting. 

I added this video, along with lots of other resources and ideas, to the new Collection by Follett Destiny, Sketchnoting Resources and Ideas, 

which you will find here.  Please feel free to join me in this Collection to add and share more too.  

And with any Collection by Destiny, you can Make A Copy and take it for your use and Collections. 

I want to mention three of my favorite books that I have been reading...How To Sketchnote" A Step-by-Step Manual for Teachers and Students by Sylvia Duckworth, 

The Sketchnote Handbook...The Illustrated Guide To Visual Note Taking by Mike Rohde, 

and Visual Note-Taking For Educators...a Teacher's Guide To Student Creativity. 

I also want to share one of my favorite places to get ideas is by following the #sketchnoting, #sketchnotes and #sketchnote hashtags on Instagram.  I LOVE seeing what others create and how they create their sketchnotes. 

Have a special holiday, friends.  I am getting back to my fun markers, notepad and a few great books to help me with my sketchnoting journey. I will be sharing on my Instagram @shannonmmiller throughout this journey and into the new school year in the fall too. 

Our Summer Smore Newsletter....A Great Place To Stay Connected To Reading, Learning, Creating and Fun!

Today is the last day of the school year at Van Meter.  But, as we all know...it isn't the end of our students learning, reading, creating and exploring all summer long. 

For our summer reading and learning, I created this online Smore newsletter and share it with all of our families today.  The teachers and our principal, Cody Tibbetts, will also share it in their information and resources that will go home too. 

This summer, I am also going to be sharing something awesome during the 12 Weeks of Summer.  For example, in the first week I will be sharing places they can listen to audio books and podcasts.  

I want to use this as a place to get them excited about learning, reading and creating.  I know the kids will really look forward to the things being shared. 

Happy Summer, friends.  I will miss our students over the summer so really enjoy using the Smore newsletter and our social media networks to stay connected with them and their families. 

"Look What I'm Reading" Bitmoji Posters

It is so fun seeing posters posted by every teachers door within our school and others that I see through my travel and work. These are such a great way to promote favorite reads and books that their school community might like to read too.  

It is also such an easy, fun and powerful way to celebrate our lives as readers, as they are posted in a place students see them every day.

That is when I thought,  What about if we put a twist on this!  Instead of having a picture of ourselves holding a favorite book, what is we made posters celebrating what we are reading?  Not only could we celebrate one book, but multiple books throughout the year by changing the cover. 

 

And how about using a cute little Bitmoji to make the posters?  Our readers would love these! 

With Bitmoji, anyone can make a personal emoji to use all kinds of ways. One of my favorite ways to use my Bitmoji, is to use them for...

....branding and marketing within the library and school, professionally and with my family and friends too. 

As I worked on this idea, I asked a few of my colleagues, family and friends to send be Bitmoji's of them reading.  Megan,

 Jessica,

 Hagan and I,

 ...Tracy and I,

my sister, Heather, and I,

and even my girl, Brianna and I, celebrating reading through these adorable Bitmoji's.

For my poster, I used a reading Bitmoji to....

...create these super fun posters.

I took the Bitmoji and covered up the book with a square to layer a book cover over the top.

That will make it easy to change between two....

...book covers too. 

As we get ready for the summer, I will work with our teachers to create their Bitmoji Look What I'm Reading posters for all of our classroom doors as we kick off a new year in the fall. 

I can't wait to show off what I'm reading all year long!