Last week, on March 24, I was so excited to share my new Follett webinar, Marketing Your Library...Creative Ways To Share Your Awesomeness.
You can now find the recording and all of the resources that I shared here in this Follett Community post.
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
A NEW Way To Share Our Digital BreakoutEDU Games Each Month....You Can Use This Template For Your April 2022 Digital Breakouts Too!
Our kids love doing digital BreakoutEDU games! They enjoy all of the different subject focused, seasonal and fun games that get them thinking, collaborating and engaging with classmates in their classrooms and with those at home learning virtually.
While talking with one of our teachers last year, we thought it would be fun to put a few of the digital BreakoutEDU games together each month that our students could play anytime, at school or at home.
I instantly thought to myself, This would be a great use of a choice board!
I take a screen shot of the digital Breakout game, add it to the template and add the grade level in a box over the top.
To share the choice board, I clicked on Publish to the web under Share. That created a link that I shared with our teachers to add to their Google Classrooms or Seesaw and I add it to each grade level Symbaloo.
I also downloaded each game key and sent those to the teachers with that email so they will have easy access to be able to help the students with each months BreakoutEDU games in the choice board.
You will find the April Digital BreakoutEDU to make a copy and add your own links here.
I can't wait to see what the kids think of our new Monthly BreakoutEDU Choice Board. I know they will be excited to see the NEW ones each month too!
The Power of the School Librarian....A Wonderful Infographic & Information For School Library Month!
April is School Library Month and a time for us to celebrate, share and educate others about the importance and impact of school librarians and libraries.
When preparing for this special month, I am using this wonderful infographic created by our friends at Capstone. I just LOVE everything that The Power of the School Librarian contains.
It's perfect to print off to post in your library and throughout the school community; to include in your newsletter or yearly report; to share with school board members and administrators; to share with your teachers and families; to post on your social media; to add to your website and so much more.
This infographic is part of this AMAZING page We Love Librarians on the Capstone site. It includes lots of valuable information and resources that will be helpful in your journey and advocacy efforts.
And you will find more information on AASL's School Library Month here.
It's Time For Our April Choice Boards, Friends!
Friends, it's April this week and time for Our April Choice Board! In April, we have so many special things to celebrate including Poetry Month, Ramadan, Passover, Easter and Earth Day.
You will find Our April Choice Board here to share with students.
If you would like to make changes, you can make a copy of it here. And remember, to share a copy with students, you must go to File and Publish to the Web.
You will grab that link you create to share with students.
For Earth Day, I made two versions of the choice board. One with PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next,
and one with National Geographic Kids.
You will find the Let's Celebrate Earth Day (with PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next) Choice Board here. If you want to make a copy, you will find the link here.
You will find the April Choice Board with PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next, linked above. And the second version with National Geographic Kids can be found here to share with students and here is the link to make a copy and edit.
Please let me know if you have any questions and have a wonderful time planning for April with your students, teachers and school community too.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Surviving Censorship....This Week's Future Ready Librarians® Podcast!
It's time for the latest episode from Season 4 of the Leading from the Library Future Ready Librarians® Podcast series.
For this one, I caught up with high school librarian, Martha Hickson @sassy_librarian, a book challenge veteran, as she shares her experience and advice around this important and timely topic in Surviving Censorship.
You will find the latest episode of "Leading from the Library" here...
...where you can subscribe to the Leading from the Library Podcast wherever you listen and subscribe to podcasts. You will also find the YouTube link there too.
During this podcast, Martha mentioned these three different resources:
Advocacy Alliance Brainstorm Tool
The special Future Ready Librarians® Shout Out went out to K.C. Boyd and...
...the Future Ready Librarians® Share mentioned the FRL Conversation Starter. You can learn more about both in the podcast.
You will also find the Certificate of Completion for participation in 30 minutes of professional learning for listening to the Surviving Censorship podcast episode here.
And don't forget to check out all of our past podcasts on the Leading from the Library site.
There is definitely something for everyone. I always learn so much and come away inspired from our guests and the conversations.
Saturday, March 26, 2022
"Challenge Accepted...The Development of a School Library Collection"....A New Conversation Starter and Resource For All Of Us To Use.
Today, during the Future Ready Librarian Summit, a helpful new resource from our friends at Follett was shared.
It is called Challenge Accepted...The Development of a School Library Collection. This is a conversation starter for librarians, administrators, teachers and others around the development of a school library collection. This will be so helpful as it outlines the Purpose, Plan, Policies and Procedures around collection development. It will also be helpful if a collection or book is being challenged.
You will find this new resource here where you can download and print to share with others within your school community and use for your own practice and advocacy too.
Thursday, March 24, 2022
We Have An Amazing Lineup Of Presenters and Presentations For The Upcoming Future Ready Librarian Summit On Saturday, March 26th....Join Us, Friends!
This Saturday, March 26, 2022, we are hosting our second Future Ready Librarians Spring Summit. Our theme this spring is Exploring the Intersections Between Library Collections and Community.
On Saturday, we will focus on Proactive Collection Development and have an amazing lineup of speakers, conversations and work planned for this two hour event.
I am looking forward to hearing Fran Glick's presentation, Collection Development...Awareness, Action, Advocacy and Liz Fambrough and Brandye Roland's presentation, Ditch the Dewey - Restructuring Nonfiction.
As shared online,
The Future Ready Librarians® summits are FREE, live, virtual, high-quality professional learning experiences for librarians interested in learning, growing, and expanding their professional practice through collaboration and networking with like-minded colleagues from across the country. These interactive online events will help librarians ground their practice in the research-based Future Ready Schools® framework and define new ways they can lead, teach, and support learning in their schools.
Leveraging the active Future Ready Librarians community, the live summits are designed around authentic problems of practice identified by librarians. The first virtual summits of 2022 will help you understand policies and know your collection so that you are ready to respond effectively when patrons or community members have concerns with library books or instructional materials.
This summit will give you a chance to pose questions and share ideas with other librarians and library leaders. Learn and interact with both administrators and librarians about lessons learned and best practices. Key questions include:
- How can I identify reconsideration policies and procedures in my school or district?
- In my role as a librarian, what do I need to understand about materials challenges?
- How can I work with school and district partners to navigate community concerns over library or instructional materials?
You can register for this FREE event here.
I hope to see you there, friends.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Read About The "Book n' Bead Program".... A Special and Fun Way To Support Reading and Writing Using Biblionasium!
I am always looking for special ideas to inspire our readers within the library and classrooms.
When I read this new Biblionasium Case Study about teacher, Laura Franz, and what she does to inspire her 4th grade readers, I instantly wanted to know more about their Book n' Beads program and how Laura inspires and encourages her students through the amazing reading community she has created within the classroom and by using Biblionasium.
As students write and add book reviews in Biblionasium, they earn different beads to add to their Books n' Beads necklaces. I love how the beads are differentiated based on the different genres they are reading.
After they earn 50 beads, which is 50 book reviews in Biblionasium, they can adopt-a-pet, which is a special beanie animal they get to take home. How cute is that!
Laura's story made me think about the ways we already love using Biblionasium and how we can integrate it with special new reading and writing initiatives within our school community. Biblionasium is such a wonderful way to build and foster effective and exciting literacy programs in so many different ways.
I know it will give you lots of ideas too.
You will find this Biblionasium Case Study here.
Join Me This Week For My NEW Follett Webinar, Marketing Your Library...Creative Ways To Share Your Awesomeness!
I am so excited to share that the registration is open for my upcoming Follett Community webinar, Marketing Your Library...Creative Ways To Share Your Awesomeness!
You can join me this week on March 24, 2022 at 4:00pm CST for this exciting hour of learning, sharing and fun.
As shared online,
Now is the time for librarians to lead, and leadership takes strategy and courage! As you look for innovative ways to share the story and voice of your library – including the voice of your students – with the rest of your school and district, you’ll uncover allies and skills you didn’t realize you possess. With creative advocacy and branding, you can bring your library story to life while leading within your school community and throughout the world like never before.
In this motivating and lively session, Shannon McClintock Miller will share advocacy and branding ideas and strategies designed to empower you to share your own library story, goals, and vision in memorable, effective, and valuable ways. Miller discusses the why and the how of library advocacy and branding, all while exploring her own journey and what’s worked in her library and district. She’ll share specific resources and examples you can use to help communicate your story.
In this webinar, you learn:
- The importance of sharing the story and work of your library program
- What it means to create a brand and marketing plan for your library program
- Various creative tools and methods to share your awesomeness
- New knowledge and tools to advocate for and successfully brand your library program - within your community and throughout the world
- How to bring the voices of your students into the mix, too
You can register for the FREE webinar here, friends.
And don't worry...it will be recorded, along with all of the resources shared during the webinar, and shared with all of you.
StickTogether Proudly Announces 6 World of Eric Carle Sticker Poster Mosaic Kits
I couldn't be more excited about this news from our friends at StickTogether. And I can't wait to share these with our students and teachers....and with all of you!
StickTogether has announced six very special World of Eric Carle Sticker Poster Mosaic Kits!
As shared in this news announcement,
NEW YORK, NY – StickTogether is excited to announce six new images, bringing Eric Carle’s iconic and beloved images to life in a whole new way. In 2021 StickTogether conducted a survey of its librarian customers to identify potential licensing priorities for the Company’s popular, group, ‘paint-by-sticker’ poster activity. Eric Carle’s images, for example The Very Hungry Caterpillar™ and Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? were the overwhelming favorite.
StickTogether is now offering The Very Hungry Caterpillar™, Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?, The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Busy Spider, Mister Seahorse and Beautiful Butterfly from TVHC as Standard Size (40” x 36”; 3,996 stickers) Sticker Mosaic Poster kits for $36 (the complete 6 Kit Bundle is $192, and a pre-set World of Eric Carle Trio (TVHC, Ladybug, Spider) for $99).
“We are thrilled to be able to offer the World of Eric Carle images as StickTogether kits. They are beautiful. They are color-filled. And these treasured images resonate with every age. We are especially gratified to be able to offer customers a new way to experience Eric Carle’s creativity, where, by working together as a community, they bring these cherished images to life.” says Sylvia Stein, President of StickTogether Products, LLC.
Take a closer look at all six of the beautiful World of Eric Carle StickTogether sticker poster mosaic kits found here....
I can think of so many ways to use these in the library and classroom. I will be gathering up the Eric Carle books that go along with each and introduce the World of Eric Carle sticker posters by sharing the stories first.
In fact, I am meeting with a few of our teachers this week, to brainstorm more ideas. I will share these ideas and more in a new blog post soon.
You will find so many more StickTogether kits and virtual sticker boards here on the StickTogether site.
Friday, March 11, 2022
A Super Special Flipgrid Live Event Coming Up On March 16 With The Amazing Author, Chris Colfer!
Our friends at Flipgrid have an amazing Flipgrid Live Event coming up next week with one of our favorite authors, Chris Colfer! It is on March 16 at 10am PST.
As shared online,
Whether it’s The Land of Stories or A Tale of Magic, beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Colfer knows how to capture the imagination of the young in years and young at heart. During this special event, your learners will hear about the art of storytelling and be encouraged to unleash their own creativity and imagination. Chris will also discuss the joys of summer and independent reading, and answer questions from the chat!
Through Flipgrid Live Events you can connect your learners with experts, and they can ask their questions live via a fully moderated chat.
Do your learners have questions they'd like to ask Chris or about his books? Join this Flipgrid group to ask them now!
We can all register for this special event here. And you will find his amazing website here.
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
You've Been Virtually Book'd For Poetry Mont....A Special Program and List I Use Within Our Destiny Discover & Library Each Month!
This week I am getting ready to celebrate Poetry Month coming up in March.
One of the best parts is sharing lots of books with all of our readers within the library, classrooms and even at home. There are so many special ones that will inspire our readers and celebrate amazing women all month long.
As part of this reading celebration, I put together a list and choice board filled with 14 new and favorite print and eBooks from our Destiny Discover that are part of our library collection.
With these eBooks, I put together a choice board that our readers can access.
Let me show you how I set up this choice board for my school community.
First, I created the choice board in a Google Slide. I added the covers of the 14 eBooks I included in this choice board.
Second, I went to our Destiny Discover and...
...grabbed the links to each eBook.
This is easy to do. You just search for the eBook, click on the three little dots next to Open, and this drop down menu will appear.
Take the copied link and add it to the book cover.
Click on Share and the link to the book will pop up. That is the url to share in the choice boards.
When every book cover is linked, you are ready to share the choice board.
Go to File and down to Publish to the web.
This will give you a link to share with the students and teachers.
Our students and teachers will love these eBooks to celebrate Poetry Month that are part of our You've Been Virtually Book'd program. And I love how we can keep this program going all year long! It brings so much to our readers each and every month.
When they click on that published link, the You've Been Virtually Book'd For Poetry Month will pop up and all of the eBooks can be read from there.
I am excited about this list of 14 special new eBooks I put together in Titlewave. In this choice board, you can click on any book cover to view and find the full book list from Titlewave there too.
Don't Miss My Upcoming Follett March Webinar, Marketing Your Library...Creative Ways To Share Your Awesomeness!
I am so excited to share that the registration is open for my upcoming Follett Community webinar, Marketing Your Library...Creative Ways To Share Your Awesomeness!
You can join us on March 24, 2022 at 4:00pm CST for this exciting hour of learning, sharing and fun.
As shared online,
Now is the time for librarians to lead, and leadership takes strategy and courage! As you look for innovative ways to share the story and voice of your library – including the voice of your students – with the rest of your school and district, you’ll uncover allies and skills you didn’t realize you possess. With creative advocacy and branding, you can bring your library story to life while leading within your school community and throughout the world like never before.
In this motivating and lively session, Shannon McClintock Miller will share advocacy and branding ideas and strategies designed to empower you to share your own library story, goals, and vision in memorable, effective, and valuable ways. Miller discusses the why and the how of library advocacy and branding, all while exploring her own journey and what’s worked in her library and district. She’ll share specific resources and examples you can use to help communicate your story.
In this webinar, you learn:
- The importance of sharing the story and work of your library program
- What it means to create a brand and marketing plan for your library program
- Various creative tools and methods to share your awesomeness
- New knowledge and tools to advocate for and successfully brand your library program - within your community and throughout the world
- How to bring the voices of your students into the mix, too
You can register for the FREE webinar here, friends.
And don't worry...it will be recorded, along with all of the resources shared during the webinar, and shared with all of you.
It's The Spring Break Choice Board For Everyone To Use!
With Spring Break starting this Friday for our school and many others, a lot of families have been asking me for fun and engaging resources for their children to do at home or while traveling on vacation.
I have reminded them about our library website and all of the places they can do to read eBooks and listen to audio books, not to mention that they can check out a few extra books tomorrow before break starts too.
For those who are wanting a few more activities and resources to do online, I have created the new Spring Break Choice Board with places for our students and families to go to relax, create, read, play and visit.
You can share this with your students and families too! This is the link to share and if you are wanting to make a few changes, you can do that at this link by making a copy.
To share this, I created a bookmark with a QR code that I will pass out to all of our students tomorrow.
I will also be sharing on social media and sending out in an email, just to make sure that everyone has the library site and this choice board.
Happy Spring Break, friends. I hope you have a relaxing and peaceful break.