Learning in Progress

As a way to connect with the other teachers I'm working with and share ideas that I happen upon while surfing the net or following conversations on our state lms listserv I'm going to try to send out weekly or bi-weekly Tuesday Teacher Tips.  I'll keep them brief and only send 3-4 tips out at a time - along with some brief announcements about things happening in library. Testing Tip You can already get a jump start on preparing your kids for KPREP state testing by helping them improve their mental endurance.   Just like you can improve your physical endurance for a 5k, you can help your students improve on the length of time they can concentrate on a task through practice.   Each month, ask students to increase the amount of time they engage in silent reading. I love this graph over at www.julieballew.com http://www.julieballew.com/A_Literate_Life/Photos/Pages/Anchor_Charts.html#7 Smart Board Tip When you orient your board, instead of...

I’m only a little addicted to Pinterest .   It is such a fun way to find ideas I didn’t know I needed and an even better way to organize and remember where things are on the Internet.   I like to think of it as an amped up “Favorites” list since I can actually see what the link is about. Through the summer, I pinned library ideas like crazy.   I kind of feel bad for the people following me – 99% of whom are not librarians – because they got flooded with library and book related pins!   Of all the things that I found on Pinterest, below are the things that I have been most excited to learn about – either from the pin itself or from browsing the linked site a little more. 1.        Evernote – I honestly don’t remember where I first saw this productivity tool – but since I downloaded it and began using it, I’ve seen it mentioned numerous times.   Evernote is a way to keep track of notes, lists, food experiences etc.   You ca...

Helping students to understand library organization is a difficult task – and the one that I am working on this week.   Part of what I really focus on early is trying to help students feel empowered to find the things that they are most interested in reading.   Because the library was recently renovated, I don’t have all the signage up to help the kids find the things they’re looking for – but it’s also a bonus because they are paying much closer attention to the lesson, and I see many of them really trying to remember the Dewey numbers they are most interested in. How to find books in the library – by grade K: For the Kindergarten kids, it will be a long time before I actually start talking about library organization.   This week we read But Excuse Me, That is my Book one of my Lauren Child favorites.   In our discussion of the story we focused on problem and solution.   I began our discussion by asking the kids of they know what problems are.  ...

This week I worked more on establishing checkout routines with students and organizing the library so that students would know where to go and what to do. Library Materials Organization I like to make things as easily accessible to the students as possible.   I have a designated materials section where students can find crayons, paper, extra sharpened pencils, tissues etc.   Current Materials Center Additionally, at each table students have a small pencil bucket, white board and dry erase marker, and table sign with seat numbers.   For me, assigning students to a seat, and creating a seating chart , is one of those things that helps everyone know where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to do.   I often assign students a task by seat number and that helps with the general flow of instruction.   My tables will accommodate 6 students, but   Iike to keep groups to 4 students each, so the 5&6 numbers are at seats that I li...

Students started back to school on Wednesday, and this year it has been a crazy ride.   Over the summer, our very unique library was renovated.   An extremely hard working summer crew and custodial staff fixed walls, painted, installed new windows, black out shades and carpet.   Two days before school Two days before school started new shelving and tables were delivered.   That meant, the day before school started was spent trying to get books unpacked from boxes and shelved in the right space.   Yup, the day before school We didn’t finish. I guess many people would be in a total panic about this, but for me it’s easier to focus on what is essential: making sure the kids could come in and sit down safely and making sure that I could convey to them the information I needed to explain.    I wasn’t involved in the planning of the space because I wasn’t hired until after, but this is what I’ve learned from the experience so far: · ...

A few weeks ago I decided to venture into the world of avatar creation.   I think that using avatars may create interest in presentations and on my website, and with some thought and planning, I think they could be used to spark storytelling creativity in students and provide me with ways to help teach cybersafety. The only real experience I had with avatars was creating a Wii Mii on the Wii and Madmen Yourself (which probably isn’t appropriate for elementary kids).   In surfing around for information about creating avatars, I knew that I wanted them to be kid friendly and free! In the beginning, I didn’t have much time to browse for avatar creators.   I did find a fairly helpful eHow article, which warned to be wary of unfamiliar programs that required you to download things (viruses!).   For my first attempt, I did play around with Otaku Avatar Maker .   This site is pretty cool, and although I’m not an expert, it seems to me that the avatars you can m...

Clip art from Microsoft Sometimes I’m ashamed of how poorly I pay attention to big events – especially the cool scientific ones. This morning was such a day.   “How in the world did I miss the fact that a new land rover, landed on Mars?” I asked myself.   I had to learn about it from my 15 year old cousin’s Facebook status!   I guess in my defense, I could claim ignorance as a result of the Olympics – which, by the way, have taken over my life these past few weeks. When I got the chance, I looked up this new land rover - Curiosity.   And I have to say, I felt immediate geek crush, so much so, that I’m not following it on Facebook , and I kind of want a miniature replica for my desk (I looked it up, Hot Wheels is going to be making one).   But, I think what I really dig about it, is it reminds me of Number 5 – who growing up in the 80’s didn’t get a kick out of Short Circuit? What is awesome about Curiosity is the Mars Science Laboratory that NAS...