We enjoyed our annual balloon maker project in the library this fall,
using the mentor text of Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet (see previous posts on Dec. 2018, Dec. 2017, and Nov. 2016). This year, however, a new iteration: students played Balloon Bingo, extending the fun into December! Children had the choice of drawing or writing their answers. 5th-graders worked in the library using google forms to create "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories! This was a team collaboration of our Gifted and Talent Development Teacher Ms. Anish, an Instructional Coach D. Thomas, and the Librarian (myself). 5th Grade Teachers also supported us through allowing the students to work on the project for additional times as needed. Some are complete, others are still in progress.
Students created one-page reading responses in the library. This work was inspired by an NCTE article by Jill Yamasawa Fletcher, linked below: www2.ncte.org/blog/2018/11/the-magic-of-one-pagers/ . 5th Graders created responses to poems, during National Poetry Month: 4th Graders created "Lost" posters for "The Lost Words," by Robert Macfarlane: Students were most intrigued by conkers and how to play it! My big takeaway was how this activity not only brought insight on the readings, but also taught me so much about the students. Images: McGill, J. (2019). Library activity photos. CC-BY NC
Students and staff have enjoyed several celebrations in the library over the past few weeks! Most recently, Black History Month saw the library turned into an interactive museum; tables displayed photos and information about famous African Americans, as well as books and manipulatives to enrich the experience. Students also had the choice of using QR codes to access additional information. On Valentine's week, students experienced a "Heart to Heart" diverse book tasting, complete with LED candles, tablecloths, and classical music. Two school-board members joined us; students demonstrated how to complete the Google survey at the end. We began February by celebrating Chinese New Year; students enjoyed related books and activities, such as learning to use abaci and creating and sharing tangrams. January saw our first "Camp Out for Reading" event--over one-hundred community members joined us! Thanks to Scouts for helping set up and take down the tents. Other highlights include: a 5th-Grade collaboration bundling a story, writing, spuds, and creativity: a Kindergarten collaboration introducing them to coding with LIghtbots; and primary students using story props on trays to retell fairy tales. Favorite library moment: when a student experiencing the Black History Museum explored using a stethoscope to listen to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong jazz at our music station. Images: McGill, J. (2019). Library activity photos. CC-BY NC
Students in PK - 5th grades collaborated on creating balloon 'floats' to display to the school. Melissa Sweet's Balloons Over Broadway was our mentor text. Rise of the PikaDragonKitty: One Balloon's Backstory: Despite extensive discussion and mediation, a set of partners could not reach agreement on what to make. The first session ended in a stalemate. At the second session one week later, they agreed to work together and created the PikaDragonKitty, a hybrid of all of their wishes combined. This partnership explained their learning in one word: "compromise." To close, one young student's joyous comment on the project: Images: McGill, J. (2018). Library activity photos. CC-BY NC
In October, students hacked their school lunches as part of National School Lunch Week; they used Makey Makey to turn fruits and vegetables into musical instruments and game controllers. In the spirit of the season, students hunted book characters using tablets and augmented reality app HP Reveal. Students also created and shared 2-sentence scary stories. "Aha!" moment:
when a kindergartner taught a staff person how to use HP Reveal to find a book character 'spirit,' I realized that technology is one of those great levelers, where the children can teach us as much or more than we can teach them. Images: McGill, J. (2018). Library activity photos. CC-BY NC. Our new school year began with a school wide common text: I am Enough by Grace Byers, Illustrated by Keturah Bobo. Students then created affirmation statements, modeled after the ones in the book. Some presented an intriguing juxtaposition--as the 2 below illustrate-- It shows the cycle--we teach and learn from one another. Some affirmations raised questions-- --but ultimately they created a rainbow of affirmation in our school hallway. Like the blog post, I am here to be read . . .
5th Graders created maps of their elementary-school journey, through book covers. The Process:
It was fun to see some familiar faces-- Reflection:
April poetry activities included Open Mic Poetry in the library. I provided poetry stems: My Name is ______ You can find me ___________ I dream of / wish for ___________. The students rocked it! Below are some of their gems. My name is Pluto. You can find me beyond Neptune. I dream of being a planet again. My name is Nobody. You can find me Nowhere. I dream of being Somebody someday. My name is the Sun. I am hiding today. I dream of coming back tomorrow. (This was inspired by our weather that day, which was cloudy and cold.) Our whole school participated in an April Poetry Bracket for the 2nd year in a row. The big winner: "The Poltergeyser" by Calef Brown! Students used tablets and Scratch Jr. to create images representing the poems in our bracket. Some students preferred to create their own original poems in Scratch Jr. Reflection
What strikes me the most is the creativity of the students, and how poetry evokes enjoyment in both solitary and collective experiences. Images: McGill, J. (2018). Library activity photos. CC-BY NC. |
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March 2020
AuthorMs. McGill is a public school librarian at Stony Point Elementary. She has previously taught all subjects in 4th & 5th grades, and creative nonfiction at UVa's Young Writers Workshop for nine summers. Categories |