Book Pass

In the spirit of Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon, another of our summer professional reading books, I have happily borrowed a wonderful idea from a neighboring teacher.

Kay Honeyman, brand new author of The Fire Horse Girl, blogs about holding a book pass in the library.  Her librarian is a friend, the terrific Jill Bellomy.  Their book pass sounded like so much fun that I decided to give it a go.

A book pass is just what the name implies.  Students come to the library to pass around books set out for them to examine.  They make a list of ones that sound appealing and add to the list throughout the year.  The goal is for this "to read" list to contain lots of books that they will enjoy reading for pleasure.

I did a book pass with sixth graders today, and it went really well.  Even the pickiest (er, most discerning) reader left with two or three books they want to read this year.

I modified yesterday's book pass due to a short period with the sixth graders, and I'm including the steps here:

1.  Set up enough tables so that your class will be sitting in groups of three or four.
2.  Number each table.
3.  Make a book pass sheet for students to write down the books they want to read. 
4.  Place 8-10 books at each table of various genres.
5.  Before the students start, ask them how they choose the books they read for fun.  Ask them to use these strategies for the book pass and to write down any books they might like to read.
6.  Give students 4-5 minutes at each table, rotating tables until each group has been to each table.
7.  If you see a group that's not really interested in the books on their table, walk by and add a few different books to the mix.
8.  Ask students to star books on their list that they are most excited about, and then give them the opportunity to check out books from any table.  If more than one student wants a particular book, place holds.
9.  Allow students to share what interests them about the books they have selected.
10.  Tip:  Since the tables will be mostly empty after one period, use books that the previous group has just returned to the drop box or good books from your shelving cart to replenish the tables.

Let us know how the book pass worked for your students!  Happy reading...

The Poetry Friday Anthology: Poems for the School Year with Connections to the TEKS

The Poetry Friday Anthology is a great book to infuse poetry into your elementary classroom or library. The book offers one poem each week for each grade level K-5, or 216 poems in all. Each poem is accompanied by a short, lively Take 5! activity designed to engage students. For Texas teachers and librarians, TEKS correlations have been helpfully provided. Short on time? The book is well organized, easy to use, and the compilers suggest that a five-minute poetry break is an effective way to use transition time on Fridays or any other day. An excellent volume for elementary teachers and librarians by well-known compilers Dr. Sylvia Vardell and poet Janet Wong.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

ShelfConsumed has been on a bit of a hiatus as none of you has probably noticed!  May was a blur with all those things we do in the library at the end of school.  The summer was a wondrous time of grandsons, books, and doing just what we wanted when we wanted.  Bliss!

But today was the first day back at school, so I think it's time to get back to thinking about libraries.

One of the best books I read this summer is Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  Whether you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert, I think you'll enjoy what Cain has to say and that you'll find yourself applying her words to situations with friends and family.

I didn't expect was to find implications for education and for the library.  Cain's book made me realize that not all students want to "share good books" with friends.  It may be hard for some students to go around the table and talk about an author they enjoy.  Many students may prefer to work alone rather than in a group.  In our rush to collaborate and share, we may be isolating many students who prefer quiet.

I hope you'll find time to read this powerful book and also to find a bit of quiet in your hectic schedule this new school year.

Confessions of a shusher

Marc Levin Creative Commons License 2.0

For the first time in a good while there are no classes scheduled for research in the library. You might think it would be empty, but close to 10% of our upper school students have been here in the hour and a half since I opened this morning.

My desk is behind the circulation area, so I can’t see the main library when I’m at my computer, but I can usually hear what’s happening. At the moment there are 26 students in the library, and it’s not silent, but it’s pretty quiet.

It took me the better half of the year to realize that a quiet library is the preference for most of the students who come here. They have lots of work to do, and the library is quieter and more structured than the cafeteria or the commons area.

How did I come to this realization?  I started asking kids why they come to the library, which yes, I know I should have done at the beginning of the year.  But when I finally got around to asking, just as many said they were seeking quiet as those who needed to use a computer or other resources.

This preference for quiet was surprising to me.  Quiet is not what I'd expect kids to want.  Quiet school libraries appear unpopular in professional literature, and it seems that school librarians who help maintain this quiet are deemed out of step.

But it’s our job to provide what our patrons need. And I’ve realized that a quiet library and a welcoming library are not mutually exclusive.

So, yes, I occasionally shush kids in the library. I know. I know. But I also smile at kids, try to call them by name, and ask about their activities, their tests, and their weekends. And when they come back to the library by choice, it’s a pretty good feeling.

ShelfConsumed has moved to shelfconsumed.org

Apparently my domain name has been swiped, and I am not able to find a way to redirect traffic from the old address to the new one.  Ack.  Aargh.

ShelfConsumed may now be found at http://www.shelfconsumed.org

I would appreciate it if you'd help spread the word!  Many thanks.

TASL thanks

Many thanks to Texas Association of School Librarians (TASL) for naming ShelfConsumed as the best professional blog during the Texas Library Association (TLA) conference last week!  TASL is awesome!

The Wise Man Said it Best...

Fotalia

John Green, amazing YA author and YouTube sensation, recently tweeted the following,

"50 million Americans haven't read a book in the past 12 months. As a business, THAT'S our #1 problem--not format or distribution models."

Of course we have to think about format and distribution models.  It's our job to provide for our patrons in the most friendly, useable, cost-efficient, and sustainable ways possible.  It's our job to meet their information and reading needs. 

But if our patrons don't have reading needs, John Green is right.  Helping to create readers should be our priority.

Author, author!

I'm feeling a little behind the curve in lining up authors for next year, so the last couple of days I've started making some initial inquiries.  We're planning on hosting an author for our first through fourth graders and another author for our middle schoolers.

After hosting many authors over the years (see tags for previous post) I've decided that a successful visit is due to lots of advance planning and a little bit of good luck.  Selecting the right author is half the battle, so I'll offer a few tips that seem to work for me.  I'd love to hear your tips as well.  Please comment!

Choosing the right author for your school:

1.  Browse your shelves for ideas.  Look at which books circulate frequently.

2.  Talk to kids (Granted they will probably say Rick Riordan or Suzanne Collins, but it's great to get their ideas).

3.  Ask teachers for input.  This builds collaboration and buy-in for the visit.

4.  Browse author websites to get a feel for their body of work.

5.  Try to choose an author that may appeal to a range of readers.

6.  Watch author interviews on YouTube to see the author in action.  Is he/she engaging?

7.  Listen to authors at conferences.  

8.  Ask other librarians for recommendations.

9.  When in doubt, just go for it.  Trust your instinct and book that author!

10.  Low on funding?  Avoid the authors who will come to your school for free unless you've heard them and know they're really good.  A bad author visit is counterproductive to your cause.  Better to Skype with an interesting author for free or at a reduced cost.

What's worked well for you?

What would Seth (Godin) say?

 Conventional wisdom says the rich get richer while the poor continue to struggle.  Physics says a body in motion tends to stay in motion, and a body at rest tends to stay at rest.

So does it follow that people who are motivated tend to get more motivated while the unmotivated generally stay that way?

Parish Literary Festival

Our libraries hosted Dr. J. Patrick Lewis, the U.S. Poet Laureate for Children this week for our first-annual Parish Literary Festival.

Pat, as he insists everyone call him, is engaging and informative.  If you are looking for someone who can hold the attention of kids of all ages while teaching them about the writing process and poetry, Pat is your author.

For proof positive, see this darling response from a Parish primary student: