stayingcoolinthelibrary, Author at Staying Cool in the Library

Why I Read Thank You, Sarah! The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving Every Year

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions in the classroom is reading Thank You, Sarah! The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson. This inspiring biography tells the true story of Sarah Hale, a determined woman often called the “Mother of Thanksgiving.” Sarah Hale was a writer and editor who lived in the 1800s. At a time when women’s voices were often overlooked, she launched a relentless campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Over the years, she wrote thousands of letters to politicians and presidents — and she never gave up. Her persistence finally paid off when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. This book is a powerful way to teach students about perseverance, civic engagement, and the real history behind the holiday. Every year, it sparks meaningful discussions and reminds my third graders that one person can make a difference. One of the

Websites to Help Students Find Their Next Read

In this post I am sharing five websites to help students find their next read. You can use these websites yourself or you can teach students how to use them. Either way, they are one more tool that you can use to help encourage a culture of reading with your students. What should I read next? How many times have you been asked this question? I’m sure the number is in the thousands. And it is one of the most important questions we are asked. Helping students to find a book that they will love and want to read is one of the main reasons I became a librarian. I’m sure that’s true for many of you as well. And I will admit that sometimes this question can create some anxiety for me. Recommending a book to a child is a huge responsibility. I’m always afraid that if I

Simple Book Character Costumes

I have always loved book character costume day. In the past my school had this day on the Friday before Halloween. We were looking for a way for students to dress in costume while still focusing on education and not Halloween. A few times we also did it to celebrate Read Across America. These are my favorite ideas for character costumes for students! Most of the students really enjoy this day as well. But I quickly noticed that many students did not really understand what they were supposed to do. They did not understand that their costume had to also be the same as a character found in a book. And some parents did not take the time to discuss it with them either. The first year was a learning experience for me. I was constantly being asked by a student if there was a book with a vampire

Teaching the Research Process

We all know how important it is to teach our students information literacy skills: how to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information. There are several different research or information gathering models available for teaching the research process including the Big 6 and the FINDS model from Florida. However, I do not think you need to use a “formal” model as long as your lesson plans cover these important skills. Teaching the Research Process Starts Here Something to keep in mind is that a research project is more about teaching students the process of finding information, not so much the finished product. While language arts teachers might disagree, there are many ways to teach and assess writing skills. But with a research project, our students need to understand how to find relevant and trustworthy sources, read the information, and analyze it for their purpose. If you look at this picture

Using Picture Books with Upper Elementary Students

I use picture books with all of my students grades K-5. There is so much that you can teach with a picture book and they can be used for almost any subject or topic. In this post I want to share with you some of my favorite picture books to use with upper elementary students as well as some of the benefits in using these books in your lessons. Discussion Starters By reading a picture book you can begin a discussion with your students about something that may not be easy to talk about. You can open up the lines of communication and start a dialogue. For example the book Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh can be used to discuss segregation and would be an informative lead-in to learning about Brown vs the Board of Education. One Green Apple

K-5 Elementary Library Curriculum Map

I will never forget the overwhelming feeling I had when I started my first job and realized I had no idea what to teach my students. The librarian I replaced left nothing behind—no lesson plans, no curriculum maps, not even a single worksheet. The office was completely empty, and I felt out of my depth. That first school year was filled with a lot of trial and error. Over the next few years, I developed a plan. I learned the curriculum for all grade levels and subjects, understanding what was being taught in the classrooms and identifying areas where students often struggled. I integrated this with the skills I wanted my students to learn. Eventually, I created a document that combined elements of a curriculum map and a scope and sequence. It wasn’t a formal document, nor was I required to submit anything to the administration. Although I wrote

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Why I Read Thank You, Sarah! The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving Every Year

Websites to Help Students Find Their Next Read

Simple Book Character Costumes

Teaching the Research Process

Using Picture Books with Upper Elementary Students

K-5 Elementary Library Curriculum Map

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