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Teaching students about character traits in reading is important but can be difficult to do. Character traits are such an ABSTRACT idea that some children have a hard time understanding what character traits are. Students typically have to use inferencing skills to “read between the lines” of what information the author is giving you about the characters in the story, such as what the character is saying and doing.  How to Teach About Character Traits Start by defining exactly WHAT character traits are. Then together, make an anchor chart about character traits. Have students help you name certain traits that they believe characters in stories might have. Make sure to get them thinking about character traits on the OUTSIDE and on the INSIDE! I like to do another lesson about positive character traits vs. negative character traits. (Some traits can even be neutral).  Finally, my biggest piece of advice
Do you struggle to manage centers in the school library? Do you even attempt to use centers at all? Are you overwhelmed with how to incorporate this into your already busy day with barely any breaks? Well, I LOVE having centers in the library and I’m going to tell you some tricks to help manage centers in the school library with ease. (Note: This post contains affiliate links.) How to Organize Centers in the Library  There are two different ways that I organize and use centers in my library. I use them during a class period for hands-on learning, but I also sometimes use them during check out so that students are busy while I am managing the checkout desk. A typical schedule that I follow during a 50 minute class session would be: whole group time (20 minutes), center time (20 minutes), and checkout time (10 minutes) One thing
Are you constantly looking for picture books to teach about the main idea of a story? Some people confuse the theme with the main idea. The theme or central idea of a book is the lesson, moral or message the reader takes away after reading. The main idea is what the book is about and can usually be stated as a short summary. It’s important for students to start understanding the main idea (and supporting details) of a story after reading it. This means that they should be able to retell the story to show their comprehension of it, stating the main idea and at least three details that can support the main idea of the story. Some Tips for Teaching the Main Idea A read aloud can be one of the most overlooked strategies that can be used to teach main idea and supporting details. When performing a
Some people may wonder if you are really THAT busy all day in the library… do you get those questions like I do? I have to smile and giggle a bit when I walk away! Librarians are just as busy as classroom teachers and honestly, sometimes our schedule is EVEN more hectic with very few breaks throughout the day and back-to-back classes!  Let’s discuss time management for a second. Time management can make or break you as a librarian (and a classroom teacher). Your days are BUSY! Your time is PRECIOUS! Taking work home and staying late is just no fun so let’s talk about some tips for how to have better time management skills. Back to school season is always the best time of year for this topic! I’ve been at this a long time now and I’d like to think that I’ve learned a thing or two
Are you constantly looking for different fiction and nonfiction books for teaching cause and effect to your elementary students? Teaching about story elements such as cause and effect, main idea, character traits, problem and solution and comparing/ contrasting are very important. I’ve compiled a list of 8 awesome fiction and nonfiction picture books for teaching cause and effect to make your life simpler. TEACHING CAUSE & EFFECT Teaching children about cause and effect develops critical thinking skills important for all ages of children — from the 3-year-old deciding not to run across the street to the 11-year-old deciding how to handle peer pressure. Picture books are an especially great way to teach about this concept because the illustrations support the meaning of the text and show cause and effect in action.  Start with a picture walk to open a discussion around the key cause and effect moments. Reinforce to
Are you looking for some back to school books by Kevin Henkes? He is hands down one of my favorite authors! Kevin Henkes is a brilliant author and he is also the illustrator of his own stories, which I find amazing! Not to mention he is both a Caldecott Medal winner and Newbery Honor winner. Most of the characters in his books are animals that act as humans and I believe that young children actually relate to these characters quite a lot. Henkes’ work is best known for touching on hot-button topics such as new siblings, the first day of school and deceased grandparents. Again, these are super relatable topics to children, which makes his stories great to read aloud in the primary grades. Kevin Henkes has two books that are perfect, in my opinion, for back to school time in the classroom or library. (Note: This post contains