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5 Figurative Language Activities for the Library

5 Figurative Language Activities for the Library.
Figurative language can be one of the hardest concepts for our students, especially younger ones, to understand. To grasp and use figurative language effectively, our students must learn to think beyond the concrete. That’s why exposing them to figurative language often and in a variety of ways is so essential. Today, I’m sharing figurative language activities that will make it easier for your students to connect with figurative language while making it a seamless addition to your library lessons. What is Figurative Language? Figurative language uses ordinary words and phrases in a way that goes beyond their literal meaning. Often, what is said isn’t exactly what is meant, which can throw our students for a loop! For example, if you say, “I’ve said that a million times,” you don’t literally mean a million. You mean that you’ve repeated yourself a lot. For our students who take things literally, expressions
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Library Book Display Ideas for Every Month of the Year

These library book display ideas will help you keep your book displays fresh during every month of the year.
As librarians, we always look for new ways and opportunities to get students reading and enjoying it! Having a monthly book display is a great way to bring awareness to each month’s different topics, seasons, and celebrations. Plus, you can get students interested in brand-new books that might have been hidden on the shelves and out of sight. I know that creating library book displays can take some time, especially when you start running out of creativity mid-year. I put together a list of library book display ideas for the entire year. You can use one of these ideas or use this list to get your creative juices flowing. Materials To Use For a Library Book Display Creating an eye-catching library book display doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. I’m all for saving the extra dollar! A few key items can make the process of creating a display
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Ideas and Activities for a Successful Literacy Night

Hosting a family literacy night or reading night is a great opportunity to get parents involved in the school and grow students’ love of reading. Parents don’t often get a glimpse of what their child is working on and doing at school each day, but with literacy nights, you can bring the parent into the school and share literacy tips and research. Of course, a well-planned literacy night can take time and effort to put together. I want to pass along some planning tips, literacy night themes, and activities you can use as you plan. What is a Family Literacy Night? Also called family reading night, a literacy night is a chance to provide important information about a child’s literacy skills and share reading strategies with families. It’s also an opportunity to get families involved in the school and student learning. During the literacy night, you can focus on
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20 Library Reward Ideas Students Love

These 20 Library Reward Ideas are easy to use and pack a big punch when it comes to managing behavior in the library.
It’s likely you’ve found yourself wondering at some point how you can motivate students. Maybe you want to encourage positive behaviors or help struggling students meet a goal.  In these cases, offering extrinsic motivation may help! Before I share my different library reward ideas, I want to make it clear that rewarding students isn’t the only way to motivate them. I also advise against simply throwing around awards, especially for expected behavior. But for special goals or when a little extra motivation is needed extrinsic rewards work well. Here are some of my favorite library reward ideas that students love. When Should I Use Library Rewards? Library rewards can be used in various instances, but here are two I use most often in my library. First, there are class incentives. I may have a particular group that struggles to stay on task or clean up the library. If they
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10 Classroom Management Tips for School Librarians

10 tips on classroom management for librarians
As librarians, we often find ourselves in professional development sessions on classroom management or flipping through books, thinking, “This isn’t for me!” We interact with students in a completely unique way. The strategies that work for classroom teachers don’t always translate to our setting. That’s why I’ve put together some classroom management tips tailored specifically for librarians. We know the library environment calls for a different approach! What’s great is that these tips work whether you see students regularly or occasionally. No matter how big your library is or how limited your resources might be, you can easily adapt these strategies to fit your needs! Why Classroom Management Tips Are Essential for School Librarians Classroom management tips are essential for us school librarians! When we’ve got effective management strategies in place, our library transforms into a calm, inviting space. This encourages our students to explore, ask questions, and dive
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How to Create a Library Substitute Binder

Whether you are planning ahead for a vacation, or want to be prepared for those inevitable sick days, having a library substitute binder is a game-changer. Instead of hours spent preparing for a day out of the library or a frantic call to school trying to organize things for a day off, you have a ready-to-go sub binder. What is a library substitute binder? Think of this binder as the holder of all your library secrets (or just the really important stuff). It’s the one-stop-shop for your essential class information. It allows anyone to pop into your place, and pick up where you left off – with ease. If you’ve ever had to cover a class, you know how challenging it can be when there is no information present. Sometimes you’re lucky to get a class roster! It’s confusing. Suddenly, you’re depending on the students to know what they
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Staying Cool in the Library is my blog, where I share my passion for fostering a love of reading with children. As a librarian, I believe reading should be fun and accessible to all students. That’s why I share engaging and interactive lesson plans, creative ways to build exciting library collections, and resources to inspire even the most reluctant readers in any classroom or library. Check out my blog posts and products in my store, and join my email list below.

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