Top

Staying Cool in the Library

A place for school librarians to learn and grow together

How to Teach Text Features in NonFiction

When you think of reading, charts and graphs probably aren’t the first things to come to mind. But when reading nonfiction texts, these elements play a role in understanding the text. Many times I’ve asked students to read a caption or refer to information from a chart, only to get a blank stare back. This just tells me how important it is to directly teach text features in nonfiction. What are nonfiction text features? Text features are the elements of an informational text not found ... Read the Post

5 Christmas Around the World Activities for Elementary Students

As Christmas approaches, you might be on the search for resources and activities to keep students engaged. Let’s face it - the holidays can bring about lots of distractions! Students are looking forward to vacations, presents, and sleeping in. So, why not bring the fun and celebrate the holidays. That’s why I love using Christmas around the world activities. What is Christmas Around the World? People around the world have different traditions they associate with Christmas. With Christmas ... Read the Post

Classroom Reward Ideas Students Will Love

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! One way is to brainstorm classroom reward ideas. Before I share my different classroom reward ideas, I was 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 ... Read the Post

10 Tips on Classroom Management for Librarians

As a librarian, you might find yourself sitting in PD sessions on classroom management or reading books thinking, “This doesn’t apply to me!” As a librarian, we interact with students in a unique way, and the same classroom management techniques that work for classroom teachers might not work for us. However, I’ve compiled tips on classroom management for librarians that I’ve seen success with. You’ll find that you can use these strategies whether you see students multiple times a week or ... Read the Post

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 ... Read the Post

Library Activities to Make Check-Out Time Run Smoothly

It’s library check-out time, and you’re wishing you had six more arms and three sets of eyes. Between checking out books, figuring out overdue books, and managing other students in the library - it can feel like a full-time job for at least three people. And yet, it’s just you.  I wanted to share some library activities that can help check-out time run smoothly. These activities are meant to keep other students busy and on task, while you man the check-out counter. I’ll also give some ... Read the Post