tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21663865042070128022024-03-07T02:51:52.311-06:00Tales from a Loud LibrarianChronicles from the life of a now retired librarian and the books that she readsElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.comBlogger604125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-28981987551326060512022-09-07T08:53:00.003-05:002022-09-07T08:53:38.446-05:00Tales from a Retired Librarian<p style="text-align: justify;">As of August 1st, I have been officially retired from Jefferson Parish Public Schools. I taught for a total of 41 years--10 in two different early childhood classrooms and 31 in three different school libraries. I knew in August of 2021 that it would be my last, but I did not know how difficult a year that it was going to be. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsjIkFdGX9aUyGT_GB32Fk983wTKAIgJyjo28HDpgOKNaOzmgmjIbGLeQiffHgTKftI-BXoYS_chm6EUkFuXSpeuJijkoZehdZ01HAMdRo87qnR1ytRnbqR-p4PVR6ZdVb95ZiWOybdjPVpGSTXju_Tt3WA2f98tg3iqbiI5ZUN8NAo-wTflc7ciqdQ/s2315/C7177E41-7B28-492D-8198-5132828B07D0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Last first day of school August 2021" border="0" data-original-height="2315" data-original-width="2315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsjIkFdGX9aUyGT_GB32Fk983wTKAIgJyjo28HDpgOKNaOzmgmjIbGLeQiffHgTKftI-BXoYS_chm6EUkFuXSpeuJijkoZehdZ01HAMdRo87qnR1ytRnbqR-p4PVR6ZdVb95ZiWOybdjPVpGSTXju_Tt3WA2f98tg3iqbiI5ZUN8NAo-wTflc7ciqdQ/w320-h320/C7177E41-7B28-492D-8198-5132828B07D0.jpg" title="Last first day of school August 2021" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last first day of school in August of 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">First, Hurricane Ida closed the doors to many of the schools in our district for a whole month. We started school in August, but we were out of the building for the entire month of September. Online learning was not an option because there were many who did not have access to electricity or the Internet. Then in November, I was a <a href="https://elizabethvsc.blogspot.com/2021/12/pcia-or-permanent-chemo-induced-alopecia.html" target="_blank">plaintiff in a litigation trial </a>for two weeks that took a huge emotional toll on me. I finally got my footing in the library, and then at the beginning of February, I lost my dad who was 97 years old. Every time I turned around something else was blocking my path for a normal year. I have been the coordinator for senior awards night and graduation since 2009. Graduation usually occurs in early May, and then I would have about a month to close out the library for the year. Because Ida changed the timing of the school year, graduation was held a week before the last day of school for all students. I made it through graduation but in the late afternoon that Saturday, I tested positive for Covid. I had to miss the last week of school with students. That was a real blow--not being able to give the students a proper goodbye. I was allowed to return for the last day with the teachers. It took me ten days after that to close out the library and pack up my things. I did not get everything done that I would have liked. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAg-tYehdSGKV5T90Q5y0LfSbjBA1C5BJmkH3I37Ze3yDOMyfwP_0Y57eahNXmxyXCw3u_YFPTPXHhac9g5lfz620k5A3eu170_aRP5lzug1q4fjIoYHOgUy_E-2raVVtZHSYct6jbzx6XFuhYHIFTHo8yvFOtwtYr7rNi6elCP1gmb0CcW33iopWYQ/s3088/IMG_2665.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAg-tYehdSGKV5T90Q5y0LfSbjBA1C5BJmkH3I37Ze3yDOMyfwP_0Y57eahNXmxyXCw3u_YFPTPXHhac9g5lfz620k5A3eu170_aRP5lzug1q4fjIoYHOgUy_E-2raVVtZHSYct6jbzx6XFuhYHIFTHo8yvFOtwtYr7rNi6elCP1gmb0CcW33iopWYQ/s320/IMG_2665.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last day of school after a 41 year run June 10, 2022</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_eYPq9MM2_sGa6hLf-2l_Fk58TZuGSIA0KwCaw1V2kyGML83bYRqUPqQzYWXpO_WJmBwH3x6rzEVri9MijX3auClisr1UcTZupePxrCuDuQo-C6RE5ci8JE3Jwjc55ZU4rI1x4cFCPuE0cpQNgs6LlsaSE4VljUAQNhLHLyMvAfras-EbUADcsipIPQ/s4032/IMG_2680.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_eYPq9MM2_sGa6hLf-2l_Fk58TZuGSIA0KwCaw1V2kyGML83bYRqUPqQzYWXpO_WJmBwH3x6rzEVri9MijX3auClisr1UcTZupePxrCuDuQo-C6RE5ci8JE3Jwjc55ZU4rI1x4cFCPuE0cpQNgs6LlsaSE4VljUAQNhLHLyMvAfras-EbUADcsipIPQ/s320/IMG_2680.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My principal sent me off with a second line umbrella<br />I missed the music of the second line because I was home with Covid</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">I have wanted to post an end of the school year message but have not had the emotional energy to get it done. I have lots of notes and messages from students that I plan to share. Leaving school and the library that I created was bittersweet. I loved my job, but it was getting too much for me to be at the top of my game. I knew that it was time to pass the torch. School started for teachers on August 2nd, and I have not looked back. Also on August 2nd, I broke my foot, so there is that. </p>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-27253186591377682552021-07-25T17:46:00.005-05:002021-07-25T17:46:56.964-05:00Preparing For What Might Be My Last Year as a School Librarian<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOFjOaSPri87axBVoLxVokQ44hlVg2emFKWCLV4dN-R8bPYnGDkwAsdF6mHJMwQM0ERFZOkubVkwI_lLef6kux8gbNUQVVm2xHufsK6mqA3lz1-80yTQiTSpUsMwU14zHcP6rD4axbC7G/s512/IMG_1179.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOFjOaSPri87axBVoLxVokQ44hlVg2emFKWCLV4dN-R8bPYnGDkwAsdF6mHJMwQM0ERFZOkubVkwI_lLef6kux8gbNUQVVm2xHufsK6mqA3lz1-80yTQiTSpUsMwU14zHcP6rD4axbC7G/w271-h271/IMG_1179.JPG" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one version of me</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This school year was a hard one but not just because there was a world wide pandemic. There was that, but at our school we had so many changes that your head would spin. First, we lost two of our administrators who had been at our school for years. Why they left is a long story that doesn't need to be told except to say that it wasn't their decision to leave. Our new principal for 2020-21 had been with us only a year as an assistant principal, so this year was her first to take the helm of any school. To help her, the district selected one of her assistant principals and let her choose another. That meant our new principal only got to experience the school's traditions for three fourths of the year before everyone went on lock down March 2020. I am the last one on staff who has been at the school since its very early days, and there are only four other people on staff who worked with me at the old building. We opened the brand new campus eight years ago. Making sure we followed our school's traditions often fell on my shoulders. That was a burden and task that I never really wanted, but I thought was important for our students. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcY2-va66wPLr1lz9Az1AAM3A6706U1V52q9ZpdfpTeTHEQknHqwCpSAnbRHdrLu5QCs0qMZ-gdB8oaSU3R_fvleY8jzEmuIbXC7a3ldDuZZQpv0F8fxhlRGw5z81CQ4oLa8iEJM49RPG/s384/Screen+Shot+2021-06-18+at+2.08.38+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcY2-va66wPLr1lz9Az1AAM3A6706U1V52q9ZpdfpTeTHEQknHqwCpSAnbRHdrLu5QCs0qMZ-gdB8oaSU3R_fvleY8jzEmuIbXC7a3ldDuZZQpv0F8fxhlRGw5z81CQ4oLa8iEJM49RPG/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-06-18+at+2.08.38+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old email with school domain that is no longer in service </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Something else changed this past year that had a major impact on all the school's veteran teachers and students. Our school was the only school in the largest district in Louisiana to have a one to one computer program. All our students had access to a device on campus, but not only that, each student had a fully functioning email address. Our school initially was part of the <a href="https://newtechnetwork.org/" target="_blank">New Tech Network </a>of schools out of Napa, CA, and we used New Tech's learning management program, Echo. We were the only school in the district with an IT person on campus who helped with individual computer issues as well as managed the network and networked printers as their full time job. The district chose not to renew the contract with New Tech because of the cost. When the pandemic hit, and we needed to set up virtual learning for this year, the district went with Google Classroom across all schools in the district. There was a learning curve, but we could do it. What we no longer had was using email as an easy method for communicating across the campus. Students in our district were NOT allowed to have email accounts. Also, we didn't have anyone to make our email groups that we used constantly to send out info. With our connection to New Tech, the school had its own domain and site specific email addresses. This made life so much easier. Our new principal finally convinced the district to allow our students to use email on a trial basis. The students could only email across the campus and district. They could not send or receive email to anyone outside our domain. For our students who were accustomed to using their school email for everything this was a huge adjustment. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So, managing a library during a pandemic with its doors closed was just the least of my issues this year. I got through the year. Now, I am looking at 2021-2022 in a new light. It will probably be my last. When school closed in May, I had officially completed 40 and a half years in education with 30 of those years as a school librarian. I have teacher friends who have worked longer than that but not many. I am tired, and I still want to give to my students the same level of excitement, fun, and programming in the library that I have been doing for the last 30 years. I still love working with kids, but I just don't know what I have left in me to keep doing that. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Since school has let out in late May, I have been reading lots of young adult books. Reading still gives me great pleasure. However, I am finding that I do not have as much interest in following what other librarians are doing across the country or taking advantage of online PD for school librarians. What is the reason? It may be because of my age or it may be because I just finished one of the most trying years of my career. I went through Hurricane Katrina, and this year produced so much more anxiety. After Katrina, all the teachers in Orleans Parish were fired, so I didn't even have an income for several months! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I have one week left of summer vacation, and I still have several appointments with health professionals as well as other obligations that need to be met before school begins. Am I ready to go back? Yes and no.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I am thinking that next year at this time I will be looking for new outlets to express my creativity and keep my brain active, but with most of my friends and my husband retired, I know that I will have a social circle with people who have time like me. Time to travel, garden, meet for lunch, read, and just hang out with my dog. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAWejePznOM385Sfhux9botfwBriJEFVpjZbbLhAi2AUNbl7s0fmBAqzdJ-VsXe9NH_xoayBa-hG3lMJqOqrxJ_cb7G9EKrxGnbK9f9ovr8y7xcbz0YbUc6LMWTZtmAjsDC9sH1OgNqA9/s4032/IMG_0972.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAWejePznOM385Sfhux9botfwBriJEFVpjZbbLhAi2AUNbl7s0fmBAqzdJ-VsXe9NH_xoayBa-hG3lMJqOqrxJ_cb7G9EKrxGnbK9f9ovr8y7xcbz0YbUc6LMWTZtmAjsDC9sH1OgNqA9/s320/IMG_0972.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div></div><p></p>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-60965527391566340122021-06-08T16:02:00.004-05:002021-06-09T08:43:01.288-05:00The School Year Has Ended, and I Have Mixed Emotions<p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NaqgveCiCFwlM4wyW6NJtT9SbR-o6Fjp5c2uSEEPXx64dzKo3KLwRZXR0ooVBGBdP8lVHEf9gJipb96QQ04Sf2mYdquJYm9Zok9FfLPWkOdml_-bKXrUMIBTjPyLFvRHWUM4AYMuEcqO/s4032/IMG_0957.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NaqgveCiCFwlM4wyW6NJtT9SbR-o6Fjp5c2uSEEPXx64dzKo3KLwRZXR0ooVBGBdP8lVHEf9gJipb96QQ04Sf2mYdquJYm9Zok9FfLPWkOdml_-bKXrUMIBTjPyLFvRHWUM4AYMuEcqO/w240-h320/IMG_0957.HEIC" title="Closing the library for the summer" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closed until August</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />First, this pandemic year has been extremely stressful for admin, teachers, and students. Our school started later than usual, but we had in-person, hybrid, and virtual students from mid-August until we finished last week. Also, we had to pause school three times for possible hits by a hurricane. The library was not open to students most of the year, but I was constantly working and providing lessons through Google Meet, holding book group meetings through Google Meet, and delivering books ordered by the in-person students. As to having to wear a mask every day at work, I am thrilled to leave that behind me. All in all, I can say that it was not a year that I want to repeat. Though several positive things did come out of the changes in the usual library day to day. First, I was able to do a major weeding and touched every book in the fiction section before tossing over 600 books. I made vast improvements to the resources that I share with students because I made a point to consciously design each presentation to include all the step by step instructions including videos so that students could refer back to the slides for help since they could not seek me out in the library. It will be so helpful next year to have these new and improved teaching materials. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmRZKYD-W7DwQnT-hezZjGoSbepnQj6fYBcZjIjUNyVaTs4QuNF9zyBQo5SXeOGIh90mbi9ZGYTctyFPohwlaK5II8d3RskYuMNsMSkX4U_c6ah-IgOhPJR3uCbwOX7trT164_TNqVPTP/s4032/IMG_0920.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmRZKYD-W7DwQnT-hezZjGoSbepnQj6fYBcZjIjUNyVaTs4QuNF9zyBQo5SXeOGIh90mbi9ZGYTctyFPohwlaK5II8d3RskYuMNsMSkX4U_c6ah-IgOhPJR3uCbwOX7trT164_TNqVPTP/s320/IMG_0920.HEIC" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the Valedictorians from the Class of 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Now on to the mixed emotions part--saying good bye to students who have touched my heart. There are two students who kept me on my toes this year. The first one was president of the National Honor Society of which I am the faculty advisor. NHS is all about community service, but getting out into the community or even getting together at school to complete a project was next to impossible with the COVID restrictions. I knew Nina since she came to Taylor in 6th grade, but she was not a library kid. I saw her mostly when she came in with her classes or when she was out and about taking pictures for the yearbook. When she was elected president, I did not know the mettle she had within her. We talked a lot over this past year about NHS business and activities but also about her future plans. She is the first in her family to attend college and wasn't always sure about the best course to take in her application process. Let's just say that she did an amazing job and would have even without my help. She won a $32,000 Patrick Taylor Scholarship that is specific to our school, and she is going to Harvard. Four days before graduation, she found out that she was one of the three valedictorians. She totally hit it out of the park--all from a girl who could not speak a word of English when she began school. This girl has so many interests (plans to major in STEM but published a poetry book a couple of years ago) and special gifts, and I felt honored that she sought me out for advice. In the future, it may be the other way around. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD1Oqm-9XCCK1kivSFgqZEVBplyrWRVOj8kyTYjbcek-R_26RuDGSJxboPf21KWn3VVbDtt2ayXgWPVAiHXYpF4NyGOcZBoLnT08_iruuBFj04qtw0RE9Hq3nh2ZXpYErxhX7FI0_dN8Z/s800/IMG_8808.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="800" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD1Oqm-9XCCK1kivSFgqZEVBplyrWRVOj8kyTYjbcek-R_26RuDGSJxboPf21KWn3VVbDtt2ayXgWPVAiHXYpF4NyGOcZBoLnT08_iruuBFj04qtw0RE9Hq3nh2ZXpYErxhX7FI0_dN8Z/w400-h331/IMG_8808.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here she is in her early days at Taylor<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_vvp46h6Yes0CJfkryZjJ9YAEJHSadr7RsIjCw8Kg3VgZAnBHsPRPOh7_WxxcdcB3oxKKwiho2JwTSMWXGFGdYv5EHJJnLPiLAtUpCXZkHmYDNvuOf4Wm_PRuP9L1GO6FZ33oni9ZyS2/s3088/IMG_0924.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_vvp46h6Yes0CJfkryZjJ9YAEJHSadr7RsIjCw8Kg3VgZAnBHsPRPOh7_WxxcdcB3oxKKwiho2JwTSMWXGFGdYv5EHJJnLPiLAtUpCXZkHmYDNvuOf4Wm_PRuP9L1GO6FZ33oni9ZyS2/s320/IMG_0924.HEIC" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On graduation day with me, May 15, 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The other student who will be so missed by me next year has been hanging out in my library since she entered Taylor in 6th grade. She was a constant in all the book groups that I sponsored for her grade level. When our lunch schedule changed when she was in 8th grade, there was no book group for her. She convinced me to start a third group that year, and then she convinced many of her friends to join so that it wouldn't be a book group of one student and one librarian. All during the pandemic, when we held our book group meetings virtually, I would usually see her smiling face on the screen. She helped me every year with our book fair and all the special programming that we did like Teen Read Week, Teen Tech Week, and National Poetry Month. At one point, I started going with kids to the annual Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge. She and I were both so disappointed that we had to miss our last trip to that event that should have been held in November 2020. In 2018, she went with me and about a dozen other kids to ALA when it was in New Orleans. She got to speak at a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults session and spend some quality time over lunch with a number of authors. I have dozens of pictures of her in the library over the years. Julia was also one of our three valedictorians. She has so many interests too - space travel (she plans to major in aerospace engineering), music (she plays the saxophone and piano), WWII history (she was an active volunteer at the WWII museum and was tapped for several special projects through the museum), and literature (where our lives connected.) I am more than pleased that she chose to hang out in the library during her free time. Next year I am losing her to Princeton. I know that she is going to soar, literally, and I expect to read about her space travel plans in the near future. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMxgWhrYySsJnyYbnyE_Vax2FEtn7xHPbrLP71CV14HTQ7hW1z4AFj9oO99wdGXUZRnJfajSTch9FhjvXl9b81J8KDYlsOjwRdwnjqn3k2p_vcukkB9yYBuItMBvHkUWccn3Hl_CynhfL/s2048/IMG_8808.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMxgWhrYySsJnyYbnyE_Vax2FEtn7xHPbrLP71CV14HTQ7hW1z4AFj9oO99wdGXUZRnJfajSTch9FhjvXl9b81J8KDYlsOjwRdwnjqn3k2p_vcukkB9yYBuItMBvHkUWccn3Hl_CynhfL/s320/IMG_8808.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September 2016<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMonAUZ3nT7JuyJVeMUbbt9rQAiJd0wkoBNlxwBd6SX4L0yXR8nPgB_wx3yYvZsf0iXHlKV1a0HDS4uiC1ed1q1qzG0R6KywFjM7qypcWOF95MU85F36NhRgYFyU_pIGqZAIAREfHkxwY/s2048/IMG_7047.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMonAUZ3nT7JuyJVeMUbbt9rQAiJd0wkoBNlxwBd6SX4L0yXR8nPgB_wx3yYvZsf0iXHlKV1a0HDS4uiC1ed1q1qzG0R6KywFjM7qypcWOF95MU85F36NhRgYFyU_pIGqZAIAREfHkxwY/s320/IMG_7047.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading in the library April 2017</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi-w4bWNbqZ1p8AWQhUz8HV-un8DOj5u2Gd4byzGTpKQR9Tijygqd2sJAkTWscuKrXbSMjbrRjDBs-wMUp0zg1i9himO4Y5MzPyHt6GPXVj8YcAzwjkdGCd_LZKFDD0lCoKKqNOZYx_Cd/s2048/IMG_0585.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi-w4bWNbqZ1p8AWQhUz8HV-un8DOj5u2Gd4byzGTpKQR9Tijygqd2sJAkTWscuKrXbSMjbrRjDBs-wMUp0zg1i9himO4Y5MzPyHt6GPXVj8YcAzwjkdGCd_LZKFDD0lCoKKqNOZYx_Cd/s320/IMG_0585.jpeg" /></a></div>June 2018 at the YALSA BFYA for ALA</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2cuRrKe4i4YAWxpTRxY2VJ6LNyBFMLze9Umd_ciauooPLG0jhoodvq2lBT8LntnxjJTV6ScPkzZ_XSDIUXjiRW1mqEfYW1O5U42vwlrCzcCmGVq56fWSHvPP_4Q5-FV-0aaiuts8WLqF/s2048/IMG_1695.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2cuRrKe4i4YAWxpTRxY2VJ6LNyBFMLze9Umd_ciauooPLG0jhoodvq2lBT8LntnxjJTV6ScPkzZ_XSDIUXjiRW1mqEfYW1O5U42vwlrCzcCmGVq56fWSHvPP_4Q5-FV-0aaiuts8WLqF/s320/IMG_1695.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louisiana Book Festival November 2019</td></tr></tbody></table>With author, Ashley Poston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprQk0_BAIUCHTQYodWuCs4yXsU7l0vIB8ZvKLHIgMLt_dPCbBUFhPdX-zgENrQRg8lcjl-1YGmZ3hkEm3wDhEgiBC552bt834PTGeqOjeAbmK69iQ82EUqxZBviv1TDmmognC-I0dciXf/s2048/IMG_0921.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprQk0_BAIUCHTQYodWuCs4yXsU7l0vIB8ZvKLHIgMLt_dPCbBUFhPdX-zgENrQRg8lcjl-1YGmZ3hkEm3wDhEgiBC552bt834PTGeqOjeAbmK69iQ82EUqxZBviv1TDmmognC-I0dciXf/w150-h200/IMG_0921.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS9nRr3Y71lDJ_nmFXCMmhgC1s1DKYdCDJowA8XjNe6v1B4oxgqJkatitjwNth2hc13hcHtMpGY_ZramIyoJQGgbFqcADWH1-oSHM0keUEoC3OyH-e7pUZ9Rr3VJj68DmEuEN58kFlfRn/s2048/julia+graduation.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS9nRr3Y71lDJ_nmFXCMmhgC1s1DKYdCDJowA8XjNe6v1B4oxgqJkatitjwNth2hc13hcHtMpGY_ZramIyoJQGgbFqcADWH1-oSHM0keUEoC3OyH-e7pUZ9Rr3VJj68DmEuEN58kFlfRn/s320/julia+graduation.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation day May 15, 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's to spending days with teenagers and many times learning more from them than the other way around. I wouldn't have my working life any other way!</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-25527081821089704012021-05-01T18:26:00.003-05:002021-05-02T11:12:53.238-05:00Interviewing Author, Kelly Yang, for the Annapolis Book Festival<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWFwoAEn2lPXVqxUn5I-UtMLd_eMeNDabVuXFYLFhLt-Dl_BWGeOzaWsEbj7v6ICrq6aE6eS-NqMFLHVtvN1VtuqDkLGqXUJhj9FVjRvxwkpBWTyJCX1fiRnMDd0-3lOCEXHB0MGzMrvD/s1227/Screen+Shot+2021-05-01+at+6.16.44+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWFwoAEn2lPXVqxUn5I-UtMLd_eMeNDabVuXFYLFhLt-Dl_BWGeOzaWsEbj7v6ICrq6aE6eS-NqMFLHVtvN1VtuqDkLGqXUJhj9FVjRvxwkpBWTyJCX1fiRnMDd0-3lOCEXHB0MGzMrvD/s1227/Screen+Shot+2021-05-01+at+6.16.44+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTka4_dv4ObS0_WjF4lIBpC8XCZKmwyQNJXSvQB0pjlOA2XMEYirv8s0_91A3QH39k16405O_Y0-1RhpslZCG8TtygbUhZntuXucQxh1FyeO9H8BV3RuvX-atQ-ApGmxTgGDrMr-MI85nR/s1199/Screen+Shot+2021-05-02+at+11.04.01+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="1199" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTka4_dv4ObS0_WjF4lIBpC8XCZKmwyQNJXSvQB0pjlOA2XMEYirv8s0_91A3QH39k16405O_Y0-1RhpslZCG8TtygbUhZntuXucQxh1FyeO9H8BV3RuvX-atQ-ApGmxTgGDrMr-MI85nR/w400-h161/Screen+Shot+2021-05-02+at+11.04.01+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><br /><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">A couple of months ago I got an email asking if I would <a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/kelly-yang---parachutes/register?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=profile_web&utm_campaign=profile" target="_blank">moderate a panel with the author of <i>Parachutes</i></a>, Kelly Yang. I had not read <i>Parachutes </i>yet, but I was game. The person scheduling the moderators said she found me through this blog and thought that I could do a good job with a young adult author. Since the book festival was going all virtual, they could invite authors and moderators from all the over the world to participate. My husband was disappointed that there was no road trip, but I liked the idea that I could participate on a Sunday afternoon in the comfort of my own home.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="1227" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWFwoAEn2lPXVqxUn5I-UtMLd_eMeNDabVuXFYLFhLt-Dl_BWGeOzaWsEbj7v6ICrq6aE6eS-NqMFLHVtvN1VtuqDkLGqXUJhj9FVjRvxwkpBWTyJCX1fiRnMDd0-3lOCEXHB0MGzMrvD/w400-h198/Screen+Shot+2021-05-01+at+6.16.44+PM.png" width="400" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.keyschool.org/community/annapolis-book-festival/authors-2021/festival-panels-2021" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="1138" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lrXodPoMHCyU2et5cl_VVLQ7PZDSBEiF0FWH8w_SRl9wiEl9rci2SyijRGisqSCX7RiEPzr_E6KPIOuD1X7AK3sIGoYjgseMREoMiMcL0STOoIn0xia-i3XD1lB1UXIbjSwMhzXxot4d/w640-h320/Screen+Shot+2021-05-01+at+5.18.22+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My first order of business was to read <i>Parachutes</i>. I chose to listen to it. Since it was written from the point of view of two teenage girls, I liked having the two voices of the narrators. This story focuses on Claire, a Chinese parachute, who travels to the US to attend high school while living in a host home far away from her family, and Dani, of Filipino descent, who comes from a very different socio-economic background than Claire. The two may have a lot in common but don't want to acknowledge it. It is a story of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the setting of a very tony private school in southern California. </div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RP2QKPdmK3ot0fy88Ass704JqlMprbS6bizDk_BXTx3hD6Zy9Ipt0gZYItEY5ZPX-iXPXx6R73h3UnlOMyndOkUeKIW3isSn82sIdvhwlfQLvQ517qEwVvZgC0Cr3Toy6npp0ZnyK_Em/s4032/IMG_0861.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RP2QKPdmK3ot0fy88Ass704JqlMprbS6bizDk_BXTx3hD6Zy9Ipt0gZYItEY5ZPX-iXPXx6R73h3UnlOMyndOkUeKIW3isSn82sIdvhwlfQLvQ517qEwVvZgC0Cr3Toy6npp0ZnyK_Em/s320/IMG_0861.HEIC" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">After reading the book, I did some research on Kelly. She was born in China and grew up in the US. After surviving a sexual assault herself while at Harvard Law School, she fled the east coast, moved to Hong Kong, and became a teacher and then a full time writer. She now lives in Los Angeles. Her first published book is <i>Front Desk </i>and the target audience is middle grade. I decided that I should read that book, too. I am glad that I did because I refer to it several times in our interview. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once I read the two books, I started to plan out my questions. I came up with about fifteen questions specific to her books and then some more general ones. I had several weeks to plan out what I wanted to say which allowed me to revisit my questions a lot. We were going to be talking for an hour, and I realize now that is a long time to fill. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVSoIn_wki2hU4rhXUH2d67KbIYaCvgCe3_GAXnE-0BWpVxzTTDbp7FrUKbsO99vHQjBlsXJjE_2zON0FSqfU4umYVuFZSiM1GrmBh-S5sBMJ2cmATuh7lLwufg_E5pA-bwFcm-hs_Ie6/s1155/Screen+Shot+2021-05-01+at+6.19.01+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1155" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVSoIn_wki2hU4rhXUH2d67KbIYaCvgCe3_GAXnE-0BWpVxzTTDbp7FrUKbsO99vHQjBlsXJjE_2zON0FSqfU4umYVuFZSiM1GrmBh-S5sBMJ2cmATuh7lLwufg_E5pA-bwFcm-hs_Ie6/w640-h370/Screen+Shot+2021-05-01+at+6.19.01+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">On the day of the event, I logged into Zoom. The two of us would be talking over Zoom with a producer there in the background if we had any tech difficulties. The audience was watching via Crowdcast. The producer fielded the questions from the attendees and sent them to me on the chat in Zoom. I found out after the event that we had just over 30 attend live, and they had positive feedback about our session. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">If you missed it, <a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/kelly-yang---parachutes/register?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=profile_web&utm_campaign=profile" target="_blank">you can listen now</a>. All you need to register is an email address, location, and where you heard about the event. You will need to fast forward in about 8 minutes before my introduction of the author. The link should be live for about six months. If you are reading this after October 2021, the recording may no longer be available. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><br />Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-53038871483649383202021-01-03T16:55:00.000-06:002021-01-03T16:55:16.600-06:00Promoting Reading When the Doors to the Library are Closed<p style="text-align: justify;">The beginning of school this year was unbelievable. First, the start date was delayed because of the pandemic, and then we were out three times for three different hurricanes. It was hard to keep any kind of routine going. Currently, our middle school students either are virtual or come to school everyday. The high school students are virtual or hybrid (attending school in alternating two or three times a week) with a much larger proportion choosing to be virtual. When things did finally get underway, I was told that the doors to the library would be closed to students. That has not meant that I have been sitting idle. I think that I have worked harder this year than any other. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLi5dgD51-1ACBswg8EIyqDxRLXjaHllf4X_ZONSPdDcKmCG8gfXSDhIHJnjiG10s33aJ41qBrS6rkTc096inZnfHjAzpZ-MBnALQutcwoHKfB-u-hVzW9TY1_IsBo_K22LoV9hEc1GcJu/s4032/IMG_0287.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLi5dgD51-1ACBswg8EIyqDxRLXjaHllf4X_ZONSPdDcKmCG8gfXSDhIHJnjiG10s33aJ41qBrS6rkTc096inZnfHjAzpZ-MBnALQutcwoHKfB-u-hVzW9TY1_IsBo_K22LoV9hEc1GcJu/w400-h300/IMG_0287.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students can order books to be delivered on a Google Form</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHh5z9WZ41mmdtMxVMQTQlec8eclsYlBb0id6joc3ZN6UlO8hMZ7n9hGLJ8_WM9dhD-HbqW4W4zOD3ovyIqrD6nEnYMlE7Ss9MtMivMm6Ih4Tm_8_SFfscnrcHd4ngoWyF5cpGMNQFkPX/s4032/IMG_0286.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHh5z9WZ41mmdtMxVMQTQlec8eclsYlBb0id6joc3ZN6UlO8hMZ7n9hGLJ8_WM9dhD-HbqW4W4zOD3ovyIqrD6nEnYMlE7Ss9MtMivMm6Ih4Tm_8_SFfscnrcHd4ngoWyF5cpGMNQFkPX/s320/IMG_0286.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the first time that I have displayed books in the library's windows</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />I am providing lessons from my desk to whole classes, meeting individually with students to assist with research, and pulling books that students order and delivering those to the classrooms. I also meet both of the book groups on a weekly basis as long as I don't have a scheduled class. The lessons have not been too difficult to translate to a virtual model and conferencing with individual students is easy either face to face or over Google Meet. Getting students to check out books is what I have been struggling with the most with the library doors closed. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9kzV29zk_3GhV6gL84eKO78wGMFIvVp6CWu9kPPVyuretJTK_cpWP1mULvlgA7Td0PN8Ojrd6rf2zxec9qoaWGWB9YU2iUuBYYporqZxBVcD0sDEngtGUiFhLcdA4ieyJrw_hPQ7gic3/s3264/IMG_2889.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9kzV29zk_3GhV6gL84eKO78wGMFIvVp6CWu9kPPVyuretJTK_cpWP1mULvlgA7Td0PN8Ojrd6rf2zxec9qoaWGWB9YU2iUuBYYporqZxBVcD0sDEngtGUiFhLcdA4ieyJrw_hPQ7gic3/s320/IMG_2889.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Socially distanced book fair held in November</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />There are some kids who know what they want to read. They visit book stores or Amazon, and then come to me to see if I have those books in the library. Or, they have a favorite author or series and seek out those books in my library. Unfortunately, this is not the majority. Many students need to see the books and hold them in their hands to find something appealing to read either in a display or being handed a book by a friend or browsing the shelves. I am having a hard time replicating this virtually. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Early in the school year, I created <a href="https://wakelet.com/@Book_Recommendations4767" target="_blank">a space on Wakelet with book recommendations.</a> I gave students the codes so that they could add to these collections and post their own book recommendations to be shared with their peers. I had moderate success with this, but I may continue to encourage students to add to these collections. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One thing that I have been doing the last few years, is posting a copy of the book covers of all the books that I read. I would find students standing by the door to my office studying what I have read. I would always give these books a star rating, too. In lieu of posting on my office door, I created a presentation with the books and linked all the books to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7538907-ms-kahn" target="_blank">GoodReads.com </a>since not all the books are in our school library. It is important that the students have access to read a synopsis of the books. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">You can see what I created below:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><center><iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="425" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQG41JXuoSiT45ZXgs5kpWAbSuUril4XpGIqSh4-sr8U4xOgrsuvcAsL82-FP2rtKkXy9F_Ys_3EC9f/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="675"></iframe><br /></center><center><br /></center><center><br /></center><center style="text-align: justify;">I soon realized that I needed to do more than just share what I had been reading, so I created a digital display of titles. I found a template that another librarian had created and used that for mine. I wanted this digital display to contain only books that could be found in our library and linked all the books to our school catalog. That way students would know immediately whether the book was available and on the shelf. </center><center style="text-align: justify;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: justify;">You can see what I created below:</center><center style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="425" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vTZzgJ2Pof2NV_0Nj1KXce00yMxZcdKTTpDe112odLsHyQ3Ea7zcuF1zacZxqG9XszIrZMy9yC_oKzA/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="675"></iframe><br /></center><center><br /></center><center><br /></center><center><br /></center><center><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></center><center style="text-align: justify;">I put a link to these presentations on the library website with information about how to find more book recommendations. </center><center style="text-align: justify;"><br /></center><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/jpschools.org/pftstalibrary/all-about-books?authuser=0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1413" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVU-Scfn7MSKlDXyRqW25eF0qe2WEbcjBMitWItO2ee0xUaMfAJbRB_DWacqUL1r59_k3rLIRD4oyn4Gb0OlAfwuLmuXU5396SVCnXAgb9olwLGypjuviu7D2YImnjhMHdEJ19k4zMBiY/w400-h194/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+4.10.23+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bit.ly/pftstalibrary">bit.ly/pftstalibrary</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />This was not enough to get more students to check out books. To promote BookHub ordering, I sent emails, posted in the weekly school newsletter, and posted on the presentation that is projected on the televisions throughout the school building. I even created a <a href="https://wke.lt/w/s/5YufDf" target="_blank">Wakelet with directions of how to order books from the library. </a></center><center style="text-align: justify;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: justify;">Inspired by a Facebook post about a virtual book tasting, I decided to put together a lesson to give to all the 6th and 7th graders. I wanted them to have a chance to "taste" a variety of book titles, authors, and genres. It took a long time to put together because I had four classes each of 6th and 7th grade, and I wanted to highlight different books to each of the eight classes. These lessons proved somewhat successful, but students did not continue to order books once they returned the book checked out after the lesson. Still, it seemed to be worth the effort. </center><center style="text-align: justify;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: justify;">For this lesson, I put together a presentation. In each presentation, I showed students where to find digital recommendations, played a couple of book trailers, gave several book talks, and played a Kahoot with the first line of eight different books. I also marked all the titles that were available as an eBook in our local public library for the virtual students. Luckily, a majority of the books were available in a digital format.</center><center style="text-align: justify;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: justify;">Presentation for 6th Graders:</center><center><iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="425" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vTF12FkXYdlI8IVVaS_i3BCbuihogbpvVXnmC97FyBqyb-WSuOlIEVEUgW_wl-fiTwSBA5LT_fHCpyC/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="675"></iframe></center><center><br /></center><center style="text-align: justify;">I am not sure what I will try next, but I know that getting books into the hands of my students is important, and I will keep trying. </center>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-48636791942921907972021-01-03T15:25:00.003-06:002021-01-03T15:25:26.143-06:00Time to Mark a Milestone in Career<p style="text-align: justify;">When I go back to school tomorrow, it is the start of a new year that we have been waiting for - a new year that we hope will eventually turn into a normal one. Starting tomorrow will begin my 41st year of teaching. Though I am not yet retiring, and I won't receive a gold watch or any other kind of recognition, I still think that it needs some sort of marker. At least, it does to me. So on the last day before break, I posted a picture of myself taken in my library on social media. I got many comments and responses from family and friends and former colleagues, but it was the comments from former students that touched me the most. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6ME1Z0nN9Xopj5imGD69Jr6UmzmkbcSxqE_W4OLNAfL4evMZNRji0QBjS-bXvpxhXiX2cNpkGEI_vG1EkN5UrhS3bBdFWvfsGyX2zGaFxT5BZFjNGEVDh9_n9l2Re31t2B6zpi3X41Y2/s623/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+2.50.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6ME1Z0nN9Xopj5imGD69Jr6UmzmkbcSxqE_W4OLNAfL4evMZNRji0QBjS-bXvpxhXiX2cNpkGEI_vG1EkN5UrhS3bBdFWvfsGyX2zGaFxT5BZFjNGEVDh9_n9l2Re31t2B6zpi3X41Y2/w293-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+2.50.28+PM.png" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Hearing from students that what I taught them in the library was something that was useful in college is what makes me still find my job so rewarding. If what I do doesn't translate beyond my library and my school, why teach it?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Here are a couple of my favorite comments:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlNt8QM0jVon1qbD4VjpqyKEmF6tpfJ-qHz8IxkVEJaKQCf2_KmUUWXAk2AqUl6O9SGh6RoxRM1RYqYQ9-KGhbmIO9sK6Cy1sr6nq55YCFFaw65xkwv6fQfl4nUyz2czG0PvHxN77DgLu/s458/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+2.45.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="458" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlNt8QM0jVon1qbD4VjpqyKEmF6tpfJ-qHz8IxkVEJaKQCf2_KmUUWXAk2AqUl6O9SGh6RoxRM1RYqYQ9-KGhbmIO9sK6Cy1sr6nq55YCFFaw65xkwv6fQfl4nUyz2czG0PvHxN77DgLu/w400-h376/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+2.45.41+PM.png" title="This student was not a kid who hung out in the library, but he was a very strong student." width="400" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This student did not hang out in the library but visited with his classes from 6th through 12th grade</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu6gZB6hWfBzY770WjDcAi5v8H2K6xmywrpvq2mnmRgBVzalscvUuUlEXEYhyphenhyphenB3_f1WFiVEZPYXHHDDxP-mhH41sMTwk3PD5jo27cyHVSZuEAEBUJxRxls8YjUmCDoLRYG0tUC0VoG83NQ/s452/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+2.46.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="452" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu6gZB6hWfBzY770WjDcAi5v8H2K6xmywrpvq2mnmRgBVzalscvUuUlEXEYhyphenhyphenB3_f1WFiVEZPYXHHDDxP-mhH41sMTwk3PD5jo27cyHVSZuEAEBUJxRxls8YjUmCDoLRYG0tUC0VoG83NQ/w400-h180/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+2.46.11+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This student visited the library daily and headed the high school book group as a senior</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On one of the last days before break, a small seventh grade girl walked into the library with a gift basket that was almost as big as she was. Inside were many treats including coffee, chocolate, a book, and a note from the girl's mother. The note was so sweet and really touched me. This year it as been so hard to connect with the kids. Her daughter is in my middle school book group that meets every Friday, but unlike other years she can't visit the library any other time during the week. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ1MUeLu54gvRgdB8VWw6e9TxVLcuKFQj2GrgdG0mQMMt5WnlMhsqMGSTgDwxRbIc3fqz0m5q8Fa8LEHY2OpGgCETCrl0LmSQwcfgZpGQpHnYFU4HJViu0MPcGQDxTigqJ0VS-aDmw7cE/s1023/IMG_2940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="980" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ1MUeLu54gvRgdB8VWw6e9TxVLcuKFQj2GrgdG0mQMMt5WnlMhsqMGSTgDwxRbIc3fqz0m5q8Fa8LEHY2OpGgCETCrl0LmSQwcfgZpGQpHnYFU4HJViu0MPcGQDxTigqJ0VS-aDmw7cE/w384-h400/IMG_2940.JPG" width="384" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parent note</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ezuzq3uLB0fxuc2Kewc4bGPXMqLFl1vi5n8owt8avZXwqAXEcPVj8eB_9umEIWdbjVKrSjDly5jwvqNwps0GfKygQRwrO49LckXK8FVA-kFGrsoTgF-qVlkcWTROu4113PzKz6LiflLG/s2048/IMG_2915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ezuzq3uLB0fxuc2Kewc4bGPXMqLFl1vi5n8owt8avZXwqAXEcPVj8eB_9umEIWdbjVKrSjDly5jwvqNwps0GfKygQRwrO49LckXK8FVA-kFGrsoTgF-qVlkcWTROu4113PzKz6LiflLG/w240-h320/IMG_2915.JPG" width="240" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gift Basket<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This has been one of the most difficult years of teaching that I have had due to the many restrictions in place at school during the pandemic. I really miss the hustle and bustle of the library with kids in and out all day long. With the roll out of the vaccine, I am hopeful that the doors to the library will eventually be open to all, and I can continue to provide the library program that I am used to offering all the students at school. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-23770228866649638162020-06-08T14:56:00.000-05:002020-06-10T11:45:46.479-05:00Using Livebinders for Hurricane Katrina Project Podcast <div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQFHfSqFHljMvagFUMHocXLa6b2AlNqiFFahGpK4-_QjZZkDn7u6kHoSzKtu0Q4Lm_wK-_dP7kW3jtcnaKRneTQ_LHcJwFKgiUvz7TLIQlUrdpGdS6Spfp9P0DoNd2Uh06d_j67Zxr2YP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-06-08+at+2.49.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1369" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQFHfSqFHljMvagFUMHocXLa6b2AlNqiFFahGpK4-_QjZZkDn7u6kHoSzKtu0Q4Lm_wK-_dP7kW3jtcnaKRneTQ_LHcJwFKgiUvz7TLIQlUrdpGdS6Spfp9P0DoNd2Uh06d_j67Zxr2YP/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-06-08+at+2.49.21+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.livebinders.com/play/play/2658230?tabid=9a31c1bc-b97e-d539-d204-eaa071ca9772#anchor" target="_blank">PODCAST found here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtmaw-6JcmSBwpmi6zcw6FRW86Vm0l5gF5HTxIW7YS6H2aI-KUkP4FXWGcFQ87L8v3JcDtVEJnQKpXdImNC3fzxmfKr3rdmD9UDpRd98uZC1YY8JFmmKDkxhBRt-SobqkUGqGuHSoPj8U/s1600/IMG_2556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtmaw-6JcmSBwpmi6zcw6FRW86Vm0l5gF5HTxIW7YS6H2aI-KUkP4FXWGcFQ87L8v3JcDtVEJnQKpXdImNC3fzxmfKr3rdmD9UDpRd98uZC1YY8JFmmKDkxhBRt-SobqkUGqGuHSoPj8U/s320/IMG_2556.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">7th Graders on Field Trip in the Ninth Ward, February 2020<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Every year over the last ten I have worked with the 7th grade English teachers on a project that encompasses literature, research, a written/digital product, a field trip, and service learning. In that time there have been five different teachers who have taught ELA to this grade level. One thing that has remained constant is me, and over the years, I have developed a tool to make the research super easy for the kids. Using </span><a href="http://www.livebinders.com/" style="text-align: justify;">Livebinders</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> I have been able to curate resources and collate all the tools that the students need from the very beginning of the project when they read historical fiction about Hurricane Katrina's devastation in our area to the very end with the digital scrapbook. This is truly a collaborative project between the English teachers, myself, and our colleagues at Dr. King Charter school where we visit for service learning. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwrZWm4bjnUNJ5lcQPTjsbkRTcJVqO8r0f4lvAysuBW8cu1XQl-ZvAtfxMQvV6l-QenX6LIAHNboEeJRhsXdhO8VmHyeMF0n1E3oIUXPrtJGW4E8GOVaxLXaJxw-0RVVg82Utu6Lw2rVQD/s1600/IMG_2619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwrZWm4bjnUNJ5lcQPTjsbkRTcJVqO8r0f4lvAysuBW8cu1XQl-ZvAtfxMQvV6l-QenX6LIAHNboEeJRhsXdhO8VmHyeMF0n1E3oIUXPrtJGW4E8GOVaxLXaJxw-0RVVg82Utu6Lw2rVQD/s320/IMG_2619.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me receiving a thank you card at Dr. King Charter School</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLU7-ead0xMlMdlt3nm_ZQ90hQNynZB1ybN_EoPmOHy1QnKHuZAu1GTc66rTbaJ0_t6xBrRIWVxK5tVRbTrAIdKsHLsOIhrdNzoiwqdfolZAOOL0uA1i4CIMqOYoDcIZUzhruhNw-HDmh/s1600/IMG_2591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLU7-ead0xMlMdlt3nm_ZQ90hQNynZB1ybN_EoPmOHy1QnKHuZAu1GTc66rTbaJ0_t6xBrRIWVxK5tVRbTrAIdKsHLsOIhrdNzoiwqdfolZAOOL0uA1i4CIMqOYoDcIZUzhruhNw-HDmh/s320/IMG_2591.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7th graders participating in the service learning project</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Early this year, I was contacted by <a href="https://twitter.com/tschneidway">Tina Schneider</a> from Livebinders who asked if I wanted to participate in a podcast on how I have used their tool for this particular project. I love sharing, so I said an emphatic yes. We scheduled a Zoom visit on March 12th to record the podcast. That was the day before the schools closed for the pandemic. Little did I know then that Zoom was going to become a huge part of my life. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuZk1NB-wKNe0wGWLB1unmYrZh-cARd-LlgDaaxIsAO_hgHT6or1AD3J98zRuVH4MDqGdEJ0aRu83VDaSjfc8Q39z5G3CA0yVaYoAn_KmjRt6LmnoiAUxC8HqRVhFRfqZdu3l5lat-reo/s1600/IMG_2644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuZk1NB-wKNe0wGWLB1unmYrZh-cARd-LlgDaaxIsAO_hgHT6or1AD3J98zRuVH4MDqGdEJ0aRu83VDaSjfc8Q39z5G3CA0yVaYoAn_KmjRt6LmnoiAUxC8HqRVhFRfqZdu3l5lat-reo/s320/IMG_2644.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Location of the levee breach in the Ninth Ward<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.livebinders.com/play/play/2658230?tabid=9a31c1bc-b97e-d539-d204-eaa071ca9772#anchor" target="_blank">Open here to find the podcast</a> about how I utilized Livebinders.<br />
<a href="https://livebinders.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/organize-success-podcast-elizabeth-kahn-and-success-in-preserving-history/" target="_blank">Read Tina's blog post about the podcast and how it relates to events happening now.</a><br />
<br />
Here is an example of a student's digital scrapbook which is the culmination of this project:<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="450" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vTyruXY550jyZNH_mLJkAyPnkxGEeE_kVxqYdxtS_ID2xjRrVcNI36ltWQ3_9_9yOiw-ePgFQyWUxcx/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="525"></iframe></center>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-24614800057220480182020-05-08T15:01:00.003-05:002020-05-09T19:58:17.539-05:00Happy Teacher Appreciation Week Covid-19 Edition<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgy4Rn73zY48MOR7hVhoa1lxVe6Dg3SsBrP_3ZZvHVpOsP-icLjRMIFY_f1hGPdeRsZLC7wOi_fMlvVCDaT7_1-yEh9kII7YtFctXCUZPpn5UureZ5YLpI0zT_rFmb9iShiOxW8BaBMvx/s1600/IMG_0394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgy4Rn73zY48MOR7hVhoa1lxVe6Dg3SsBrP_3ZZvHVpOsP-icLjRMIFY_f1hGPdeRsZLC7wOi_fMlvVCDaT7_1-yEh9kII7YtFctXCUZPpn5UureZ5YLpI0zT_rFmb9iShiOxW8BaBMvx/s320/IMG_0394.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found on the sidewalk on one of my daily walks in uptown New Orleans</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
It's that time again when we celebrate teachers, and the hard work that they do in classrooms across the United States. So, I say to all you teachers out there: YOU ARE APPRECIATED!!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My school is trying its best to give us little treats each and every day over the course of the week even though we are at home and not at school. The first gift was a sign for our yard, and lucky me, my sign was delivered by one of my very favorite students. I couldn't get a picture with her, but I did get one with me and the sign. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DMItw_a66304fDsn4s-7nbqi_InK_CKBER-slfktdWieOnFXnvtgEQiyd0v9nwANDGewJuNBFG4A6I_Z4jXI5uUUkJGSn9qB1azODx42RGrZX_rsaRzdLuVwmb341XGGdzDQwByJDHpf/s1600/IMG_8415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DMItw_a66304fDsn4s-7nbqi_InK_CKBER-slfktdWieOnFXnvtgEQiyd0v9nwANDGewJuNBFG4A6I_Z4jXI5uUUkJGSn9qB1azODx42RGrZX_rsaRzdLuVwmb341XGGdzDQwByJDHpf/s320/IMG_8415.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Then on Thursday, a truly wonderful treat arrived in my inbox. A thank you with quotes from different students. I love hearing what is important to them among the many things that I do at school. I think this sums it up nicely. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8aAc29pcBMK_LQplgmCpztfJpry8CZCRye_Qit3GlHmbN_G8Pzo_MyaFTaRiB61k8E4FnzbP5f3dWp1dPlAO_aoGhSOYPwl0YxkB_MLvPZQ25O-kMLRQeEKsLE-LWfckODvcD544BMhp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-07+at+9.54.17+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="940" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8aAc29pcBMK_LQplgmCpztfJpry8CZCRye_Qit3GlHmbN_G8Pzo_MyaFTaRiB61k8E4FnzbP5f3dWp1dPlAO_aoGhSOYPwl0YxkB_MLvPZQ25O-kMLRQeEKsLE-LWfckODvcD544BMhp/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-05-07+at+9.54.17+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click the image above to enlarge it<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I received something else in my email inbox from a seventh grader who created this meme just for me. Thanks, Jude, I really do appreciate it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqGdjjPCLmuwYwAkPQcASdGmyU2K3JI0qOGfP8hY1zOsj6el4W_eM1RFJcHEDbDNyfbDo7cu3tZ5YAFkAOu9jVpErZ26zQv3e5ChIjnxpRt-8qgmXCLPI-C0vrDyorD7HSHsqCxAZn9U9/s1600/IMG_2774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1590" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqGdjjPCLmuwYwAkPQcASdGmyU2K3JI0qOGfP8hY1zOsj6el4W_eM1RFJcHEDbDNyfbDo7cu3tZ5YAFkAOu9jVpErZ26zQv3e5ChIjnxpRt-8qgmXCLPI-C0vrDyorD7HSHsqCxAZn9U9/s400/IMG_2774.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Besides being librarian at Patrick Taylor, I serve as the faculty advisor for the school's chapter of the National Honor Society. I really love this position because I get to spend some quality time with the juniors and seniors, many of whom I have known since 6th grade. Once the state lockdown began, it was hard for the students to complete their required community service hours. One of my suggestions to them was to write a letter of gratitude to one or more of their teachers during teacher appreciation week. I knew those would be a hit. Surprisingly, I got three letters sent to me. I have shared them with you below. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dear Ms. Kahn,</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">
How have <span class="il">you</span> been? <span class="il">Thank</span> <span class="il">you</span> for your compliment. It means a lot to me. I was going to write to <span class="il">you</span> shortly after lunch, but <span class="il">you</span> emailed me first. I just wanted to <span class="il">thank</span> <span class="il">you</span> as well for all your help ever since I came to Patrick Taylor. <span class="il">You</span> were a part of my every school year because I ate in the library nearly everyday. <span class="il">You</span> also helped me and other students find resources for research projects, prepare for special events, and welcome us to the library. <span class="il">You</span> made going to the library fun because <span class="il">you</span> always had activities that brightened our day. I am also very glad to be a part of Bookmarked this year, which made me regret not joining years ago. I was glad to help out at the library before school closed because I would have missed it a lot if I hadn't. <span class="il">Thank</span> <span class="il">you</span> for all the fun years I had at Patrick Taylor, Ms. Kahn. I'll miss <span class="il">you</span> a lot and I hope I can <span class="il">thank</span> <span class="il">you</span> personally whenever I have the chance.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">
Sincerely, L. H.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Hello Ms. Kahn,</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>I want to write you a thank you email for being a great librarian. You are always trying your best to help others in the library and make reading fun for everyone. I appreciate the effort you put into planning entertaining activities for library events and into organizing author visits for our school. Apart from books, you also provide us with very helpful online resources for school research and keep us informed about the library through your blog. Not only do you work very hard in the library but you also run NHS and organize volunteer opportunities for the club. You always do so much for the school, and I am very glad that you are our school librarian.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sincerely,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
N. N.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">Dear Ms. Kanh,</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">
Thank you for all of the dedication and hard work you've put into our school. All the resources you've compiled for us students to guide us in our research have been helpful; the symbaloo has been a wonderful way to access all of the information we need for our research papers. I appreciate the library's spirit, with the many events that you host encouraging a healthy environment. Thank you for ensuring that us students have the resources we need to be successful at Patrick Taylor.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">
Sincerely,</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">
A. L. </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXcmYxH7RQ1-0l1OXU6v2NQ9VCeZ9ulZk-7xD4rsMA87uOkGDBG2hwx8tHmQQrTckFFHcGMM4j7IF1R4RVfOUnSRP3_tffoPPxRmPPR6jieA9C-yhY66EAti2ECpkRQfk1bAF1FNMDSIk/s1600/teacher+appreciation.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXcmYxH7RQ1-0l1OXU6v2NQ9VCeZ9ulZk-7xD4rsMA87uOkGDBG2hwx8tHmQQrTckFFHcGMM4j7IF1R4RVfOUnSRP3_tffoPPxRmPPR6jieA9C-yhY66EAti2ECpkRQfk1bAF1FNMDSIk/s200/teacher+appreciation.png" width="200" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: small;">
Though we are all at home, we are all still trying to do our best to provide for our students. It is not easy, but it is what teachers do, no matter what the situation or what four walls are surrounding us. Kudos to all you do! </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: small;">Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-50240306718833979152020-04-22T15:34:00.000-05:002020-04-23T10:44:00.263-05:00My Story about the Library During the Covid-19 Pandemic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbEPB1RXN7jB6Q1hpQQTA6uOWnltb5_tZse8xUkGFXCRso4mD_E70bJwtjKbGyx3zRC_Kv-TQ79diwGCM4Alu0owoSaD4YYq4KX905iNx30sAJ_FPO0zwBtYcKxtvNuNHEw5On4EYP88cl/s1600/IMG_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbEPB1RXN7jB6Q1hpQQTA6uOWnltb5_tZse8xUkGFXCRso4mD_E70bJwtjKbGyx3zRC_Kv-TQ79diwGCM4Alu0owoSaD4YYq4KX905iNx30sAJ_FPO0zwBtYcKxtvNuNHEw5On4EYP88cl/s320/IMG_0340.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have been gearing myself up to writing a blog post for the last couple of weeks. I think that it is important for me to document now what I have been going through in the library because in a few years this will hopefully be just a faded memory. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyBkItBoYtsQrFYcYQnTVyU1lDmOexYZkotM0a61Sza_IFfJ8vNvuIC3KDTUPu2lgl52igqzNfgBgl6Z1V_A2uWNRCIpvBKnY7RbcuPpi-HKZc2znx3XbACPga33zw0LcU3QHOd_ms10P/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-04-22+at+1.19.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="1356" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyBkItBoYtsQrFYcYQnTVyU1lDmOexYZkotM0a61Sza_IFfJ8vNvuIC3KDTUPu2lgl52igqzNfgBgl6Z1V_A2uWNRCIpvBKnY7RbcuPpi-HKZc2znx3XbACPga33zw0LcU3QHOd_ms10P/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-04-22+at+1.19.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Email from the school district<br />
(click to enlarge it)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Friday, March 13th at about 1:15PM I opened an email from the district to see that our schools would be closed for a month. This is about the time that our high school students were finishing lunch, and I saw a strange excitement in the students outside the day at 2:40PM, so I had just over an hour to get kids into the library to check out books to take home. I sent an email to all teachers to let them know that I was open for business. Students kept coming in to check out books until the end of the day, and I kept loading them down with books. I have no clue how many I checked out that afternoon. Last week, I got an email from a student asking me how he could return his books. The other day I created this graphic to post on social media to let him know as well as all our other students that they could hold on to them. Thank you Shannon M. Miller for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_NgJJlhAow/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet">idea from Van Meter Schools</a>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvA-U5PKYvu1NHPCPug_y9IRFesfr8dVADlPBE7JB9DWmqq65bNIWQcmmFRZ2h7l_YAnPgBcMTlY4ED1ily6JYDyRT6fYiYVo72-ytNI9nD6UTTWOdgd0mhhbI0W4NzRCNUCZX2mYS9O6W/s1600/Hold+on+to+library+books.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvA-U5PKYvu1NHPCPug_y9IRFesfr8dVADlPBE7JB9DWmqq65bNIWQcmmFRZ2h7l_YAnPgBcMTlY4ED1ily6JYDyRT6fYiYVo72-ytNI9nD6UTTWOdgd0mhhbI0W4NzRCNUCZX2mYS9O6W/s320/Hold+on+to+library+books.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When I posted the above graphic on the school's Facebook page, there were several parents who added comments. I was and am truly touched by what they said. Below are comments from three different parents.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_FkDxXrYVKQkIz48MSCfKwI9fIuWnYIIXbXDvWIzDEG5L5LiFeGW59oBQrhcsq6QfsDeMRVbRU_hxHYa9IjowWEvFviEIZiwcpZwAQhpFAI-v-qHCuGq-XWucz-dhRQC8RR91dzEfgoOl/s1600/IMG_0363.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_FkDxXrYVKQkIz48MSCfKwI9fIuWnYIIXbXDvWIzDEG5L5LiFeGW59oBQrhcsq6QfsDeMRVbRU_hxHYa9IjowWEvFviEIZiwcpZwAQhpFAI-v-qHCuGq-XWucz-dhRQC8RR91dzEfgoOl/s320/IMG_0363.PNG" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbSlY0YamHTDce8VIMvWyky4T8S8EFS0gmhlyi2SFVMjLErc2YBecdIj1GXPkMW3e3Pk6vVf8VBBYtO8Etei9mQjpZESptv2lRc4UllvS2GcHLx3bGAHeUwk4cw0368exlGTlzG6J1SPu/s1600/IMG_0364.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbSlY0YamHTDce8VIMvWyky4T8S8EFS0gmhlyi2SFVMjLErc2YBecdIj1GXPkMW3e3Pk6vVf8VBBYtO8Etei9mQjpZESptv2lRc4UllvS2GcHLx3bGAHeUwk4cw0368exlGTlzG6J1SPu/s320/IMG_0364.PNG" width="180" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Back to March and the early days of being at home. First, my email inboxes for all three of my email accounts and my social media accounts were being inundated with information from vendors, educators, and librarians about what you could do for free with your students due to the pandemic. It was so much noise that I kept running away from the screen. I couldn't handle it. I live in New Orleans and was working for Orleans Parish Schools during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Many of the memories of that crisis kept flooding back to me. I became paralyzed with all the information and didn't really know how to help the teachers or the students. I would see so many posts from librarians seeming to accomplish things that sounded like climbing Mt. Everest to me. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwKnQoHU1FuaizyMrtlTLA0yXOX8LG4p1m5oGLHeiNag4B2_HkdgDDmPn_R3K52cpaYL8kM3J0yGgffiUeOKvtFiBnCbPl2II5fjQvuR1c-90Zyvu6xOrd7wpf7wydnraTtUKGYXskwCR/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-04-22+at+2.25.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1184" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwKnQoHU1FuaizyMrtlTLA0yXOX8LG4p1m5oGLHeiNag4B2_HkdgDDmPn_R3K52cpaYL8kM3J0yGgffiUeOKvtFiBnCbPl2II5fjQvuR1c-90Zyvu6xOrd7wpf7wydnraTtUKGYXskwCR/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-04-22+at+2.25.47+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/">library website</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Finally, I took some deep breaths and got it together to see what my priorities should be. First, it was wonderful that so many ed tech companies were offering free access to their paid subscription tools, but it takes time to learn new tools. I figured all my teachers were stressed out and weren't looking to add something new that they were not familiar with to their arsenal. I did start to collect some of the databases that were offering free access and shared those with teachers and students. The other thing that I tried to collect were ways to access books online for free. I figured reading and books was the direct milieu of the librarian. So I created a google doc to share with all my teachers and students with links to finding books online. Of course, this means that the students need access to a device to get the books which some of them don't have. Also, I know there are students who hate reading a book for pleasure on a screen, and I don't blame them. I like print books best myself. I created this document on Google because I could easily edit as needed without having to re-share it, but I could also keep it private to my school so that I could add the school specific passwords needed to access the books. I also shared the links with the librarians in my district that I thought they could use with their students, but since I don't work with elementary students, I only listed ways to find books that were age appropriate for my school (6th-12th grade). I just needed to keep editing the noise, and that was an easy filter for me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Looking at the calendar, I saw that my regularly scheduled meeting with my middle school book group, BRiMS, was set for March 25th. I offered to have a Zoom meeting with them to keep book group going through our time away from school. They jumped at the chance. Today was my fifth meeting with this group as we decided to meet weekly rather than our usual once a month. I have six members of the 30 that come every Wednesday. Meetings last 45 minutes and have been great ways to check in and share about books and how we are feeling. This has been as much for me as for them, and Wednesdays at 11AM are the highlight of my week. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5gWBTjrV8gLO2SrIAUkq9QKP-1TCf-PavL2g2Oa8XLuxhVgJYpbTNBKVgrL2WQIn62MgSFV2BZnpEHjsBBWdlJE8ddOrwVs-sHTpFdqq4iUWoBhQnA38RhAu3XLbNu06pE5lRsVOG-US/s1600/IMG_0233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5gWBTjrV8gLO2SrIAUkq9QKP-1TCf-PavL2g2Oa8XLuxhVgJYpbTNBKVgrL2WQIn62MgSFV2BZnpEHjsBBWdlJE8ddOrwVs-sHTpFdqq4iUWoBhQnA38RhAu3XLbNu06pE5lRsVOG-US/s320/IMG_0233.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BRiMS meets on Zoom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I also have a high school book group, Bookmarked, which is meeting once a week. Though there are many members of this group including seniors who have been in book group with me since 6th grade, they are not as diligent about attending as the middle school. They want to attend only if their friends are attending too, and I get that. They are under a lot of stress, and book group is not on their minds. I do miss them, though. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
In past years, our school has celebrated the YALSA sponsored Teen Tech Week (TTW) every March. For 2019, YALSA changed its yearly celebrations. Instead of two with Teen Read Week in October and TTW in March, there would be one celebration that would be scheduled by a library some time during the month of October and be called, TeenTober. <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/teentober-2019.html">We did that in 2019</a>, but I wanted to do something in March, too. I liked having two celebrations a year. I decided to call my special March event <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12vEi0fYZyO5SvVniR2-NC3I1HSpnvWeC/view?usp=sharing">Batteries Not Included</a>. It was originally scheduled to begin March 17th, and I have all the prizes, treats, and supplies in the library ready to go for this event. I regrouped once I was home and altered all the activities so that they could be held online for the week of April 6th. Okay, there wasn't enough participation, but I did try. The one event that was truly fun was our watch party on Zoom. For TTW every year, we always watched animated shorts to kick off the week, and I would show as many of the shorts nominated for an Academy Award as I could. This year we watched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNw8V_Fkw28"><i>Hair Love</i> </a>which won the 2020 Academy Award as well as four other shorts that had received some type of award. I think the favorite video of day was <i>Hair Love</i>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Here was another of our activities:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_zK7RyAL27HHtGXT4l4o9e0L2SavgkvjWPUEZEku9tvgXUHxja4wd88r5i56EMkguxU_tKOPEbmyVQ2sMZw47VWeo5A6SR_uStGktWhWNQIgxGcqQ6WXyVRScyVJbSnXA1QrO6uB8Hmw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-04-22+at+3.01.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1600" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_zK7RyAL27HHtGXT4l4o9e0L2SavgkvjWPUEZEku9tvgXUHxja4wd88r5i56EMkguxU_tKOPEbmyVQ2sMZw47VWeo5A6SR_uStGktWhWNQIgxGcqQ6WXyVRScyVJbSnXA1QrO6uB8Hmw/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-04-22+at+3.01.32+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book Face photos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I can tell you that if we had done book face pictures in the library, I would have dozens and dozens of pictures to share with you. It is an activity that is way more fun in person. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Now, school is closed for the rest of the year. What I want to remember most about this time is that I tried to engage the library's stakeholders the best that I could while still keeping my own sanity. No, I am not the best librarian that I can be right now, but then, nobody is asking me to be that. I need to remind myself that the positive feedback that I have received from teachers, parents, and students means that I must be on the right track. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Also, I am going to truly miss the class of 2020 and being able to send them off in the way that I would want to do so. There are 16 members of the class who are also members of my high school book group. I have gifts for all of them ready to go in my library. I will try to find a way to give them their gift, but it won't be the same without the senior awards night that we have for each class every year. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We say that this is the new normal, but I hope this normal will end soon and that we will be able to start the 2020-21 year as we did this year with so much promise and so many things to look forward to. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89GRhHlhpmC7StEFbP-Xbf9svGfc7uyw_HCpYt7JLwwHWLMOaw7Vjqflj6MJ9PyGKKuXA4WVrwhw9FPe2b8_HGfCcSdNMA89DwWMlGrNGaBP9ts6Aj6yMyw_fu8lLHI8Gd_w3bbGWTv4p/s1600/IMG_1666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89GRhHlhpmC7StEFbP-Xbf9svGfc7uyw_HCpYt7JLwwHWLMOaw7Vjqflj6MJ9PyGKKuXA4WVrwhw9FPe2b8_HGfCcSdNMA89DwWMlGrNGaBP9ts6Aj6yMyw_fu8lLHI8Gd_w3bbGWTv4p/s320/IMG_1666.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my new normal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-27561294969812539842019-12-30T18:03:00.000-06:002020-07-02T17:13:45.897-05:00Scheduling Virtual Visits with Authors<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/img-4167_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/img-4167_orig.jpg" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joy McCullough, author of Blood Water Paint</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Putting authors in front of my students at Taylor has always been a goal of mine, and I have been lucky over the years <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/author-visits-2019-2020.html">to have had many authors visit our school</a> since 2008. Getting authors to visit in house is not always possible for many reasons, so I have supplemented face to face visits with virtual visits. Skype use to be my method of choice until my school district blocked it. Since then, we have been using FaceTime quite effectively. So far everyone who I have scheduled for a virtual visit has some Apple device that allows us to use FaceTime. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/published/img-4175_1.jpg?1576874059" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/published/img-4175_1.jpg?1576874059" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="579" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bookmarked and Girl Up<br />(High School with Joy McCullough)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />I was early on the bandwagon for skyping with authors, and I could always find an author who had time to talk. Now, it has gotten more difficult as more librarians and teachers are asking for these virtual visits. I have such a small budget that I would rather spend library money on purchasing the author's books for my students to read than for paying the author. Not that I don't think their time is worth something, but my budget is so very small. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/published/img-4121.jpg?1576873663" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/published/img-4121.jpg?1576873663" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="488" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BRiMS with Nikki Loftin<br />(Middle School)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The last couple of years I have used a program through Source Books to find authors willing to give us 30 minutes of their time. This worked great for us as the only monetary requirement for me was to purchase some of the author's books. I had difficulty connecting with Source Books this year, and I was on my own to find the authors. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/img-4094_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/uploads/2/9/8/2/2982964/img-4094_orig.jpg" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asking Nikki a question</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />I did a search of the Internet for links to authors who Skype (for free) and also used <a href="https://education.skype.com/">Skype in the Classroom</a> to find authors. After many emails went out, I made a connection with <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/author-visits-2019-2020.html#NikkiLoftin">Nikki Loftin for my middle school book group</a> and <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/author-visits-2019-2020.html#JoyMcCullough">Joy McCullough for my high school book group</a>. We made these visits in early December. Both were excellent. You can read more about these authors and what they had to say on the links above to the library website. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All I can say is that it is important for students to meet the people who write the books that they read and love, and it is our job as librarians to help make this happen. With social media and the Internet we can make these connections. Even without a live visit, students can meet authors through You Tube videos and their personal websites. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-24548468973799424282019-09-24T13:19:00.002-05:002019-09-24T13:19:31.259-05:00Banned Book Week 2019<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Wzlni4Numvw8tkPMiE8O9oKAtcQdnfWYjFtfxxAKdruZSabhSUH2t1oD_lS8HskLFy21n2owtGZT_bSuFUZjcksDlic4ED177qX0eDhJKoxQ3CtdJOctwUTHzwEZkeqNQZc-GZ69NTd6/s1600/IMG_1667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Wzlni4Numvw8tkPMiE8O9oKAtcQdnfWYjFtfxxAKdruZSabhSUH2t1oD_lS8HskLFy21n2owtGZT_bSuFUZjcksDlic4ED177qX0eDhJKoxQ3CtdJOctwUTHzwEZkeqNQZc-GZ69NTd6/s320/IMG_1667.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
Every year, I do a lesson for Banned Book Week with 8th graders. They read <i>Speak</i> by Laurie Halse Anderson around the same time, and of course, BBW fits nicely with that book. I created a slide show for this activity years ago that I edit and update yearly. I wanted to share the lesson if anyone would care to use it. After my presentation with some great videos (there are four videos embedded in the slide show) and lots of discussion, the students are put into seven groups. Each member of the group will read the same three articles about the freedom to read. I found the articles on the Gale Databases and the Internet. I have put all the folders with the articles in Google Drive so that the students could make a copy of each article and annotate each article individually. Last year, I made paper copies for annotation, and that was truly a nightmare. The students' job is to find four key facts that support the idea of the importance of the freedom to read. They begin reading in the library, but they will finish the articles at home and then return to school to make posters with their groups listing their key facts while in the classroom not the library.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_uw_vjlkN42_D6sJpUPfbKIjNhGBkviYy-nbVeblMiNCuoOvx_3bxIZs4ZGC2KhMqb_txGRKuSeeL3N7G0eJnHDiQuO9Tqe74xjw_zSdgeG5AWtutEWz0uL_TGTCPpa0cQ4_w9aC3fvD/s1600/IMG_1673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_uw_vjlkN42_D6sJpUPfbKIjNhGBkviYy-nbVeblMiNCuoOvx_3bxIZs4ZGC2KhMqb_txGRKuSeeL3N7G0eJnHDiQuO9Tqe74xjw_zSdgeG5AWtutEWz0uL_TGTCPpa0cQ4_w9aC3fvD/s320/IMG_1673.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
The objective of this lesson is for the students to find support for the author's' claim with four pieces of evidence found in the articles. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfw9KDuEAC7kmmyrigygMG5WpCYHIS3vOf1qnrKWRaPSguliVoG18GGsJ6-PjDTgnWdv7HbOxwUqbnDlKqh6B5Bg9089OKpyBHpe2GrX54aeqzNPbHCXuoT7mowfV4zPCFzgkSU1JBMOJK/s1600/IMG_1672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfw9KDuEAC7kmmyrigygMG5WpCYHIS3vOf1qnrKWRaPSguliVoG18GGsJ6-PjDTgnWdv7HbOxwUqbnDlKqh6B5Bg9089OKpyBHpe2GrX54aeqzNPbHCXuoT7mowfV4zPCFzgkSU1JBMOJK/s200/IMG_1672.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="389" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQOvRNZ7uTj-TnWS5T93mSvXE_w7cllYEmfi_HSr4iBrYTYIyxOwswBLN2Eu6_MOlJOoPABre2h08Bh/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe></center>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-89597816994218592922019-09-03T14:18:00.000-05:002019-09-03T14:32:25.951-05:00Creating a Newsletter for the Library the Easy Way<div style="text-align: justify;">
My school has an additional 75 more students than it had last year. With 800 students at the school and only one librarian, me, it is hard to spread the word about what is happening day to day in the library. I have signs and book displays around the library. I put notices about the library in our daily Paw Prints that is read out loud in study hall and emailed to students and parents. I also send email blasts about the library to faculty and students.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The problem with an email or a notice in Paw Prints is that once it is published, I can't update it. Then when I have more info, I have to write another notice. I certainly can do that, and really try to say something about the library everyday in Paw Prints and every month in the school's newsletter for parents. But I want to limit my email blasts because I would like the stakeholders to actually read what I send. I get emails from companies and causes daily in my in box, and I ignore most of them because they send sooooo many.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This year, I was on the <a href="https://standards.aasl.org/project/bw19/">AASL Best Websites Committee</a>. Being on that committee was a great learning experience, and I hope to write more about giving back to the profession in another post. Here, I want to highlight one of my favorite tools on the Best Websites list, <a href="https://wakelet.com/">Wakelet</a>. I love using a variety of curation tools and some of the ones that I use in my library are <a href="https://www.symbaloo.com/profile/taylorlibrarian">Symbaloo</a>, <a href="https://www.livebinders.com/shelf/search?terms=taylorlibrarian&type=1&search=">Livebinders</a>, <a href="https://www.diigo.com/profile/taylorlibrarian">Diigo</a>, and <a href="https://padlet.com/ekahn2">Padlet</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was thinking about all the things that I wanted to share about the library for the new school year and thought about how I could best present it. I haven't used <a href="https://www.smore.com/">Smore </a>or <a href="https://spark.adobe.com/">Adobe Spark</a> to create an online newsletter but have seen what others have created with those tools. I just wasn't interested in the learning curve it might be to design what I wanted. Then, I realized that Wakelet would do the job nicely, and there would be little learning curve because I was familiar with the platform. With Wakelet, you can add URLs, text, images, videos, PDFs, and even docs from your Google Drive. With each entry you can customize. When you pull in a URL, Wakelet captures text for you, but it is easy to edit and change that text. Also, for any text entry you can add your own photo or pull from free to use photos on Wakelet. You can also change any of the photos that Wakelet pulls that you don't like. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GcLMzWjoWRGjWc7z_4baMg2iRYiO3xU1NoMsrNYHaRtXZNqecDaMwXCtcckDlzxp8o_4US8gx2tUfyAT_peuWLOUwELpom_HpXfIkJ_EB0NYGwW14lZjCqdlizW9UpWbPQVFFdVKsZJe/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-28+at+7.17.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="1600" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GcLMzWjoWRGjWc7z_4baMg2iRYiO3xU1NoMsrNYHaRtXZNqecDaMwXCtcckDlzxp8o_4US8gx2tUfyAT_peuWLOUwELpom_HpXfIkJ_EB0NYGwW14lZjCqdlizW9UpWbPQVFFdVKsZJe/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-28+at+7.17.29+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add to a Wakelet here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is super easy to add and delete entries, and easy is what I really needed. I set up an email to go to all 800 of our students for the next day with the link to <a href="https://wke.lt/w/s/7UuJXS">my Wakelet about the library</a>. After I set that up, I realized that I needed to add a couple of more things. The email didn't need to be edited, just the Wakelet. You can share a link like I did above or embed like I did below. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In this back to school edition I added the following items: a link to the library OPAC, a link to the Symbaloo for students, pictures of the two new items that were added to the library makerspace, a Google form for students to recommend new materials to the library, two links for YALSA's Teen's Top Teen including a video for the nominated books and the voting page, and a link to a Listly that has some of the books just added to the library's collection.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27veq6mHudF3JkYeQj3QkhAhcTqdDnJoU_w-pEslfIjHJvOYt4EXWdH8bqUHmtfO8l7vonk07fXeEYPNYB6K9lm1__eKoFe4dl4TiHNe4PQXk2HH8OgwAHl1Pxx2MU6IshlVlJTVdMCaM/s1600/library+wakelet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="511" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27veq6mHudF3JkYeQj3QkhAhcTqdDnJoU_w-pEslfIjHJvOYt4EXWdH8bqUHmtfO8l7vonk07fXeEYPNYB6K9lm1__eKoFe4dl4TiHNe4PQXk2HH8OgwAHl1Pxx2MU6IshlVlJTVdMCaM/s320/library+wakelet.JPG" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://wke.lt/w/s/7UuJXS">Open it here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the meantime, I got an email from Wakelet telling me about a new feature. You can easily create a video within your Wakelet. I wanted to try it and immediately made a 90 second video recommending some books. This feature just launched and is very cool.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqY1EWd3lgmCC4pcR53DXP_dzG5ZO2Xtgxg-Za2n2-8xWFcKeyIJOm1EQKPcEbZ2gRDT54kQvVDIhq2OSyBah9g6KOzP-DBHNe3zrlzwmMEqzVJv8TSkJYRa-gnby63Zio9SEdGQfzMwjN/s1600/kahn+with+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqY1EWd3lgmCC4pcR53DXP_dzG5ZO2Xtgxg-Za2n2-8xWFcKeyIJOm1EQKPcEbZ2gRDT54kQvVDIhq2OSyBah9g6KOzP-DBHNe3zrlzwmMEqzVJv8TSkJYRa-gnby63Zio9SEdGQfzMwjN/s1600/kahn+with+books.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://shorts.flipgrid.com/watch/4051161607832025">Wakelet uses the Flipgrid platform for its embedded videos</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today, I got an email from a teacher who was looking for resources about the various ethnic groups that have settled in Louisiana. She sent me a list of links that she was sharing with her students. I put those in a Wakelet and then did a search for more. Below is what I created for that social studies class this morning.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUG4rY2s6WuLkv7cx1ROPTPaoYkFn_K0D9tnR0b3c22VPgQedK3ZKPYoOGGsWD1LgF-DL09XmfPqaX8VL-N4lWsn4EhE1cOBX7eA7cpIBonUzjg-izMT6kYq05Vr8UqWHTciH7ljDp0Fv_/s1600/la+wakelet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="592" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUG4rY2s6WuLkv7cx1ROPTPaoYkFn_K0D9tnR0b3c22VPgQedK3ZKPYoOGGsWD1LgF-DL09XmfPqaX8VL-N4lWsn4EhE1cOBX7eA7cpIBonUzjg-izMT6kYq05Vr8UqWHTciH7ljDp0Fv_/s320/la+wakelet.JPG" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://wke.lt/w/s/i0unc-">Open it here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<center style="text-align: justify;">
If you aren't a fan of Wakelet yet, you will be. </center>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-861998082812121122019-08-17T21:53:00.002-05:002019-08-17T21:53:47.811-05:00Creating a Digital Breakout for Library Orientation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJRC2ZBCDR8CPGhv4w4Q-EekxL6Qg7Gcg8ltaZdRAf6ZqYqJO29ZifrvWurzBqb3CiVkIHqFiM7GUNOLlg6Jm0PQE2ADeVn6Odsw0QEO2K1St6K95TFdtT6xy9UfngAvVwFjw67pCkWcs/s1600/IMG_1424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJRC2ZBCDR8CPGhv4w4Q-EekxL6Qg7Gcg8ltaZdRAf6ZqYqJO29ZifrvWurzBqb3CiVkIHqFiM7GUNOLlg6Jm0PQE2ADeVn6Odsw0QEO2K1St6K95TFdtT6xy9UfngAvVwFjw67pCkWcs/s320/IMG_1424.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Students show that they have broken out of the library</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last year I used Google forms to create my first digital breakout for a lesson on finding copyright free images. I had wanted to blog about it but never had a chance to do so. I decided to start off the new year with another digital breakout for my annual library orientation with 6th and 7th graders. I think that this could easily be adapted for younger or older students. It was a great success and so easy because I did not have to drag out boxes and locks that needed to be set up for each class. All the students needed was an iPad. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwkdUzOx0ZS0uAMIqQuUO2MsfV1RF9cuzbKVa2cnW3M4SL3f5LycKEK0FDO_jQurXQvFQj1SEz_l4UhwpvVNtjWevys7C4CkYS0EeBzhwhD-PftzaScrjYtdvOhtZedDtrjnHhA4DStYx/s1600/IMG_1408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwkdUzOx0ZS0uAMIqQuUO2MsfV1RF9cuzbKVa2cnW3M4SL3f5LycKEK0FDO_jQurXQvFQj1SEz_l4UhwpvVNtjWevys7C4CkYS0EeBzhwhD-PftzaScrjYtdvOhtZedDtrjnHhA4DStYx/s320/IMG_1408.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I gave my usual introduction to the library with a slide presentation. The last slide had the URL and a QR code for the breakout. I explained that the students would work with a partner and one iPad to complete the breakout. Many did not know that the camera app can be used to read a QR code. You don't take a picture of the QR code; you just frame the code in the camera and a window will appear with the link. You tap that window for the URL to open in Safari. I know that this works on all Apple devices. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbrq4cD0YBGSivJiCq4Q7W_ZqJJmcDfhU2pd6RfWj5H7EFbjF1GGNwZ75Rx38gMpdAFrwdssyTBXjX29WeZQy0HLcWqKKaDaa8pQIv5UIkPqA2vFH_VLgbxBYtFMT_pdkRDgB6k-cYHFq/s1600/IMG_1404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbrq4cD0YBGSivJiCq4Q7W_ZqJJmcDfhU2pd6RfWj5H7EFbjF1GGNwZ75Rx38gMpdAFrwdssyTBXjX29WeZQy0HLcWqKKaDaa8pQIv5UIkPqA2vFH_VLgbxBYtFMT_pdkRDgB6k-cYHFq/s320/IMG_1404.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last slide with the QR code and URL</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvM5CLDPM7DxP91FUSCOy0k8xo8HZF6DyxpzSqxQJhY8mK1VMRFe8lgR2noTlD36xy89LdfFaVL8y92VPZIscBxqLDw2qKkX2uFdY_ZtVfIyOAlTePjKH7iK3yVeTvOBf0SkKPa7iovYW/s1600/IMG_1405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvM5CLDPM7DxP91FUSCOy0k8xo8HZF6DyxpzSqxQJhY8mK1VMRFe8lgR2noTlD36xy89LdfFaVL8y92VPZIscBxqLDw2qKkX2uFdY_ZtVfIyOAlTePjKH7iK3yVeTvOBf0SkKPa7iovYW/s320/IMG_1405.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Each question in the breakout related to something that I discussed in my slide presentation. In Google forms you can set up the questions in sections so that the students cannot go to the next section without answering correctly. You are allowed to add a custom message to appear when the wrong answer is given. In those error messages, I gave some hints. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrF8t581w4KOz2dVb6j0lIN3GDPid5rsBFUmjO2aexgQJsBRhsC3ciGPbciYdGTBD2s4DEHNNP7nU1nb1Cgz_Q1pJkcRW1oIEU1xkAEP7f-N2RdzmQQ3YNBiznj3R1T8jRBbJrDFZjpu83/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.05.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1600" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrF8t581w4KOz2dVb6j0lIN3GDPid5rsBFUmjO2aexgQJsBRhsC3ciGPbciYdGTBD2s4DEHNNP7nU1nb1Cgz_Q1pJkcRW1oIEU1xkAEP7f-N2RdzmQQ3YNBiznj3R1T8jRBbJrDFZjpu83/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.05.51+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double click on the picture to enlarge it<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the first question, I ask the students what time the library opens in the morning. The only correct answer is 7:00am. If they write AM, it is wrong. To set this up, you click the three small dots in the lower right section of the question and select "response validation." Then I selected text in the drop down menu on the lower left then contains, and then I typed in 7:00am. Then in the box where it says "Custom Error Text" I wrote, "Did you write the time in this format 11:32pm?" If the student types in a wrong answer, the custom error text pops up with the hint. Some students didn't understand and thought that the 11:32 was the correct answer. I just kept telling them to follow the example format. For the most part everyone figured it out. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vkg9d3yq-2Tj3cq07GA0pCsKctlhTkC3tVZZKJ849SDYwH2egEbYb_zlfixzSDb1_YNHyWUlAWD4qK9lSTTkKR9Gx-3tcRAAvpqU1feMmJoX1loTBbRW3gyRIHGYPlPGN5img5d5r49A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.06.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vkg9d3yq-2Tj3cq07GA0pCsKctlhTkC3tVZZKJ849SDYwH2egEbYb_zlfixzSDb1_YNHyWUlAWD4qK9lSTTkKR9Gx-3tcRAAvpqU1feMmJoX1loTBbRW3gyRIHGYPlPGN5img5d5r49A/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.06.13+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This was an interesting question. The library motto, "All Readers Welcome," was on my opening slide for my presentation. In the question above, you should see that I have the link to the library website: <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/">www.pftstalibrary.com</a>. When you open the library website, the motto is the first thing that appears. Many of the groups didn't notice that the link was there and others opened the link and didn't know where to find the motto. They were looking for the word motto, I think. Anyway, in the custom error text, I told them to write the motto in all caps. That is how it is written on the website. Even that threw some of them for a loop. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNECvubdZ29YCC9XQ3LDl5liYhuYags1FMhVevrOx6is_LoraZm8pBpBE6xWzxwrayBXLykIE_1R5wnBm60NbnyxqB0NdLaRiZuiA4XXOkvuE3VidgWhgx-sOhRcUOy5mS2_g3Tb0hMDv/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.06.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1293" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNECvubdZ29YCC9XQ3LDl5liYhuYags1FMhVevrOx6is_LoraZm8pBpBE6xWzxwrayBXLykIE_1R5wnBm60NbnyxqB0NdLaRiZuiA4XXOkvuE3VidgWhgx-sOhRcUOy5mS2_g3Tb0hMDv/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.06.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This question was so easy, but I wanted to make sure that the new students understood that they were allowed to visit the library on their own. These types of questions are simple to set up. You start with a new section and next to the correct answer, you select "Continue to the next section" in the drop down menu on the right. For all the wrong answers, you select "Go to section (whichever one is the section with this question). In my case here it was section 2. When students got stuck on these types of questions, they did not understand why they couldn't move on. I just explained that the correct answer must be given before they can advance. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopSOdsphicofuATcnbmsSGOgo_MFzQ-luHPU6MYn7hHrTM32uveKO6jkGfIi87Wj_5z58NsWRhpdN4uvcVXvRNety9WWXt-DeILKDR1YicqFpvGTbu9urdAXrjE7hNYWlorqLjInN0KQo/s1600/IMG_1407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopSOdsphicofuATcnbmsSGOgo_MFzQ-luHPU6MYn7hHrTM32uveKO6jkGfIi87Wj_5z58NsWRhpdN4uvcVXvRNety9WWXt-DeILKDR1YicqFpvGTbu9urdAXrjE7hNYWlorqLjInN0KQo/s320/IMG_1407.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDjpaRccW_XCCKOfC311Cpsl6F7-aPwLreZBIMsNibRmbFTMAh_mFgFwVfJt1vL2RBaxB-z1Rhk0T018pi6gVK4l6MJn6s-vs59rNYLpuao_bAhsk6OlLQus3SogGK5kk1YPRcsrCq1YG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.38.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1544" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDjpaRccW_XCCKOfC311Cpsl6F7-aPwLreZBIMsNibRmbFTMAh_mFgFwVfJt1vL2RBaxB-z1Rhk0T018pi6gVK4l6MJn6s-vs59rNYLpuao_bAhsk6OlLQus3SogGK5kk1YPRcsrCq1YG/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.38.25+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
You can see in the above question that there are two wrong answers and two possible correct ones. Some students were confused because they could not select both of the correct answers, but I didn't see that as an issue. I just asked them to select one and see if they could move on to the next question. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFt7_oJPIPKYbS5IQULI1soCk7602SFl7K_QT2dwZyc_RHyTK8vQLlA5eJL6QbovaLmD8M0ZVbepsBB4XpIkK1v-KcvdocN1FHaOHgWexziRhRM_FTHp4drIkOr-k-vEdlCjxuni5Kr_Ym/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.42.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1600" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFt7_oJPIPKYbS5IQULI1soCk7602SFl7K_QT2dwZyc_RHyTK8vQLlA5eJL6QbovaLmD8M0ZVbepsBB4XpIkK1v-KcvdocN1FHaOHgWexziRhRM_FTHp4drIkOr-k-vEdlCjxuni5Kr_Ym/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.42.35+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The above question was another multiple choice where there were two wrong answers and five possible correct ones. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmukjm3nZw3AIiEm1jDM_csAkocJyzx2bRRUbbp49u9TUH23B4KX9FknCUJCu8xigRBXNhRR6bUHoVpEfLz7LtZMKRhq_mXh05w4VBPILUtckQUeMckOGA9OEs3GJ4itn7fTnEatHb9cxF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.45.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="1576" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmukjm3nZw3AIiEm1jDM_csAkocJyzx2bRRUbbp49u9TUH23B4KX9FknCUJCu8xigRBXNhRR6bUHoVpEfLz7LtZMKRhq_mXh05w4VBPILUtckQUeMckOGA9OEs3GJ4itn7fTnEatHb9cxF/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.45.00+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
For the Library Activities question, I used checkboxes rather than multiple choice. Here the students had to check a minimum of four boxes to get it correct and move on to the next section. Actually here, all of the choices are correct, but I wanted to make sure that they selected several. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDXDXzn41vN61LBb9BvYfC9x_T68PJQG039Pse85NUaSD1jrjfOZA6ns7461xauAHagHk75GxamZMR3R0oAtm72i2RUUZMdHJsP6qWRLF60zHtp_TFNs4_Yd7Cs94n3zhen0dhK8OWjng/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.47.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1600" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDXDXzn41vN61LBb9BvYfC9x_T68PJQG039Pse85NUaSD1jrjfOZA6ns7461xauAHagHk75GxamZMR3R0oAtm72i2RUUZMdHJsP6qWRLF60zHtp_TFNs4_Yd7Cs94n3zhen0dhK8OWjng/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.47.48+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
This was another question where I inserted a URL in the description for the students to use. I wanted them to spend some time in the library OPAC. I really didn't care what book they found just that they knew where to find the call number in the catalog. So I had them find a fiction book because all of the call numbers are 5 characters in length. When I set the correct answer, I did it by length. Yes, maybe some of them didn't get the right answer, but if they looked in the OPAC, then the students did what I wanted of them. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
For this blog post, I looked at the answers for section 5 for the first time. I can see that less than half actually got the call number correct. Many had the barcode number or some other random text. Now I know that I need to teach them about call numbers. Really, isn't that something students should learn in elementary school. I always taught it when I was an elementary librarian. Something to add to my to teach list. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhISZcLtRluMbkmd51u6q52eUNtExgRGVHTH2Sc1LAIRKtmd-lvp1EQ23oRRyI3-VXgjIa6s5c8vgF2Wr5vDdB1rZ61dNOLpYsTe2GhrgCYcr72Gcf3tMLod4SCWd620dlt_kZqhHhKpNk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.56.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhISZcLtRluMbkmd51u6q52eUNtExgRGVHTH2Sc1LAIRKtmd-lvp1EQ23oRRyI3-VXgjIa6s5c8vgF2Wr5vDdB1rZ61dNOLpYsTe2GhrgCYcr72Gcf3tMLod4SCWd620dlt_kZqhHhKpNk/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.56.11+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The question above and the one below only have one correct answer. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tdJUe6-jNrcgQf6uAcspBIKVPTGkOgvjQC3hd8a9bxG_rgvgnMPQ0c95JZUqRwJbV-GkdpiEHxFparq8eoJ9wpJE0gknaPnGH4QAFBfIUChX0CQOqa2g8rgVr2dEeTUAJsuTeGLzRFcF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.57.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="1600" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tdJUe6-jNrcgQf6uAcspBIKVPTGkOgvjQC3hd8a9bxG_rgvgnMPQ0c95JZUqRwJbV-GkdpiEHxFparq8eoJ9wpJE0gknaPnGH4QAFBfIUChX0CQOqa2g8rgVr2dEeTUAJsuTeGLzRFcF/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.57.07+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYRnreAVk2gZ0SPFQgtX-n5ub0Y2yR_4gd1TIbNJQ1Gdg6quaCc9NIYxUOAN0fNKr6m3XlhDzMar3Yd3j8IbwDXj5NWIuKWSq0oHeoAFDMy1Tz5EGuwYtHhkLuvPRpNJwjJsSaYY3-JLW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.58.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1600" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYRnreAVk2gZ0SPFQgtX-n5ub0Y2yR_4gd1TIbNJQ1Gdg6quaCc9NIYxUOAN0fNKr6m3XlhDzMar3Yd3j8IbwDXj5NWIuKWSq0oHeoAFDMy1Tz5EGuwYtHhkLuvPRpNJwjJsSaYY3-JLW/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+5.58.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I had originally designed the question above with a Flipgrid. I wanted each pair to make a 45 second video recommending a book. I had this all set up for my 6th graders. Then when they tried to go to Flipgrid, they did not know their school email address so were having trouble signing in. This was going to be too difficult to manage. For the next group, I took out the video. My 7th graders could have done it, but I didn't want to create another breakout because I would have had to make a slide with a different URL and QR code. So no Flipgrid for this activity. Oh, well. Instead, I just asked them to recommend a book. I set the answer to have a length of five characters or more. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Below are some of the books that they recommended. Many of these books were on their <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1339812236"></span>summer reading list<span id="goog_1339812237"></span></a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eWSAWgaZGeGB5x3qRC93M-TqZuDma52vvbepc185-dXpEw0v1brwOy3h719SajmafL3mL7SmJST9B9CZEYQTVxNXpp6s8Lyn0U15BE4YelaDxN6eX3Uh8xuGeF2TM3u-LiHZu_0wcUiM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+6.03.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1258" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eWSAWgaZGeGB5x3qRC93M-TqZuDma52vvbepc185-dXpEw0v1brwOy3h719SajmafL3mL7SmJST9B9CZEYQTVxNXpp6s8Lyn0U15BE4YelaDxN6eX3Uh8xuGeF2TM3u-LiHZu_0wcUiM/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+6.03.46+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8EMQEhm7YAIc-oXjlANZv5YTw9vXzT-XcV9oKPoO45FG3Z4VstP2RCP9Q2UOA6jarP6nuHcpMqz9o_d3Z0pCowPyU_av-tfG6RW1UvIIz8QosNTcwXRpV2IJrtZnU7DJ-GlHqGNoKiLp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+6.03.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1256" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8EMQEhm7YAIc-oXjlANZv5YTw9vXzT-XcV9oKPoO45FG3Z4VstP2RCP9Q2UOA6jarP6nuHcpMqz9o_d3Z0pCowPyU_av-tfG6RW1UvIIz8QosNTcwXRpV2IJrtZnU7DJ-GlHqGNoKiLp/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+6.03.20+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGzrBdVMpLkqR411g7c-aVNsKqkY2QdG7Q1pi8BimNFi-6kuWKsJxJXiKLJxSmPRz5lwDxT8HWDi0lSvevS9YgJBdJGxVDysuDVPNt8zeypQ7iYMhje9gkkg84tJp7U5oRPQssFpkzQLs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+6.15.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="1574" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGzrBdVMpLkqR411g7c-aVNsKqkY2QdG7Q1pi8BimNFi-6kuWKsJxJXiKLJxSmPRz5lwDxT8HWDi0lSvevS9YgJBdJGxVDysuDVPNt8zeypQ7iYMhje9gkkg84tJp7U5oRPQssFpkzQLs/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-08-17+at+6.15.35+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Once done, the students checked out books. This was just the right activity to begin the new year and so engaging. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJ_Mn_lyTFyRhzP3pKy7PEUUBNffkJJGX3EobgkfSCcZ7Gkv-ONjvESlDr_jVhBKSUkgwBKQcsuUOMUw1kyrZyY4i-RcFExy7_kqky3fsjLo86lp2umldsPrEU6Hjdi_mSjfN-4vOeK_e/s1600/IMG_1464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJ_Mn_lyTFyRhzP3pKy7PEUUBNffkJJGX3EobgkfSCcZ7Gkv-ONjvESlDr_jVhBKSUkgwBKQcsuUOMUw1kyrZyY4i-RcFExy7_kqky3fsjLo86lp2umldsPrEU6Hjdi_mSjfN-4vOeK_e/s320/IMG_1464.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-10629513563352517752019-07-26T13:43:00.000-05:002019-07-26T14:51:11.515-05:00A Good School Library Program is Critical to all Students<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ldaE641tChOdvUDktifkVKpBf-ClVzPTTaQj34lzsf9kGIvoLxIkzs23nmdiNIoH1gB-PPQVYoG-Zyd_ZUHAau0Z4vuxVXAoP9WQtxsgktO2MhiDOUXyAOhT-G6Abi270FTUyk7W2HJ5/s1600/IMG_3032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ldaE641tChOdvUDktifkVKpBf-ClVzPTTaQj34lzsf9kGIvoLxIkzs23nmdiNIoH1gB-PPQVYoG-Zyd_ZUHAau0Z4vuxVXAoP9WQtxsgktO2MhiDOUXyAOhT-G6Abi270FTUyk7W2HJ5/s320/IMG_3032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am about to embark on a new school year. It will be my 29th year in a school library. Moving from a classroom teacher to the library was the best thing that I ever did. First, I love working with every student in a school; next, I get to design a program that I know builds on the skills that I have taught the year before that the students were with me; and by the time that they leave my school, the students are prepared for their next step whatever that may be. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy6z0hCpGj0dYq6DRGvycrjbiIQB8M5ldiCjYlU64ikrdtEmSPK_THALH9En8YC05XdDvP65ZghX5apopDS8lGW0lKweaUQ2yv_kjsxTnolR7T-It1Sx_vG8i3aXXyboaW2YpfgWr0vtu/s1600/IMG_3049.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy6z0hCpGj0dYq6DRGvycrjbiIQB8M5ldiCjYlU64ikrdtEmSPK_THALH9En8YC05XdDvP65ZghX5apopDS8lGW0lKweaUQ2yv_kjsxTnolR7T-It1Sx_vG8i3aXXyboaW2YpfgWr0vtu/s320/IMG_3049.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Writing about why a library program is critical to my students is not because I need to justify what I do everyday, but it is because not everyone in education believes that libraries serve a need. Some believe that since English teachers teach literature and literacy, it is not important for a librarian to do the same. Well, I was not a very good student in elementary school or high school. I loved literature and learning new things just not in the confines of a classroom. With access to a school library and a public library, I was able to read what intrigued me, find answers to the questions that I had, and find solace in a place that fed my soul. Being able to self select reading material and read about what the students think is important cannot happen without access to a good school library. Public libraries are great but not all of our students get a chance to visit the public library. In a school, the librarian will purchase materials that meet the needs of their specific patrons and know the students well enough to recommend the books that will appeal. The books read in English or reading class do not equal what it means being able to walk into a library and choose a book on the shelf that speaks to you. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zjVm2oieJhEDcETkoHN9s6sTD2fTUEPPo4XfQCteQ-4YC9uhCjDTeI19GHUgN7VwK7Jg08zfyWhgzKfB4yG9oQvFydJa_TSy4lfNkxvmGYffbU2CWuH-9wrnKPSoVEq2GC1Pdfu_9MGE/s1600/IMG_2431.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zjVm2oieJhEDcETkoHN9s6sTD2fTUEPPo4XfQCteQ-4YC9uhCjDTeI19GHUgN7VwK7Jg08zfyWhgzKfB4yG9oQvFydJa_TSy4lfNkxvmGYffbU2CWuH-9wrnKPSoVEq2GC1Pdfu_9MGE/s320/IMG_2431.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Others say that students don't need to be taught how to research because they can just go to the Internet and google the answer. That is an absurd rationale to justify getting rid of a librarian or library program. My district subscribes to a number of databases. How will my students learn how to use these resources without instruction? They can't. For that matter, how will the teachers know that the databases are available for their students without being taught? We want our students to become critical thinkers. To do that we need to teach them how to evaluate the sources that they use for information. This is true whether we have databases for them to use or whether we are giving them free reign on the Internet. Once students find the information, there needs to be instruction on how to deal with it be it citing the sources or how to summarize and paraphrase and integrating the information into the end product. I just don't think that classroom teachers ever spend enough time on these particular skills. Though the way we access information is very different when I was in school, the skills that we need to evaluate and utilize that information is not different at all. These are skills that need to be taught, and one of the best persons in any building to do that is the librarian. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkSK3Z3swhtWiApbCYmZ64frL9GbqMcth9pjWEDYoLbC_Mn9ZA5WiYxjZoOMr3R16AECxhW6ItRj_SGF4wB4Q9omegRxfrp9JqbJkR7-rT41xjwl_a1mwpRT6WOK_Wm051XRPiVa-mql2/s1600/IMG_2439.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkSK3Z3swhtWiApbCYmZ64frL9GbqMcth9pjWEDYoLbC_Mn9ZA5WiYxjZoOMr3R16AECxhW6ItRj_SGF4wB4Q9omegRxfrp9JqbJkR7-rT41xjwl_a1mwpRT6WOK_Wm051XRPiVa-mql2/s320/IMG_2439.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, I want to talk about safe spaces. In a classroom, students are constantly being evaluated and assessed. That is not true of the library. Yes, I am offering instruction and assistance with classroom assignments, but I am not the one who assigns grades. I can have a very different relationship with my students, and because I am there year after year, students know that I have an open ear and am willing to listen and share the library with them. I work very hard to make my library welcoming to all students whether they are readers or not. I do have expectations and treating each other with respect in the library is one of the major ones. The library can become a place where students who don't have a comfortable place to be in the school can be comfortable. Part of the reason I expand my offerings of games and makerspace materials every year is because those are materials that draw students to the library. If I hear students say that the library is their favorite place in the school, then I know that I have done my job right. I serve students in grades 6th-12th, and I have kids who have spent every lunch period in the library from the time that they enter Taylor until the time that they graduate. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYYvnrl-erc0q7po4m2_k_Z_uCgvMFET2R-R_If3sKMyP14WR7UVk2aXfYwvNaBHo-leMGX2pSRqpwaVytwA0fo6IH40uI4K0RpvbzRRJgAoU1bHIH0pKvMSWGyDJVZC2Gg6ZXaEWnsO_/s1600/IMG_3305.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYYvnrl-erc0q7po4m2_k_Z_uCgvMFET2R-R_If3sKMyP14WR7UVk2aXfYwvNaBHo-leMGX2pSRqpwaVytwA0fo6IH40uI4K0RpvbzRRJgAoU1bHIH0pKvMSWGyDJVZC2Gg6ZXaEWnsO_/s320/IMG_3305.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stake holders generally view test scores as an appropriate way to evaluate a school program. I don't exactly agree, but I do see test data as a way to paint a partial picture of whether a school is achieving its goals. When you look at the library program and test data in one particular school, it is very hard for the individual librarian to show correlation. That is because there is usually only one of us in the building, and our face to face time teaching the students is just a fraction of the time that a classroom teacher spends. I get to provide instruction to my students over seven years of their schooling. Over seven years, I think that I have made a huge impact. Unfortunately, it still is difficult to get data for that. I do hear from students after they graduate who tell me how what I had done for them helped them get through college. However, there have been many studies over the years that have evaluated the contribution of school libraries to our students' growth. These studies have compiled significant data across multiple schools in the U.S. that illustrate how school libraries and librarians contribute to student success. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijk61jcSul2Fp1arI25O5LDC-jgL7eSAq-c0UoXpkelzStb6mzjrGMNtl7UJrtRZSZ3Y96E3689bkCjdkQ4011ymsbTSRRLnMu_OBBAbDL8319Sik4GokZcVzGJnucUTq4g5Sy07Dms04/s1600/IMG_3169.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijk61jcSul2Fp1arI25O5LDC-jgL7eSAq-c0UoXpkelzStb6mzjrGMNtl7UJrtRZSZ3Y96E3689bkCjdkQ4011ymsbTSRRLnMu_OBBAbDL8319Sik4GokZcVzGJnucUTq4g5Sy07Dms04/s320/IMG_3169.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you don't believe my anecdotal evidence, here are some links that explain the results of these studies:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/why_invest_in_libraries.pdf">Why Invest in Libraries by Stephen Krashen</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/">Why School Librarians Matter: what years of research tells us by Keith Curry Lance and <span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(51 , 51 , 51 , 0.87); font-size: 16px;">Debra E. Kachel</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_infographic.pdf">Infographic from American Association of School Librarians explains how strong school libraries build strong students</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Of course, we all want to matter, but I strongly believe that librarians have an impact in every school. Without them, our students are missing a major part of their education that cannot be replaced by a computer or e-reader full of books or someone who says libraries and librarians are old school and no longer necessary. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-30207662944189017562019-05-17T13:50:00.001-05:002019-05-21T11:31:46.313-05:00End of the School Year Always Bittersweet<div style="text-align: justify;">
When May rolls around I gird up to do what is needed at my school. Most of those tasks do not really relate to the library. The seniors graduated this year on May 11th. I coordinate senior awards night, plan graduation, and help the students with their val and sal speeches for the graduation. For a long time, I was also AP coordinator, and that was a total nightmare because all of these tasks fell within the same few weeks. I would finish school totally wiped out needing my months off to regroup. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4i7X9MTtGAc5yCeq8PC1P1W1OUX_J2ZGejz21IDpqgDGlxsqeyxBXVNLIDDgUOOs_dMVkRmxmy8kTByI6-kwaJkWiwFu2XdooCpXyez5Lh5dkcZExDUgEGc2jF85YenYAIH0iLERMZFg/s1600/IMG_0577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4i7X9MTtGAc5yCeq8PC1P1W1OUX_J2ZGejz21IDpqgDGlxsqeyxBXVNLIDDgUOOs_dMVkRmxmy8kTByI6-kwaJkWiwFu2XdooCpXyez5Lh5dkcZExDUgEGc2jF85YenYAIH0iLERMZFg/s320/IMG_0577.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler speaking to the YALSA BFYA committee at ALA Annual in 2018 </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
During senior awards night, I give out something special to all graduating members of the high school book group, Bookmarked. Actually, over the last few years, there have been no seniors in book group. Students would join early in their high school career, but by the time that they became a senior, they would chose to get involved in other organizations. I understand, but I have come to realize that the students who do remain in Bookmarked until they graduate are pretty special kids, to me anyway. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKEL3fstLGqMqggE86Tb_NnuqvRa8u_EefQcZhHXYjfOLkxWayf0ysxztD0ZljLx6FjaTTfJ3q2dFzS1ZUuzVeGYiBP6fQ-DQWpKUDxGInE7TRUEON1n8ULprVmC8LJoBQgwheCCueW-5/s1600/IMG_3256.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKEL3fstLGqMqggE86Tb_NnuqvRa8u_EefQcZhHXYjfOLkxWayf0ysxztD0ZljLx6FjaTTfJ3q2dFzS1ZUuzVeGYiBP6fQ-DQWpKUDxGInE7TRUEON1n8ULprVmC8LJoBQgwheCCueW-5/s320/IMG_3256.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing in the stacks and ready to say good-bye</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I want to tell you about one member of Bookmarked who just graduated but has spent all four of his high school years having lunch in the library on Mondays. He usually ate lunch in the library every day, but I was guaranteed to see Tyler every Monday. Since Monday was scheduled for the Bookmarked meeting, I always had time to talk to him. It took me awhile to really get to know him, and it took me a year or two to realize how deeply he thought about the books that he read. He was always a big participant in our discussions during Bookmarked, but it wasn't until we started talking one on one about what each of us was reading that I realized that Tyler really took what he read to heart. He wanted the good guy to always win, and he wanted a resolution for all the loose ends at the end of series that he had read and loved. He liked many of the books that I did including the Arc of a Scythe series by Shusterman. I am sorry that he won't be around when the third book in the series is released. Tyler had the good fortune to go with me and other members of Bookmarked to ALA last summer when it was in New Orleans. He was overwhelmed. of course, but he had the opportunity to talk to Neal Shusterman in person and many other others authors as well as bring home bags and bags of books. This is someone who will read those books if they look appealing to him. <span id="goog_1560438841"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwg_Fm60hTBs_nyTyyRH_XhaWZztX_B-UE0-uOBbzqX4kZ7wAZqw3Sc-70FShU-Fiyd7jklUd7bDOIhcZOuJg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Tyler talks about diversity in books during a Bookmarked meeting</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I always enjoyed talking books with Tyler, and we would recommend titles and series to each other all the time. I can tell you what many of the recent graduates plan to major in at college, but Tyler and I had so many other things to talk about that I never did ask him what he plans to do. He did win a POSSE scholarship and is heading to Case Western Reserve University in the fall, and I am sure that he will succeed as he was named a National Merit Scholar.<br />
<br />
Tyler happened to be one person who always read this blog. He made many comments to me about it over the years and always got my jokes. I am sure that he will read this entry too.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To Tyler: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am really going to miss you next year, but I know that you are going to have many new experiences and opportunities that you have never had before. It might be that you do not think about us back at Taylor very often, but do know that I will remember you and all your amazing contributions to the many discussions that we had together and in Bookmarked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All my best, Ms. Kahn</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Updated on May 18th: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I sent an email to Tyler sharing this blog post. He was so touched that he wrote me a very long thank you note for all that I had done for him while he was at Patrick Taylor. I am going to keep his letter to myself, but I did want to share a bit here with you because it shows the importance of what librarians do everyday for their patrons:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Without your club, I doubt I would have had the confidence to own my opinions as proudly as I do today, whether it's in reflection of a novel or in a debate in World History. Your recommendations and willingness to listen really has helped me to grow as a person and as a reader, and I again cannot thank you enough." TB</span></span><br />
I am a happy librarian right now. Though I feel that I am getting a little long in the tooth because I have been in this profession so many years, it does my heart good to know that I can still make a difference in a young person's life. Of course, they have made such an impression on me too!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-21826842603015959532019-04-05T15:43:00.000-05:002019-04-05T15:43:23.630-05:00Celebrating National Poetry Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3XsuReYzR0-f3iYW2brMC0zk17BmRAs4r4rr7ul6N9v-eWsg7zazhglwbfsGNz-Gk40R1oxvXgY0U9fh-fzbtTi6LvrHu9e5e-XBSLERYzkaF2_F59s70IwZVPWUHXG0spu4LNByVXjB/s1600/IMG_3028.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3XsuReYzR0-f3iYW2brMC0zk17BmRAs4r4rr7ul6N9v-eWsg7zazhglwbfsGNz-Gk40R1oxvXgY0U9fh-fzbtTi6LvrHu9e5e-XBSLERYzkaF2_F59s70IwZVPWUHXG0spu4LNByVXjB/s320/IMG_3028.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I like to celebrate Black History Month, Women's History Month, and National Poetry Month in the school library. April has arrived, and it is time for poetry. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCL_cU_na9d_9u2C6vhQdawXLkgctdKaL_h6l6DgMe5jCw6_G0yeUXtSZik0jFWa8NxRH_X8O4gQ29E8sslkVDvkveRObQx3S_BxjvXbJRvub2nRhmk0uiNVdwGTzQ39_kiNf-VJakwg1N/s1600/IMG_3044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCL_cU_na9d_9u2C6vhQdawXLkgctdKaL_h6l6DgMe5jCw6_G0yeUXtSZik0jFWa8NxRH_X8O4gQ29E8sslkVDvkveRObQx3S_BxjvXbJRvub2nRhmk0uiNVdwGTzQ39_kiNf-VJakwg1N/s320/IMG_3044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on the picture to enlarge it, the poem in the middle was written by a sophomore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the things that I used to do was send an email blast out to all students and staff with a poem every day of the week. The poem would be the body of the email. I would occasionally get replies back with comments about the poems, so I know that they were being read. Now, instead of the email blast, I find a poem that I like that is posted on the web and add the link to the daily Paw Prints that is sent to all students and teachers and parents who have signed up for it. I decided that I didn't want to flood in boxes with email that wouldn't get read. Anyway, I use poems from the <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/">Poetry Foundation </a>or <a href="http://poets.org/">Poets.org</a> or even link to one of the poem generators that I have <a href="https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/poetrypoemsforapril1">listed in this Symbaloo</a>. Then I print out the poem and post it on the door of the library. By the end of the month, the doors are filled with poems. Sometimes students send me poems that they want me to post or even write poems for me to post. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS90KphrLOCge0Z-M5CnWN8AC826q0trYcZ7v0JR3KnvGRgssK9i8nM5PfCCQEBaYIGJx8v0t4_Wo_9ZTVW61aDo6s97bQuR6EdxJD6VAuzt_QpK2kHmOPjRT35EuWh52ku9ThsaUxr6HF/s1600/IMG_3030.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS90KphrLOCge0Z-M5CnWN8AC826q0trYcZ7v0JR3KnvGRgssK9i8nM5PfCCQEBaYIGJx8v0t4_Wo_9ZTVW61aDo6s97bQuR6EdxJD6VAuzt_QpK2kHmOPjRT35EuWh52ku9ThsaUxr6HF/s320/IMG_3030.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At a conference that I attended a couple of years ago, my librarian friends at St. Thomas More in Lafayette, LA talked about how they had students read poems to them to help erase overdue fines. When I first heard about this, I just thought that it was an amazing idea, and I think that this is the third year that I have done it. I give the students at least two weeks to visit the library to read poetry to me. If they find a poem online or pick one out of a book, they can reduce their fine by five cents for every line that they read. If they write a poem, then they can reduce their fine by ten cents. It still boggles my mind that students will pay me during this period rather than read poetry to me. It is their choice. I have students reading lines to knock out two and three dollars worth of fines. I love this idea, and I love the idea of giving students a way to work off what they owe. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfJqLWgkLYgixLw-ymAk8Mzwb6GRYaHpfXnmI4ENjLDXByaTalrMgpiJqE4p334k9Lg0rBX6p54iePx2lzV-A3_fY5CNLVrmHrJ5I6O_kSgXNt7j72To7O_SQn30ongdkx98WhAmzfjeO/s1600/IMG_3035.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfJqLWgkLYgixLw-ymAk8Mzwb6GRYaHpfXnmI4ENjLDXByaTalrMgpiJqE4p334k9Lg0rBX6p54iePx2lzV-A3_fY5CNLVrmHrJ5I6O_kSgXNt7j72To7O_SQn30ongdkx98WhAmzfjeO/s320/IMG_3035.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last year, I made a station at a table where students could create black out poetry. I haven't done it yet, but I think that I will cut up some of the book pages that we used for the craft for Teen Tech Week and have students create poems from the words. That is a task for next week. If you want to know what we have done over the years for Poetry Month, <a href="https://wke.lt/w/s/1wtjR7">check out this Wakelet that I made</a>. (By the way, Wakelet is my newest favorite curation tool.)</div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-76200067957584883202019-04-01T15:09:00.003-05:002019-04-01T15:18:31.738-05:00Teen TECH Week 19 is Now Over<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsa-SbI9xmagI2TnxR-PwRkNn6bt3HN3dwPV0_9tA_TulvIh9EnoTCx0UlYwNn1jCABA_HDnucX6zGK30-VUZ42liFKJ5O7dLQjwj4KELhN8l50zwwr2oMMp-AfBcU2DUq8NHW-Wb8KH2p/s1600/logo+for+TTW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="157" data-original-width="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsa-SbI9xmagI2TnxR-PwRkNn6bt3HN3dwPV0_9tA_TulvIh9EnoTCx0UlYwNn1jCABA_HDnucX6zGK30-VUZ42liFKJ5O7dLQjwj4KELhN8l50zwwr2oMMp-AfBcU2DUq8NHW-Wb8KH2p/s1600/logo+for+TTW.JPG" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Birds of a Feather Flock to the Library</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Teen Tech Week @ PFTSTA Library</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>March 25-29</b></span></div>
<br />
I know that Teen Tech Week (TTW) and Teen Read Week (TRW) may not be long for this world. Both of these initiatives have been sponsored by YALSA for years, and I can hardly remember a time when I did not celebrate them in my library. In the future, it seems that YALSA wants to promote more activities for teens year round rather than just for two weeks every year. In my library, I serve tweens and teens all school year long. I like the idea of having a special week in the fall and one in the spring to highlight what the library has to offer. Even if these weeks are no longer sanctioned by YALSA, I expect to plan and execute a week's worth of fun twice a year anyway. Certainly, I can do that, but without other libraries doing the same across the US, sharing on social media does not have as big an impact when I am the only one sharing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KsxngACJGXcKhyUMFGPhyphenhyphen2mXULRWFqrLHfrngUXTp7XO_6bp_-dDeu3PGF3ApWcXi1IjTJ6lJXo36Pp0Ufcl0jLUsmx6yBTto_bjPs3M1ji57x_H4xcdjRN0Q4lfoZXls-ZVgT45RR-J/s1600/IMG_2782.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KsxngACJGXcKhyUMFGPhyphenhyphen2mXULRWFqrLHfrngUXTp7XO_6bp_-dDeu3PGF3ApWcXi1IjTJ6lJXo36Pp0Ufcl0jLUsmx6yBTto_bjPs3M1ji57x_H4xcdjRN0Q4lfoZXls-ZVgT45RR-J/s200/IMG_2782.HEIC" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBh6cUOdikB1bkMnPkBi2db0HNK8F5mj50Wrg6J6LUYlmpMsnax0v668er3zL9YLryqOzBbyyj49KF7esrOUaudZ8EfP7NXH6n1ksxZHIYZ43aaUDhV4Q9e7byvZGYSc_AG7aTquEpqe3d/s1600/IMG_2791.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBh6cUOdikB1bkMnPkBi2db0HNK8F5mj50Wrg6J6LUYlmpMsnax0v668er3zL9YLryqOzBbyyj49KF7esrOUaudZ8EfP7NXH6n1ksxZHIYZ43aaUDhV4Q9e7byvZGYSc_AG7aTquEpqe3d/s200/IMG_2791.HEIC" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWzkQp-TSueUPwZzGazDNzvyBKqsUz7shaOWnm9zlJRSvWHDhCKOhqtVJIiSVDtJ3zgkeXFuHxwILSLFy6Fm0dkTCsZgJ4R0w_b4tNuBotZXHk5X-tOdxs66Qeoft3nweHWd44yFfH08_/s1600/IMG_2793.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWzkQp-TSueUPwZzGazDNzvyBKqsUz7shaOWnm9zlJRSvWHDhCKOhqtVJIiSVDtJ3zgkeXFuHxwILSLFy6Fm0dkTCsZgJ4R0w_b4tNuBotZXHk5X-tOdxs66Qeoft3nweHWd44yFfH08_/s200/IMG_2793.HEIC" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
TTW had a national roll out on March 9th, but that week I was out of the building for a state conference. I needed a week to prep for all my activities which is why TTW was this past week. We always start the week with animated shorts and try to show the ones that are nominated for an Oscar. I had a link to all those nominated, but after the Academy Awards ceremony, free access to those shorts was eliminated. I did some searching and found seven videos that I thought the students might like with several of them centered around birds since that was our theme for this year. Since students visit for TTW during their lunch period, they do not arrive all at the same time. By showing so many short videos, everyone who visited the library that day had a chance to see some of what we viewed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiTU-qp-oYH65al0uYUOKMnGT5M4mFZzHWLq-eBIlpyuArcN94ZqDKWvMs9uHJ-tWmODBEjgRxqz_J9yrLGmmfMj_9bB0Zb0nZ6krOPB47QpdjTn4hLLcpAm9TLUzMxypgLrZxeVT6CTm/s1600/IMG_3012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiTU-qp-oYH65al0uYUOKMnGT5M4mFZzHWLq-eBIlpyuArcN94ZqDKWvMs9uHJ-tWmODBEjgRxqz_J9yrLGmmfMj_9bB0Zb0nZ6krOPB47QpdjTn4hLLcpAm9TLUzMxypgLrZxeVT6CTm/s320/IMG_3012.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCln4P8HAuF_N7oiwJQBhtHsRsxEaIS_JFvgsndymisf3pEY6rE6Th8Te0LbYiyoQczKsi5fxe8BT8gr-c0BX-G1BylIU8X3MVgb8inxMw0-zfXc__tyCkRjELYOJ31vlP7Un7e4v63298/s1600/IMG_3014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCln4P8HAuF_N7oiwJQBhtHsRsxEaIS_JFvgsndymisf3pEY6rE6Th8Te0LbYiyoQczKsi5fxe8BT8gr-c0BX-G1BylIU8X3MVgb8inxMw0-zfXc__tyCkRjELYOJ31vlP7Un7e4v63298/s320/IMG_3014.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVf-FDrIaNuzqK1GBmS0JNP7hyphenhyphenyZPnQHQmto5tleQkSrkpMBS-LlckRTK-j1AHcc3k1I4AJgiw84rwYKQDC0TZJv6a-cDWwdLBle5QR-2duDpkh-7eDDL4wb9xkCgPHRrsiww5QQZz5Ky/s1600/IMG_2818.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVf-FDrIaNuzqK1GBmS0JNP7hyphenhyphenyZPnQHQmto5tleQkSrkpMBS-LlckRTK-j1AHcc3k1I4AJgiw84rwYKQDC0TZJv6a-cDWwdLBle5QR-2duDpkh-7eDDL4wb9xkCgPHRrsiww5QQZz5Ky/s320/IMG_2818.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I like to use the same template every year for the planning of these special weeks. It just makes my life easier, and I can build on the successful activities that we have had the previous years. Last year, we borrowed Rubik's Cubes from <a href="https://www.youcandothecube.com/">You Can Co the Cube</a>. We get to keep the cubes for several weeks, so we roll them out with TTW. Then, they remain out for a few weeks so that we can do many mosaics over the time that we have them. This time I borrowed 225 cubes. So far we have used all the cubes for Albert Einstein. It took them a few days. Currently, they are working on Abraham Lincoln. I have not made my own mosaic yet with <a href="http://mosaic.twisttheweb.com/">Twist the Web</a>, but I intend to. The downside of creating my own is the large quantity of paper that it takes to print out the pattern.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyhd4H98sViwjMepeVK2JdQyWKbGZIDBhH_gmb3o1plsp9x2DQ2ZYaHPFLcwL_rA4TW2-Ezl5I1pFlNFagjNA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Quiver in action</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryrbWPZDHIHiawhjKA__1YKYEsbem0PfI8GnZBe21Sr90zo_vSSHWxozYHvMNBcVvAhMGgCfHnl3qbHm8VArQLLEJHBrvHyzG3STGsyscL16u6e7y71mi4a8lYLHt8qBKYDBOBsQJCCv4/s1600/IMG_2873.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryrbWPZDHIHiawhjKA__1YKYEsbem0PfI8GnZBe21Sr90zo_vSSHWxozYHvMNBcVvAhMGgCfHnl3qbHm8VArQLLEJHBrvHyzG3STGsyscL16u6e7y71mi4a8lYLHt8qBKYDBOBsQJCCv4/s320/IMG_2873.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merge cube</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUL_Rd15SGEqb83nBu_BhpNN31RuglLT8DWvPYN5OaOn_K5PrADemd8wwmUb2INuk5bphWGmKWFJwoL5s-B-y2Dzu6GK0IqldcyrFHgDRI9j4b3OJeBCSaqoa553IQ5E4TmPhyphenhyphenHnml39AL/s1600/IMG_2866.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUL_Rd15SGEqb83nBu_BhpNN31RuglLT8DWvPYN5OaOn_K5PrADemd8wwmUb2INuk5bphWGmKWFJwoL5s-B-y2Dzu6GK0IqldcyrFHgDRI9j4b3OJeBCSaqoa553IQ5E4TmPhyphenhyphenHnml39AL/s320/IMG_2866.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I attended my state conference on the 14th and 15th of March and received a <a href="https://mergevr.com/cube">Merge Cube</a> as a prize at one of the sessions that I attended. That gave me the idea to do augmented reality for one of the days of TTW. I purchased five more cubes cheap on eBay. I also printed out some of the free sheets from <a href="http://www.quivervision.com/">Quiver Vision</a> to use too. A handful of students owned their own cube but most had never seen one before. I downloaded five different apps to use with the Merge all for free except one. Once TTW was over, the Cubes were added to our makerspace to be used any time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdALVGXqHmZFJ05T98rtZdZ6K3RL6C50I-o39C5wdmcKzcJRoVFJfcYGqJHddQuK33lXd8WWwUmE_j2TFiQ6ojdkiTqGRQMVRhucGYmJJRU_XfNcrNw0EbqvMdQhoujQ-34-JhLdVfa8N/s1600/IMG_2955.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdALVGXqHmZFJ05T98rtZdZ6K3RL6C50I-o39C5wdmcKzcJRoVFJfcYGqJHddQuK33lXd8WWwUmE_j2TFiQ6ojdkiTqGRQMVRhucGYmJJRU_XfNcrNw0EbqvMdQhoujQ-34-JhLdVfa8N/s200/IMG_2955.HEIC" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqN7MiidUSTiYL29jPsk_6VVVH2uzPV6txARj52tdj8PBsgoGlSjObsopG_eq86DlzGPpPCP6Y6Dtm2R_GSAjDDumDlYU_9ZvlLhbFPDX7YzkOQaKJzIaSglOZV_cCe3wvPsOIOjK5Y4B/s1600/IMG_2956.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqN7MiidUSTiYL29jPsk_6VVVH2uzPV6txARj52tdj8PBsgoGlSjObsopG_eq86DlzGPpPCP6Y6Dtm2R_GSAjDDumDlYU_9ZvlLhbFPDX7YzkOQaKJzIaSglOZV_cCe3wvPsOIOjK5Y4B/s200/IMG_2956.HEIC" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHzoEX4iSwUHuq6Sj38lG5mq2KRUhvrQ3qfYTKPj6iKSR8rqXfKyTcMxUz1bSgUtJ0vCSzsac6PfvxhtGxlRTulJM23QFD2RVJaXbtBC0Bbxy5TCsSE88AQ_v-3LbBqJPx6P0e00W6tfB/s1600/IMG_2946.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHzoEX4iSwUHuq6Sj38lG5mq2KRUhvrQ3qfYTKPj6iKSR8rqXfKyTcMxUz1bSgUtJ0vCSzsac6PfvxhtGxlRTulJM23QFD2RVJaXbtBC0Bbxy5TCsSE88AQ_v-3LbBqJPx6P0e00W6tfB/s200/IMG_2946.HEIC" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEichIb1nu3MdE_auA7SjFjDOQ36mgm1sW27Syilk0no8bek-ucfCfSTF7TOTHh8UvH88qIdh0NTG_GIPSHcDDDeNcgL7Two0Xe3YOun-zXf1ACgUAsfEAEl_3Xa0R9hpPtxz8qQaKFXmpk-/s1600/IMG_2952.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEichIb1nu3MdE_auA7SjFjDOQ36mgm1sW27Syilk0no8bek-ucfCfSTF7TOTHh8UvH88qIdh0NTG_GIPSHcDDDeNcgL7Two0Xe3YOun-zXf1ACgUAsfEAEl_3Xa0R9hpPtxz8qQaKFXmpk-/s200/IMG_2952.HEIC" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
There is always a craft for TTW, and actually it was the craft that help me come up with our theme for this year. I wanted to make something out of old library books. I found the directions for this bird in a <a href="http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2010/08/recycled-book-page-bird-ornament-no-2.html">blog post</a>. I made one for myself to see how it easy it would be, and it was fast and easy. That is always a plus because these activities are all done during lunch. Sometimes students will only have 15 minutes to complete whatever we are doing from start to finish. I adapted the i<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SZVknJrMspXO9ZLwA55RRgE6VVkc3x-Yxluvi0gxg-Y/edit">nstructions in the blog to this.</a> This was a craft enjoyed by all ages, and everyone made their own spin to what was given. Some older students ditched the template and made their birds smaller. One of the middle school students wanted their bird to be more three dimensional so they added wings to the back side, and then everyone added more wings,even me. There were a few who did not like the fact that I had cut up a book, but I was planning to discard the book anyway. It was free paper. Actually, this craft cost nothing because I had the paper for the bird, string to hang it, glue for the five glue guns, glitter glue which was purchased for a different project but never used, cardboard for the templates, and pencils and scissors. When I can design a craft project this popular without costing a dime, that is a real win.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeh5aCIedXyO-kZ5UzebLA5WiUQ9tN2K0htV7KzjpFsCCAJQbNgyfUZiIjy8jIFi1tKw4fO9gZwdpsMLY_ri3cXW2EFCrRBQn5O-MKxwyILTM2a-daCVLym7cj3I2mZHYiqJHvHLzgE5f/s1600/IMG_3022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeh5aCIedXyO-kZ5UzebLA5WiUQ9tN2K0htV7KzjpFsCCAJQbNgyfUZiIjy8jIFi1tKw4fO9gZwdpsMLY_ri3cXW2EFCrRBQn5O-MKxwyILTM2a-daCVLym7cj3I2mZHYiqJHvHLzgE5f/s320/IMG_3022.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALhjnGnJ9_QrTwXj3Ilob4mEb54iD4a29nCTx9VXW0rFZJco9LGWzLWHbaYMUV175tNb7m7TGIt5oRlnT8DMQ-hZV-T7Si0g0y27p6Zq7_UxRI1J62EYzajgb1PSjniWCXHkrOSF9kpRo/s1600/IMG_3023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALhjnGnJ9_QrTwXj3Ilob4mEb54iD4a29nCTx9VXW0rFZJco9LGWzLWHbaYMUV175tNb7m7TGIt5oRlnT8DMQ-hZV-T7Si0g0y27p6Zq7_UxRI1J62EYzajgb1PSjniWCXHkrOSF9kpRo/s320/IMG_3023.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SYD4c2pkRonlrdugRSmG4EIz0yXqlbwwCmSk9qVrb_3P8yGuazC4FqzdLL5Q3dXGX2T9FvtZGQPfwcwJnims6GzjChvGQQQd6r-QkiKVNim9Vel5vEPodOm-3OqOSczYMTEu-LLev4Ro/s1600/IMG_2998.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SYD4c2pkRonlrdugRSmG4EIz0yXqlbwwCmSk9qVrb_3P8yGuazC4FqzdLL5Q3dXGX2T9FvtZGQPfwcwJnims6GzjChvGQQQd6r-QkiKVNim9Vel5vEPodOm-3OqOSczYMTEu-LLev4Ro/s320/IMG_2998.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We ended the week with an Internet scavenger hunt that I called Game of Phones. Though most of the students used the library iPads rather then their own phone. The students were given a list of pictures to find on the Internet. If they could find 15 pictures on the list in 15 minutes they won a prize. The middle school really got excited by this one but not so the older students. If I was going to do a scavenger hunt again, I would need to come up with something a bit more interesting.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZGPwWiMr5-UzjUUpw9Bn-2V4-R28uoAsiziKPjCrnXnZGxm_TYFagK080mQzcZneF6WiWmsJ4MfcM-zigTVmbYn1YcPr2tsAqE9G9VJStKvXckeDM7DRRjER6JjUAw5vTJV390Nep9H_/s1600/read+the+book%252C+call+number+pic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1119" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZGPwWiMr5-UzjUUpw9Bn-2V4-R28uoAsiziKPjCrnXnZGxm_TYFagK080mQzcZneF6WiWmsJ4MfcM-zigTVmbYn1YcPr2tsAqE9G9VJStKvXckeDM7DRRjER6JjUAw5vTJV390Nep9H_/s320/read+the+book%252C+call+number+pic.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Google form used for the quiz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had an online quiz that students could play once during the week. I created the quiz in a Google form and designed it to determine the correct answers which saved me a lot of time. The students were shown the cover a book, and had to give the call number as the answer. I gave them the link to the library OPAC to find the call numbers. I wanted the students to practice using the catalog and finding exact call numbers. If they could answer 25 correctly, then they could select their own prize from the basket. If they finished with 15 answers correct, they received a miniature Rubik's Cube. Most kids tried for the 25 and made it, but a total of only 21 students completed the quiz. That was disappointing considering that the quiz was so easy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXHwExd1sa0MYcY16xvgqgS6NfTuhXUkdDhsDhxeffpnWg_sRWidhxbWUaXD-cZWEZ4wXZIrNgmIcLWTmAMVB54DoOmjkIFBGYzII85kNI2Es3zcGhMvpoBk9JqFkaXsRHnH27iZ8Zp8V/s1600/IMG_3016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXHwExd1sa0MYcY16xvgqgS6NfTuhXUkdDhsDhxeffpnWg_sRWidhxbWUaXD-cZWEZ4wXZIrNgmIcLWTmAMVB54DoOmjkIFBGYzII85kNI2Es3zcGhMvpoBk9JqFkaXsRHnH27iZ8Zp8V/s320/IMG_3016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I really like the idea of a week of special activities in the library. It highlights what choices the students have when they visit the library. It gets students to walk in voluntarily who don't usually choose to do so. For the regulars, it gives them a chance to find out something new about the library that they didn't know before. <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/teen-tech-week-2019.html">Visit the library website for more pictures of the week</a>. </div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-82664742664976775282019-02-08T10:56:00.000-06:002019-02-08T10:56:04.781-06:00Chelsea Sedoti Talks about her Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1IUppAaU5cUu8S6IxK9gsvr1am_LEEKa4PlQw0ahxDpVkpHCabXsVC_2jV1SNJMmk7o9U3-GMzlWzxWc-Gfc2su8WRZlD9X1eHcZ5_e6YNHxr2uTbywttCviuRJjFoanMux6hUsQ9ZR5H/s1600/IMG_2377.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1IUppAaU5cUu8S6IxK9gsvr1am_LEEKa4PlQw0ahxDpVkpHCabXsVC_2jV1SNJMmk7o9U3-GMzlWzxWc-Gfc2su8WRZlD9X1eHcZ5_e6YNHxr2uTbywttCviuRJjFoanMux6hUsQ9ZR5H/s320/IMG_2377.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/bookmarked.html">Bookmarked Junior Edition</a> or BJE is a later edition to the stable of book groups at Patrick Taylor. This group needed to be created once the school grew to include three lunch periods rather than two. Though the group meets weekly, there are usually only about four or five regulars. That is fine by me, but when I work hard to schedule a visit with an author, I want to see all the members attend. Yesterday, we had a nice turn out for author, <a href="http://chelseasedoti.com/">Chelsea Sedoti</a>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmPsoN-HktCQO_C7Cs7ZDlzLMu9b27nGRKvB4LgR0YvhB4OJ4sMcKiqS7UE9waE_0hiS0uBYBed5mALaFxebIJDpP1Lu2av4Scst89d55r9ZpmCRVIOccrxOlWFCp2_Xe7xccASj3CE5F/s1600/IMG_2337.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmPsoN-HktCQO_C7Cs7ZDlzLMu9b27nGRKvB4LgR0YvhB4OJ4sMcKiqS7UE9waE_0hiS0uBYBed5mALaFxebIJDpP1Lu2av4Scst89d55r9ZpmCRVIOccrxOlWFCp2_Xe7xccASj3CE5F/s320/IMG_2337.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I scheduled this event through SourceBooks. This publisher has made it easy to schedule virtual author visits. Their one requirement is that we buy some of the author's books. That is not an issue because I want the students to have an opportunity to read a book by a visiting author whether the visit is virtual or face to face. For some reason this year, I had a hard time connecting with the sales department at SourceBooks. I planned this event back in September, and I wanted to order the books early. It wasn't until January that I connected with sales, and we did not receive the books until the week before the visit. I am all about getting things done way ahead; this did not sit well with me. Even so, myself and a few kids had time to read before the event, and others grabbed the book just as we finished talking with Chelsea. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLRNHhKNME5IhjAoMl1MTnHHs0SZYvG4-9naCdLQki4Ccl_CANM6fiM-Dl2661HZVIOTLn2VScfVU6K1nlZRUJKuWhhrz48ppc1-mfH4tujld6wCn2Sqow6YCN7m8uMPBpPLkc42C3sxD/s1600/IMG_2331.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLRNHhKNME5IhjAoMl1MTnHHs0SZYvG4-9naCdLQki4Ccl_CANM6fiM-Dl2661HZVIOTLn2VScfVU6K1nlZRUJKuWhhrz48ppc1-mfH4tujld6wCn2Sqow6YCN7m8uMPBpPLkc42C3sxD/s320/IMG_2331.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At every author visit this year, students have asked questions about where the author gets the names for their characters. Chelsea wanted the town in <i>As You Wish</i> to have an old-timey feel, so she researched common names from the Victorian era for her characters. The main character of the book is named Eldon. Except in fiction, none of us were familiar with anyone of that name. She also explained that she does not usually base her characters on people she knows, but she will pull bits of personality from those she knows for her characters.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1PzjWDaToTQuGlZf5vlJDgcPU01igiPDP5My5n6ru9dYOgnsMkK-q6-Kj-X6GjAkafhGuKNhbVmRTA9tzlKo4DzqIgOE3HQYkdwYvdFLNT_GllxHXyWMzmhFPZ1Bxlw17NXOfIgb5nfvU/s1600/as+you+wish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="238" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1PzjWDaToTQuGlZf5vlJDgcPU01igiPDP5My5n6ru9dYOgnsMkK-q6-Kj-X6GjAkafhGuKNhbVmRTA9tzlKo4DzqIgOE3HQYkdwYvdFLNT_GllxHXyWMzmhFPZ1Bxlw17NXOfIgb5nfvU/s200/as+you+wish.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTLTjd1H0D54fUWjS4q5Uf7G4WgZIll6Y2LUZ8KGkn-g70KPAmETBaO4ollbnDN_3HpQEqTrulGARzt7fHJyI_0LNsv_CYLKQgvz1r_ewT1Ya1HFm_odCLuBN-uJ0VyE5nkmEr2lrIJxz/s1600/IMG_2355.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTLTjd1H0D54fUWjS4q5Uf7G4WgZIll6Y2LUZ8KGkn-g70KPAmETBaO4ollbnDN_3HpQEqTrulGARzt7fHJyI_0LNsv_CYLKQgvz1r_ewT1Ya1HFm_odCLuBN-uJ0VyE5nkmEr2lrIJxz/s320/IMG_2355.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
How a writer gets their start can often make for an interesting story. When Chelsea began her talk to the students about her fourth grade self, I realized she did have a good story to tell. Writing stories has been something she has loved for almost her whole life. Her year in fourth grade was spent writing stories because her teacher wanted to keep her engaged. When it was time to make a living, she had to find other avenues beyond writing to make ends meet. She was a videographer for awhile which did give her a chance to tell some sort of story. She also worked as a copy editor which gave her an opportunity to write though not in a very creative way. She now has two published books, a book due next year, and she is working on her fourth. Like many authors, it took her some time to get established, but she is finally able to live the dream that all began when she was in fourth grade. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/author-visits-2018-2019.html">Visit the library website to see more pictures of this event</a>. </div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-70794994187115138642018-12-19T15:24:00.000-06:002018-12-19T15:24:56.488-06:00Just have not been feeling it, but this helps<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This has been a hard school year for me. Besides the day to day of my job as school librarian, I have been trying to empty my mother's house since June that she lived in for 62 years. This has taken a lot out of me emotionally, and the act of sale is mid-January, so there is not much time left to finish it all. Also, the little aches and pains of aging are starting to catch up with me. I really need the two weeks off from school that starts on Saturday. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I was cleaning around my desk and filing some papers away today, I found this letter in the way back of my file cabinet. I don't remember the student or the year that she wrote this to me, but, boy, it has it put a smile on my face. Sometimes I forget the little things that I do have a huge impact on the students that I see everyday. To me this just helps reinforce that librarians do make a difference. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3xJbUOB0lDFHSBkMAhowrBWF82qMejrzRmY7hyphenhyphen5wcNMS1uGZ4BfXi-kAoRqG82zLQm05yX6IsupptlZy8PdWt5EkNJEhmglw9sKIU7L1hfUZIbU7-r9UGj6apDppS8zhb3RptdSHHIF7/s1600/letter+from+Sabrina+date+unknown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="795" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3xJbUOB0lDFHSBkMAhowrBWF82qMejrzRmY7hyphenhyphen5wcNMS1uGZ4BfXi-kAoRqG82zLQm05yX6IsupptlZy8PdWt5EkNJEhmglw9sKIU7L1hfUZIbU7-r9UGj6apDppS8zhb3RptdSHHIF7/s400/letter+from+Sabrina+date+unknown.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you click on the image of the letter, you can enlarge it to read</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://render.bitstrips.com/v2/cpanel/2a0aaf7e-d7e2-426f-9155-4ce5a4a516ea-9c998ac3-22f1-4174-b465-ca27cb70672f-v1.png?transparent=1&palette=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bitmoji Image" border="0" class="bitmoji-image" data-downloadurl="image/png:14624.png:https://render.bitstrips.com/v2/cpanel/2a0aaf7e-d7e2-426f-9155-4ce5a4a516ea-9c998ac3-22f1-4174-b465-ca27cb70672f-v1.png?transparent=1&palette=1" data-src="https://render.bitstrips.com/v2/cpanel/2a0aaf7e-d7e2-426f-9155-4ce5a4a516ea-%s-v1.png?transparent=1&palette=1" height="200" src="https://render.bitstrips.com/v2/cpanel/2a0aaf7e-d7e2-426f-9155-4ce5a4a516ea-9c998ac3-22f1-4174-b465-ca27cb70672f-v1.png?transparent=1&palette=1" width="199" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
I am going to take some time for myself over the holidays and also time to have fun with family friends. When I return to school in January, I am going to try and keep Sabrina's voice in my head so that I remember that what I do matters. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-23311132441228826212018-12-17T14:37:00.000-06:002018-12-17T14:37:47.151-06:00Virtual Visit with Author, Ashley Elston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxa0n4VP3jF3rresP8YaxLnqf0-_knq6WVWkGtYOVMIaBEbnwekpAZhyphenhyphenENX7bW_Pa9jHATW_MDh-17IwHeYSOUiFRS6jBapQKBsqp20pASHOqd-5yLnxXj-_DqYsPIIXwluUksOQCPsBAg/s1600/IMG_2026.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxa0n4VP3jF3rresP8YaxLnqf0-_knq6WVWkGtYOVMIaBEbnwekpAZhyphenhyphenENX7bW_Pa9jHATW_MDh-17IwHeYSOUiFRS6jBapQKBsqp20pASHOqd-5yLnxXj-_DqYsPIIXwluUksOQCPsBAg/s320/IMG_2026.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is always a great day when I have students visit with an author. I first met <a href="https://www.ashleyelston.com/">Ashley Elston</a> at a state conference. Like me, she is from Louisiana. Her presentation to the roomful of librarians was hilarious, and I thought that my students would really enjoy talking to her. After the conference, we connected on Twitter, and I found out that she was happy to schedule a virtual visit with us. We agreed on a Monday in December during one of our regularly scheduled Bookmarked meetings. If I can schedule the author when the group is used to being in the library at that time, it is easier for the students to remember.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QoZzoBagQ1r_Dst9AAiQ79oRi1oRV0I9KQgoVN54Kj8epTLDEbffrUrv9cvYLZNZr8rlU_vaOrQvmsVkv048Lho9E3kDo9NqlsbX-0OJIdnL9PqWq8whqD9TotmkV6vUowXrELndr1ik/s1600/IMG_2032.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QoZzoBagQ1r_Dst9AAiQ79oRi1oRV0I9KQgoVN54Kj8epTLDEbffrUrv9cvYLZNZr8rlU_vaOrQvmsVkv048Lho9E3kDo9NqlsbX-0OJIdnL9PqWq8whqD9TotmkV6vUowXrELndr1ik/s320/IMG_2032.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ashley came to writing after she had her children. She explained that being a wedding photographer did not mesh well with being a mom with young children. She really did not know what she was getting into but just began writing. She has four published books, and a new one to be published in the fall of 2019. For this visit, we concentrated on talking about her two murder mysteries, <i>This is our Story</i> and <i>The Lying Woods</i>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEA-Q52kPfNb07BCUNjizPCkUuxg9c1XDrbcEZUhDD1_mjPuXfyP1GeNl0FvkVHHVtmNFNvUdghW_iUHHHgJjG9_DfB93o9SDUGrysczEdgK-URZdplnwsxLlrKPOoX9OXvueXkEvs1lT/s1600/IMG_1979.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEA-Q52kPfNb07BCUNjizPCkUuxg9c1XDrbcEZUhDD1_mjPuXfyP1GeNl0FvkVHHVtmNFNvUdghW_iUHHHgJjG9_DfB93o9SDUGrysczEdgK-URZdplnwsxLlrKPOoX9OXvueXkEvs1lT/s320/IMG_1979.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since she doesn't start writing with a detailed outline or a map of what is gong to happen, Elston finds that she is often surprised as to who the murderer turns out to be. She thinks this helps to make the story work well for her readers. I can say that of the four suspects in <i>This is our Story</i>, I could not figure out who had done it before she revealed it. No spoilers, but one of the twists in this story that took me by surprise was not in the original draft.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhl9TsOQT6_TenIex-3TfdpMf44QTC-R2ZfdQiK6NT_SMD5C-zn6nQjwxskyH2qyrszMF6uOd6ql802ZXyt6MgLhiDd5X2LlpER6cgnQcSnK0JyBf4IChmT-qoxCjxeZbk8hAbLP4YAJ4z/s1600/IMG_2017.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhl9TsOQT6_TenIex-3TfdpMf44QTC-R2ZfdQiK6NT_SMD5C-zn6nQjwxskyH2qyrszMF6uOd6ql802ZXyt6MgLhiDd5X2LlpER6cgnQcSnK0JyBf4IChmT-qoxCjxeZbk8hAbLP4YAJ4z/s320/IMG_2017.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The students loved hearing how she came up with new ideas. She explained that she likes writing mysteries, but her next book, The Blind Dates, is a rom com. The story just came to her, and she went for it. I know after hearing her presentation at LLA this past March that she has a real comedic flair.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzF293YqXJaGLpBpYWbjgp4184Tf-IiAVvj7j_4KCs4Z3DjiEqKA42cWbzEG5pNWcV9rdiPWB7NI-CK_mmpNL4VrRkz_0s2euih6WhyphenhyphenyKTEeeRBwcscrEfNkYmfxVG8ZMY-tuBURSA2Mv/s1600/IMG_2031.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzF293YqXJaGLpBpYWbjgp4184Tf-IiAVvj7j_4KCs4Z3DjiEqKA42cWbzEG5pNWcV9rdiPWB7NI-CK_mmpNL4VrRkz_0s2euih6WhyphenhyphenyKTEeeRBwcscrEfNkYmfxVG8ZMY-tuBURSA2Mv/s320/IMG_2031.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/author-visits-2018-2019.html">find more pictures and more information about the visit on the library website</a>. The members of Bookmarked and I appreciate the time that Elston took to give us a peek into her writing process and motivation to write. Thank you, Ashley!!!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-29501310045950014262018-11-28T14:49:00.000-06:002018-12-14T09:49:35.006-06:00Geeking Out with Author, Claudia Gray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjik8prmGeTq7jY0rb5bpvdEOwyorJ2nAkx3jIeEBN49U_Lv0KpXjawNZPB2iBeH9Ob_cplEMcma5s9o5w0ExVef5jmMmlRg_34yXiBOJ4L7BIaxyAJrhoYxjVEzwzXU3_pOP6WIwfWFWde/s1600/IMG_1887.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjik8prmGeTq7jY0rb5bpvdEOwyorJ2nAkx3jIeEBN49U_Lv0KpXjawNZPB2iBeH9Ob_cplEMcma5s9o5w0ExVef5jmMmlRg_34yXiBOJ4L7BIaxyAJrhoYxjVEzwzXU3_pOP6WIwfWFWde/s320/IMG_1887.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two seniors designed this amazing welcome sign inspired by the book cover below</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6K0ZIDhlIip6-NyCUQkdIYPY0qmIqkCyTx2y0X_wqEFiu7f8yLs-HVYYKLduOirfRNVrUid5MEIr3LmM9l8XVHTE1ODNcZ1L9Rf_rtNMWqau7EGITFhZv1M3SlSHE3wi3DAU2uv7frNTQ/s1600/51Yo1JkRrxL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6K0ZIDhlIip6-NyCUQkdIYPY0qmIqkCyTx2y0X_wqEFiu7f8yLs-HVYYKLduOirfRNVrUid5MEIr3LmM9l8XVHTE1ODNcZ1L9Rf_rtNMWqau7EGITFhZv1M3SlSHE3wi3DAU2uv7frNTQ/s200/51Yo1JkRrxL.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Book 2 in the Constellation series</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LNy17cu31pwVXhz5HfND4gvyRc0vn8IqTUn_zZ0F0B0k8ofzfBTgQFPJzmbG6CwXLMuVL4ucjhEstCQu3cgZ-gYWh8rGpjL0U3UwWmnavnGJs6TKosYyVqAMTyUuaiZwBn7KMXYDATKt/s1600/IMG_1832.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LNy17cu31pwVXhz5HfND4gvyRc0vn8IqTUn_zZ0F0B0k8ofzfBTgQFPJzmbG6CwXLMuVL4ucjhEstCQu3cgZ-gYWh8rGpjL0U3UwWmnavnGJs6TKosYyVqAMTyUuaiZwBn7KMXYDATKt/s320/IMG_1832.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me on the left</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The young adult author <a href="http://www.claudiagray.com/">Claudia Gray</a> lives in the New Orleans area, and Patrick Taylor is located in the New Orleans area. Over the last few years, every time that I would see Claudia at a book event, I would ask if she would do a school visit. She always has said yes, but she is a busy writer and getting a time set on the calendar has been a challenge. On Tuesday, November 27th, the sophomores and juniors finally had a chance to meet her. I actually set up this event because I knew that the members of the high school book group, Bookmarked, would love her, but since this event was a long time in the making, I decided that every student in those two grades would benefit from hearing what she had to say. I was not wrong. The students were a great audience, and I think they all took a little something away with them at the end of the hour. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz54aFEEH3URcRcDKdxUOeX3AhtkwVSkYd6zXN43Le__tXy73EBzfWb_2DeBAQAWuoGxyuYnovQlVNteWjH93V1IwzvBP6R0NPkRsXqPdi9eP7nZRED4N3gdz2fObnvGONqaIoamwA5C2k/s1600/IMG_1865.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz54aFEEH3URcRcDKdxUOeX3AhtkwVSkYd6zXN43Le__tXy73EBzfWb_2DeBAQAWuoGxyuYnovQlVNteWjH93V1IwzvBP6R0NPkRsXqPdi9eP7nZRED4N3gdz2fObnvGONqaIoamwA5C2k/s320/IMG_1865.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWVZSogJwz2TY6RG1MQ_vSZJpfJhO3H-RnvD26csGukKGhT388rFJb0OHyHwg9blZPfuxMNgtQ-Gcxkh0la8G9O_OFzdc3utDjzbkJ24_gy84mlcyyzliw1v5ecL7ZxBemDBb9g4NejIR/s1600/IMG_1875.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWVZSogJwz2TY6RG1MQ_vSZJpfJhO3H-RnvD26csGukKGhT388rFJb0OHyHwg9blZPfuxMNgtQ-Gcxkh0la8G9O_OFzdc3utDjzbkJ24_gy84mlcyyzliw1v5ecL7ZxBemDBb9g4NejIR/s320/IMG_1875.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Claudia came prepared to talk to aspiring writers, but when she realized that we were a STEM school, she switched gears. Members of Bookmarked had written questions for her on Monday at our regularly scheduled meeting. She decided to go with the questions as the outline for her talk. She took the questions created by the students and arranged them in a flow that made sense and worked beautifully for her presentation. The students were curious about how she got started writing the Star Wars' books and if she preferred writing her original characters and stories or someone else's, how her life changed after becoming a published author, if she based any of her characters on people that she knew in real life, and what inspired her to become a writer. We did learn that when she was young she decorated her closet to use as an X-wing flight simulator. Though she never had a chance to leave Earth, you wouldn't know that from reading her sci fi series that begins with <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31423196-defy-the-stars">Defy the Stars</a></i>. You can read the answers to these questions and see more pictures of the day by <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/author-visits-2018-2019.html">visiting the library website</a>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93Xrn3bAPOlnSsNankgZ9oOHaAcd_lOJct496c506z1_bpq15lgzhsOsTbycwWqBNeD6lh4hEurHpPYBuFf-m5J9RVkQO6RxgHSFQsPP2mBSUTnx2r-yJy0zWE5hzk3o3oN1sv-BK8W0e/s1600/IMG_1877.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93Xrn3bAPOlnSsNankgZ9oOHaAcd_lOJct496c506z1_bpq15lgzhsOsTbycwWqBNeD6lh4hEurHpPYBuFf-m5J9RVkQO6RxgHSFQsPP2mBSUTnx2r-yJy0zWE5hzk3o3oN1sv-BK8W0e/s320/IMG_1877.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We want to thank Claudia for taking time out of her schedule to talk to the students at Patrick Taylor Academy and to <a href="https://www.octaviabooks.com/">Octavia Books</a> who helped make sure students could purchase books to be signed by the author. </div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-41953886210963370512018-11-01T18:43:00.000-05:002018-11-02T08:46:06.199-05:00Teen Read Week 2018 Brought a Crowd into the Library<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Why do I bother to celebrate Teen Read Week (TRW)? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf32A3JM3KopqON3tBGAQD-QVY7-kDtiSBfNb77qeTWAuhayU7VeEQO1gX6FtAQ_qzurO-49A4mHqthBf5rlOUTJd1o9eRxBYF-X0F8YPLkaCV9SLBoS6DJxabod_ncD3ipX325DkxV0fr/s1600/IMG_1421.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf32A3JM3KopqON3tBGAQD-QVY7-kDtiSBfNb77qeTWAuhayU7VeEQO1gX6FtAQ_qzurO-49A4mHqthBf5rlOUTJd1o9eRxBYF-X0F8YPLkaCV9SLBoS6DJxabod_ncD3ipX325DkxV0fr/s320/IMG_1421.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Student interpretation of "It's Written in the Stars"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have a steady stream of students in the library every day at all three lunches, and I do not need a special week of programming to encourage students to walk in the doors of the library. But TRW is an annual event, and I want my kids to have fond memories of all our TRW activities over the years that they attend this school. I like tradtions, and this tradition started when I came to the school, so it means a lot to me to keep it going. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYNJ8WHCJtxQrM_IiAGbDG1diDBNstuP2GJMTVOQthySEljwDMyyAoZkO4T3Gase2sGP60Blw7olwKNGKkUa6kV-Y9YcHDTMfz5M7LCwqSWx9X6R2WRKD5B6v1TKQPGuA8zHs6rGL4ATW/s1600/IMG_1387.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYNJ8WHCJtxQrM_IiAGbDG1diDBNstuP2GJMTVOQthySEljwDMyyAoZkO4T3Gase2sGP60Blw7olwKNGKkUa6kV-Y9YcHDTMfz5M7LCwqSWx9X6R2WRKD5B6v1TKQPGuA8zHs6rGL4ATW/s320/IMG_1387.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing the guessing game</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">Over the years, my students and I have developed programming for TRW that is altered and edited every year but always has the same components. As such, planning is pretty simple. We look at the theme set by YALSA and adjust all our activities to fit that theme. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa4_6sy5YEitqGCCMhnb7Xqz1Ai1Uk5Nej-7TyQiIiybEtBVnqPGpBkCqRgLBA5IaLJtRzi-0tva9D-jPyKwMke1oi5NkPDxFrz1J4lXLYX-WCVAZXL481Bsv5Xjig4jKzBUD579olRO6/s1600/IMG_1307.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa4_6sy5YEitqGCCMhnb7Xqz1Ai1Uk5Nej-7TyQiIiybEtBVnqPGpBkCqRgLBA5IaLJtRzi-0tva9D-jPyKwMke1oi5NkPDxFrz1J4lXLYX-WCVAZXL481Bsv5Xjig4jKzBUD579olRO6/s320/IMG_1307.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crafting tissue stars</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These are the events that are always scheduled: showing of an episode from <i>Twilight Zone </i>with treats, a simple craft that can be completed in about 30 minutes (length of a lunch period), a literary guessing game with sweet treats as prizes so many can win, some sort of picture taking to recommend books, guess the number of candies in the jar with the winner getting all the candy, a bookmark contest with a winner from middle school and one from high school, fine forgiveness for the week, and voting for Teen's Top Ten. Some years we have added events that included special visitors or authors, but that list is our general plan. It works for us, and the kids here seem to love it. I always ask members of my book groups to help with the planning and to give me ideas. If I need student helpers for any event, then I call on them. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePjK6NbSOmRciPX_v5emBmK1zZiJZl2KUArnsIY-VpRR5sor9mDXpVhmyIgpd8In3NUrfK6Oqq3-2LGPiPdZtDDHOh1uzaZbBAPW-62Lpg5dDXESk12R23PBqs4TgnY5JrzFlLtXD8zlv/s1600/IMG_1370.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePjK6NbSOmRciPX_v5emBmK1zZiJZl2KUArnsIY-VpRR5sor9mDXpVhmyIgpd8In3NUrfK6Oqq3-2LGPiPdZtDDHOh1uzaZbBAPW-62Lpg5dDXESk12R23PBqs4TgnY5JrzFlLtXD8zlv/s320/IMG_1370.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Below are just a few pictures to highlight the fun that was had during TRW 2018, but you can see a lot more <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/teen-read-week-2018.html">on the library website here</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2z_QrwGut_-OCak7WN5YdXUj4dxNi3XG8d3zzVvhIeFJBOUdAg9JoaTHdyPGWsgsvntBak2_uUdqC4_ENBaC43qaoGGy6vQqh81VZ-UXFk9gneyEsLlvH9PiWb6ujFmgxt1MdkcNKQP8j/s1600/IMG_1233.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2z_QrwGut_-OCak7WN5YdXUj4dxNi3XG8d3zzVvhIeFJBOUdAg9JoaTHdyPGWsgsvntBak2_uUdqC4_ENBaC43qaoGGy6vQqh81VZ-UXFk9gneyEsLlvH9PiWb6ujFmgxt1MdkcNKQP8j/s320/IMG_1233.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Focused on the video</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gvtymLQpIzdroG_UJQD8BvqksdeGl1NCqGqDXpPfLIsYA_PZE1VyRrN62YsNomWRDggUwA1-2myBM35iV_A7sOXkFUc5Hw-YO2Kj6w7qxIi4E76rpPO8Nw3Q1uj_7IEbyA1S0ruu2w99/s1600/IMG_1250.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gvtymLQpIzdroG_UJQD8BvqksdeGl1NCqGqDXpPfLIsYA_PZE1VyRrN62YsNomWRDggUwA1-2myBM35iV_A7sOXkFUc5Hw-YO2Kj6w7qxIi4E76rpPO8Nw3Q1uj_7IEbyA1S0ruu2w99/s320/IMG_1250.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7th grade helpers for the guessing game</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifzQR1Hoy79YTy9HKmDahNYTKvJ69VW042aOEK6kOcWE7CXrrsU88wo7jBOgHBRSdsiiGpojDjEJlCkMBMbqi9olwUbX9ZMI8JgbYcnGF-jsrsZ1wtyuDs6lwvRwqchvHr-6Q55mdIMRQ/s1600/IMG_1271.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifzQR1Hoy79YTy9HKmDahNYTKvJ69VW042aOEK6kOcWE7CXrrsU88wo7jBOgHBRSdsiiGpojDjEJlCkMBMbqi9olwUbX9ZMI8JgbYcnGF-jsrsZ1wtyuDs6lwvRwqchvHr-6Q55mdIMRQ/s320/IMG_1271.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the high school students like playing the game</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3eGsHtkGgCDA8uM6NlaY9STca1cc9vYGTKWMVfv2AROBrAWTzIqgW_SRLMsKq4iDNx5OVa60zEE1FYBLzLji2KWBbv0n-qo4eOn4k5NY76VeFcfwJiRwvdolknEL24G9ZxAeUoyTUdxm/s1600/IMG_1266.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3eGsHtkGgCDA8uM6NlaY9STca1cc9vYGTKWMVfv2AROBrAWTzIqgW_SRLMsKq4iDNx5OVa60zEE1FYBLzLji2KWBbv0n-qo4eOn4k5NY76VeFcfwJiRwvdolknEL24G9ZxAeUoyTUdxm/s320/IMG_1266.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Few came close to the number of candy stars in the jar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qER9vgXqnAPg5snwXn55P2QzgUImo-hpAnqpY_nsXX3uRwedz2oMy-B14HYFOi43whznfoXvB45wAGyrhkCt5FWr6rSbSJY2JMsivLYN68nwqtwIWHTBabA9zi0uS5bZoT970BzllF-b/s1600/IMG_1303.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qER9vgXqnAPg5snwXn55P2QzgUImo-hpAnqpY_nsXX3uRwedz2oMy-B14HYFOi43whznfoXvB45wAGyrhkCt5FWr6rSbSJY2JMsivLYN68nwqtwIWHTBabA9zi0uS5bZoT970BzllF-b/s320/IMG_1303.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tissue stars were easy but looked beautiful hanging in a window</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vE0aT272MWGxh4IqBVy-YfHK2Sc7i4xGqfEdLa7C_iAfx8aeZ6Ttr5UcUhar88uXD5BIN5Kd_GpA2hcgkxJ1tzy8da_62qouyoDZTplnMUc-TDjBlMOYezofIPHHU6fSWVFGFFAPc7a2/s1600/IMG_1395.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vE0aT272MWGxh4IqBVy-YfHK2Sc7i4xGqfEdLa7C_iAfx8aeZ6Ttr5UcUhar88uXD5BIN5Kd_GpA2hcgkxJ1tzy8da_62qouyoDZTplnMUc-TDjBlMOYezofIPHHU6fSWVFGFFAPc7a2/s320/IMG_1395.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We used star ratings to make book recommendations</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXRI3mO34Dt-vkjmTdPfxAez-bZbZLsGGc7k_l8BD6fwQ11biAHC_ZUL_ddjZlPEddiPefmRguD7hZNQ3Bc7IU7qpLTw0OTrVb6YLHkLVN11JyNVo2I6g-Z2yZLvFLQXGhe1WHiGl3kyd/s1600/bookmark+high+school.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="202" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXRI3mO34Dt-vkjmTdPfxAez-bZbZLsGGc7k_l8BD6fwQ11biAHC_ZUL_ddjZlPEddiPefmRguD7hZNQ3Bc7IU7qpLTw0OTrVb6YLHkLVN11JyNVo2I6g-Z2yZLvFLQXGhe1WHiGl3kyd/s320/bookmark+high+school.JPG" width="111" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High School Winning Bookmark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-V7Gv8iLxRuxc_zvePT2aZZQwT0K6ZFZyW1qRQo-503jb8u8ybpof05-FlIU9bx5iVSsWLaz2m8HwjcDlLDVMD9N2ID7-_FFqqPJlpzb-YN0ok83oRPReD2xoSfiNtEEAfjsSpQHpfyKB/s1600/bookmark+middle+school.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="214" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-V7Gv8iLxRuxc_zvePT2aZZQwT0K6ZFZyW1qRQo-503jb8u8ybpof05-FlIU9bx5iVSsWLaz2m8HwjcDlLDVMD9N2ID7-_FFqqPJlpzb-YN0ok83oRPReD2xoSfiNtEEAfjsSpQHpfyKB/s320/bookmark+middle+school.JPG" width="113" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Middle School Winning Bookmark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-90357839192077691302018-10-10T14:31:00.001-05:002018-10-10T14:31:48.949-05:00Library Filled with Activities for Teen Read Week 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAcTWGTmCjIzvstatnT5d_4GaG1oaL1fekIW4OlaHT1AJ5rwFNzaKzGLAA74JsxdrPllwJAKLXRAKnStJkHLIROjELnSJbBlbZ9pRCh6hREoa0PiGy2qZEI741kB0FAM5rKgF3t12c8M6/s1600/trw18logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="400" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAcTWGTmCjIzvstatnT5d_4GaG1oaL1fekIW4OlaHT1AJ5rwFNzaKzGLAA74JsxdrPllwJAKLXRAKnStJkHLIROjELnSJbBlbZ9pRCh6hREoa0PiGy2qZEI741kB0FAM5rKgF3t12c8M6/s320/trw18logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">It’s
Written in the Stars @ PFTSTA Library</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Teen Read
Week October 9<sup>th</sup> -12<sup>th</sup></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><sup><br /></sup></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><sup><br /></sup></span></b></div>
<div id="main" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2; width: 1263px;">
<div class="wsite-elements wsite-not-footer" id="wsite-content" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. <b>Annual
Library Book Mark Contest</b>: Two winners, one from middle </span><span style="font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">school
and one from high school, will receive a $20 gift card to Amazon, </span><span style="font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and
their bookmark reproduced to give away to the PFTSTA community. </span><span style="font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can
visit the library for a hard copy or </span><span style="font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://bit.ly/bookmarkcontest2018"><span style="color: #a918b8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">open here</span></a><span style="color: #a918b8;">: </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://bit.ly/TRW2017bookmark"><span style="color: #a918b8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">bit.ly/bookmarkcontest2018 </span></a><span style="color: #a918b8;">to print out from the web.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All
bookmarks are due in the library by Wednesday, October 24<sup>th </sup>at
2:30PM. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. <b>Now showing in your library</b>: Visit the
library at lunch on Tuesday to <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">watch "Third from the Sun" an episode of the
television show <i>The Twilight Zone</i>. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A treat will be served.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. <b>Who is the star? Guessing Game</b>: On Wednesday
and Friday, visit the </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">library to get a clue about a starring character in a book or a
starring </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">actor in a movie. If you guess the name of the character or
actor correctly, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">you will receive a small prize.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. <b>Get Crafty</b>: Visit the library on Thursday to make
a paper star to hang in a window. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.arwenart.com/tutorials.html"><span style="color: blue;">All the instructions</span></a></span><span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and materials will be provided
for you.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5.<b> Rate it One to Five:</b> Visit the library on
Friday and use our <b>star</b> rating system </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">to tell us your opinion of any book that you’ve read. We’ll take
your picture and </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">share your recommendation on the library website.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. <b>Fine
Forgiveness Week</b>: You may return any overdue book/s during <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Teen
Read Week without having to pay a fine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(You are still
responsible for fines for overdue books returned before October 1<sup>st</sup>)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. <b>Guess
the Number of Stars in the Jar</b>: See if you can figure out how many
candy <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">stars
are in the jar. To win, your answer must be closest to the correct number
without<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> going
over. The person with the winning guess will get to take home all the
candy <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in the
jar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. <a href="http://bit.ly/2018teenstopten"><b><span style="color: #a918b8; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Vote for Teen’s Top Ten</span></b></a>: Help select the
2018 top ten best books. Vote for up to 3 of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">your favorite
books here<a href="http://bit.ly/2018teenstopten"><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">: bit.ly/2018teenstopten</span></a></span><span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. </span><span style="color: #a918b8; font-family: "Rockwell",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Voting ends Oct 13<sup>th</sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-88447654465786116702018-09-14T14:04:00.001-05:002018-09-14T14:04:50.291-05:00Daniel José Older Visits September 11th<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhjMkjBIsOhCGM0CiwaCZwhtD-Vv1Q3f1sJAzvm_UOMwqhY5blFqqGlm1o8RFAGcWU2DpwX_btIDiNp7IBwAXtITiwFY5SXpEV8OCnQ29pXxhw7bK9kPAiuWmshdPqTKN5vOJ5lFfP48s/s1600/IMG_1035.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhjMkjBIsOhCGM0CiwaCZwhtD-Vv1Q3f1sJAzvm_UOMwqhY5blFqqGlm1o8RFAGcWU2DpwX_btIDiNp7IBwAXtITiwFY5SXpEV8OCnQ29pXxhw7bK9kPAiuWmshdPqTKN5vOJ5lFfP48s/s320/IMG_1035.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me on the left.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z6RZk4YYsCwu4UCZhfQ987esz8g_fJvNT6Aslagd3lPJMUHCVkDHznGUc2X1Tx-f96MY3gpiKHCScYxYeznMaQJIITQiorCqO2p6pktCwA5FbdJrxAIOFi1P3VmjQ0p2qUFGlAIVRl5Q/s1600/dactyl+squad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="321" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z6RZk4YYsCwu4UCZhfQ987esz8g_fJvNT6Aslagd3lPJMUHCVkDHznGUc2X1Tx-f96MY3gpiKHCScYxYeznMaQJIITQiorCqO2p6pktCwA5FbdJrxAIOFi1P3VmjQ0p2qUFGlAIVRl5Q/s200/dactyl+squad.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2yap5fsE8QyX9_MdAE5cJ5EqB7cq9SpgLUXHALLW-04Gu1MQuKaEm0TspPMP9nA0yxq14VyLJMJw9OUgKtrmAX3XJSuxui1S2ibrol0l34SAwaQven4BZX-IFfoO4CHUP0aD8ToBjDig/s1600/IMG_1010.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2yap5fsE8QyX9_MdAE5cJ5EqB7cq9SpgLUXHALLW-04Gu1MQuKaEm0TspPMP9nA0yxq14VyLJMJw9OUgKtrmAX3XJSuxui1S2ibrol0l34SAwaQven4BZX-IFfoO4CHUP0aD8ToBjDig/s320/IMG_1010.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Older drew a dinosaur for this owner of a new book</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Happy Book Birthday to the <i>Dactyl Hill Squad</i>!The
author of this book, Daniel José Older, spent the morning of his book's
birthday to explain to the 6th and 7th graders why they should read about
Magdalys and her friends. Many authors are genre-bending these days, and this
book really pushes the envelope by mixing a story about the American Civil War
period in New York with dinosaurs. These dinosaurs are not man-eaters. They
have been harnessed by the people for transportation and to move goods and
materials. This may seem far fetched, but it does work. Older weaves historical
accuracies into his fictional story to make for a bit of fun along with some
history.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3-4oMMN_6BvkQOUu_piW_H-8INl5zJH_I_gy0VOFs_1KVyyfJ5_zGRedYRsNCXrnPriBiVr6CGYvs_AtE12w0auXM9JRyuEelr0TunowL47Kf0aKwMrDt-GwOmrbKcdtKeBXyZS1DW79/s1600/IMG_0999.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3-4oMMN_6BvkQOUu_piW_H-8INl5zJH_I_gy0VOFs_1KVyyfJ5_zGRedYRsNCXrnPriBiVr6CGYvs_AtE12w0auXM9JRyuEelr0TunowL47Kf0aKwMrDt-GwOmrbKcdtKeBXyZS1DW79/s320/IMG_0999.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All 6th and 7th grade attended the presentation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpE995-ojVAEXp64qggI9vIYLeZT-UGdD9SmiK8pwb3oo-NObFcvQyHp4hwp4h5A_UhxUR6joL-W5C98eKvHINMXz1XbxFfKsnB2W79hHsd-5rS_IH98UA_pdIOipTLITMYFWOZu0cVVN/s1600/IMG_0946.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpE995-ojVAEXp64qggI9vIYLeZT-UGdD9SmiK8pwb3oo-NObFcvQyHp4hwp4h5A_UhxUR6joL-W5C98eKvHINMXz1XbxFfKsnB2W79hHsd-5rS_IH98UA_pdIOipTLITMYFWOZu0cVVN/s320/IMG_0946.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Older works the crows</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The students were most interested in where he got his idea for the book and how long it took him to write it. It took three weeks! This first in the series takes place mostly in Brooklyn, but in book two, which comes out in spring of 2019, has the characters traveling to New Orleans. With the story moving to our backyard, I know the kids are going to be anxiously waiting for its book birthday. You can <a href="http://www.pftstalibrary.com/author-visits-2018-2019.html">visit the PFTSTA Library website</a> to see lots more pictures of the day.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuH4Wlx-HNJKXuQFPmfPxsiuPOyiKTjGN3xudkji3eqGeK-c4wnE9AzMX4pZm70dc3OyxpHS73W4ZT1se8WL0PTmpWnEAhf8Z8aAd7HIwOxrqyT_HgQ8cEBtZFSbk4-Elh4IRfxqzbw6C0/s1600/IMG_1004.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuH4Wlx-HNJKXuQFPmfPxsiuPOyiKTjGN3xudkji3eqGeK-c4wnE9AzMX4pZm70dc3OyxpHS73W4ZT1se8WL0PTmpWnEAhf8Z8aAd7HIwOxrqyT_HgQ8cEBtZFSbk4-Elh4IRfxqzbw6C0/s320/IMG_1004.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIf1YJmDM7N-uVAQwlnRxl9MzMBCCoxG3_xlnVuEXlC9iJrDf-dpjD7Q6UXEdJzffYvD8INBBnkFRq1QEAtQTdlHM3-Bve4oWPwZc6IXZNG8d12po8rG_MJMalUgqqmCisjYG6v1G7_8i/s1600/IMG_1008.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIf1YJmDM7N-uVAQwlnRxl9MzMBCCoxG3_xlnVuEXlC9iJrDf-dpjD7Q6UXEdJzffYvD8INBBnkFRq1QEAtQTdlHM3-Bve4oWPwZc6IXZNG8d12po8rG_MJMalUgqqmCisjYG6v1G7_8i/s320/IMG_1008.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We want to thank <a href="https://www.octaviabooks.com/">Octavia Books</a> and <a href="https://www.arthuralevinebooks.com/dactyl-hill-squad/">Arthur A. Levine Publishers</a> for making this event possible. </div>
Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166386504207012802.post-23776164282956455722018-08-26T12:33:00.001-05:002018-08-26T12:33:07.720-05:00First Two Weeks of the 18-19 School Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_a0Af-T-RPFlI7BRkoHhjH8KIVYaetekuqy0BBRW50KuxVomxb_g4PoEefFcZxHxnN3BFNo-Wy0HZEJGa_RfjJmZHU9OuwnR2KdCyx_SBH_hCQb9sMIStxE9iaGmuz-P3sO64LBCrS9vC/s1600/IMG_0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_a0Af-T-RPFlI7BRkoHhjH8KIVYaetekuqy0BBRW50KuxVomxb_g4PoEefFcZxHxnN3BFNo-Wy0HZEJGa_RfjJmZHU9OuwnR2KdCyx_SBH_hCQb9sMIStxE9iaGmuz-P3sO64LBCrS9vC/s320/IMG_0251.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
School always starts so quickly, and even though the librarians in my district are suppose to have two weeks at the beginning of school to get the library ready, I usually jump in with both feet. The middle school teachers wanted orientation as quickly as possible. I obliged, but I was not very clever with my presentation this year. Laptops weren't out yet to the students so the teachers were clamoring for the iPad carts. That meant that I would not be able to do something interactive with technology. I just didn't have time to figure out a way to complete orientation a different way. I revisited my power point from last year, made some edits and went with it. I did find a Buzz Feed list of the <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/lumos-solem?utm_term=.ak3QwrW7j#.fj3WY6mNd">18 Magical Ways that Harry Potter Changed my Life</a>. I used this as my jumping off point of why books are important and that everyone can find their Harry Potter even if that book series is not the one for you. I went through a handful of the 18 ways and asked the students to explain what the speaker of the quote meant by what they said. It was interesting to note that the 6th graders had much more to say about the quotes than even the 7th or 8th graders. I even showed the list to my high school book group, and those students were really interested in all 18. Many of them could say that Harry Potter changed their lives. The biggest change was the way that it made them love books and reading.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNp94wZRh6mR5YNwlWk_C2sJXxyJBsXElUN2uy-lAZTqkt-0rJEkWj-HrTWUKOWlfRRjSY9ti1ZE9qr0C1Cn4PPFAEjO7bF1XvFEFXSReBFptFAaV8Nwvew7mnv4iIQaC0SMDwgT7GLu26/s1600/IMG_0856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNp94wZRh6mR5YNwlWk_C2sJXxyJBsXElUN2uy-lAZTqkt-0rJEkWj-HrTWUKOWlfRRjSY9ti1ZE9qr0C1Cn4PPFAEjO7bF1XvFEFXSReBFptFAaV8Nwvew7mnv4iIQaC0SMDwgT7GLu26/s200/IMG_0856.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Below are some pictures of our new students and returning students enjoying the first couple of weeks in the library with books and the makerspace materials---giving you a snapshot of what the day to day looks like. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawhOOVUl4ixhXV1qAFAL_8HGNEwPgtf9gv8zECGQFaQK-rbCFq_5zQ9OPsOc2rsoxHEZDB1y4c3nOJRnKLepYV6Qo6tFEEgC0DU1DOMqjFOWr67SvgpmWIIy0p1NoSA8tdIv0EGrnIBek/s1600/IMG_0854.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawhOOVUl4ixhXV1qAFAL_8HGNEwPgtf9gv8zECGQFaQK-rbCFq_5zQ9OPsOc2rsoxHEZDB1y4c3nOJRnKLepYV6Qo6tFEEgC0DU1DOMqjFOWr67SvgpmWIIy0p1NoSA8tdIv0EGrnIBek/s320/IMG_0854.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkFE3SijfnN2XKKntdUFXVoJPqHIjS_rdutJpRLCH79knFJl8D2nkV17WgM0gLqXlxBDjRSUiiIKacHCYUv1SWsQWvX1IoXTpE7a-IjXprosXZIU2CFZMBgzHbPtw0tkjBO9Y81CrgSSv/s1600/IMG_0852.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkFE3SijfnN2XKKntdUFXVoJPqHIjS_rdutJpRLCH79knFJl8D2nkV17WgM0gLqXlxBDjRSUiiIKacHCYUv1SWsQWvX1IoXTpE7a-IjXprosXZIU2CFZMBgzHbPtw0tkjBO9Y81CrgSSv/s320/IMG_0852.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBq8ZuaFL216xrs1vPTAeQ3lRu2YgK0vQM9-N51cCxiKZ9CsaKFfgfXLK0tS3dFts8FCybFpRbpJ-hyFLs8hhZ5n6EmI6fbyKCA9TSemEhrJv6grUKucrf6-IxTRvnWQmF1SBykkXui03D/s1600/IMG_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBq8ZuaFL216xrs1vPTAeQ3lRu2YgK0vQM9-N51cCxiKZ9CsaKFfgfXLK0tS3dFts8FCybFpRbpJ-hyFLs8hhZ5n6EmI6fbyKCA9TSemEhrJv6grUKucrf6-IxTRvnWQmF1SBykkXui03D/s320/IMG_0827.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TQONfYigIBX_hbIBR4ewp6eep5k8FManczzbWc6HKUSc9xzm-CoA2sby6pEHbDzqB2SCjLwSjyfkRga_kARXCEgO7v3A_Ae2eGVbULI-oowEc3qGi2h97VSgIC_PRXjU0yoDkSc74xHW/s1600/IMG_0814.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TQONfYigIBX_hbIBR4ewp6eep5k8FManczzbWc6HKUSc9xzm-CoA2sby6pEHbDzqB2SCjLwSjyfkRga_kARXCEgO7v3A_Ae2eGVbULI-oowEc3qGi2h97VSgIC_PRXjU0yoDkSc74xHW/s320/IMG_0814.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUYW7eHjs5xvtz7uKVW2OK5p66GB4Bs49_mUQ3pb3kjYVoHHRj_MsdVrl55G3360jzaDOAJLIMrpmp8es8GRLDm6kN-lLRFp5ZvQueu3dtFzbILOGId2NSXmtsXaNqK9SKYlRO3IZXQmz/s1600/IMG_0808.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUYW7eHjs5xvtz7uKVW2OK5p66GB4Bs49_mUQ3pb3kjYVoHHRj_MsdVrl55G3360jzaDOAJLIMrpmp8es8GRLDm6kN-lLRFp5ZvQueu3dtFzbILOGId2NSXmtsXaNqK9SKYlRO3IZXQmz/s320/IMG_0808.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGTu3vbSPRMjTmyIfpfCnOQQHHn-iqrwqvPVa4EHZTuj-3VC6uXWVO-JnhKLTtVJacKsLVIKcJM-COQTblaKux2DN5P2PUr9mGxDjniGy0nGQIziipXyIXOlTaowkbtvPZ2ZgAxWJhEA0/s1600/IMG_0809.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGTu3vbSPRMjTmyIfpfCnOQQHHn-iqrwqvPVa4EHZTuj-3VC6uXWVO-JnhKLTtVJacKsLVIKcJM-COQTblaKux2DN5P2PUr9mGxDjniGy0nGQIziipXyIXOlTaowkbtvPZ2ZgAxWJhEA0/s320/IMG_0809.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOzPjpzKkC-CKXTXlkoelqlxlo8WzJzEbpIF-g_YRW4CUjtin3Qjcd-OYVM-Y-KQD2I3UftWO89xOh7WfXycHDqjoeFyNr5osXxbwhCvVDHN0uSld_0BsSoQuiRUm01p0BbPoS0d-mJtE/s1600/IMG_0280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOzPjpzKkC-CKXTXlkoelqlxlo8WzJzEbpIF-g_YRW4CUjtin3Qjcd-OYVM-Y-KQD2I3UftWO89xOh7WfXycHDqjoeFyNr5osXxbwhCvVDHN0uSld_0BsSoQuiRUm01p0BbPoS0d-mJtE/s320/IMG_0280.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10JvH-0sOudsh2gbR352PFMVtPfMPgDawvxIoynLC18kar1uM1A3ZXs2EOKtpkZl8riGIydVj5yzrueERIxVAlHmN6BQPUX25bFHCdFAl_8H9sv46YimBps72QAe4sS8A2GcSdHjDcrwI/s1600/IMG_0876.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10JvH-0sOudsh2gbR352PFMVtPfMPgDawvxIoynLC18kar1uM1A3ZXs2EOKtpkZl8riGIydVj5yzrueERIxVAlHmN6BQPUX25bFHCdFAl_8H9sv46YimBps72QAe4sS8A2GcSdHjDcrwI/s320/IMG_0876.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028678787164951183noreply@blogger.com0