10 Things I Love About Library Day

 

I’m taking part in the Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by Ruth and Stacey over at Two Writing Teachers. I hope to write every day for the month of March and then continue weekly each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slices. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it. 

 

After a week and a half of standardized testing and a snow day, we are getting back to a normal routine.  Part of our routine is a visit to the library every two weeks, and today is finally LIBRARY DAY again.  In honor of our library visit today, here are my Top 10 Reasons I love our school library!

  1. The books, of course!  I am always adding to my classroom library, but I can never keep up with the volume and variety of books found in our school library.  I love browsing the “new books” shelf to see which titles might catch my eye.  I was hoping to find Prodigy by Marie Lu on that shelf, but it’s too new and missed the last order.
  2. Our amazing Library Media Specialist!  She helps me pull books off the shelf for projects and activities and discussions.  When I can’t find the right book for the right student, she is there with just the right suggestion.  She is a whiz with sorting out technology problems, and gets our research projects off to a great start with lessons on sources and plagiarism.  Our students love her just as much as I do!
  3. Giving book recommendations.  I can’t think of a better way to spend my day than matching the right book to the right students.  When I find a book I love, I can’t wait to share it.  This week, I am all about sharing Legend by Marie Lu.
  4. Getting book recommendations.  I love it when my students come to me with their latest, greatest good read.  Some of my favorite books were shared with my by my students who read them first.
  5. Comfy chairs.  Our newly renovated library has the cushiest chairs to sit in.  I love the fact that my students can sit in a comfortable seat to read instead of a desk all the time.
  6. Lots of windows.  Wall-length windows let me see up and down the hallway, and high windows let in lots of natural light.
  7. Bright colors.  The library is the most colorful place in the entire school.  The carpet is filled with flecks of color, and so does the upholstery.   The walls are orange and green and red.  Trust me, it works.
  8. Book club home in the loft.  Yes, our library has a classroom loft.  It has become the home sweet home for our Survivor Book Club.
  9. Book totals.  Since this is the last week of the grading period, it’s time to check in with each student for progress toward their reading goal for the year.  On the first day of the year, I challenged each of them to read 40 books (as Donalyn Miller does with her students in The Book Whisperer).  Most of them thought I was crazy.  Now that we are 3/4 of the way through the year, many are amazed at how much they are reading.
  10. Great discussions on text complexity.  Today’s library lesson came from Penny Kittle’s Book Love, and it was a rousing success.  This morning I created stacks of books with very different levels of difficulty.   (Thank you Mrs. Marsh and Miss Bowman for your help.)  Students had to put the books in order from easiest to hardest.  Then they had to answer the questions, what makes a book harder or easier?  What do you look at when deciding how hard a book is?   We had great discussions all day long on what makes a text difficult.  As an added bonus, I had to replace books in the stacks all day long as students asked, “Can I check this one out?”

8 Comments on 10 Things I Love About Library Day

  1. Maria Selke (@mselke01)
    March 15, 2013 at 7:04 am (11 years ago)

    I love my librarian, too! We have an amazing library, but I don’t get to be the one to take my kids to it (I’m a resource teacher, not a classroom or subject area teacher). But I keep a big classroom library going, and love to hear what they do in our school ilbrary.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      March 15, 2013 at 8:35 am (11 years ago)

      I’m so glad my co-teacher (also a resource teacher) is able to go to the library with us. She helps me connect our students with books.

      Reply
  2. Carol
    March 15, 2013 at 12:19 am (11 years ago)

    Your library sounds wonderful! Unfortunately, because of budget stuff, we don’t have a librarian. We have a library tech, who is super sweet and a super hard worker, but she doesn’t know books, etc. and it makes me really, really sad. Such an important part of the literacy community in this school.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      March 15, 2013 at 6:34 am (11 years ago)

      Thanks! It is sad to lose a librarian in a school. Our librarian does so much to boost academic performance of all our students.

      Reply
  3. jcmslibrary
    March 14, 2013 at 7:40 pm (11 years ago)

    Thanks! I love it when you guys come to the library!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      March 14, 2013 at 8:17 pm (11 years ago)

      We love our librarian!

      Reply
  4. Storykeeper
    March 14, 2013 at 6:48 pm (11 years ago)

    Your library sounds so fun to visit. Books to me is like breathing. How can you not love to read. I am glad to know that there are many people who appreciate their library.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      March 14, 2013 at 8:18 pm (11 years ago)

      I try to spread the reading love to my students, too.

      Reply

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