Banned Books Week

"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country.

Find out which challenged books made the 2015 list, which was released as part of the 2016 State of America’s Library Report." - ala.org/bbooks

Come into the library and see some banned books on display.  Perhaps you've read some....perhaps you would like to!  South Middle is proud that we allow our students (and parents) to choose books that they feel they (or their child) are comfortable reading.  Banning books goes against what we believe and we choose to celebrate this week every year in honor of that.

Today is Banned Websites Awareness Day.  Here's a little background on this day and how it began...

"Usually the public thinks of censorship in relation to books, however there is a growing censorship issue in schools and school libraries – overly restrictive filtering of educational websites reaching far beyond the requirements of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Students, teachers, and school librarians in many schools are frustrated daily when they discover legitimate educational websites blocked by filtering software installed by their school.  

Filtering websites does the next generation of digital citizens a disservice.  Students must develop skills to evaluate information from all types of sources in multiple formats, including the Internet. Relying solely on filters does not teach young citizens how to be savvy searchers or how to evaluate the accuracy of information.

Over extensive filtering also extends to the use of online social networking sites such as FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, etc. In order to make school more relevant to students and enhance their learning experiences, educators need to be able to incorporate those same social interactions that are successful outside of school into authentic assignments in the school setting.  Unfortunately, filters implemented by school districts also block many of the social networking sites."

Check out this link to find out more about this day!

Library Orientation

6th grade library orientation is here and I am excited to show a different library to these new students than I have in the past.  I have tweaked my materials and added days that I think will help to foster a love for the library.

I am still using my scavenger hunt to have the students locate items in the library.  This helps them to familiarize themselves with the rules, sections and other items without me having to stand up and talk at them for a whole period.  I incorporated a Pokemon Go component with this search and the students really liked it.

Digital citizenship is something else I will cover this year, even though it is mentioned in Social Studies and Health (and I'm sure other places, too!).  I felt that it was important for the students to see the library as a place they can come to with questions, and for them to understand that we can guide them on such things as their digital footprint.  Many students do not understand the implications of posting things online and that everything on there is forever.

Lastly, I am going to do a MakerSpace day to showcase our new addition to the library and to promote the use of the materials during lunch periods.  Students love to tinker and try new things and the MakerSpace is the perfect place for them to do it.  We have things like Dot and Dash, origami paper, board games, craft supplies and more.  I want students to feel comfortable coming in to the library and using the MakerSpace to collaborate, problem solve and, sometimes, fail in their attempts.  It's a great, hands-on way to learn.

I am so lucky to have teachers that are willing to try something new and give me a few days to share how important the library is.  With technology and all the new regulations in education, it's nice to have something like the library to fall back on and to know that it can remain a place where teachers and students can come and expand their love of reading, knowledge-base, etc.

Rigor in Classrooms?

Robyn Jackson, from ASCD, created a short video regarding rigor in the classroom.  Her analogy using a cooking show is unique and truly does explain how different classrooms run.

It's easy to do the same thing.  Teach the same topic.  Use the same test. Every. Year.

What's not easy is trying something new, throwing out testing and truly preparing our students for the real world.  Technology helps, but doesn't solve the problem (and sometimes makes it worse).  

We are doing our students a disservice if we keep teaching them things they can Google.  Or showing them how to do math that they can figure out on the calculator on their iPhones.  The skills that were needed 20 years ago are not necessarily needed today.  Making your classroom more student-led is imperative for the future of education and the success of our students when they graduate.  Just because it's been "working" for all of these years doesn't mean it will continue to work.  

What are some things you can change in your classroom?  Start small.  Try something new.  And don't forget to reach out to me if you need any help/resources/ideas!

Open House

During Open House, I decided to set up some of the materials we have for our new MakerSpace.  I thought it would be a great opportunity for the parents to see what happens in the library and for them to encourage their children to come visit the new MakerSpace.
There were things like K'Nex, Legos, Cubelets, coloring sheets and more.  Many of the parents came in during their child's lunch period and truly enjoyed "tinkering".

Also making a debut was our Nao Robot, Rosie.  The parents really enjoyed hearing about how their children could visit the library and/or Coding and Maker Clubs to learn how to program her.  Rosie performed various tricks and it really impressed everyone.

The new MakerSpace is up and running in the main library during lunch periods for all three grades.  Feel free to come and visit to see all of the cool new things we have.  Although our MakerSpace is a little more "low-tech," it still has a lot to offer for students to try.  As interest grows, so will the various toys and materials.  I can't wait to see what our students create!

Glorified Worksheets?

One of the best things about being at South Middle is the access our teachers and students have to technology.  Our students are able to experience things that many other schools cannot provide because of the devices we give them each year.  
But this unique learning experience does not come without issues or changes.  The devices are only as useful as the lessons, interactions and experiences we create for our students.  If they are used simply to substitute paper worksheets or to hand in work that would normally be done on paper, then we are wasting our time and resources.  This is a starting place, sure, but we have to strive to make the devices used in such a way that students won't be going to coolmathgames.com or wikipedia.  The interactions in our classrooms need to be more student-centered and less teacher-centered.  This is a big change in ideology and day to day lesson planning, but it is the way that education should be moving.  
As George Couros, a leading educator, states in The Innovator's Mindset:

The library is a great place to start with new ideas and ways to move from "glorified worksheets" to true 21st century learning.  I am always here to brainstorm, find resources and aid you in whatever you'd like to try or whatever your students would like to try!  What do you want to try this year?

Great New Features on Google Classroom

Over the summer, Google Classroom had some awesome updates!  Many teachers requested things like: interaction with parents, more organization, and more.  Google listened and has made these improvements and a few others.  So take a look at the article below and make sure your Google Classroom app is up to date!

Taking learning beyond classroom walls with new features for Back to School