During my students' library visit this week, Ms. Irwin (our fabulous school librarian), previewed The Storm Runner by J. C. Cervantes. This week, the author will be visiting to talk to third through sixth grade students about her novel centered around South American mythology. Students were entranced by the first chapter that was read to them. It should be an exciting author visit!
This week, Ms. Irwin additionally reviewed her Bluebonnet Book Award goals and folder system. Each year, she creates five question quizzes through Google Forms, for each of the year's selected Bluebonnet Books. Students are challenged to read at least five books and successfully complete their quizzes by January. Students' progress is tracked in their "Bluebonnet Folder". Ms. Irwin creates a document (housed in students' folders) that has the names and cover photos of each book, along with an area for students to have each book initialed by an adult who saw them read the book and a space for students to fill out when they completed the book. After students submit their folder in the library, Ms. Irwin stars the books students score a 3/5 or higher on or writes them a note to quiz again. If students reach their goal of reading 5 out of 20 award books, they are able to vote on their favorite book from that year's selections. The more books students read, the more prizes they are able to earn such as lunch in the library with Ms. Irwin, ability to choose books Ms. Irwin will order for the library, or their choice of book(s) to take home with them. I personally am extremely impressed by the system Ms. Irwin has set up for the Bluebonnet Book Awards. It not only motivates students to read, but additionally exposes them to a variety of genres and quality literature that they may not have tried otherwise. I plan to implement this system in my future library program!
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Standard 2: Literacy and Reading Candidates promote reading for learning, personal growth, and enjoyment. Candidates are aware of major trends in children’s and young adult literature and select reading materials in multiple formats to support reading for information, reading for pleasure, and reading for lifelong learning. Candidates use a variety of strategies to reinforce classroom reading instruction to address the diverse needs and interests of all readers. For our third module in my school librarianship course, we researched and discussed the school librarian’s role in promoting literacy and reading. We were tasked with finding a YA multicultural book we would recommend to a teacher, conduct an interview with a school librarian, and write an article critique for a work that explores librarians’ roles as literacy and reading promoters. (All of these assignments are linked below, and can also be found on my "Literacy and Reading" page under the "Standards" tab.) My mentor librarian, Jeneen Irwin, and my chosen article, “Teacher-Librarian as Literacy Leader” by Michael Cart, detailed librarians’ duty to choose works that represent their learning community, create collections designed around specific student interests, and to provide students with unique experiences such as author’s visits that engage them and inspire their love of learning. It was during this same week that I attended an author’s visit at a local, Austin bookstore, BookPeople. Author, Tom Angleberger, and illustrator, Dan Santant, promoted their new book, Princess and the Pit Stop. Their event was engaging to all young audience members, starting with a makeshift gameshow they called, “Name it to Win it”, where kids were challenged to guess the character represented in the author’s and illustrator’s drawings. Next, Tom Angleberger read the book while Dan Santant provided sound effects throughout. The children and adult audience members alike were in stitches. If you ever have an opportunity to attend a visit by either Tom Angleberger or Dan Santant, you should definitely attend as you will not be disappointed. This author visit and an activity based on literacy promotion in the library, will be coming soon to the site! I am currently in the works of developing my presentation with fellow group members, but I will update the site when it’s posted!
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AuthorMy name is Mackenzie Wright. I am currently a teacher in the Austin area, and am finishing my Master's in school librarianship through UNT. Categories
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