Gossard_Theresa_BlogShare

     

https://www.stayingcoolinthelibrary.us/blog/

When I was looking for a blog to share I wanted to make sure the information was current and relevant to my current position as a high school librarian.  The Blog I would like to highlight today is Staying Cool in the Library.  This blog site is an amazing resource for librarians.  What first drew me to this site was the way the home page is set up.  It looked easy to navigate and user-friendly.  The use of color and graphics was another thing that made me explore the site further.  The site is very organized and neat with up-to-date articles and information.  Other blog sites I looked at had older articles and information.  I wanted to make sure the blog site I chose was up to date and something I would use while being a first year librarian. 

This blog has articles archived and organized under subheadings.  Some of the subheadings you can click on are about library management, lesson plans, ideas for reading motivation, library skills and research.  As a former teacher and a current first year librarian, I find it helpful that this blog has lesson plans and reading motivation ideas. It helps that each article has a graphic along with a summary of what the article is about.  When I read articles I am attracted to the ones that have some sort of visual graphic to draw me in.  To me, having a visual graphic is like having a welcoming sign.  I feel like when someone takes the time to make their site visually appealing they have more wholesome information to offer.  This site also has a resource library tab where additional resources such as worksheets and activities can be found.

This blog site provides relevant and current resources to librarians.  On August 22, 2023, Staying Cool in the Library posted a blog entitled Read-Alouds made easy:  10 Tips for successful storytelling.  This blog is a great read for storytellers.  Several of the tips are some we learned in our Storytelling class such as bringing emotions into the story and encouraging active participation in read alouds.  On the bottom of the article it gives you a link to click if you would like to know more about planning the perfect read aloud.  I like how it gives suggestions for more appropriate articles that may interest me.  It keeps me from going down the rabbit hole of information.  Hours later I realized that I had been on this site for a while reading blog after blog.

Another article I found interesting as a storyteller is the one from June 30, 2023 entitled Benefits of Graphic Novels:  Explore the Power of Visual Storytelling.  Since we have to complete a digital storytelling activity for this class I figured this article could remind us of the power of visual storytelling.  They bring up a good point, which is the importance of visual literacy for kids.  In visual literacy there are hidden languages such as facial expressions and body language sequencing.  Graphic novels are an example that portrays more than written language.  Another thing the blog talks about is cultural and historical awareness.  Graphic novels are a great way to teach cultural awareness.  Using pictures is an entertaining way to bring history to life.  

One Blog article that really made me think and reflect was the one on November 2, 2023, entitled Map Books:  A Journey to Introduce Students to the World of Maps.  Staying Cool in the Library wrote this Blog to bring up the importance of Map books.  Maps are visual tools for students and are used throughout life.  I never thought of maps as being a genre of books but I guess it could have its own collection.  This blog would be a good tool for Geography teachers to show how maps are taught.  The blog also provides a list of books that talk about maps.  They provide fiction and nonfiction titles along with a summary of the book.   There are links to resources about maps at the bottom of the blog.  They provide activities and printable resources for teachers.  

This week we had to read seven comedy stories.  I used the Staying Cool in the Library site to find what month would go well with comedy stories.  Using the blog article, Library Book Displays Ideas for Every Month of the Year, I found that April is the jokes and comedy month since it is home to April Fool’s Day.  So April would be a good month to showcase the books I read this week.  I have printed this blog article out and bookmarked it.  As a first year librarian I was just thinking yesterday about my next book display.  Since I am a high school librarian it can be tricky walking the line between elementary displays and high school book displays.  I am glad I now have an ideal list of possible displays to choose from.  In order to keep students reading I feel it is important to create creative book displays to keep students coming back for more.  

7 Comedy stories I read this week:

Gossard_Theresa_Free Choice

 Blog #7 - Free Choice - Blog Share

Link to Library Learners:  https://librarylearners.com/blog/

Library Learners is a website that has a tab for a Blog.  Under the blog tab, you will find several blogs that pertain to school libraries.  The blog's topics cover everything from supplies librarians should order to teaching library skills and everything in between.  As a new librarian, I am looking for activities I can use with the students that get them up and moving.  Anytime I can get physical movement added to my lessons I take advantage of it.  I enjoy stories where I can physically be involved in the telling of the story in some way.  As a teacher, I used to incorporate optional physical exercise activities for my students, even though it was optional I always had 100% class participation.  They loved being able to get up and move with the educational activities or brain teasers I would give them.  The students would look forward to snack time, not only because of the food, but they knew I would also have a physical activity they could participate in.  

As storytellers we can incorporate physical movement in our stories.  One way is to tell your story through a Story Walk.  This is a fun, great way to physically move and get storytime in.  One of the blogs is about the Recipe for a Successful Story Walk.  This is a recently published blog from August 13, 2023.  The blog gives step-by-step instructions to follow to complete a Story Walk through the book.  You will have to deconstruct the book and use it for the activity.  A tip is to get budget-friendly paperback books to use for this activity.  The pages of the book are placed on posters and posted around a walkable path and the students get to view it.  It would be great if each class could do one on the football field and allow the students to visit it one night under the lights of the stadium.  Students could bring their parents and view the Story Walk together.   

Another physical movement blog I found on the Library Learners site was about Musical Books.  On February 19, 2023, Library Learners published an article entitled, Play Musical Books to Promote Reading.  This blog talks about how some students get stuck in a rut while choosing a book to read. One way students could choose a book is by playing musical books.  This way students will get to experience other genres that they may not normally pick from.  The teacher plays music and the students move around the room to the different genres and when the teacher stops the music the students choose a book from the shelf in front of them.  If they can not choose a book from that shelf then they move when the music starts again.  This is a great way to get students interested in other sections of the library.  Some students will only visit the same sections over and over.  This activity forces them to at least look at some of the books in a different section.  

The last physical movement activity that I would like to highlight that the blog talks about is the Library Scavenger Hunt.  On September 13, 2023, Library Learners posted a blog entitled,  Five Powerful Reasons to Teach with Library Scavenger Hunts.  This blog talks about the benefits from having a library scavenger hunt.   Not only is scavenger hunts fun for everyone but they can be educational too. The students get to move around and collaborate with other students. A scavenger hunt is a great way to keep students interested in the topic being studied in the library.  Most library topics can be boring, so by doing a scavenger hunt they can get moving and stay engaged on the topic being discussed.  Library scavenger hunts can be easily differentiated to meet the needs of all the students.  

There was another blog that caught my attention as a librarian.  A blog that I enjoyed learning more about was the one from March 27, 2023 entitled How to Encourage Reading with Wrapped Books.  The wrapped books activity looks like a creative and fun way to encourage students to read books. Since students get to physically wrap the books this will help spark interest in this activity with students that like to do crafty activities.  This activity also has a writing component where the students write a summary of the story.  I am going to do this activity with my Book Club students this month.  The entire activity is broken into smaller lessons.  These lessons are detailed and easy to follow.  

How is classic literature used in storytelling?  We all know there are a few stories that we have heard over and over again.  Many of these stories you will hear told from different people and in many different forms.   Most classic literature books have movies or plays written about them.  Many classics are the same books that my parents and grandparents have read.  A lot of the classics have wording that is not normally used now and it is hard to relate to since times have changed.  I feel it is important for libraries to have copies of classic literature in their collections.  I also feel libraries should have copies of recently published updated classic literature stories.  I read six interesting, classical literature stories this week.  

Gossard_Theresa_Storytelling Experience

 Storytelling is something I never thought I would like doing, especially on video. I am a shy person so I took this class to get me out of my shell and I have ended up loving it. Each week I look forward to sharing the stories I read with everyone and checking out videos of others. Out of all of the storytelling videos that I have had to do, I think I enjoyed the storytelling without a book the best. When I first took this class I went through the syllabus and I was nervous because I thought there was no way I could tell a story without a book. At first, I thought this experience would be the hardest because I had to memorize the story word for word, but that was not the case. I just needed to know the story in detail in order to retell it correctly. I liked that I did not have to retell the story word for word and I could focus on the actual story, not just remembering or recalling the words.  

I picked this book because I am a mom and once was a child, so I could relate to both characters in the book, the mom and the baby llama. Plus, who does not love a good Llama Llama book. This book series is familiar to a lot of students.  They love to see what Llama Llama is going to get into today.  My sister is having her first baby at the age of 38 in the next month so I wanted to gift her this book along with the video for my niece.  Since I am a librarian I thought this would be the perfect gift. I am sure my sister will experience several baby llama nights. Also, I felt this book would be relatable to my students. As Piipponen & Karlsson (2021) stated, an aesthetic storytelling experience captures emotions as well as words.  We have all been a baby Llama at some point in our lives. I wanted to show the students that it is okay to miss your mom and be scared when you are alone. I wanted the students to know that it is normal to feel scared and miss your mom at night. But always remember that mom loves you and will see you in the morning.  

Students can design their own red pajamas as an activity to go along with the book.

Since the name of the book is Llama Llama Red Pajama I decided I wanted to make it my own so I searched for red pajamas to wear while reading it. You would think it would be easy to find red pajamas since it is during the holiday season but that was not the case. I had to visit several stores to find a pair of red pajamas to wear while reading the book. I love shopping so I didn’t mind having to go to several places before finding them. It would be great to share this book on pajama day so the students could wear their pajamas too. I think by having the students wear pajamas it can bring in connections to the story. It also makes reading fun and shows students it can be an enjoyable experience. Some students will always remember the special day they wore pajamas and enjoyed reading this book. 

While reading the story you could have a stuffed Llama wearing red pajamas.

I read the story, Llama, Llama Red Pajama many times. I read the story to myself and out loud to my daughter and my husband. I decided to create an outline for the story. This way I could hit all of the important parts of the story. I recorded the video the first time and then rewatched it to see where I was making mistakes. The first video was way too long so I decided I needed to trim the story some. I knew if the story was too long I could lose interest in the story.  Finding that happy medium between not being too long and getting all of the important points across was tough.  

I do not like watching myself on video but I know I have to do it to make myself a better storyteller.  After viewing and reviewing my videos, something I need to work on is that I talk too fast.  I am normally a fast talker and people in my life have learned to accommodate me but now I need to work on slowing down when storytelling, especially with young children. Talking too fast can ruin the story. I need to pace myself to emphasize what details are important in the story. I want to tell all of the parts of the story but sometimes I get too involved in specific details and the story gets too long, therefore I speed up my pace and I talk too fast. I also found myself swaying during the story. This was the first time I videoed myself telling a story standing up so I had never caught on to this behavior before.    

Storytelling can be powerful when combined with nonfiction. I have read several nonfiction stories this week.  I tend to like the nonfiction genre because it allows me to learn new information.  As a teacher, I have found that some students either really like nonfiction or try to shy away from it all together.  When I took students to the library I saw the same students migrate to only the fiction side of the library.  I have also found that boys seem to be more interested in nonfiction than girls.  This is why I would always make sure I had appealing nonfiction books available to my students during silent reading time.  I tried to make the nonfiction books quick and easy reads in hopes that my students would independently read about something we were currently learning.  

5 Nonfiction Stories I read this week are:

 

References

Piipponen, O. & Karlsson, L.  (2021).  Our stories were pretty weird too’- Children as creators of a shared narrative culture in an intercultural story and drawing experience.  Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0883035520318267?via%3Dihub