Our Reading Year

Yikes! I just realized there are only two cycles left with my Grade 6-10/MYP students! That gives me two sessions: one for reflection on our reading this year and one to kick off our Summer Reading Program. 

First Activity for "Our Reading Year"

Students complete my annual questionnaire about their own reading habits, preferences, and recommendations for how I can improve our library's offerings. They share which programs and events to continue and new ideas to add for next year. I use the same questions each year to gather longitudinal data. It's been very helpful to see which of my efforts seem to hit the mark the best. 

(Spoiler Alert: Our Summer Reading Challenge and Holiday Craft day in December are the faves).

Second Activity:

Students create a Canva slide highlighting their own reading over the course of the school year. I show them mine as an example. There are no requirements other than their name and grade level. I give them some ideas to start with but they can design however they want.

If they're willing, students share the slide with me to display on our digital signs. 

Mine includes my 5 star reads, my most challenging book, my favorite activities from the year, and my "reading buddy" who is my younger daughter who also loves historical fiction. 

Resources:

• Google Questionnaire - copy and edit for your own school, with Canva Template for google form header
• Canva Template for "My Reading Year" slide

Books-into-Movies Bingo

It's time for my annual move into a "Pop-Up" Library for six weeks - a smaller cozier space so grade 11 + 12 exams can happen in our large library. 

I'm going with a "popcorn" theme, so for this cycle's library time I'm doing Books-into-Movies booktalks.

The opening nugget is about how reading AND watching can deepen our understanding of a story (including narrative nonfiction). 

It does not matter to me if a student reads the book first or watches the movie first; extra meaning and learning happens either way. But this topic sparks debate! So we'll talk a bit about the benefits of each and ask "What team are you on?"

Team 1: Reading the book after they see the movie. 

From the movie, they may more easily understand the plot structure, have a picture of the characters and setting, or feel an emotional connection to the content. Also, already knowing the events of the story may help them understand the author's craft in a new way.

Team 2: Reading the book before seeing the movie

They want to visualize the characters themselves - to "own" the book in that special way that readers feel when they've imagined everything in such a powerful way that it seems to belong in their head. (This is how I feel about The Giver - I'll never see the movie because I don't want anything to ruin my picture of it).

After getting clear that the order of operations doesn't matter - we do a "bingo" activity.

Activity:

First, students brainstorm NINE books that have been made into a movie or show and might be in our library. They are welcome to browse the shelves to spark ideas. They write the titles on a bingo board, circling any they've read and/or watched.

Next, I show slides of over 100 movies that are books in our library. Students mark matches on their bingo cards. On the back of their sheet, they note any titles they want on their TBR list.

Categories:

- First person with three in a row

- First person with whole card filled

- Students who match any obscure titles (for example "Outbreak" by Robin Cook)

- The person who has ALL of the Timothee Chalamet movies on their card 😅 (Or all Julia Roberts, or Meryl Streep...)

For the winners....

- a bookmark - see below

- a "shout-out" such as a "Standing O" or a "stomp-stomp-clap"

Resources:

- Bingo sheet (Canva Template)

- Slides (Canva Template)

- "Read a Movie" Bookmark (Canva Template)

- Visual Lists (Canva Template, MG and YA books-into-movies)

- "Pop-Up" Library sign for anyone in my situation of moving at this time of year! (landscape or portrait templates)

AI Time-saving Tip:

Gather your titles on an Excel or Google sheet. Upload the sheet to ChatGPT and ask it to fetch the matching movie posters. It gave me several options per title, so I downloaded the ones I liked best and then uploaded the images as a batch to Canva. 

Rules for Reading

Library time is fun, but.... I still expect READING to happen which, for some students, is decidedly "un-fun."

After nearly 15 years of book talks and library lessons, I'm finally happy with my Rules for Reading. I always aim to strike the right balance between positive and firm expectations and this set of rules has helped me set that tone.

Note: These are my rules for our library reading time - not general library expectations. These are written for older students (ages 11 and up) 

One Book per person - I don't allow "buddy" reading during silent reading time. The focus is to sustain silent reading enough to become immersed in a book. 

Do not disturb anyone - Again, reading aloud, even to oneself, can distract others. If a child needs to "whisper read", I recommend a different spot away from others.

Choose your seat wisely - This means one person per chair and away from those who might distract you. 

(The one person per chair rule is a constant rule - and it has made a huge difference so I don't have students crammed together and it ensures that everyone is seated vs. wandering or sitting on the floor)

Bring a book or choose quickly - This is the trickiest to enforce. The best way is to offer lots of help and keep on top of those who tend to wander aimlessly. Forcing a bit of conversation about what they're hoping for helps focus the choosing time!

Read without stopping - If I notice that a child cannot read for even five minutes in a sustained way, I intervene with some options: 

• perhaps we read over the blurbs and talk a bit about the story to give more context; 
• perhaps we read the first paragraphs together to be sure it's understood; 
• perhaps the child reads a bit to me so I can hear if the words are "just right". 
• And finally, perhaps I suggest other options that will be "more fun".

Library time is a privilege - If a student or a group is having trouble staying focused, their teacher may bring them back to the classroom to read there instead. Especially at the beginning of the year, this is an effective way to protect the expectations while in the library. Yes, I am lucky that grades 6-10 come with their teacher, so I have their support.

Save-a-Buck Booktalks

It's a common teacher-librarian problem: We prepare booktalks about a set of titles and generate so much excitement with students that all the books get checked out! 

Ack!

It's super frustrating to see a kiddo get excited about a story and not be able to have it. Sure, they can hold it, but it's just not the same. 

Enter Save-a-Buck booktalks: 

• I only talk about books that are IN the library. 
• If someone wants the book, I give it to them immediately with a "buck" to use as a bookmark. (They just saved themselves a bit of money by borrowing from the library instead of buying from a bookstore!)
• Rules: One book per person. Swaps wait until the end.

This works when you...

• know your collection really well, 
• can skim and scan book blurbs at lighting speed, 
• can talk off the cuff about books easily

Procedure:

• Gather a stack of books equal to the number of students in the class
• Prepare a set of "Save-a-Buck" bookmarks to give out with each claimed book (see Canva Template)
• Declare yourself a winner if you get rid of all the bucks!

Beat-the-Clock Booktalks

So many books, so little time!

This week, I'm doing "Beat the Clock" booktalks. The challenge is to talk about each book within 25 seconds before the slide moves ahead!

Students will hold up a "yes" or "no" card to show if they're interested in the book and then I'm on to the next book - no discussion - gotta keep moving!

We have a "Top 100 Middle Grade Books" on a visual and resource list, but I haven't officially book-talked all of them. This is a fast way to get it done! 

Most of the books I know well enough to improvise, but I wrote up notes to practice ahead of time. 

The notes are a mash-up of my own recollections of the story, goodreads reviews, and Canva's "Magic Write" to get a quick summary. Each cover links to the Goodreads page.

• Canva Slides to present
• Canva Template - to edit & add your own 
• Canva "Yes/No" voter cards - print, cut, laminate - lots of uses for these