Upon visiting, patrons will be greeted by books on display, cozy places to enjoy their favorite books, and beautiful trees outside the bank of windows that line the entire south side of the library.
Once students find their books of choice they visit Ms. Katie at the check-out station and then find a place to cozy up with their books. Students can choose from a cozy, cushioned, window-lined book nook, a padded window bench, several of the reading areas with more comfortable reading options, or sit at one of the tables in the teaching area. There's plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the books they love.
Eidson students love the new library and Ms. Katie did a fabulous job creating a welcoming, inviting, place for students to read, research, and explore topics they love.
It's awesome when students are eager to search library shelves for books they love, but often they leave the shelves looking a little disheveled in the process. Books fall over easily and despite their best efforts to return the book to the exact spot they found it on the shelf, it doesn't always happen. When books aren't returned properly, it makes it difficult for others to find them.
Teacher Librarian, Robbie Cortez, at Holt Elementary recruited help from eager students to assist with keeping library shelves organized. He started an "adopt a shelf" program where students chose a shelf from a section of the library that needs extra special attention. Mr. Cortez spent some time teaching intermediate students library organization and all about call numbers. Once students had an understanding of how to "read a shelf" they took over they chose their shelf to adopt. It is the student's responsibility to ensure their shelf stays neat and to keep the books in order. Once a week, Mr. Cortez judges the shelves and there is a prize for the most organized shelf.
According to Mr. Cortez, students love it! They are doing an awesome job and it's a huge help and time saver. What a great idea!
Judge the shelf once a week. Gives prizes for the more organized shelf.
Beanstack focuses on minutes read which allows all readers to participate even if they are slow readers. It's easy to log minutes, as students easily scan the ISBN and enter their minutes read. Teachers can log minutes for an entire class after reading aloud or independent reading. Schools can create their own goals and can compete with schools across the district to see which schools read the most minutes. Students can add friends and have friendly competitions to see who reads the most. As students read, they earn badges along the way for a variety of achievements. There is even a built-in reading fundraiser option.
Click the video below for a quick introduction.
Login is easy via Clever. You'll see a Beanstack tile under "Library and Information Resources".
Here is a flier to share with families and school communities.
Here is a slide deck that has helpful resources to get started.
Amy Page is available for class visits to assist in getting started with students. It's super easy to get students up and running in minutes! Easy for teachers and a fun way to motivate students to read on their own. Schedule a visit here.
Here are some other amazing resources:
- Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian
- Native Knowledge 360° Project
- Article by Author Dr. Katrina M. Phillips about why we celebrate Native American Heritage Month
- Teaching the Trail of Tears in Your Classroom: Article by author Andrea Rogers. Her book, Mary and the Trail of Tears, can be found in Sora here. Login to Sora with your 4J username and password.
- Wilderness Ridge Bookmarks from the work of author Art Colson. His books can be found in Sora too!
Joining Flip events live provides the audience with the opportunity to engage with the speaker but if that's not possible, they usually provide a link to the on-demand version.
Check out who is coming in November and some highlights from October below or view the entire list on their site here.
Jason Reynolds: "Learn What Makes You Strong" - on-demand
Stephen Curry: "Meet NBA superstar, Stephen Curry" - on-demand
Todd Parr: "Celebrate Be Who You Are Day" - on-demand
Justin Baldoni: "You Are Enough" - November 1st @ 10:00 AM PST
Lauren Tarshis (author of the I Survived series): "The Wellington Avalanche of 1910 - Adventures in History" November 10th @ 10:00 AM PST.
Amy Page, Eugene 4J District Librarian
Email: page_a@4j.lane.edu
Website: https://wakelet.com/@AmyPage5788
Location: 200 North Monroe Street, Eugene, OR, USA
Phone: 541-790-7765
Facebook: facebook.com/4jlibrarymediaservices
Twitter: @AmyPageTL