Blog Archives

Kelly Depin is the Head Librarian at Derby Academy in Hingham.

Wordless books can be a librarian’s secret weapon for having a raucous story time! Students vie to give their interpretations to what happened, what IS happening and what is about to happen in the book. Amidst the controlled chaos, wondrous learning is occuring. Students are comprehending the story by inferring from the picture clues. Predictions of what comes next spout as each one defends their choice by citing evidence from the pages. The why’s and where’s spotlight their oral language skills. All from a book with pictures - and no words. Sounds like they have mastered some of the Common Core Standards for ELA, all while having fun with a story.

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How Leading a Mythology Group Led Me to Greece

10/2/2018

Jill Leibowitz is the Library Teacher at Cabot Elementary School in Newton
and received a 2018 President's Award.

In my first week as a new library teacher at my elementary school, the literacy coach approached me with a welcome and an invitation to join her in leading a mythology group that she had run in previous years. I of course agreed, not knowing much about mythology and even less about what co-leading the group would involve. Never did I think that three years later I would be leading the extremely popular lunchtime group on my own and that I would find myself standing in front of the Parthenon as part of an educator’s trip to Greece.

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Academic Column: From Research to Advocacy: Update on the MA School Library Study

10/2/2018

Dr. Robin Cicchetti is the Librarian at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.

On Saturday, September 8, 2018, 32 school library advocates met at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School to discuss the MA School Library Study and begin the process of articulating a vision for turning the recommendations into a reality. The focus group included representatives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Massachusetts Library System, the Massachusetts Library Association, the MSLA Executive Board, and numerous K-12 school librarians.

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How to Build a Human Library

10/2/2018

Susan Harari is the librarian at Boston Latin School
and received a 2018 Super Librarian Award.

As I drove home from my elementary school library at the end of another busy day, traffic began to thicken. All Things Considered droned in the background as I mentally composed a to-do list for an upcoming third grade ELA project. A story about how libraries had moved beyond books caught my attention; a library that checks out fishing poles or tool kits, or ...people? Despite the brief description (and nail-biting road conditions), I caught enough to find the Human Library’s website later that evening, and read about Ronni Abergel and the project’s idealistic origins in Copenhagen. The Human Library describes itself as “a worldwide movement for social change,...designed to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue.” It sounded amazing…and also like something I could never pull off in an elementary school, so I filed it away.

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Secondary Column: The Summer Reading Struggle!

10/2/2018

Zoe Keenan is the Library Media Specialist at Frontier Regional School in South Deerfield.

My school has struggled with summer reading for many years now. It’s been a pull and push from both the English Department, the Library and the Administration on expectations of what students should read, how they should be assessed on it, and what culminating event should we do to wrap up the program?!?!

When I started at my school three years ago, all three departments had separate ideas about what makes a successful summer reading program. The Administration wanted results and proof of assessment, the English department wanted students to read a wide variety of eclectic books and, as the new Librarian, I wanted students to enjoy reading again. I remember getting to know the students during my first year and asking them how they liked the summer reading book. Many hadn’t read it, since they knew from past years that there was no assessment to be passed in or graded. Of the handful who read it, mistakenly thinking they would be tested on it, only a few enjoyed it. I remember thinking that it was going to take some time and lots of effort to change this program around.

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Expanding the Scope of Technology Into the Meaningful Spaces of Students Lives

10/2/2018

Andrea Zampitella is the Library Media Specialist at Winchester High School and received a 2018 Super Librarian Award.

I started working at Winchester High School right before the school entered a three year renovation project. It was the perfect time for me to start because I was able to contribute my ideas to the design of the new library/media center. One of the rooms in the library was a designated space for a stationary computer lab. Winchester provides access to Chromebooks for student use and the school is moving towards a bring your own device model. The need for a stationary lab is becoming obsolete in my opinion. With help from our Technology Coordinator, Kathleen Grace, and various educational non-profits, such as The Winchester Rotary Club and The Winchester Foundation for Educational Excellence, we were able to transform that space into what is now known as the Creative Technology Center, our school’s makerspace.

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My Fifth Grade Library Assistant Program

10/2/2018

Nancy Snow is the librarian at Bancroft Elementary School in Andover
and is a recipient of a 2018 Super Librarian Award

It is that time of year again. Fall, the beginning of a new school year. You can feel the excitement in the air, but in my library something is missing. Oh, yes. My fabulous fifth grade library assistants have moved on to Middle School and I have a serious lack of help. What to do? It’s time to start recruiting again.

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Tech Column: Back-to-School Hacks

10/2/2018

Margaret Kane Schoen is a Library Teacher at Newton South High School.

Welcome back to a new school year! Lately my Instagram feed has been filled with “life-hacks” - little tips and tricks to help you complete tasks more easily. That got me thinking about my daily computer life - what are the tools I rely on? In this column, I’ll share with you some of my favorite Chrome extensions - small plug-in applications that you install into your Chrome browser to do one or two small -- but powerful -- tasks. Whether it’s something I use every day, or every once in a while, there are a few that I just can’t do without.

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Elementary Column: All Are Welcome: Welcoming in a New School Year

10/2/2018

Wendy Garland is the School Librarian at Avery School in Dedham.

Back to school - I have always loved this time of year with it’s fresh starts and dreams of possibility. I loved this time of year as a child and continue to relish the excitement. This is our library’s back-to-school story, where I confronted the challenges of years past, asked hard questions, and framed our year of learning around the concept of “welcoming” all students in and “inviting” them into our space and our books. Do I have big hopes and expectations? Absolutely. Big changes? Not really. This is about the small, subtle ways I am choosing to build a positive library culture and grow learners. I consider this just the beginning of our journey.

The inspiration for change came from two books I read over the summer - one being a powerful picture book, and the other being a dynamic professional book about reading. There is something beautiful about summer reading, soaking in the sun and ideas without the pressure of lesson planning and deadlines looming. I read, wrote and thought about Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst well beyond the time it took me to “read” the book. It planted seeds and I spent much of my summer cultivating them. What surprised me was I “thought” I was reading about reading. What I ended up thinking about was change.

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We All Have Different Roles to Play... And That Is Okay

10/2/2018

Colleen Simpson is the library media specialist at the Lester J. Gates Middle School in Scituate
and a 2018 President’s Award winner.

The question of what the space of the library means for learners is something that is often posed to librarians and certainly we can come up with a lot of answers. Maybe you built a makerspace and now you are maximizing a portion of your library for hands-on student activities. Perhaps you’ve added flexible seating and movable furniture where students are working in both high and low spaces, standing, sitting, even cycling while they read. One of the elements of our job is to take the space we have, and see every inch to its ultimate utilization.

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Because I Said "Yes"

10/2/2018

Jennifer Kelley Reed is the Library Teacher at Mason-Rice Elementary School in Newton
and received a 2018 Service Award from MSLA.

It was my honor to receive the Massachusetts School Library Association Service Award this past spring. I’ve been thinking about this award that recognizes school librarian dedication and leadership at the state and national level and why I received it. I can sum up my thoughts in four words: because I said, “Yes.”

Because I said, “Yes,” I have had fabulous opportunities and experiences.

My “yeses” have taken me on some fabulous state and national leadership journeys: serving on the MSLA Executive Board; being an representative to the AASL Affiliate Assembly; presenting at local, state, regional and national conferences; writing articles for journals and publications; and, serving on the Schneider Family Book Award Jury.

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What's All the Hype about HyperDocs?

10/2/2018

Mary Gaeta is the librarian at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Lynnfield,
and received a 2018 Super Librarian Award

Transformation achieved! I glance around the library and watch inquiry unfold. Some students, with their headphones on, are watching YouTube videos while others are reading. Two students are discussing our subject, Malala Yousafzai. There is learning buzz in all corners of the library. Students are actively pursuing information. This is our goal with HyperDocs - students taking charge of their learning and working at their own pace.

A HyperDoc is a document with links to articles, videos, images, podcasts, and more. It is a place to craft a research unit with students in mind. The term HyperDoc was created by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton, and Sarah Landis. It is an interactive document crafted for student learning. It is not a static document like an online worksheet (Highfill 68). For me, the benefits of a HyperDoc are that it is student-directed with choice and it is self-paced.

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Making and Libraries: Why Do This?

10/2/2018

Morgan VanClief is the Library Media Specialist at P.A. Shaw Elementary School in Dorchester
and the recipient of a 2018 President's Award.

I have always found the library to be a place of comfort, safety, and inclusivity for students. I have witnessed students that feel left out or are disengaged from the traditional curriculum find themselves in the library. It is a place they can come to and escape the challenges of daily life. The library is a place they gain support and are allowed to be themselves. Edith Ackermann says, “in a playful environment you feel safe enough to explore ideas that would otherwise be risky” (1:54). Having a makerspace in the library has given ALL of my students a chance to create and take charge of their own learning, equipping them with the social-emotional and problem solving skills to thrive in the future.

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History of School Library Programs in Massachusetts

10/2/2018