After attending the AASL(American Association of School Libraries) National Conference in November, I am so excited to introduce library "stations" or "centers" to our classes in the Media Center. These are combined with whole-group lessons and allow for choices, social interaction, creativity, science, as well as skill reinforcement.
The following are examples of the centers we have used so far. Some of the centers/stations will repeat and some are shorter term -
1. "Whose Skull is this? Presented with an animal skull, students inspected photographs of six animal skulls and six photographs of animals to decide the identity of the skull. They considered the shape of the jaw, position of the teeth, and size of the skull. Most classes correctly identified it as a possum skull. All grades participated in this.
2. Independent Reading - Some students just love to read books in the library - either the book they have selected, a book they have brought, or magazines or special books that are not checked out.
They also enjoy sitting on the purple chairs. All grades participate in this.
3. Reading with, or to, a Beanie Baby - We have a collection of about 28 beanie babies in the library. Students may read with a Beanie or quietly read to the Beanie as a way to share their book. All grades participate in this.
4. Me on the Shelf - Second and third graders created spine label bookmarks to practice finding fiction books. They wrote the first three letters of their last names and then found themselves on the shelves in the picture book section. They could then decorate their "spine" and use it as a bookmark.
5. Thanksgiving Crafts and Banners - For the Thanksgiving lunch, kindergarten students made leaf rubbings to decorate table runners, first graders decorated feathers for turkey centerpieces, and second and third graders decorated banners and wrote what they were thankful for.
The following are examples of the centers we have used so far. Some of the centers/stations will repeat and some are shorter term -
1. "Whose Skull is this? Presented with an animal skull, students inspected photographs of six animal skulls and six photographs of animals to decide the identity of the skull. They considered the shape of the jaw, position of the teeth, and size of the skull. Most classes correctly identified it as a possum skull. All grades participated in this.
2. Independent Reading - Some students just love to read books in the library - either the book they have selected, a book they have brought, or magazines or special books that are not checked out.
They also enjoy sitting on the purple chairs. All grades participate in this.
3. Reading with, or to, a Beanie Baby - We have a collection of about 28 beanie babies in the library. Students may read with a Beanie or quietly read to the Beanie as a way to share their book. All grades participate in this.
4. Me on the Shelf - Second and third graders created spine label bookmarks to practice finding fiction books. They wrote the first three letters of their last names and then found themselves on the shelves in the picture book section. They could then decorate their "spine" and use it as a bookmark.
5. Thanksgiving Crafts and Banners - For the Thanksgiving lunch, kindergarten students made leaf rubbings to decorate table runners, first graders decorated feathers for turkey centerpieces, and second and third graders decorated banners and wrote what they were thankful for.
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