Inspiration

Inventory Inspiration

Today I helped my librarian with inventory.  This process must take place twice each school year, once at the beginning of the year and then again towards the end.  Every book must be scanned and then a report is run to verify that all the books we started the year with are still on the shelves.  

This was my second time working the shelves with a scanner.  It’s a glorious job for someone who likes to look at books.  Which is me! I always end up writing down titles or taking screenshots of books that I want to read for myself. 

Today I was scanning our Sports, Mystery and Fantasy sections.  The Sports section was not too long and honestly, there really weren’t any books in that section that truly grabbed my attention.  The Mystery section held some books that I stopped and read the dust jacket and made a mental note of, but it was in the Fantasy section that my brain started working in overload mode. 

A particular book caught my attention as I titled it out to scan it.  The book was “Before the Sword” by Grace Lin.  And I was looking for a book like this one at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t know how to find it.  Our librarian was out on family leave at the start of the school year, or she would have pointed me to this book in a hot minute. 

I was doing an Extra Credit Book project with my Ancient Civilizations unit in Social Studies.  It was super easy to find books on the Greek and Roman civilizations – thank you Rick Riordian for the Percy Jackson books, and Mark of a Thief by Nielson is an excellent look at Rome.  There was even a superior series on Ancient Egypt, the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordian for Ancient Egypt.  

The only two civilizations that I had trouble finding books for were China and India. 

I did some online searching for book titles but was not familiar with any of the books that popped up.  Also, I don’t like to advertise books that I have not personally read, or that someone I trust can vouch for. 

Needless to say, our project fell a little flat of truly giving students a look at the fiction world that comes from those ancient civilizations. 

Then I saw “Before the Sword” and it is set in Ancient/Imperial China! I was so delighted I called my librarian over and asked her about the book.  She mentioned it was a new title but she heard great things about it.  Then she was able to point me to a Newbery Medal title by the same author, “Where Mountain Meets the Moon” and I was so excited! 

This time of year, especially for me, since I’m a complete nerd, I start getting really excited about next year.  

I know, this year still isn’t over, but the end is IN SIGHT! And my brain tends to wander, how I can improve my instruction and classroom resources for next year. 

Now I know that I can truly give my students a more complete set of books for their Ancient Civilizations unit, since I can vouch for titles for 4 out of the 5 civilizations.  

I am still going to be on the hunt for one or two titles for Ancient India, so if you know of any, please send me a message with your favorite one! 

Essay Questions on Tests

So I Brought Back An Old Testing Friend

When I first started teaching Social Studies most of our tests had an essay question.  We would give the students a study guide that contained three choices and they would pick one and write a simple 5-10 sentence paragraph. 

At first I was overwhelmed at asking that of my students, mostly because I was worried about grading and didn’t feel comfortable.  Thank goodness my teaching partner assured me that the students would be fine and she would help me grade my first couple. 

After that first year, we tweaked how that essay question happened on the tests.  We started giving students key words/phrases that should be included in their essays.  It helped tremendously with grading and it also gave the students a framework to build their essay responses from. 

Then I got a new teaching partner and the idea of hand-grading hundred-plus essays was not her cup of tea.  And since I was too new to Google Forms to figure out how to create a rubric, I let her win and we took away the essay question. 

Several years passed, and low and behold I got another teaching partner.  This time around, I warned them at the beginning of the year that I wanted to include an essay question on the test and they were on board.  

But the year got away from us and if you’re ever taught you know that sometimes sticky to what you already have created is easier and saves your sanity.  

Yet, I truly felt that the students were beginning to slack on actual test prep.  They had gotten so dependent on the test prep we made that they did not create any on their own.  And testing prep is an incredibly important academic tool. 

Maybe it was out of frustration, but I told my students that they were not going to get the expected test prep AND they were getting an essay question. 

You would have thought I told them they had to hand-write the test in Latin.  They groaned, they complained that this wasn’t English class thank you very much and that they would fail. 

But I stuck to my guns. I gave them their essay question a week in advance.  I choose their essay question to nicely go along with an activity we had completed a week prior.  And, I offered to look at any essay in advance. Which only two students took advantage of. 

I will not lie, the night before the test, I was nervous.  And I wasn’t even taking the test! I was worried that they format was too new.  That the new format would throw them off and that this final test grade of the quarter would tank their grades. 

And of course that did not happen.  Most of my students performed just as well as they had on previous test grades.  Some even did much, much better.  Overall, the test outcome was successful. 

Now, was it more work for me. HECK YES. 

Mostly because I have still not figured out how create a rubric and tie it to Google Classroom so that I wouldn’t have to grade each essay by hand. 

And if any teacher out there isn’t aware, if you put TWO Google Form into the same Classroom assignment you can’t import grades. Yes. I had to look up EACH student’s multiple choice test grade, add their bonus question to that score. Then open another Form and grade their essay. 

It would have been easier to grade an entire paper and pencil test. But lessons were learned. Even if it was the hard way. 

Bottom line, it was a good experience.  I learned a lot about my student’s thought processes by reading their essays.  Some students did so much better because they were able to gain points by telling me what they know instead of having to pick the correct multiple choice answer.  And not going to lie, some of the essay responses were hilarious and totally worth the extra effort! 

Practicum Experience

High School Library Day

Today I went back to the very first school setting I stepped foot in as a junior Social Studies Education major. Back in 2007. Technically I had stepped foot there before, as a sub a handful of times in 2013.  But obviously, for this post, let’s not count those handful of visits. 

This time instead of heading to the Government/Econ class, I stopped half-down the hall and walked into the Media Center. 

Things were different and they were very much the same. The room smelled the same, the must of books and the stillness of a morning library that hasn’t quite gotten its start. But there were so very nice changes. The furniture was updated, shelving had been moved around and rearranged. Also the head librarian, who graciously invited me, I had never met before. 

First off, her blouse and earrings were amazing! A floral and ruffle shirt and a boho dangle made me instantly like her. And her energy was fantastic. I found myself asking her to host a podcast and that I would listen to her as she motivates teachers and librarians. 

I knew right away that I was going to learn a lot.  

The day started with an advisory meeting, which was extra fun since that meant seeing students interacting in the library.  It was contagious to hear about their animal service project and listen to students presenting to their peers. 

Next came a tour of the library. 

The library is a long rectangle of a room, with an entire wall of windows facing the street.  The natural sunlight makes the room an inviting and relaxed place.  The most interesting set-up to me was the the fiction and nonfiction were at opposite ends of the room.  Separated by quite a large space of desks, tables and alternative seating.  

Scattered throughout the room are comfy caffe-style chairs and tables with puzzles, games and coloring sheets.  It was altogether a very cozy space. You could smell hints of spring as the weather was particularly nice and the sunlight was streaming in through the windows.

The first bell of the day rung and students came trickling in.  This was my moment to watch the interactions between the librarian and her students.  It was obvious that she worked hard to develop a good relationship with her students.  She knew their names, chatted about scholarships and college, and greeted each one warmly. 

Mostly the students were quietly chatting in groups at the tables, studying for classes or reading. 

After second block had started, we went on a small trip around the front of the school and up to a class on the 2nd floor hall to give a student a book.  We chatted about how to build relationships with teachers that are increasingly busy and students that are glued to electronic devices.  

I believe that the small act of bringing a student a requested book was a way to build and maintain those relationships.  It was a day without any lessons in the library, and it took all of five minutes. 

Now, scattered throughout our interactions was a healthy dose of tough-love from the librarian to her students.  The most common student interaction was printing needs.  There were instructions printed on the table and not once did the librarian complete the task for them.  She directed them to the correct table that had the instructions, and told them she was there if they needed any extra help. 

Now, don’t think that this whole day was spent with me doing nothing! I learned how to check books in and out to students.  I re-shelved the returned books throughout the day.  I also learned how to cover hardback books with a dust jacket. I mostly managed to not mangle the job too horribly! We ran a job through the laminating machine, and I got all my questions answered and more. 

At the end of the day, I left with so much to think about! But I knew that I had met a superhero of a librarian and that no matter where I ended up in the future, she would be there to lend a helping hand.