services
Collaborative lessons: Please click here for more information.
Reference & Reader's Advisory: One of the many joys of working in a library is helping students and teachers find appropriate and engaging titles to assist with research, information, or independent reading needs. Use of our online Destiny catalog is explicitly taught along with digital citizenship regarding online sources of information.
Literacy Learning Support: All grade levels are encouraged to browse and check out from the "Everybody" section. Learning is scaffolded by grade level to include the "Information & Biography" sections after the first 9 weeks of Kindergarten, then the Fiction section after the first 9 weeks of 1st Grade. All applicable titles are marked with stickers indicating Accelerated Reader levels and online AR tests are available on media center and classroom computers. Bilingual titles (mostly Spanish) have gold spine labels and are scattered throughout the entire collection.
Centers: We have a variety of easily accessible "Centers" activities involving problem-solving and hands-on interaction. Visually engaging reference books, including past yearbooks and student-created titles, are also available. Centers offer inquiring minds the opportunity to foster creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. Teachers are encouraged to offer a library pass for 2-4 students at a time to come work at Centers as time or the need arises.
Author Day: Librarians from four elementary schools in Homewood collaborate each school year to bring a notable author (or illustrator) to visit our schools. All grade levels benefit and we collaborate with specials and classroom teachers to incorporate the occasion into curriculum objectives, especially literacy learning. We also investigate primary sources of information about the author (digital and/or in print) and have even used Skype to "visit" with popular authors who are unable to come to Alabama.
*To see these services aligned with media center objectives, click here.
Reference & Reader's Advisory: One of the many joys of working in a library is helping students and teachers find appropriate and engaging titles to assist with research, information, or independent reading needs. Use of our online Destiny catalog is explicitly taught along with digital citizenship regarding online sources of information.
Literacy Learning Support: All grade levels are encouraged to browse and check out from the "Everybody" section. Learning is scaffolded by grade level to include the "Information & Biography" sections after the first 9 weeks of Kindergarten, then the Fiction section after the first 9 weeks of 1st Grade. All applicable titles are marked with stickers indicating Accelerated Reader levels and online AR tests are available on media center and classroom computers. Bilingual titles (mostly Spanish) have gold spine labels and are scattered throughout the entire collection.
Centers: We have a variety of easily accessible "Centers" activities involving problem-solving and hands-on interaction. Visually engaging reference books, including past yearbooks and student-created titles, are also available. Centers offer inquiring minds the opportunity to foster creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. Teachers are encouraged to offer a library pass for 2-4 students at a time to come work at Centers as time or the need arises.
Author Day: Librarians from four elementary schools in Homewood collaborate each school year to bring a notable author (or illustrator) to visit our schools. All grade levels benefit and we collaborate with specials and classroom teachers to incorporate the occasion into curriculum objectives, especially literacy learning. We also investigate primary sources of information about the author (digital and/or in print) and have even used Skype to "visit" with popular authors who are unable to come to Alabama.
*To see these services aligned with media center objectives, click here.
scheduling
Our library operates on both a flexible and fixed schedule for instruction. The fixed schedule is mandated by our school district and ensures that classrooms in each grade level have several planned lessons in the media center during a specific nine-week block. That “Library Special” shares its rotation with the school counselor and reading teacher so, typically, there are only 2 to 4 "fixed" 45-minute lessons in the media center each day. Therefore, the flexible scheduling option is an important service, allowing for additional targeted learning based on any classroom’s or grade level’s actual need. For example, during the 2nd grade biography unit, each of those classrooms schedules at least 2 more media center lessons where they specifically learn about biographies as a genre, how to locate them and how to choose one for a report. Students are encouraged to visit the media center anytime they have permission from their teacher so that they may browse and check out books from our collection of nearly 10,000 titles. Independent browsing is vital to students’ inquiry and literacy skills and they are given the tools they need to do this during their fixed schedule visits. The library aid and I are always available to offer help or suggestions as well. Understanding individual preferences and matching them up with titles is one of the many pleasures of working in a school library!
Teachers have 24/7 access to the media center daily schedule & calendar via the school’s intranet and are encouraged to reserve time from the “flex blocks” at least 2 weeks in advance. We then collaborate to address ways that I can meet their students’ information, access, and instructional needs. That being said, spontaneous visits and collaboration are always welcome when schedules allow. Teachers have no limit as to the number of titles they may checkout, regardless of any overdue titles, as long as the titles are in their classrooms. Parents & Shelving volunteers are welcome to checkout unlimited titles at the librarian's discretion. Parent volunteers are an important part of keeping our library running smoothly and they have access to an online volunteer schedule. Some have planned dates while others drop in. The volunteer coordinator ensures that we are covered each day of each week. This library belongs to everyone in our school community and expressing our appreciation for the time and skills of our volunteers is something we endeavor to do well - and often. |