3rd grade is studying genres, which goes right along with Book Genre Bingo (I'll post about this soon), and their first genre is fantasy. I used to give students a list of fantasy books we carry in the library, but I wasn't convinced that they were learning anything besides library organization. So, as a class, we built a bubble map using the Inspiration app. This helped review what students know about fantasy, and added a few new elements.
All but 3 of the 3rd grade students were able to find a fantasy book and explain what made it fantasy. One student did not use his time wisely. Another student was just plain confused. And, another student found a fantasy book, but couldn't quite explain what made it fantasy. He said that the cover looked like a fantasy book, which was true. I asked him what looks like fantasy. He could not explain. I pointed to a dragon on the cover, and said, "What about the dragon?" He still couldn't connect it to fantasy. I said, "Are dragons real?", and he paused, and thought, and looked confused, and said, "I'm not sure." I think that, like the belief in the tooth fairy mentioned above, this an example of young minds that cannot quite grasp "impossible".
The most encouraging thing about this whole lesson was from the 2nd graders! They all visited the library 2 days after the fantasy lesson. When one students saw the fancy bookmarks, he asked how he could get one. And the girl next to him said, "You have to find a fantasy book and then tell her why it is fantasy." I was shocked. She told me that her friend showed her bookmark to everyone after school and told them how she earned it. And then another student jumped in and said, "My sister filled out the whooollleee list on her fantasy bookmark." Holy meow! I was so surprised to find that students were talking about the lesson! It was so simple, but it was a success, and so much more meaningful than just giving kids a list of fantasy books.
0 Comments
Two boxes of Scholastic books arrived while a 5th grade class was in the library. I was excited, so I opened the boxes right away. It turns out that the kids were just as excited as I was... maybe more! I held up each book one-by-one as I took it out of the box, and the kids ooohed and ahhahed and cheered and even waved their arms in the air! I couldn't stop laughing at them, and I felt like a proud mom, thinking, "How did I get so lucky to get such great kids?" It was an amazing librarian moment. I wish I had taken pictures of the kids with the books and their excitement, but I was too busy laughing. Instead, here are some of the books that got them roaring: I got a few pity cheers for pictures books like Click, Clack, PEEP!, because the 5th graders are just too old for that now. But it was a nice gesture. Thanks, kids!
Also, thanks to Scholastic Book Fairs. The money we make at the book fairs is the primary source of book funds for the library. |
AuthorDebby Vandersande is a school librarian. Archives
December 2015
Categories |