Spotlight Sharing
West Seneca West Middle - Book Club
Lydia Wrobel, LMS
Students in my middle school book club meet 7 times a year. In the month before each meeting, they choose a book by an author who will be at the Teen Book Festival (http://www.tbflive.org) at the end of the school year (sometime in May). At the meeting, students enter info about the book they read for that meeting on the club's web page (using a GoogleDrive form that I post ahead of time). Then, during the next few weeks, student Library Helpers (who may or may not be in book club) post the info on a Prezi (but student names are kept private). At the following book club meeting, students watch the Prezi that was created from the previous month's books. The goal is to watch the Prezi and find a new book to check out and read.
Here is the book club web page that contains the Google forms and the Prezis from past meetings:
Using LibGuides to Curate Resources
Tanya Sasvary, Red Hook High School
Students use LibGuides to access the assignment and resources for particular projects. The example linked to below is from an anatomy class assignment where students were required to create case studies.
http://rhhs.redhookcentralschools.libguides.com/casestudies
Another, more inquiry based example, is from a 9th grade assignment where students had to research a topic that mattered to him/her.
"Tell Me a Story" Class Video Presentation
Created by: Amanda Ingalls, LMS, Stockbridge Valley CSD
This lesson is recommended for grades 2 - 4, but can be adapted for other grades and involves piecing together parts of a story read by students in a video presentation. I did it with the 2nd grade classes during Christmas time with "Frosty the Snowman" and "The Night Before Christmas" as a surprise for their teachers and parents. One thing I've learned is to have a good microphone and a good recording device!
Check out the finished products at:
First Grade Animal Research using PebbleGo database for research and Haiku Deck for end product - Barbara Shoemaker
Cardinals Cardinals student work (example) Letter for parents
This is a lesson I have done in September when introducing libraries in general and orienting my students to the school library in particular. It can be easily adapted for any grade and really, for any topic. I find it particularly useful for encouraging upper level thinking with students and building a collaborative environment for learning. It is also helpful in making connections, identifying topics of interest for exploration, and formulating questions for further research. The trick is to find pictures that the students can relate to or help each other understand due to the varying levels of background experience each student brings to the table.
lesson plan pictures placemat T-chart VennDiagram