Looking for Library Makerspace and Learning Center Ideas?

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Several years ago I crowdsourced a collection of ideas for using Learning Centers in the Library Media Center.  It was amazing how the folks in my PLN generously shared their most popular activities, and all of our students benefitted from it!

In light of the changes we’ve seen recently in the way students are learning, I feel it’s time to revisit these suggestions in order to update them as well as add to them.  Some of the links are broken now, most of the ideas don’t have an accompanying photo, and many of them don’t provide enough detail to easily recreate them in your own library.  But most importantly, back then we weren’t really talking about STEAM or Makerspaces, but those are a huge part of what librarians provide now and any list that doesn’t acknowledge that is woefully out of touch!

And it’s not just the ideas that need an upgrade.  At the time, wikis were the hot new curation tool of choice, but there are other, more effective options out there now that avoid some of the drawbacks of wikis.  (For example, the endless scrolling to view all the ideas!)  Some of the platforms I’m considering using this time around are Wakelet, LiveBinders, Padlet, and Destiny Collections.

So for the next few weeks I’ll be working on a new and improved version of the Library Learning Center collection, and I’d love to have your input.  Please leave a comment with your suggestions and links for great activities, and/or your opinion on the perfect online curation tool for the project.  I’ll be sure to give you credit for your ideas!

 

Lightbulb image created by me using Word Art
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Welcome Fall! Picture Books to Celebrate Autumn

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Welcome Fall!

Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year, and I enjoy fall picture books just as much as I enjoy fall weather.  Here are some of my favorites to welcome the season. (Yes, we are still having temperatures in the 90s here but we’re going to welcome fall anyway!)

 Fall Leaves: Colorful and Crunchy by Martha Rustad
This one has been around for several years but it’s still a fun celebration of the beautiful foliage that is synonymous with autumn. Because it’s written on two levels (simple narrative main text, plus more information shared in side notes) it works for preschool/kindergarten and elementary learners. This book is part of a series which includes five other books about the season: Fall’s Here!

. Because of an Acorn by Lola Schaefer
A simple cause-and-effect book that depicts and entire ecosystem then circles back to the acorn as it falls from the oak tree. It’s a book intended for young students, but children of all ages will appreciate the detailed artwork and the progression of ideas as they flow through the cycle of nature.

 Counting on Fall by Lizanna Flatt
Another book for younger readers, this is a nice addition to a STEAM collection because of the math connection to the scientific world of nature, with some creative collage art to round things out. It explores numbers, patterns, shapes, estimation, etc – all within the context of animal behavior and traditional symbols of autumn. This book is also part of a series: Math in Nature.

 Look What I Did With a Leaf by Morteza Sohi
Part craft book and part field guide, this is a book just begging to be used in a makerspace! The illustrations do a nice job of showing the reader how to follow the written instructions, and the projects are easily do-able by even young artists. As someone who has used leaf-picture activities with my students and my own children, I was very pleased with this book.

  Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
And of course if you’re going to make leaf pictures, you MUST share this inventive book first! The books I’ve mentioned so far have all been nonfiction, but we’re moving into pure fantasy now as we marvel at the collages Ehlert creates from paper leaves showing us animals, vegetables, and leaf people. The regular version of the book is fine, but if you’re using it as a read aloud you may want to invest in the big book edition so your audience won’t miss the small charming details, such as the mice in the pumpkin patch.

 Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
If you want to go beyond leaves to the life cycle of a tree (a sugar maple, to be specific) this is another winning title from Lois Ehlert. The vibrant illustrations are sure to draw the reader in, and the factual details are communicated in a lovely narrative told from a child’s point of view.

What are your favorite books to share the joy of fall? Please leave a comment!

 

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CS First Coding Club in the Library

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  I received an email from Donors Choose offering an exciting incentive for sponsoring a Google CS First Coding Club in my  library: an opportunity to earn Donors Choose gift cards when students complete specific coding projects!

I’ve been providing coding experience for my students for many years, ever since I learned about Scratch at the S.C. EdTech conference in 2009.  Last year I attended Code.org training in my district and enrolled my library classes in one of their formal courses, and I sponsored the annual Hour of Code for all of my students.  This year our school is building on those experiences by offering additional mini courses in our computer lab (for all students) and in my library (for those who enjoy coding and want to pursue it more deeply).

  I like the approach CS First takes by providing a structured learning environment yet still allowing kids to have some creative control over their projects.  I’m especially excited about the Google Doodle activity, which has kids designing their own Google Logo, since that was one of the Genius Hour themes in my library a couple of years ago.

We’re kicking off our next learning adventure on Thursday, so watch for updates in a couple of weeks!  Are you using CS First in your school or library?  Leave a comment and tell us about it!

 

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Donors Choose Makerspace STEAM Book Grant Funded!

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 *Update on my Reading + Doing = Learning project:  It’s been fully funded!  (Thanks in part to our eligibility for matching funds from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, an organization that supports schools serving military communities.)  If you were one of my donors, thank you very much!!!

Do you need more books for your library?  (Don’t we all?!?)  Donors Choose is helping us fill our shelves by matching all donations made Oct 18-19 to book projects.  Get the details from this Donors Choose blog post.

I’m creating a project to get more STEAM books for my collection.  Many of the activities we have going on the the makerspaces each week elicit requests for library books on those same topics, and currently I can’t keep up with the demand.  Click to view (and donate to!) my project: Reading + Doing = Learning

Have you had a Donors Choose book project funded?  Tell us about it in the comments or tweet me @LibraryLoriJune!

 

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Donors Choose Makerspace Book Grant

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  For the second year in a row, book funding for my library was cut by the district, so once again I turned to Donors Choose to fill a need in my library.

My project this year is connected to the activities I host in my STEAM makerspace area.  I’ve found that when kids engage in hands-on activities like origami, drawing and doodling, designing and building with simple materials like Legos, etc. they often ask for how-to books on those same topics to check out.  As important as it is to me to offer these learning opportunities in my library, it’s perhaps more important that kids voluntarily follow up on theses activities on their own. The need for more of those books sparked my idea for Reading + Doing = Learning!

After determining the most popular makerspace activities, I analyzed my library collection to see where the greatest need for corresponding books was.  That led me to creating a wish list on Amazon that I could plug into my Donors Choose project.

If you support hands-on learning for students after the school day ends, I hope you’ll consider making a donation to this project!

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Pi in the Sky

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As most of you know, Pi Day is celebrated every year on March 14.

Pi in the Sky  I can’t let Pi Day go by without giving a shout out to a book by one of my favorite authors, Wendy Mass.  Her novel Pi in the Sky takes us to outer space for a funny and informative science fiction adventure.  With pie!

In Wendy’s own words:

“The germ of the idea for Pi in the Sky came from a quote a middle-schooler gave me. It was by astronomer Carl Sagan: ‘If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.’ My brain just started churning that quote over and over until a story started to form. I’ve always loved reading science fiction—starting with Ray Bradbury when I was younger—and I felt ready to take on the challenge.”

She actually started her career writing nonfiction for kids, so she’s no stranger to researching science and math.  It actually took her three years to do the research for this book before she felt ready to write about astronomy, evolution, and astrophysics on a level that students could understand.

Learn more about the book:

And here’s a link to some classroom resources for Pi Day.

I’ll leave you with the Pi Episode of Math Bites with Danica McKellar.

Do you know of any other good Pi books or resources?  Please share them in the comments!

 

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Hour of Code with Scratch

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Scratch  Several of my library classes participated in the annual Hour of Code using Scratch, one of my favorite coding programs.

Hour of Code 1Why do I like it so much?

  • Detailed step-by-step tutorials for introductory projects
  • Color coded instructions and tools that make it easy for students to click on the right thing
  • Flexible project ideas that give students some freedom for self-expression within the boundaries of a structured activity
  • Printable activity cards so students can explore Scratch independently
  • An online community for educators

Hour of Code 2It’s always interesting to see which students will cautiously follow the instructions to the letter, and which kids will use the tutorial as merely a suggestion of what can be done.  I also enjoy watching them turn to one another asking “How did you do that?!?”  Sometimes the most unlikely students become Scratch Masters, and it’s gratifying to watch them shine as they assist others.

Hour of Code 3If you haven’t tried Scratch yourself, it’s easy to get started with it.  And I think it’s important to realize that you don’t have to know everything about Scratch to use it with your students.  Over the past week I’ve learned several new things about Scratch by watching the kids experimenting with it, and I’m quick to admit “Hey, I didn’t know you could do that!”  That’s how we model learning for our students, right?

If you are using Scratch already, I’d love to hear about your experience.  Please leave a comment, or tweet me @LibraryLoriJune

 

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