Week 9: Woah.

Yep, woah. That's really the best way to describe it. What a crazy, wild, stressful week! The bad thing is that it all began promptly on Monday morning- the chaos, that is. Although hitting a more personal note, I feel the need to tell about my experience with the dreaded day that begins with the letter "M" in order to fully set the scene.
It all started with me getting out of bed. Seriously, that soon. I wish I was kidding. After rolling out of bed and the short walk across my room in the dark with me reaching out like a zombie, I somehow managed to lose track of my feet and tripped over our (rather large) cat. This sent poor Shake fleeing and me pushing myself up off the floor. While getting up, what I assumed was an eyelash "got in my eye", so I rushed to the mirror to examine it. Unfortunately, the mysterious eyelash was never found and my eye continued to water and hurt half of the day for no apparent reason. When I was finally able to get ready and out of the house (this was after I smashed my shin on my car door getting in), I drove all the way to the end of my neighborhood and suddenly realized that I had walked out without my coffee. Wanting to avoid an even rockier 45 minute drive to work, I turned around and drove back to grab it out of my mud room where I left it. When jumping back into the car, I realized that I was now running late, so like any other impatient person who feels like a 10 mph increase will actually make a difference, I sped up. But as luck would have it, when a precious, fluffy bunny decided to throw himself in front of my tires, I found myself helpless. The entire drive to work was spent in tears over the innocent rabbit's dramatic death.

And that was just the first hour of me being awake. The rest of the week seemed to be just as stressful.
This week included, but was not limited to:

-the last week before Spring Break a.k.a. kids that have lost their minds when you genuinely have a lot to accomplish
-snow...and all day long I had to explain that we would not be released from school early because it was not cold enough to stick
-Grades that had to be posted
-Observations from central office
-Data gathering from walk-through observations
-Lesson planning
-Filming of video for Practicum evidence
-Dealing with various behavior issues (talk about some "firsts"!)
-Did I mention it was also the week before Spring Break?

Obviously, there was a lot of negative laced in this week. Luckily though, there was plenty of positive too. Wild and stressful- yes, but still a lot learned. The secret project continues to progress at JTA, but is proving to be a little more time-consuming. I'm excited to reveal the final product to you in the coming weeks! Outside of that, JTA library stayed fairly quiet this week.

Cedar Grove, however, presented more opportunities for practice and growth- especially since this was the week that I taught my lesson. After spending two days working with this age group, I felt much more confident in designing a lesson that was age-appropriate and then presenting the lesson to them in a way that encouraged engagement and authentic learning. Talking with other teachers, most would consider middle and high school students to be the most intimidating, but coming from the other side, we would say the same of elementary! Being put in such a situation revealed to me that not only could I handle the age group, but I actually LOVED them! By the time Ms. Maddox and I left at the end of the day, her head was probably spinning from hearing all of my newly-gained insights.

For my lesson, I taught a 4th grade class about book reviews using the app 30Hands. To get the ball rolling, we discussed the elements of a successful book review and made a list that stayed up on the screen.

Once we had gathered all of the information, I introduced the students to the iPad app, 30Hands. 

This app was a new resource to me, but is one that I can see using in all types of classrooms as well as the library. It allows the user to create videos, or even digital stories, all in the same app. For our purpose, the students took about three pictures of their reviewed book and then recorded over the images the information needed for a review. This were to complete this assignment with a partner. I had created my own review and used it as an example. By the time I had finished showing mine, the students were ready to go! 

A not-so-hot picture, but you get the idea!

The finished product can be saved to a school account or made into QR codes. How fun would it be to have students create various videos and then post the QR codes around the library for others to access!

Reflecting on the lesson, I could not be more inspired! Not only did I enjoy working on this lesson with this age group, but the students truly very engaged and excited to learn! I could go on and on about lessons learned from this experience (such as the importance of knowing your students so you know who will actually work together and who will not), but I feel that I have rattled on enough. Practicum lesson = success!

On a silly note, was an incident that happened with a 3rd grade class. As they finished their assignments, they were allowed to sit quietly and play an educational game on the iPad they had been given for the assignment. Approximately an hour after they left, their teacher stuck her head in the library doors and frantically claimed that her students had said that they "saw a naked man on the iPads in the library". Equally as frantic, I grabbed up the iPads and began going through each one. Sure enough, the culprit was found.

Sweet boxers.
                                                 

But he was NOT naked...and was also cartoon. Whew! After breathing a sigh of relief with Ms. Maddox, we took it down the teacher's room to show her exactly what her students were buzzing about. Rolling her eyes, she said she would address it.

While there, I also noticed for the first time Ms. Maddox's barcode binder. What a genius idea!

Working at the middle school level, this idea is not feasible because of so many various classes as well as class changes during the year. However, for elementary, this is an excellent idea that I will be sure to implement if I become an elementary librarian.

The rest of the week at JTA went back to being chaotic. At home though, I found myself working hard at preparing my portfolio. My goal is to finish it by the end of next week. As things pick up at work, I know that I will neither have the time nor the energy to get it done after the break. Spring Break may not be much of a break when it is all said and done, but by the end, I should have a huge accomplishment to be proud of. Fingers crossed!

Week 8: A Practicum-Placement-Palooza!

That's right, folks. I got to spend my week in both of my Practicum placements- talk about an ideal week for learning! When school was called in my county due to snow on Monday, I quickly checked my other school in my home county. Sure enough, they were still in session. So off to Cedar Grove Elementary I went! Although days had been scheduled to visit CGES later that week, I was excited to get an early start, especially since I had not yet spent any time there. With a quick text to Ms. Maddox and a short drive down the road, I arrived, anxious to begin work.

As planned, CGES was kicking off their second book fair of the year. This was my first time helping with a book fair and I am fortunate that I was able to gain such an experience. Without any previous knowledge of them, I can see being intimidated by the process when I have my own library. However, working one with Ms. Maddox truly helped to calm my nerves. For her book fairs, she often sets up the books how she prefers them versus the Scholastic way, which is more similar to a bookstore according to her. She prefers to have all books in one location each, so she knows exactly how many she has and exactly where to direct students- much like a library.

Memories of time spent browsing the shelves myself brought a smile to my face when seeing her setup. 

Being a HUGE Downton Abbey fan, I completely cracked up when seeing this title. Downton and little mice? What's not to love?

Another thing that I noticed her doing was encouraging the students to spend their money on books first, and then buy various other merchandise only if they had extra money. Otherwise, many students would come in and spend all of their money on erasers, pointers, stickers, and any other various small item that Scholastic sends. I thought this was smart of her- especially for the younger students. I also felt like it said a lot regarding her and her program, that she would rather point students in the right direction versus just make as much money as possible. Although I hope that all librarians would want the best for their students as well, I'm sure that those small "quick sell" items are tempting to push.

Another thing I learned from listening to Ms. Maddox was the "Five Finger Test". Maybe others are familiar with it, but I had never once heard of it! The "Five Finger Test" is a guide for students to determine if a book is at their reading level. For instance, when choosing a book, students are to open to the middle and read one page. Every time they reach a word they do not know, they put up a finger. By the end of the page, if the student is holding 1-2 fingers up, the book is too easy. If they are holding 5 fingers up, then the book is too difficult, and if they have 3-4 fingers up, then the book is just right. Seeing first grade students conduct this quick self-assessment was exciting to see!

Throughout the day, we also had discussions regarding Accelerated Reader. We discussed the motivation, incentives, prizes, and implementation. I asked Ms. Maddox specifically how each grade seems to approach the program. We discussed point levels and how she keeps up with them. These "brag tags", created by a company called Image Stuff, have proven to be a great incentive for readers. With great customer service, prices, and many customizable options, she was quick to praise the company.

She also has awarded tshirts and then trophies for those that reach 100 points. At the end of each school year, all students who are in the "100 Point Club" have their names entered into a drawing for an iPad touch. The student with the most points overall gets an iPad mini!

Based on her experience, Ms. Maddox reports great results with the Accelerated Reader program. Students continue to be excited about it every year and very little motivation is needed to get them going. She did comment that the 4th grade teachers (against her advice) make Accelerated Reader mandatory, requiring all students to gain so many points per quarter. Their ability or willingness to complete the tests and earn points affects their reading grade. A discussion regarding the impact this can have on student motivation to read ensued and concluded with us agreeing that such requirements really are not a sound practice and have the potential to even harm reading habits.

On Friday, the book fair ended, clean up mode was in full force, and the day felt as though it had never happened. In between the crazy amount of sales and seeing five classes that day, I still managed to learn a great deal- at times, strictly through observation. I saw a wide range of ages, which was fun since I have only taught middle school. I also loved seeing the enthusiasm, especially from the little ones, as they walked away with new book under arm. One little girl even squealed- literally squealed- upon finding a book about a princess! It was difficult not to squeal right along with her!

Also during the day, I took note of how students interacted and used the technology given to them. Some on computers and others on iPads, students were engaged with various apps and programs that were designed for each of their ages. I also was happy to see how fluent the kindergarden students were in using the iPads. Given them just during the last few minutes, they were quick to go straight to some of their favorite apps with little to no help at all.

It made me reflect on how different my own learning experience had been and how crucial it truly is to implement and teach today's students using technology. This thought inspired me to run a lesson idea by Ms. Maddox in preparation for next week. Needless to say, I am eager to teach the lesson already!

As for work in my library, there was quite a bit of work done, but I'm still not ready to discuss it. Let's just say that improving the school learning environment is kind of becoming part of our mission this spring...and part of that mission might or might not include paint...

Week 7: Improving the library environment

A full week = a whole heckuva lot happening in the library! One of the more simple things I learned was one way to repair damaged books. While checking in and shelving books earlier this week (before the scan gun was ripped from my tight-fisted grasp by a student library aide...so much for power), I ran across several books that needed some serious love. Ms. Allen had recently received a catalog:

that she handed me and told me to flip to the repairs section. There I found all kinds of materials used to repair books and various resources in the LMC. Ms. Allen went on to explain some pros and cons she had found with different materials and some of her preferences. That's when she handed me this:

and gave me her testimonial regarding book tape. I say this half jokingly, but I'm completely serious when I say that she was adamant about choosing the right book tape. She claims that the solid, opaque tapes hold better and lasts longer than the translucent ones. Although she does like the looks of the clear tape better, she swears it does not last as long. I understand the importance of durability, but I must confess that having a background in art, it drives me insane that this tape is not only an eye sore, but that it actually covers up some of the artwork of the book, thus hurting its aesthetic. ICK! 

Regardless, I gave it a try myself. 

   

So ugly... 

but it was fixed! I was amazed at how solid the tape felt. I also felt like a book doctor, which is awesome because the thought of being someone who fixes things without dealing with blood is much more up my alley. 

Also this week, we kicked off our annual "Educators are Awesome" campaign. Every year, our principal sends out a mass email to our students' families asking for them to write which teacher they believe deserves an apple and why. While getting parents to respond to anything at our school is very much a challenge for us (especially at the middle school level), we do end up getting quite a few responses. The only negative to this week is that the Related Arts teachers (yours truly) as well as any other "non-core teacher" often gets over-looked. We all understand and accept this, but when one of us does get an apple, it tends to be a big deal. When given her apple, you would have thought Ms. Allen had just heard her name called as the next Miss America. Squealing commenced, and a proud picture was in order.  

"I think Ms. Allen deserves an apple for: All of the extras she's incorporated to make JTA and the library more inviting for everyone." 

This message of thanks could not have come at a better time, because it's true that the library and our school is undergoing a huge transformation. Below is a brief slideshow of the current things happening that is changing the look of our library.

Beside these displays, Ms. Allen and I have also taken on another, much larger, project that is impacting the overall environment of our school. Just this week, we began the first step. While I want to share, I think I'll save it for another time. 

Who would've thought that "In the Library With Lupton" has branched out to spaces much further than the walls of the library...

Week 6: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

The work week may have been a short one, going to school only two days due to snow, but it was quite the busy one! Even though I was stuck at home instead of at school celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with my students and colleagues during the first few days, I still managed to get alot accomplished. 

Bum bum-bum bummmmm: I finished the Portfolio Planning Document! WHEW! Now that everything has been figured out, all I have to do is put everything together for my portfolio! Oh wait, I still have to write the Reflection Essays... 

As much as I tried to write them as I filled out the PPD, I just could not get it all done. Looking back, it seems that somehow I managed to take the most demanding classes during the summers throughout this program, leaving the ones with less actual written work for me to take during the school year. It worked very well. Granted, the past two summers did not feel like a break whatsoever, but I always managed. The work load of the Practicum, however, is wearing on me! I LOVE getting to learn everything, and I am truly excited to get to be so hands on, but keeping up with teaching full time, being truly involved in the library now and the extra activities that goes with it, and using every bit of my weekend to get caught up on grad school work- *Sigh*. Thank goodness for loving family and coffee! 

Now back to the library. When we returned to school Thursday morning, Seuss-fever had hit JTA. Proof:

Yep, that's me! I was Cat in the Hat all day! The rest of the students and faculty participated as well, dressing up like their favorite characters from various Seuss books. Even our administration got in on the fun, each one of them dressing as either "One Fish", "Two Fish", "Red Fish" or "Blue Fish". We even made the Hardin County Schools' website! Check it out!

To go along with various activities taking place throughout the building during the day, I was asked the previous week to draw up a worksheet for students to use. I was given an example and here was my drawing. My worksheet was emailed to all faculty within the building. 

During the day, our administrators had a little fun, interacting (causing a scene, really) with the faculty and staff when they brought around each of the teachers a mug:

Below is a picture of Ms. Allen, a star-bellied Sneetch, with her always helpful Cat in the Hat.

Friday went back to normal, whatever that may mean at JTA. Ms. Allen and I, along with several students in her morning class, created these fun shamrock decorations to prepare for St. Patrick's Day in the library. 

Yesterday I also was able to FINALLY get my hands on Destiny. It was not my first time using the program, but it had been awhile. Throughout the week, Ms. Allen has student library aides that help out with the checking in of books and shelving them, so I do not get to help with those tasks very much. When asking one of my students that happened to be in the library how I looked behind the desk, she replied with "Well, you still look like an art teacher, but I think you look okay doing that, too." Oh, middle school. What was really awesome is that she took my picture so I could see what I looked like as well:

Apparently it was something I had to see for myself. What followed our photo shoot was something I hadn't noticed before- or at least to the degree that it currently is. When insisting on shelving the books myself, I was appalled to find that the fiction section was not fully alphabetically organized. For instance, the "L"s would all be "L" authors, but "Lau" may be right next to "Lup". The ENTIRE fiction section was like this. AHHHHH!!! When I asked a student aide next to me if it was always "like this", he informed me that it was. When expressing my extreme discomfort (I tend to be overly organized by nature) with the lack of organization of her shelves, Ms. Allen laughed at me, and with a shrug of her shoulders simply said "Priorities!". She explained that without any hired assistance, keeping the shelves neat is incredibly difficult- especially when she has up to three classes in the library at once. She said that she does shelve them correctly multiple times a year, but quickly realized that the time used to shelve books is best sacrificed in order to meet other, more immediate needs of our school. 

Looking back on this experience has me thinking about sacrifices I, too, will make when I become a LMS. Being a LMS means that my choices will directly impact my school. Will I choose to let my natural tendency to keep everything "just right" overpower my work I do with my students and faculty? I must be sure that it doesn't. This makes me look to the following CEBS Disposition:

Values professionalism:

Commitment to self-reflection and growth. Recognizes personal limitations and strengths and uses them to best professional advantage. Actively seeks suggestions and constructive criticism. Regularly practices critical thinking. Regularly engages in learning through self-reflection. 

Being a reflective person, I find that I often reflect on my performance, my mindset, etc. As a librarian, I must continue to practice this, as well the flexibility I have been learning throughout my Practicum experience. What a revealing, encouraging week I have had! I'm already excited for the next! 

Week 5: New books

This week provided me with the opportunity to learn a major part of my future job description- cataloging! While the task has never seemed difficult, it has always appeared to be overwhelming. This week I found out that there are many shortcuts and resources that are available to librarians to help in this department. However, they will often cost the program. Upon walking in Tuesday morning, I saw a box with another two piles of books next to it on the circulation desk.

"New books?" I asked.
"New books!" Ms. Allen replied while smiling and clasping her hands together in excitement. I always can tell she is excited if the hands clasp together or both arms fly up at the elbow with fisted hands. The latter kind of resembles a cheerleading motion. It's no surprise then, that she also speaks with the same level of enthusiasm when this happens. Like any real librarian, nothing makes Ms. Allen happier than new books and/or new technology. Seeing that she had already begun to label, I proceeded to ask a series of questions that produced many simple, but valuable answers.

First question: Why Follett? Ms. Allen chooses to stick with Follett not only for their pricing, but also for convenience. When she first became librarian, she said that she had many different sellers coming to visit regularly. To her, a new school librarian, this felt overwhelming. So, like any good LMS would do, she started researching. She looked into each seller and looked at their services and prices. Ultimately, Follett won out. I also asked her about ebooks, or digital books. Apparently, that is already on her "to-do" list for next year. She will begin purchasing more of them for the 2014-2015 year. This question led me to budgeting. I was familiar with the "per pupil allocation" from previous courses in the program and various assignments, so I asked her where JTA stood in terms of funding. Luckily for us, we still get the full amount per student to use in the LMC. Ms. Allen explained to me that many schools do not get to use theirs in the LMC as they should. I'm curious as to where my future school will stand on that issue. Thinking ahead, I can already see why AASL's advocacy toolkits are such a great resource!

Questioning our budget, then made me think back to the books in front of me. For instance, I asked why she put her spine labels in that particular position. She said that different libraries will choose different locations. She chose that one simply because the previous librarian(s) had set the precedence with previous books and she wanted to keep a unified look.

Apparently the same could be said for the cover labels...

as well as for the interior labels, or labels inside the front cover. 

We also discussed types of binding and looked at the difference between Follett binding and a regular bound book. Ms. Allen explained that to have the nicer binding, it costs more (75 cents per book), but she felt that it was well worth it based on personal experience. Another thing she pays an additional fee for, is for Follett to create the barcodes for her and the sticker (as shown above) that also includes the Reading Counts value. 

This discussion led us to assessing programs such as Reading Counts and Accelerated Reader- their differences, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their appeal at different age levels. Although she continues to include the Reading Counts point values in each book, Ms. Allen says that very few teachers actually still use the program in the school. We talked about the pros and cons I had learned about through my studies and compared them to her experiences in the library. Ms. Allen said that we originally chose Reading Counts because MAP scores could be used to determine level and this aligned nicely with Reading Counts. However, she feels that the middle school age is too old to be using such programs. For instance, at the lower elementary level, kids are being encouraged to read- anything and everything- they can get their hands on. Given an incentive (although not grade-based), students are typically more than willing to read to reach a goal or be given a reward. However, once past this stage, many of the upper level readers are expected to read material that reflects their reading level, but often not their interests at that particular age. For instance, a seventh-grader may be required to read books at the twelfth grade reading level that they tested at, but not be able to relate to the mature subjects addressed in the story. 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Giver-Readers-Circle-Laurel-Leaf/dp/0440237688

When first starting this program, I remembering learning that Lois Lowry's The Giver was actually on the banned book list. I read The Giver in my fourth grade Gifted program, along with others such as Flowers for Algernon and various works by Shakespeare. I never remember feeling at all uncomfortable or perplexed by the subject matter. After learning of this list, I read The Giver again. Sure enough, I picked up on much more than I ever had as a nine year old. I can only imagine how many times this same situation occurs when young students are trying to reach their required number of points. 

All in all, I had a very productive week in the library!

Week 4: Welcome to the J.T. Alton LMC!

This week, I realized, that in all of my haste to get going in terms of reporting my experiences and work on my Portfolio Planning Document, I never fully introduced my library. These pictures are some that I took last school year. 

Front Doors-Notice sitting area

Circulation Desk

Typically holds the picture book collection

Fiction Section...and random podium

Main seating area

Another view of circulation desk. Reference section is in that back corner.

Side room: More computers and further back is the news room. Ms. Allen's office is located right next to this room.

Since last year, Ms. Allen has made many changes to the library media space. Spurred by an analysis I wrote for a LME class and the urge to update it, Ms. Allen has slowly begun to transform the library. 

Ms. Allen's idea and my work combined to create this.

All the reasons we read. "We read to..."

These dots filled with reasons to read now go all around the library. 

Improved entrance thanks to my art students: paintings and drawings on old dictionary pages

Since our discussion on library environment, Ms. Allen and I have worked together to bring more student art to the library. The book page art is just one small project displayed to brighten up the library in hopes of luring in more patrons! 

"Bringing Words to Life"

I will not spend a lot of time discussing the LMC because I feel the pictures show it better than I can explain. I just felt that if I’m going to be talking about this place for 15 weeks, then my readers should know what it looks like. Or maybe that’s just my visual/art side coming out. As I continue to go through the Practicum experience, I will be sure to add new pictures of how our space evolves. I’m already anticipating several changes to happen throughout the next couple of months!

For the second part of this post, I want to review over some of the CEBS Dispositions and connect some thoughts I’ve had thus far regarding each one. 

        Values diversity:

Willingly works with others from different ability, race, gender, or ethnic groups. Welcomes feedback and interaction with others. Listens carefully to others and respects the views of those perceived as different from self.

Although I believe the amount of diversity that can be found in any given school body is great, I do believe that working at JTA has certainly prepared me better for working with others that are different from me- possibly more than the average Kentucky school. JTA pulls kids from the small, rural towns of Vine Grove and Rineyville, but also from Radcliff. Located just down the road from Fort Knox, a large part of our population comes from military families. The kids I work with on a daily basis are often more traveled by age thirteen than myself today. With extended family located all over the world, our students are incredibly diverse in their religion, race, ethnicity, ability, and home life. Working with them has truly been a welcomed learning experience that continues to teach me new lessons each day. Instead of being intimidated by their differences as I was when first hired, I now view them with enthusiasm, as they always bring so much to the classroom and learning experience. 

Values Professionalism:

Respect for school rules, policies, and norms. Knows school rules and policies. Follows them consistently. Understands the purpose of regulations and respects their intent. Accepts responsibility for personally following them in patterns of dress, behavior, etc. EPSB Code of Ethics

This disposition almost seems silly to me to include. Perhaps my thoroughness keeps me more in check than I realize, but not respecting school rules and policies has never been an option for me. I would not even think twice about being a rule-breaker because it simply is not my tendency. Others may have had issues in the past, but I cannot even think of an example where I have had an issue with this. As an educator, we are professionals- it is that simple. Our dress, behavior, and actions should always reflect this truth. 

Values Professionalism:

Professional responsibility. Accepts responsibility for own actions and for helping all students learning and actively seeks self-improvement. Consistently holds high expectations for the success of all students. Consistently looks to explain and remedy student lack of success by factors within the control of self.

Reviewing over this disposition immediately makes me think of my work on the Portfolio Planning Document that I have immersed myself in recently. Student learning, self-improvement, high expectations... all these terms and phrases are repeatedly addressed and supporting in the PPD through various artifacts. As I continue to engage in activities in the library, I find myself asking the same questions that I ask when writing an art lesson for my class: What do I want them to be able to do? How are they going to do it? Why is this important? What should they learn? Post lesson, I ask more questions: What did I do well? What could I improve on? What did they do well? How could I better teach ____? When teaching and guiding students in the library, I go through the same process.