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...