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It's not anywhere close to unique, but hey, that just makes it classic. This here library display is simple for anyone to do. I'm talking about gettin' wild...

What I'm really proud of is the felt animal prints I made. Yep, hand cut from patterns I found online. Can you see the texture?

It just adds a bit more glam to it. Safari glam. Just what is needed in the library!

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It's not anywhere close to unique, but hey, that just makes it classic. This here library display is simple for anyone to do. I'm talking about gettin' wild... What I'm really proud of is the felt animal prints I made. Yep, hand cut from patterns I found online.

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Alternate to Valentines Day displays

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Good for Year End.

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Display by colour: https://klmpeace.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/read-any-good-books-lately/

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It's Halloween time and the library has some awesome displays this year! Our first display is covered in slime! I got this idea from Pinterest, it was easy to make and looks great in person.

I started off by getting a stack of lime green paper. I cut out five different variations of slime and then used those as templates to cut out approx 40 pieces of slime.

For the top three shelves I taped the slime of the inside top of the bookcase along with the outside edge. The bottom four shelves you couldn't see the inside well so I only did the outside.

I made a sign for the display saying "It came from the library." and I made a second sign for our website.

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It's Halloween time and the library has some awesome displays this year! Our first display is covered in slime! I got this idea from Pinterest, it was easy to make and looks great in person. I started off by getting a stack of lime green paper.

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Would you want to go on a blind date with a book? The Calgary Public Library seems to think so. This poster says it all:
"Who will your 'book soul mate' be? A thriller, a biography, perhaps a romance? Don't worry if it doesn't work out, simply return your date with no strings attached and no hard feelings"
For February and Valentine's Day, several of the Calgary's Public Libraries set up "blind date with a book". I think this is a cute and fun way for people to try out a new genre and there is indeed a possibility that they will fall in love!

I snapped this photo at Fish Creek Library, where there is a shelf of books all decked out and ready to find dates:

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Would you want to go on a blind date with a book? The Calgary Public Library seems to think so. This poster says it all: "Who will your 'book soul mate' be? A thriller, a biography, perhaps a romance?

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Next week is Shark Week, and we'll be having a Shark Attack library event. I did this book display ( and a shark bulletin board) to go along with the festivities.

The shark photo prop is from our Pirate Scavenger Hunt. I made it with foam board and paint, but you can buy them now from Oriental Trading.

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Next week is Shark Week, and we'll be having a Shark Attack library event. I did this book display (and a shark bulletin board) to go along with the festivities. The shark photo prop is from our Pirate Scavenger Hunt. I made it with foam board and paint, but you can buy them now from Oriental Trading.

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By Chris Plumley Another fabulous display by Chris from Lincoln College, UK. This fun display is based on fictional travel de...

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Could be done in the library.

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Each shelf holds one teachers favourite books. Shelf is labelled with teacher's name.

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Some teachers at our school have Favorites. #titletalk http://t.co/D2XS3pxgyi

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Some teachers at our school have Favorites. #titletalk http://t.co/D2XS3pxgyi

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Some teachers at our school have Favorites. #titletalk pic.twitter.com/D2XS3pxgyi
— Gary Anderson (@AndersonGL) September 30, 2013

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Some teachers at our school have Favorites. #titletalk http://t.co/D2XS3pxgyi

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Some teachers at our school have Favorites. #titletalk http://t.co/D2XS3pxgyi

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Some teachers at our school have Favorites. #titletalk http://t.co/D2XS3pxgyi

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Growth Mindset Picture Books to Encourage Reluctant Readers to Participate in School Reading Culture

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Growth Mindset Picture Books to Encourage Reluctant Readers to Participate in School Reading Culture

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure here.

Picture books are a fantastic way to convey important growth mindset concepts to your students. If you are looking for a list of age appropriate titles for your level(s), I'm going to start by saying that I believe picture books are relevant and appropriate for all age groups. In the upper grades, you might get a few snickers, but in most cases, students (and, ahem, adults) really enjoy picture books.

My goal is to help you plan your growth mindset instruction by providing a summary of each book as well as a list of the MAIN growth mindset topics that are covered in each book. If you click on any image, you will be directed to Amazon where you will find a listing for the book in case you wish to purchase it.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:
This is THE book that I would use to begin discussing growth mindset with my students. Growth mindset concepts are steeped in science. To get buy-in from students, they need to understand very early on that you aren't just blowing smoke when you talk about their potential and capabilities. More specifically, they need to understand the workings of the brain.

Your Fantastic Elastic Brai n provides a framework for the students to understand the parts of the brain, their functions, and how their brains play a part in perseverance, learning new things, and making mistakes. The illustrations are colorful and informative as well. If you only get one growth mindset book, this is the one you need to order!
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:
This book is about Beatrice, a little girl who never makes mistakes. She is very careful about how she completes tasks because she has a reputation to live up to and surely doesn't want to disappoint anyone. She always remembers to do her homework, make her bed, and greet her fans. Her juggling act even won the Talent Show for three years in a row because it was PERFECT! Beatrice always fixed potential mistakes before they happened and if she was worried about making a mistake, she would refrain from participating because she didn't want to disappoint anyone.

Her fourth talent show was about to begin! Can you guess what happens when you juggle a pepper shaker and a hamster? Well, it's unpredictable to say the least.

If you have students who struggle with perfection or who get down on themselves for making mistakes, this is the perfect book to share with them. Not only does it convey the message that it's okay to make mistakes, it shows students that mistakes have an upside... and making them can actually be fun!
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:
Vashti was upset because she assumed that she just wasn't any good at art. Her teacher's good sense of humor and patience helped Vashti see the talent she didn't even know she had. This is a story about Vashti's one little dot, created in anger, that opened her up to a whole new world.

The message in The Dot inspires readers to take risks and embark on a journey of self-discovery. This is a perfect book for students who show a lack of confidence. It will inspire them to take a first step even if it is small because those small steps can lead to extraordinary places!
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:
Beautiful Oops gives students fantastic examples of how mistakes can be flipped into something worthwhile and beautiful. A variety of "OOPS" are covered including torn or bent paper, stains, smudges, and holes. Each flaw, or oops, is a chance to use your imagination and create something spectacular.

Students will love the interactive nature of this book, as each oops is real... you will see torn paper, bent pages, splotches, and even a crumpled paper INSIDE THE BOOK! This is truly a rare gem for students who struggle with perfectionism and who beat themselves up at every little mistake.

Finding the benefits in making mistakes is a pillar of growth mindset instruction and this book will have your students well on their way to embracing mistakes.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:
We're All Wonders is based on the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Auggie, the main character who lives with facial deformities, shows readers that he's just like everyone else. He longs to live in a world where everyone sees him for who he is and not what their eyes show them. With determination and perseverance, Auggie takes us on a journey of growth by tackling life's challenges.

Teachers can use this opportunity to talk to their students about positive and negative self-talk, overcoming obstacles, and the difference that confidence can make in your ability to successfully overcome obstacles and challenges.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

growth and fixed mindset

the malleability of the brain

grit

perseverance

tackling challenges

self-talk

the power of YET

failure

improvement

confidence

Bubble Gum Brain is a wonderful introductory book about growth mindset. It's an effective overview because so many concepts are covered. It can be used at the very beginning of the year or as a review after students have been exposed to growth mindset concepts.

The story follows two children, Bubble Gum Brain and Brick Brain. Each child has a very different approach to life. Bubble Gum Brain embraces challenges, isn't afraid to try new things, and doesn't mind making mistakes. On the contrary, Brick Brain exhibits behaviors consistent with someone who has a fixed mindset. Bubble Gum Brain encourages Brick Brain to take off his wrapper and stretch his brain.

Help students understand why becoming is better than being using Bubble Gum Brain.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:
Jabari knows he's ready to jump off the diving board because, well, he finished his swim lessons and that's what is supposed to happen next! In this sweet story about a little boy who works to overcome the challenge of jumping off the high dive for the first time, kids will learn about the facing fears, tackling challenges, and perseverance.

This story also requires students to make inferences about how Jabari is feeling. The text never directly points to fear of failure or overcoming challenges, so it's also a perfect time to teach students about inferencing. Why does Jabari squeeze his dad's hand as he anticipates his first jump? How is Jabari feeling? How do you know? These are just a few questions you can use to help students reflect on what is really happening in Jabari Jumps.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

confidence

failure and the fear of failure

tackling challenges

making mistakes

perseverance

the power of YET

perfection

motivation

Rosie Revere has dreams and desires to become an engineer one day! She loves to create gadgets and gizmos by collecting and hiding away treasures from the trash. One day her great-great-aunt Rose comes to visit and mentions her dream of flying and Rosie knows that she can help her aunt's dream become a reality.

She sets off to build her biggest and best contraption yet. Rosie finishes it up and tries to take off, floats for a moment, and then sputters and plummets to the ground. She hears Aunt Rose laughing, but it turns out that Rose really thinks Rosie is wildly successful!

This story is perfect for students who feel like their first attempt needs to be perfect. The lesson here is that the only time you fail is when you choose to quit. Each failed attempt is a step closer to success.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

failure

perseverance

grit

making mistakes

tackling challenges

overcoming obstacles

motivation

improvement

The Most Magnificent Thing is a story about a little girl who plans on creating the MOST MAGNIFICENT thing ever. She and her assistant, the little pup, gather supplies and get to work. They work and work. They finish up, take a good look and their contraption and realize that it's all wrong. There is nothing magnificent about it, not at all. She keeps trying. She fiddles and tugs and wrenches, but she just can't seem to make it work. She tries and tries and tries, but becomes angry and frustrated. To top it all off, she smashes her finger and then EXPLODES!

How does she overcome her frustration and failure? Readers will see that over time, she is able to see things in new ways and start all over again. She is able to use what she knows about her past failures to create something better than she ever has ever created before. It will take perseverance, determination, and grit. Will she get there?
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:
What Do You Do With an Idea? is a picture book that helps student harness enough confidence to see their ideas through. This story is about a child with an idea. The people in this child's life didn't think the idea was any good and that felt discouraging. At first, the child believed those people and wanted to give up, but the idea continued to grow. When the child decided to protect the idea and to let it grow, amazing things happened.

This story will give students the freedom to tap into their own magnificence, to take risks, and put their ideas to the test. Thinking big and seeing things in new ways can give people confidence in their dreams and provide motivation to persevere through discouragement and doubt.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

tackling challenges

overcoming obstacles

fear of failure

confidence

resilience

motivation

reframing your mindset (problem)

What Do You Do With a Problem? is the perfect picture book to share with students who have tendencies towards worry or anxiety. The entire message in the book encourages students to find opportunities and ways to grow in the face of problems. Reframing issues or problems in ways that help students find opportunities to learn new things is a pivotal component of growth mindset instruction.

Reframing problems provides growth opportunities for students that they wouldn't otherwise experience. For more ideas about using this book with students, you can hop over to this post as well.
Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

taking risks

facing challenges

fear of failure

making mistakes

overcoming fear

embracing failure

courage and bravery

the power of YET

The little boy wasn't sure what to do when he stumbled upon a chance. He didn't know if he should take the chance or if he should let it go. Eventually, he decided to let it go. He regretted his decision and wished he'd had the courage to grab it.

The next time a chance came around, he decided to go for it, but he missed and fell. Feeling defeated, his disappointment and frustration prevented him from taking new chances. For a time, he didn't notice any new chances or opportunities. He began to worry that he might not get another one. He wondered if he'd even be brave enough to take a chance if one came along. Ultimately, he came up with a surefire strategy to overcome his fear and knew he'd be ready the next time a chance came around.

The prominent growth mindset theme here is taking risks. Failure only occurs when the chance is ignored.

This will be a GROWING BLOG POST! New growth mindset books will be added to this list over time. If you have suggestions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or to email me at [email protected]
If you want more information about purchasing all of these literature unit companions at a bundled discount, please check here. You may also be interested in these posts:

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Growth Mindset Picture Books for Kids: The Top Classroom Read Alouds

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure here. Picture books are a fantastic way to convey important growth mindset concepts to your students. If you are looking for a list of age appropriate titles for your level(s), I'm going to start by saying that I believe picture books are relevant and appropriate for all age groups.

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When I first came on to the La Crosse Public Library team, one of my very first ideas was a stealth program where the kids would add LEGOs to a pile/bin/whatever every time they check out. Then, at the end of the month or whenever, they would have a "Big Build" party and make something out of the LEGOs they had collected.

I am SO happy that idea didn't fly at the time, because what came of it nearly 3 years later is WAY better than that.

When it was time to debut our check-out club, Brooke and I racked our brains for an hour coming up with a cool, though straightforward name. We both liked alliteration, so we were looking for a word that started with the same letter as "LEGO" without distracting from what the club was about. We both have graduate degrees AND other degrees in language-related fields and I mean WHAT WORD COULD WE EVEN USE THAT BEGINS WITH L TO DESCRIBE A LIBRARY PROGRAM.

Anyway.
Here's how the program went:
1. We pre-made small ziploc bags with three LEGO each in them. We started with a hundred and added more when we got low.
2. Every time there was a check-out (that we caught at self-check, or as they were leaving the room to check out at the big desk, or if they came up and asked about the club)we gave every child 4 and over a bag with 3 LEGO in it.
3. We guided them over to our "porthole", which is usually reserved for kids' collections, opened it up and let the kids add to the LEGO base or tower

place where kids could get to easily enough to break it, BUT easy enough to have kids reach to add to the tower. If you had no space like that, however, it'd be all right to keep it by the reference desk. A key part of the mystery of the LEGO tower is that it looks different every time you visit, so it's no great shakes if it break and you need to rebuild it
Finally creating this took a bit of planning, but it definitely paid off. We needed to have a space that is not(or have an unruly child in desperate need of something productive to do rebuild it, eh?)

Tying in STEM a little bit, avoid the possibility of having kids place LEGO in places that tip the tower over by saying "This needs to be a stable structure so it doesn't fall over. I know you'll find the best place for your LEGOs so they stay!" or something similarly fun/vocabulary enriching. They'll take their time finding the perfect spot!

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When I first came on to the La Crosse Public Library team, one of my very first ideas was a stealth program where the kids would add LEGOs to a pile/bin/whatever every time they check out. Then, at the end of the month or whenever, they would have a "Big Build" party and make something out of the LEGOs they had collected.

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I thought I would share a great program that runs each year in my school. For the past eight years, our Environmental Club has been running a book swap for the kids. It is a two day event that they run around the same time as Read Across America. This year, over 1,600 books were brought in to be swapped. In the eight years the program has been running, a little over 18,500 books have been swapped between children. The Environmental Club calculates they have saved over 6,188 trees!

Here's how it works. Each homeroom is given a cardboard box. Students bring in a children's book from home that they have already read and are willing to swap. They fill out a little slip with their name and homeroom teacher. They put the slip in the book and the books in the box. The collection runs for about a week. The club advisers set up two pick-up days after school when the club will meet to pick up all the books and process them. I've not been a part of the process, but it seems they pull the tickets which are kept sorted in big envelopes by homeroom and student and then sort the books by genre, series, etc.

On the day of the swap, the books are put out in the main hallway for display.

I should mention that these pictures are all from the second day of the book swap when most of the "good" books were already snatched up and the supply was dwindling. I write "good" in quotes because I think you would agree there were lots of great books still available on day two!

The day of the book swap, the envelopes are delivered to each homeroom and the tickets given back to the children. During lunch/recess periods, students can come to the table and pick one book for each ticket they have. An even swap! There is a check-out table manned by club members. They count the tickets and books to make sure they match. Then, they tear up the tickets, bag the books, and send the readers off with a new stack of books to read!

For some reason, every year there are books left over. The club advisers allow teachers to come after school on the last day and pick through any leftovers. Even after that, there are still books left. This year, as I was leaving the building, the advisers had let all the students in our after care program come and take as many books as they wanted. The kids were so excited! It was like getting a surprise birthday present!

What I like about the book swap it that it build excitement for reading in the entire building. Even those reluctant readers are excited about the book swap! Invariably, there are those kids in your class that don't have books at home or don't have a book to swap. I find a lot of teachers try to get a book in their hands to swap. I have a pretty big class library, so if I have a student I know doesn't have a book to swap, I will give them one from my class library. A loss for my library, but since I seem to have an addiction to buying children's books, not really! Plus, the whole point is to get books in kids' hands. This book swap does the job quite nicely! I have even seen many kids selecting books not just for themselves, but also picking books they think a sibling or friend would like.

Finally, if this looks like a lot of work. . . IT IS! No getting around it! I would have to give a great big BRAVA!! to the advisers of the Environmental Club. I hope they really know how appreciated and important this book swap is. And while I'm pretty sure they don't read my little blog, on behalf of all those kids reading "new" books out there because of you, I say THANK YOU!!

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I thought I would share a great program that runs each year in my school. For the past eight years, our Environmental Club has been running a book swap for the kids. It is a two day event that they run around the same time as Read Across America.

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Different grades on different days.  https://librarianarika.wordpress.com/img_8824/

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This culminated in a field trip, but modifiable.

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One of the most fun partnerships of my job was working with our school librarian. We worked Family Literacy Nights, Read Across America Celebrations, and our fun library contests! The library contests came about as a way to reach our kids and parents and engage them in fun activities that they would enjoy. We wanted our kids and parents to:
together on our

* love reading and love books.
* talk to each other about books.
* create something special together.

To do this, we invented our library contests! They were totally voluntary. One of our library contests that took place in December was Disguise a Gingerbread Man.

We posted posters around the school to let kids know we planned to host a contest.

When kids came to the library to ask about the contest, we provided a gingerbread man template on cardstock and the directions on a flyer.

The kids had about three weeks to disguise their gingerbread man as a character from a book they enjoy.

They returned the completed project (with their name, teacher's name, character name, and book title on the back) to the library by the due date.

Then we had a couple judges identify the winners! We chose many, many winners, because the prize was a big one. We booked a bus and a field trip to Barnes & Noble!

Our original idea was to give the winners gift cards to Barnes & Noble, but we realized that our population of kids might not be able to find transportation to get there to spend their card. So my incredible principal suggested the field trip!

We collected winners from the three contests in the fall (Disguise-a-Pumpkin, Turkey in Disguise, and Disguise a Gingerbread Man) and took them all to Barnes & Noble!

They gave each child a piece of chocolate and a tiny sample of a frappuccino (I don't have to tell you how fancy the kids thought that was!) and then the school paid for one book of the child's choosing. It was a beautiful day!

To grab the editable version of these fun projects (and more: bunnies, snowmen, and designing bookmarks!) just head over to my TpT store!

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Disguise a Gingerbread Man Library Contest

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One of the most fun partnerships of my job was working with our school librarian. We worked Family Literacy Nights, Read Across America Celebrations, and our fun library contests! The library contests came about as a way to reach our kids and parents and engage them in fun activities that they would enjoy.

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Explanation of how this was done with primary classes. (March?)

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Hello, friends!

It's Christmas break for me and I'm taking a few minutes to plan ahead for the new year! Last year our first graders hosted a Tournament of Books and it was a huge success so we're getting ready to host one again this year!

The first thing I did was put up this huge bracket in the main hallway of our school. It generated a ton of buzz around the school, especially before we shared any details about what we were actually planning! The Brown Bag Teacher has bracket printables free on Teachers Pay Teachers. They are perfect for getting your bracket ready. To build the bracket, I started from the middle and worked out on each side, using black duct tape for the lines. It wasn't a quick project, but it turned out perfectly!

Once all the kiddos were making guesses about my giant hallways display, we collected nominations.

Each first grader nominated a favorite book, which gave us about 70 nominees. It was surprisingly easily to narrow them down to 16 choices for our bracket since we had lots and lots of the same choices, plus a few that were easy to toss (a few guided reading titles made it into the mix haha).

Once we filled in our top 16 books, the students filled out their own brackets. I printed blank brackets from Print Your Own Brackets and wrote in our selections. Then, we carefully went through the choices and the students filled in a winner for each match up. This also helped them to understand how the bracket itself worked and promoted lots of debate about their favorites!

Now that we had our top 16 choices, everyone needed to make sure they read the books! We read many of the nominees aloud to our classes, but we also used QR codes with iPads in our listening centers to make the books accessable to all our students.

Then, each week, we conducted a vote. We created a Google Form with the choices and then posted a QR code that linked to the form. Students used iPads to scan the QR code then enter their choices. It was quick for them to complete and easy for us since we didn't need to prepare or count 70 paper ballots each week!

Even though only our first graders were voting, the whole school was eager to see who the winner would be and looked forward to seeing the winners each week!

Our tournament came down to a Crayon vs Crayon final! The Day the Crayons Came Back was the winner, "because it has glow in the dark!" and two of my kiddos actually managed perfect brackets!

This year we're planning further ahead, so the whole school is getting involved! Have you ever hosted a Tournament of Books? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

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Tournament of Books: March Madness for the Classroom

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Hello, friends! It's Christmas break for me and I'm taking a few minutes to plan ahead for the new year! Last year our first graders hosted a Tournament of Books and it was a huge success so we're getting ready to host one again this year!

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Tuesday was our annual Bingo for Books event. I posted about it on my Facebook page and had several questions about it, so I wanted to elaborate here. It's surprisingly simple and so much fun.

At our school, Bingo for Books started as a fourth grade event, then it moved to third grade, and is now a combined 3/4 family night. It's put together by our Communities in Schools coordinator. She sends home invitations with all third and fourth grade students. Their entire families (parents, older and younger siblings) are invited. This gives us an approximate number.

Our coordinator gets new and gently used books donated by our community (especially a large church in the area). She also asks our Parent/Teacher Organization for money to order Scholastic books. The teachers sort those books into approximate grade levels. We also ordered bookmarks for the kids this year.

On the actual day, students and their families return to school at 6:00pm. We serve light refreshments, but the highlight is our long table full of books, spread out by approximate grade levels. The entire family is allowed to play (though there is a story time for really young children if parents want the free child care during the event).

When you get a Bingo, you get to grab a free book off the table! We play with lots of winners in each round before we clear the boards so everyone leaves with a stack of books. We also have door prizes for adults (educational books and gift cards). This year, Texas Roadhouse gave us free appetizer coupons too. We usually have more books than we can give away in an hour, so everyone grabs an extra book on the way out the door. We save the rest for the next year.

It's a long day, but it's a fun night. I love seeing parents play games with their children. The best part though? The kids came into school today and were sooo excited about their free books that they confessed to staying up too late reading them. Love that!

Do you do any family nights at your school?

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Tuesday was our annual Bingo for Books event. I posted about it on my Facebook page and had several questions about it, so I wanted to elaborate here. It's surprisingly simple and so much fun. At our school, Bingo for Books started as a fourth grade event, then it moved to third grade, and is now a combined 3/4 family night.

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Instructional coaching support for teachers and coaches.

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Turkeys in Disguise! Library Contest & Book Project

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You've probably seen turkeys in disguise all over the internet - they're a fun way to get kids to be creative and clever! We used this fun idea to get kids engaged in reading and in a school event! We decided to host a Turkey in Disguise Library Contest!

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Libraries are more than just for books - writing too.

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2020 School Year Updates

Just like everything else, open house will look very different this year. I have always found it challenging to get parents to visit the library under normal circumstances. Now that everything will be virtual, I have no idea what to expect. However I do still want to participate in some way. And maybe since it will be online more parents and students will "show up".

Many of the ideas in this post will work only if your school is open for parents and students to come and visit, however you may still be able to use them virtually with a few tweaks. The first two ideas on the list can easily be adapted to a virtual open house. I updated these sections with ways you can do this.

What are your plans for back to school night or open house? I have often struggled with this over the years. Most families spend their time meeting their teacher, gathering forms and information and chatting with their friends. For years I was lucky to have 10 families stop in. This was always discouraging because open house is the perfect time to introduce the library to parents and students and begin to showcase all the library has to offer, besides just checking out books.

Below are 10 ideas you can implement to help you have a successful open house.

1. Hand out informational bookmarks

Because parents receive so many papers at open house, I like to give out bookmarks instead. The bookmarks can have a variety of information on them. You can include check-out policies, an overview of some of the lessons or standards taught or a few recommended books. Put on a QR code that links to the library website or catalog.

You can still hand out these bookmarks during the first week of school. You can include them in whatever information packets your school sends home. Or if you are able to check out books give them to students to take home during their first check-out of the year.

In my store you can find a set of free, editable bookmarks that you can use and customize for your own library. Click on the image below to download them.

2. Library Open House Slideshow

A slideshow is one of the easiest and most effective ways you can showcase the library for both in-person and virtual open houses. You can have it playing in the library or provide a link for parents and students to view your slideshow.

Information you will want to include this year will be procedures for checking out books. If you are not sure of the procedure yet, put that in there. Be honest about it. If students are allowed to be in school let parents know you can deliver books to their classroom. Outline how you plan to collect books from students and any cleaning procedures you have in place. You can also add any information you have about library lessons. Will you be doing virtual lessons, story times, going into the classroom when students are in the building? Other ideas include:

About me section - provide a few basic facts about yourself. Include a fun fact as well. You may want to do one for your library assistant as well if you have one.

Library rules and policies

Check-out policies

Statistics - how many books are in the library, how many books are checked out each year or how many classes visit the library a week.

New books added over the summer

Special events or activities

Upcoming book fair information

Photographs from past years

Information about what is taught in the library

You can download a copy of this slideshow from the free resource library. It has been updated to include both a PowerPoint and a Google Slides version. Both are editable.

3. Host a book raffle

Gather up some paperback books and hold a raffle at your library open house. In order to enter families have to come to the library to fill out a raffle ticket. You can announce the winners on the first day of school.

4. Makerspace or STEM

Bring out some simple makerspace materials and have families create something. Here is a free, family STEM challenge that you can try.

5. Coloring or craft projects

Provide coloring pages or a simple craft for students to complete. Or you can just put out a bunch of crayons and scrap paper. Younger brothers and sisters will especially like this.

6. Specials teacher presentation

Get together with the other specials teachers and do a group activity. You can do a presentation or have a booth set up in a central location. Families can stop by and collect brochures or materials you want to hand out. This way families can meet all of the specials teachers at one time.

7. Host a book fair

I have never done this myself (I'm not brave enough!) But I have heard from other librarians that this can be very successful. This might be a good time to try out a Follett book fair.

8. Check-out books at your library open house

Allow students to look for and check out library books. Encourage parents to share one of their favorite books with their child and then let the child check out that book. If you do not want to check the books out, have a stack of books available for families to look through and read together.

9. Set-up a photo booth

Photo booths are a fun and creative way to not only encourage families to come into the library but to also create a lasting memory. You can collect email address and email the photos to the parents or print them out if that is an option for you. You can buy the props from Oriental Trading or make your own. There are also many free ones you can download. This website has some free back to school props you can print out.

Instead of a photo booth set up a shelfie booth! Take photos of parents reading with their children. You can still share them with parents or ask teachers to post them in their Google Classroom. Or set up a bulletin board display with all the different pictures.

10. Reading interest surveys

This is a great way to get to know your students reading habits and interests. You can give out paper surveys and have the students fill them out right then. Or if you have access to a set of Chromebooks or iPads you can create a Google forms survey. This way there are no papers to keep track of and the survey can be completed quickly and delivered directly to you. If you own one of my library planners there are surveys in there you can print and use.

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10 Ideas for a Successful Open House in the School Library

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Just like everything else, open house will look very different this year. I have always found it challenging to get parents to visit the library under normal circumstances. Now that everything will be virtual, I have no idea what to expect. However I do still want to participate in some way.

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Help Your Students Find Book Series They Love

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Help Your Students Find Book Series They Love

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Last Updated on September 17, 2020 by Laura

Do you have students who find a favorite book series and then want to read all of the books in order? On any given day in my library, students come in asking questions like:

"What's Magic Tree House number 17?"

"Which book is after Rodrick Rules?"

"What's the first book in the Underland series?"

Now, I know it is relatively easy to look up the order of a book series on the publisher's or author's website, but when I'm also trying to help 24 other students find good books, that doesn't seem like the fastest way to do it. To save my own sanity, I've created a resource with lists of kids' chapter book series that are popular with elementary aged students.

I call it the Book Series Binder because I printed out the pages and put them in page protectors in a binder that I keep out on the circulation desk. Students, teachers, and librarians can easily look up a series and find the order of the books at their fingertips.

For those who prefer a digital resource, the pdf file may be used on a tablet as well.

You can find the Book Series Binder in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. This resource contains more than 60 popular kids' chapter book series and will continue to grow as students and buyers suggest other series to include. If you have suggestions for a book series to add, I hope you will drop me a line and let me know!

Read the full description, check out the preview, and find out more about the Book Series Binder by clicking the image below!

Feel free to pin this so you can find it later!:

Be the light!

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Help Your Students Find Book Series They Will Love! * The Trapped Librarian

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Last Updated on September 17, 2020 by Laura Do you have students who find a favorite book series and then want to read all of the books in order? On any given day in my library, students come in asking questions like: "What's Magic Tree House number 17?"

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Another way to keep kids who are not checking out books busy.
https://librarylearners.com/question-week-library-center/