Hit Flexible Schedule Pt.2

[Ann Marie Creegan <creegan@NECA.COM>]

******************************

I'm just finishing up my masters in LS and am still amazed
at the amount of
information available on the internet.  My focus this year
in addition to teaching
library skills will be to evaluate website, look for
authority, find website for
children, accessing periodicals on line, teaching software
programs that are
exiting but not being utilized, and  teaching students how
to do a book talk.
Lots of things besides library skills.

**********************

I'm a new librarian working with pre-k to 6th grade. I used
to be a
classroom teacher. All of the teachers at my school want
library classes on
a fixed schedule.  However, we are providing a fixed
schedule for pre-K to
3rd grade.  Fourth - sixth have a flexible schedule as well
as fixed times
for checking out books.  It's a bit complicated, but we see
it as a
compromise and the best way to use our stretrched resources.

For pre-K to 3rd, I'm using a combination of activities to
support the
curriculum (so I've asked teachers for long-range plans) and

library
skills. Of course, part of the time is always spent on book
selection too!
The best resources I've found for the library skills
component are:

Elementary School Librarian's Survival Guide by Barbara
Bannister & Janice
Carlile (1993)
&
Complete Library Skills Activities Program by Arden Druce
(1990)

***********************
I am on a fixed schedule but if I were you I would probably
plan to teach a
short lesson.  I try to be creative and teach things that
will carry over
like we spend several lessons using phone books to give them

practice using
different types of "indexes" (yellow pages, white pages,
etc) and finding
zip codes, schedules, etc. that are part of a phone book.  I

also do things
with title pages and alphabetizing, etc.  But I always have
a chapter book
in progress that we are reading.  If the lesson is short, we

fill the extra
time reading from the book, some weeks we read for almost
the entire
period.  We might not get back to the book for several weeks

but I have
never had problems with kids loosing interest or forgetting
where we left
off.  I like the Bill Wallace books, 3rd grade loves the
Lowry "Sam" books,
I usually read a Beverly Cleary to third grade.  This year
we're starting
with Frindle for 4th grade.  I would think with a 45 minute
time slot, at
least a little could be read each week.  Good luck!
**********************

I bet it really is hard going from heaven to reality!  Well,

here's our
situation.  We have preschool (three year olds) through 6th
grade at our
school.  Younger students come for 15 to 25 minutes each
week for a story
time.  I do teach "book care"  and try to "support their
curriculum" by
stressing colors, shapes, letters, sounds, animals, seasons,

etc.

For primary students, I read or tell a story one week and do

a skill the
next week -- but I'm always flexible in that "schedule".
Sometimes I can do
a short story and a quick skill.

Intermediate students love stories, too, but often our
"skills" lessons take
two week or sometimes more.  It is very stressful when you
have to stretch
an lesson over several weeks when you know that it would be
much better to
do it for two class periods in the same week -- or just one
hour class.
Anyway, that's my life here!

**********************
Our media center is large enough that our students have
access to the media
center even if I am teaching a class.  Talking sometimes is
a problem, but
that's another story!

I often use a "theme" for a week or two and use it for all
classes.  I just
vary the activities for the older children.  For example,
one week all
classes will use the globes.  The younger ones look for
water, oceans, land,
mountains, etc.  The older students will look for specific
countries,
latitude, etc.

We do the same with atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias,
etc.

I try to keep in touch with my teachers as much as
possible.  I try to find
out what skills will help the students in whatever special
assignments that
their teacher will be giving them.  For example, if a class
will be using
encyclopedias for research in two weeks, I will do an
encyclopedia lesson in
class for them, even if my other students will be getting a
story that week.

Next week, all 5th graders will be doing dinosaur research
in their science
class.  So -- I have taught notetaking to all intermediate
students for the
past two weeks of library class.

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