Hello! Thanks to all those who came up with funny ideas for my Library Orientation
video. Yesterday, the students and I decided to make the video as if we were
flipping through channels on a TV set – so we’ll have a newscast, commercials, the
weather channel, a talk show, MTV, etc. And everything will be about the library.
I'll try to incorporate some of the great ideas I received.
Here is my initial request, my retraction, and the responses I received.
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Hello all!
I am revamping my library orientation video. I would like to have little skits
about teaching the rules. (This is for high school). Do you have any ideas? Here
is what I've thought of so far....
1) Super-Librarian
2) A student showing a foreign exchange student all about the library. (The
foreign exchange student is a caveman or something.)
3) My library student assistants tackling students who set off the security gate.
4) A news anchor talking about the strange events happening to students who play
games and do chat in the library.
Please provide anything funny! TIA!
My retraction:
Please change Situation #2 to read:
2) A student showing a foreign exchange student all about the library. (The
foreign exchange student is a banana or something.)
I in no way meant to be hurtful or imply anything about foreign exchange students.
As a former Spanish teacher, this didn't even cross my mind (but thanks to those
who pointed out that it could be taken in a way I didn't mean it).
Responses:
----#2 is not funny - it borders on racist. How about a being from outer
space, or a banana.
----I teach in an elementary but I think this could be used:
I found a college library site that used Peeps as "models" for library
orientation. I bought some Peeps of my own and posed them around the
library - including how to use a shelf marker and what not to do with a
shelf marker (sword fights, breaking them, etc.). Then I put it all
together for a "Peep at the Library" Powerpoint presentation.
This is my second year to use this Powerpoint and the kids seem to love
it. This year I threw in some pictures of my new puppy every so often
with humorous commentary on his part to keep it fresh for the ones who
think they have seen it all.
I may change out a few pictures every year or pose Beanies or something
along those lines to keep kids' interest.
Good luck!!
----Sounds like a blast! How about a student searching all over the
building looking for the librarian because she wants to return a book -
when all she really has to do is leave it in the return bin. Don't
laugh - I don't know how many times each day I gently break into a
student's long explanation of how THIS book is theirs but THIS one is
their friends, and it's really not due until tomorrow but they're done
with it, and can they return it early, and they still have one at home
but that's not due until next week so is it OK if they keep it ...
Sometimes I think if I have to say "Thanks - please just leave it in the
return bin" one more time I'm going to lose it! But maybe this is
unique to my school? :-) Anyway, I'd love to know what other ideas you
get - this sounds like a great idea!
----I did this in my middle school! We had one student dressed as the guy from
"Scream" on roller skates. He would roll behind whoever was speaking. We
also put a student inside the book drop; whenever someone returned a book,
he would throw it back out. It was really funny to watch the students'
faces when it came back out at them!
We also had sneak cameo appearances by a Genie puppet. Let's see. . .what
else? I dropped a dictionary on my foot in the reference scene, we had
students speaking foreign languages for the 400s, etc. When we talked about
not destroying property, I had a student pretend to cut a table with a
knife. I then whipped out a plastic sword and said in my best Aussie
accent, "That's not a knife! THIS is a knife!"
The students also did great commercials for it.
Hope this helps!
----A few years ago, I created a video called "No Fun in the Library." We had the
word FUN circled and crossed through in red all over the media center. As the
video panned around you could see other signs that listed other
no-nos...including smiling, breathing, no touching of anything, etc. The
video was broken into very short segments. I walked around with a yardstick,
smacking it in my hand looking for violations, sneeking up on people and
first scaring them, then questioning what in the world they were doing
reading a book or magazine for enjoyment, or busting someone for having pop,
cookies, etc. After each short segment, I was interviewed as a "normal" media
specialist to explain why we required certain behaviors, etc. It was a lot of
fun and got the message across. To this day, kids will still say to each
other if I am heading in their direction, "Quiet...you know there's no fun in
the library!"
----This is my favorite video..... I think is a little dated but
enjoyable.....
The Mind's Treasure Chest
Once in a lifetime there comes a film so powerful, so moving, so
educational, that it takes the world by surprise. "The Mind's Treasure
Chest(tm)" is such a film. It's an entertaining story about libraries,
research and information. It's about history and hypothesizing, but it's
mostly about thinking for yourself and pushing the limits of what you
can do.
Curious? Watch the trailer for "The Mind's Treasure Chest."
The story follows the likeable, if slightly shallow, high school student
Jack Patterson in his quest to defeat his opponent for student council
president. Jack's main problem is that kids in the school don't think
he's as smart as the other candidate. In an attempt to prove them wrong,
Jack takes up a dare from a teacher to teach the class about John
Kennedy. Through the help of a dedicated librarian and other friends,
Jack spends a night finding out about the Cuban Missile Crisis and the
Bay of Pigs... and more than a little about leadership and himself.
"The Mind's Treasure Chest" makes library research fun and exciting. And
because it is pedagogically layered, different audiences learn different
things from the film. "The Mind's Treasure Chest" has been successfully
used with such diverse groups as:
Junior & senior high school students
College freshmen
Adult groups of patrons, parents and teachers
Adults training to work with young people
School boards, administrators & others in decision-making positions
Here is the website to watch the trailer for "The Mind's Treasure
Chest."
http://www.jellyvision.com/go.php?p=/stuff/education/mtc/index.php&;
----I'm retired, so can't really help you, but I do have to react to
the idea of the foreign exchange student being a caveman.......Does this
mean foreign students are somehow pre-literate and prehistoric???? Just a
thought.
----I know you asked about Rules. We are a jr. high but the kids are very attentive
when we hold up some of the books that have been ruined by students who had to pay
for the book. One is moldy and covered with spilled koolaid; another was chewed by
a dog; another had a younger sibling's crayon scribbles through it. We actually did
this on a powerpoint with the close-up of a very moldy Harry Potter getting rapt
attention.
----I worked in conjunction with my English Dept. Chair. who was also the
advisor for the bulldog mascots.
We used 2 of the mascots as incoming freshman. We filmed after school
so I didn't have access to my aids so I did the tour but I stayed out of
camera range. All you heard was my voice.
The mascots behaved like idiots. They broke every rule in the book and
I kept correcting them. They were hilarious and the kids remembered it
all. I played it up too and put exasperation in my voice some of the
time. I would have the teachers show the video in class the day before
coming to the library for their OPAC lesson. Once the kids arrived the
following day, they would always comment on the video. They remembered
the rules. I'm a firm believer that the dumber something is, the more it
will be remembered. Not always a good thing. :) Carol Abel
----How about a tour group (4-5) with cameras around their necks and a
button that says I (heart) California?
My daughter's high school is hosting students from Japan in a week, and
we are one of the hosting families. I just re-read their schedule -- it
includes lots of touring of SF Bay Area sites as well as going through
some typical school days with an American buddy. I'm sure they'll get a
tour of our new high school library.
----Perhaps the foreign exchange student should be from another planet.
Marie Slim, LMT, MLIS
La Habra High School
801 W. Highlander Ave.
La Habra, CA 90631
562-266-5085
mslim@fjuhsd.k12.ca.us
www.ilovelibraries.com
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