I also used a cowboy theme (yeah, Upstart), but certainly did not do
nearly as much as Belinda. I challenged the students to 250 minutes of
independent reading for the 2 weeks before National Library Week. Those
that turned in completed and parent-signed logs got their picture taken
in a cowboy hat and kerchief. I then made the pictures into wanted
posters which were posted outside the library. The kids really enjoyed
it. Now for a new nifty idea for next year.
Belinda Holbrook wrote:
> I've written before about my library's cowboy theme this year: Saddle
> Up and Read, Bookaroos! (Courtesy of Upstart). Then I wrote a message
> about Upstart's Wanted: Readers theme that I was using for Library
> Week. I just wanted to let you know how it turned out.
>
> I took a picture of every staff member in our school. Wearing a cowboy
> hat, they each held open a book that told something about them in
> front of their face so we could only see their eyes. Then I uploaded
> the pictures into a Wanted Poster. There's a wonderful site
> http://www.glassgiant.com that makes great wanted posters in just a
> snap! I figured out a "western" name for each person and a crime they
> had committed. For instance, our principal would love to live in
> Arizona. So he held up a book about Arizona. His name on the poster
> was Travelin' Tom and his crime was "dreaming about deserts." We
> numbered them and hung them all in the hall. I gave each student an
> entry blank where they could write down the names of 10 people they
> could figure out. It was so cute watching the kids, especially the
> little ones, very earnestly writing down names on their papers. At the
> end of the week I drew winners from the entries that had been turned
> in. I only checked those that I drew so I didn't have to check all of
> them. The winners received $5 gift certificates to a book store. (The
> fact that I then discovered it was illegal in our state to use school
> funds to purchase gift certificates left me personally funding the
> prizes!)
>
> I purchased some blank Wanted posters from Upstart (they are actually
> reading records) and used my camera to "catch" students reading books
> during the week. I then printed off the pictures, cut out the student
> and trimmed it so it looked like they were wearing the hat. Every
> student was stamped with a "Caught Reading" stamp (also from Upstart)
> when they checked out books that week.
>
> At the end of the week I sent a form home with all students. Each
> student was giving a certain number of minutes to read each night for
> seven days. The time varied from 10 minutes for kindergarten students
> to 30 minutes for 5th graders. Students who returned the forms had
> their picture taken in a cowboy cutout (Upstart!). I printed off each
> picture 3" x 5" (black and white) and attached it to a certificate
> stating they were Wanted Readers (also purchased from Upstart!).
>
> We've had a fun time this year. My principal says this theme is going
> to be hard to beat!
>
> Belinda Holbrook
> Teacher Librarian
> Harrison Elementary
> Davenport, IA
> bholbrook@mchsi.com
>
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--
Anne Oelke
Library Media Specialist pK-12
Cambria-Friesland School District
Cambria, WI
mailto:cflibrary@cf.k12.wi.us
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