The mission of the Harrison School Library Media Program is to empower students to become enthusiastic readers, critical thinkers, competent researchers, ethical users of information, skillful creators, and lifelong learners while connecting with the world around us. Here is what we did in the library during the 2017-18 school year to address these goals.
Celebrating a love of reading
Battle of the Books
3 levels of competition, 30 books, 12 teams, 59 students, 22 staff members involved, lots of fun!
Book Tasting and March Madness
Two more ways to encourage reading a wide variety of books.
Bill Buczinsky Author Visit
Author visits are so inspiring! Bill inspired us to be creative and write poetry using metaphors and descriptive language.
Encouraging Summer Reading
McHenry Public Library visit and Harrison Summer Reading Bingo
Older Students Sharing Read Alouds with Younger Students
Link to read alouds
Number of books checked out in 2017-18: 12,548 (up from 11,138 in previous year)
Number of holds placed: 109 (up from 9 in previous year)
Total number of NEW books added to collection in 2017-18: 1,130
Total number of items in collection: 13,350
Locating, finding, and using information competently and ethically
After reading part of the book two truths and a lie, 5th Grade students learned to Evaluate Information to Determine if it's Fact or Fake
4th Grade Inquiry Circles Researching Environmental Issues After Reading the book Just a Dream
2nd Grade researching dinosaurs to determine which ones would make good pets after reading the book When Dinosaurs Came With Everything
Link to presentations
Empowering students as creators
5th grade students creating book trailers using iMovie
Link to book trailers and book talks
Makerspace
Students are creating, collaborating, thinking critically, and building confidence in our makerspace!
Coding and STEM Challenges
Students practiced coding using Sphero and Osmo. Students also attempted many STEM challenges such as building a "catapult" and creating structures out of paper that can hold the most weight.
Connecting with the world around us
Dot Day
Students created and shared Dots with students in several states and Canada after reading the book The Dot
2nd grade students connected with classrooms in New York and North Carolina for a Mem Fox author study for Global Read Aloud
World Read Aloud Day Skype with author Beth Ferry
Grants Received
Meemic Grant: 3 Osmos for our Makerspace
Illinois Back to Books Grant: 128 new Graphic Novels
Professional Development
Completed master's degree program in Library and Information Science, attended numerous conferences including ALA, ICE, and Scholastic Reading Summit. Served on a panel of teacher-librarians who implemented Breakout EDU in the library (link to presentation).
Harrison Library Website/Blog (with more information about most of these activities): http://theconnectedlibrary.blogspot.com/
Goals for the 2018-19 school year
Continue to foster collaborative opportunities with classroom teachers, offer more professional development to Harrison staff (share resources for reading and research), and continue to strengthen the partnership with the McHenry Public Library