Iroquois Middle School Library Happenings: American Revolution

Happy New Year! It's always tough to get back into the swing of school after a break, but it is nice to return to familiar faces and a more structured routine. December 2017 welcomed class visits as well as special events within the Iroquois Middle School Library.

Book Bistro
On December 7th, the annual Book Bistro for Iroquois Middle School staff members took place. It was a great day of food and fun! Click here to read more about the Book Bistro event.

The Omnivore's Dilemma Project
The largest research project of December was done with the eighth grade students in Mrs. Maulucci and Mrs. Mule's classes. After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, students gained knowledge about the health, environmental, and economic issues surrounding the food we all eat. This led to more questions about food issues and a desire to explore these questions in greater depth.

The project required students to develop a claim based on topics within the book, then find credible sources that supported the claim. Students were introduced to library resources, in particular the Opposing Viewpoints in Context and Teen Health and Wellness databases, in order to find evidence for their claim.

This was the first project in the library that was completed via Microsoft Office 365 Class Notebook. The online notebook provided a digital way for students to stay organized. Within the notebook, students found the project requirements, grading rubric, passwords for library resources, and a space to record their notes. This digital organization also gave Mrs. Maulucci and Mrs. Mule the ability to check in on students' progress throughout the project.

Once a claim was formulated and supporting evidence was solidified, students were able to choose how to present their findings to the class. Although the majority of the students used PowerPoint, some chose to make posters, record videos, or use digital services such as Sway, Screencast-o-Matic.

A presentation discussed food poisoning.

Claims about a vegan diet was the focus of another presentation.

Overall, students' presentations were well-organized and informative! Some students struggled with the idea of a claim, and instead presented about a topic. This is a high-level skill that will be continually developed through ELA classes and research.

Reading Conferences and Book Selection
Many classes continue to frequent the library for book selection. The sixth grade reading classes are well underway with their 40 Book Challenge, meaning they are often seen in the library selecting new titles. Mrs. Whalen's reading class has also been using the library space to host small group meetings about their classroom book, Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin. The flexible seating allows for each group to find a place where they can comfortably hold a book discussion. During the short month of December, 383 books were checked out or renewed.

Genre/Book Tasting
Mrs. Nicosia was excited to try a book/genre tasting with the sixth grade students in her reading class. Although I had previously worked on speedbooking activities, I had never hosted a book tasting. In order to prepare for the experience, I was able to draw upon other tastings conducted by educators. I found the blog entries from Bubble Up Classroom by Corey Thornblad and Gretchen Hazlin and The Unquiet Librarian by Buffy Hamilton to be particularly helpful. Using ideas and resources presented from both blogs, I now felt like I had a good foundation to host a book/genre tasting. It was very helpful that these educators graciously shared their resources and insights.

Taking Mrs. Nicosia's students into account, I chose to focus on some of the genres where students were having difficulties finding engaging titles. This class is particularly adept at reading graphic novels, so that category was not included. The genres featured included historical fiction, poetry/novels in verse, mystery fiction, nonfiction/biographies, science fiction/fantasy, and realistic fiction. Canva was used to create beautiful signage for our library (which was turned into the Genre Cafe for the event!).

The featured selections for Mrs. Nicosia's genre tasting.

When students entered the library, they were greeted by tables full of selections from the featured genres. Each table also included a place setting, candle, and description of the genre. As students moved through each table, they recorded their impressions of the books they chose to "taste" during the activity.

The science fiction/fantasy table for the genre tasting.

The nonfiction/biography selections.

Students "tasted" their books and recorded their impressions.

There were many positives associated with conducting this type of activity. Most importantly, it exposed students to a variety of books that they may not have have previously viewed. Students also seemed to really enjoy pretending that they were at a fancy restaurant!

If I were to host another book/genre tasting in the future, I would make some changes. The activity took place right before winter break, so behaviors were a bit of an issue--students were excited to leave for break, so some needed extra prompts to get on track! Also, this event requires lots of setup time. I thought the early morning time before school would be sufficient for setting up, but time was tight. It would make more sense to set this activity up the night before. Mrs. Whalen's students will be coming in during January to have their own genre tasting. Hopefully it goes just as well!

American Revolution Day
On the final day before winter break, all seventh grade students participated in American Revolution Day. This coincided with the content they were learning about in their Social Studies classes. There were many stations located around the school where students took part in activities pertaining to colonial times. The library housed the problem solving station. While in the library, students cracked a code, worked on a logic puzzle, and attempted to guess the uses of some colonial artifacts (and replicas).

Since my mom is a history buff and a generous person, I was able to borrow sixteen different items to use for the activity. Student groups took their best guesses as to what all of the items were used for. Although some of the items were obvious, there were definitely some tricky items as well. The winning groups guessed thirteen out of sixteen items correctly.