Our Building is Closed, but the Library is Open!

March 2020 began just like any other month.  The library's schedule included a number of classroom visits, as well as special events.  The WNY Middle School Battle of the Books competition was gearing up, so students came to the library during lunch periods to talk strategy with their team members.  The Iroquois Girls' STEM Leadership Group began meeting in the library after school to plan the district-wide Family STEM Night slated for April 23rd.

Girls' STEM member tests out BeeBots and Keva Planks
for potential STEM Night stations.

Girls' STEM members work on a press release for Family STEM Night.

By the second week of March, it became clear that things weren't normal.  Maybe it was the full moon, the looming threat of Coronavirus, Friday the 13th, or a combination of all three.  The eighth grade Team DaVinci students had been working hard on their ELA/Social Studies WWII project.  By Friday the 13th, Mr. Baumgartner, Mrs. Maulucci, and I decided that students needed a little time and space to decompress.  We ended our classes fifteen minutes early that day so that students could chat, ask us questions, play games, and relax.  Eighth period study hall students enjoyed working on a Stick Together mosaic picture and making towers with Keva Planks.

Knowing what happened next, I'm thankful to have had this time to connect and relax with our students.

Eighth graders relax by working on a Stick Together picture mosaic.

Study hall students were making excellent towers with Keva Planks!

By the weekend, plans were in motion for school building closures at least until after the April break.  Iroquois administration worked swiftly to get plans in place for online instruction, meal delivery, and a host of other concerns.  With 1:1 device access, wifi available on campus while practicing social distancing, amazing support from our district technology department, and teachers already using Microsoft online tools for instruction, working solely in an online environment was possible!

The tough part, at least for me, is that I didn't get into education in order to work from behind a computer screen.  Libraries are all about building community.  Missing the in-person library visits from students and staff has been a struggle.

Transitioning to Online Learning
The overall mission of school libraries has always been to assist school community members become effective users of information found in a variety of formats.  With gains in technological capabilities, this has meant adding increased access to digitized information.

School library websites have been great repositories of information: subscription database portals, information about digital books, and curated pages for classroom projects have always been available, well before COVID-19 entered our vocabulary.

Moving into the building closures, I had some concerns about delivery of library services.  How can the community aspect of a school library carry into a digital environment?  How can instruction continue?  How can I assist students and staff in a way that is helpful and not overwhelming?  What about that deluge of "free" resources now available: what is purposeful, what raises student privacy concerns?  

Like the rest of educators, I continue to build the airplane as I'm flying it.  A couple of weeks into this new reality, the following are some strategies I've applied in order keep the Iroquois Middle School Library program moving forward.

Connecting to area library organizations: Right away, library organizations scheduled Zoom meetings in order to give area librarians a chance to meet virtually in order to share ideas and resources.  The School Librarians' Association of Western New York organized a Zoom meeting and moved their scheduled professional development sessions to online formats.  Both the Erie 2 BOCES School Library System and the Western New York Library Resources Council solidified plans for weekly Zoom meetings for member librarians.  I can't thank the library leaders in my community enough for these meetings.  So far, I have attended every session because of the tremendous value they offer.  Librarians are eager to learn and share, as evidenced by the conversations had in the Zoom meetings.  Through these sessions, I have had many of my concerns answered.  I gained information about strategies to connect with the community while keeping student privacy protected, and what resources are available to help our students, staff, and families.  The most valuable takeaway from the meetings is the strong sense of camaraderie within our WNY library community!  We're all in this together and willing to lend a hand to each other.

Virtual library presence established: One of my first responses to the building closure was to find comfort within the pages of a favorite book.  I was sure that there were Iroquois Middle students also feeling the same way!  Authors and publishers have eased recording restrictions in order to provide educators the opportunity to record read alouds (this article from School Library Journal does an amazing job outlining the new guidelines).  I chose to read Ghost by Jason Reynolds in its entirety.  To protect the property of the author, I posted the read aloud files to a newly-established Iroquois Middle School Library page on Microsoft Teams.  This ensured that the read aloud would only be available to members of the school community.  The Teams page was also established to create the library's virtual community presence.  In addition to the posted read aloud, this page will also house book talk video chat sessions, book reviews, and trivia competitions using Gimkit and Kahoot.  The first book chat is scheduled for April 10th.  I'm using student input to guide future offerings!

Curation of resources: A positive outcome during these challenging times has been that educational professionals, authors, publishers, and educational technology companies have been extremely generous with allowing access to their resources and services.  Although this has been amazing, it has also been overwhelming!  Instead of sharing out all of these resources out little by little, I've created a new page off the library website called "Learning at Home" in order to keep a growing list of helpful resources for our community.  Librarians' roles have always included curation.  Now, our curation efforts have been driven into high gear because of the urgent need to share relevant resources with communities.

Brief and purposeful communication: The amount of change and the volume of information has been exhausting, to say the least.  My goal during this difficult time has been to offer assistance in ways that are gentle instead of overwhelming.  I decided to send out a weekly email to staff, sharing links to curated resources and other pertinent items.  Utilizing smore.com, I emailed a library update newsletter to all Iroquois Middle students.  This newsletter showed them how to access the library Teams page and other resources.  Within the newsletter was a live link to an embedded Microsoft Form.  This form asked students for feedback on what to purchase to enhance our Sora ebook/audiobook collection, as well as their ideas for upcoming virtual library events.

Continuation of instruction: As I mentioned earlier, our Team DaVinci eighth graders were well into their research project when the building closure began.  Because the research project is the culmination of many information literacy, critical thinking, and writing skills that students have been working on all year, it was decided that the plans already in motion should be continued.  Instead of offering students mini-lessons on research and citation topics, I used Screencastomatic to record online tutorials for students to view at their convenience.  Symbaloo was a great tool to present helpful websites for student research.  All of these items were available on a project page located on the library website.  Students completed their research notes, citations, and drafts within Microsoft Class Notebook, making it possible for educators to check in on student progress.  Microsoft Teams allowed for virtual office hours via chat (with the added bonus of meeting students' parents, siblings, and pets!).  Students have also been sending their research questions via email.

Although this new method of instruction is not without its hiccups (equity issues persist in education, and are even more pronounced now), it has been a helpful way to keep students engaged in their learning.  I'm happy to report that research projects scheduled from before the building closure are still slated to continue!  Of course, these projects will look a little different.  During collaborative lesson planning, the classroom educators and I will discuss how to best meet the needs of their specific students.

Staying grounded:  Most importantly, I realize that I am in an extreme position of privilege by being able to continue my work in this fashion.  Those working on the front lines in public positions of all types are worthy of respect and awe.  I'm doing my best to stay safe and healthy, not only for myself, but for the community.  Establishing a sleep schedule, eating healthy, exercising, and connecting (via phone/text/video chat) with family and friends has been a priority.  The shift to online learning means that time itself starts to feel more fluid: healthy routines and boundaries are needed more than ever before!

Monthly Report for March 2020.

Although the building stays closed, our library remains open--eager to share resources and build community.  It's impossible to say when things will return to normal.  However, when they do, I hope that added opportunities for digital connections continue.  In education, it's all hands on deck as we continue to move forward.  Libraries will always be there to lend support!

February/March 2018 Highlights

With the February break followed by a quick spring break, the months of February and March seemed to both blend together and fly by!  It was a busy time with a variety of projects across subjects and grade levels.

February began with a seventh grade Spanish Flipgrid project with Ms. Marcinkowski, a sixth grade Greek mythology project with Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Whalen, and an attorney visit as part of The Outsiders unit with Ms. Beauchamp and Mrs. Gembka.  Click on the links in this paragraph to learn more about the students' work during these units!

There were a number of visits to the library during February 2018.

World War II/Holocaust Research Project
The largest event in the library, spanning both February and March, was the combined eighth grade ELA/Social Studies project with Mr. Baumgartner and Mrs. Maulucci.  A solid two weeks was booked in the library for the completion of this project.  Students were required to use reliable sources for research in order to develop a thesis statement about a topic pertaining to either World War II or the Holocaust.  Once a thesis was developed, students then crafted a 3-5 page paper, complete with an MLA-formatted Works Cited page and in-text citations.

Planning and preparation helped to make the project run as smoothly as possible.  Mr. Baumgartner, Mrs. Maulucci, myself, and sometimes Mrs. Mule were available during both ELA and Social Studies classes to help all students.  This ensured that students always had access to adults that could help with the history content, writing skills, and research techniques.  This also meant that students would have two full class periods a day devoted to the project, since they visited the library for both ELA and Social Studies.

When students entered the library for the first time, they received a mini lesson regarding the goals for the day.  This would include information on finding sources, citing sources, developing research questions, identifying strong thesis statements, paraphasing/summarizing, outlining, drafting, and using transitions.  After receiving the mini lesson, students were then able to work independently.

Incorporating technology in meaningful ways contributed to the success of the project.  Mrs. Maulucci is very familiar with the use of Microsoft OneNote and Class Notebook.  She was able to put all of the project requirements and resources into OneNote.  This meant that students were always able to access the project resources on their laptops and keep all of their notes in one place.  OneNote also allows teachers to look into individual student notebooks, which helped monitor student progress and areas of concern.  Throughout the project, we disseminated "Research Check Ins" to all students through the use of Google Forms.  This allowed us to collect data on where students needed extra help.  Students also submitted their thesis statements via Google Forms, which helped in setting up individual conferences before students began their draft.  Lastly, students used Microsoft Word to compose their essays.  The references features within Word are great!  They allowed students to easily add their Works Cited information, and the program also formatted in-text citations to use within the paper.  Becoming familiar with the Microsoft features will serve students well as they will continue to use these resources into high school and beyond.

A glimpse into the OneNote notebook where all project materials were housed.

Research Check Ins via Google Forms allowed teachers to
assist students with their specific project needs.

This project was a huge undertaking for the students and required the use of numerous high-level skills.  Students definitely rose to the challenge, and most made good use of their time in the library.  Due to the complexity of this project, mastery of the skills introduced does not happen overnight.  However, this project laid the foundation for the critical thinking, communication, and research skills that will be needed to succeed in high school and beyond.  Our students really rose to the occasion!  We are all proud of the way students dove into the process.

Music Class Visits
Another highlight from February and March was having multiple visits from the Iroquois Middle School music department.  Since music teachers see their general music students for a ten week period, music teachers are frequent visitors in the library for research projects.  Ms. Louttit, Mrs. Kloc, and Mrs. Fox visited with their seventh grade students to perform research on classical composers.  Mrs. Fox also returned with her eighth graders for a project on Rock and Roll history.

Science Class Visits
Seventh and eighth grade science classes visited the library for both research assistance and a station activity.  Students in Ms. Pici and Mrs. Robinson's eighth grade science classes visited for research help for their "Creative Element" project.  Databases such as Britannica and World Book were perfect for learning about the elements.  After learning the history and properties of specific elements, students then made a creative project inspired by their element.  These projects are now on display in the library.

A creative display about Nitrogen.

Many of the creative element projects are displayed in the library.

A huge box of french fries represents Potassium.

Mrs. Ferger and Mrs. Raczkowski brought their seventh grade science students into the library for a stations activity regarding genetics concepts.  Using QR codes and the QR reader app on the library iPads, students accessed a variety of videos and activities about genetics.  Students appreciated the ability to move around the library and work at their own pace.

Book Selection Visits
ELA and reading classes are all at different points with their free reading and reading challenges.  This resulted in many classroom visits to exchange books.  Mr. Marshall and Mrs. Maulucci's students are completing a genre tic tac toe board for their reading requirement.  Both teachers visited the library with their students in order to select new books.  Mrs. Gembka's seventh grade students also visited the library to select a book for their book report.  The sixth grade reading classes frequented the library for book selection.  Mrs. Nicosia's readers received an introduction on the 1990s prior to their all-class reading of Pay It Forward.

RtI Conspiracy Theory Project
Ms. Beauchamp's seventh grade RtI students visited the library in order to perform research on conspiracy theories.  This project was designed to build students' skills in tackling informational text, identifying the main idea and supporting details, citing sources, and writing.  Each student was assigned a specific theory.  After reading about the conspiracy theory, students then used credible sources to "debunk" the theory.  Students created a PowerPoint, then presented their findings to their classmates.  Each PowerPoint contained a slide with their Works Cited information.  It was clear that students really understood their material, as they were able to field difficult questions from their peers.

An example from the presentation about the moon landing.

Library statistics for March 2018.

It's amazing to think that we are already in the last three months of school!  April's schedule will be packed with more book visits, RtI projects, and research.

Early American Research

During November 2017, the students in Mr. Smerka's seventh grade Social Studies classes spent multiple days in the library for a research project.  During this project, groups of 3-4 students researched Early American topics and presented their findings to their classmates.

Student groups chose from topics such as: Haudenosaunee, Moundbuilders, Mesoamerican Civilizations, Southwestern Civilizations, Spanish Conquistadors, and Early English Colonies.  These topics were very broad and open-ended, meaning that the groups had the flexibility to take their research in many directions.

The first few days of the project were devoted to introducing students to the various resources available for research.  Students spent time using nonfiction and reference books available in the library.  They recorded their research on MLA note sheets, which helped them to stay organized and avoid plagiarism.

Note Sheets help students to stay organized during the research process.

Enjoying the flexible seating in the library while completing some research.

Students used nonfiction books to learn more about their topic.

Once students exhausted the information found in the books, we moved on to using online databases to gather more facts.  Online databases are helpful choices for research because they provided reliable information written by experts.  The World Book Student and Britannica databases proved to be very useful for the project.  Students again used the Note Sheets to collect their facts and citation information.

The Note Sheets gave students practice with finding citation information.

Britannica and World Book were particularly helpful databases.

At the end of the third day of research, the students completed an online "Research Check In" form that was posted on the library website.  This check in allowed Mr. Smerka and I to see if students understood the importance of using reliable sources and if anyone was experiencing issues with the research process.  The data gathered from this was extremely helpful.  Students that might not have been comfortable telling us that they were having problems researching felt comfortable letting us know on the form.  Over the next few days, we were able to provide targeted assistance to those students.

A Google Form was utilized to create the check in document.

As students neared the end of the research process, only a few groups utilized Internet sources found using a search engine.  These students were directed to again cite these sources, and looked into evaluating the validity of the source prior to its use.

The groups then worked on PowerPoint slides in order to provide a visual for their presentation.  The majority of these projects were well organized and utilized advanced features such as hyperlinks and transitions.

The last few days in the library were devoted to presenting the group projects.  Students received a grading rubric prior to presenting, so they had a clear idea of the assessment for criteria.  The presentations were wonderful!  Many student groups displayed tremendous creativity (and the groups that brought snacks were much appreciated!).

Some groups used the "PERSIA" acronym to focus on different cultural aspects.

Students explaining the governmental structure of the Haudenosaunee.

A group chose to display a learning goal at the beginning of the presentation.

A group researched jewelry making of Mesoamerican groups, then created their own pieces!

An informative presentation on the Moundbuilder societies.

Having Mr. Smerka's students in the library made for a very enjoyable week and a half.  Additionally, students were able to practice their research, teamwork, and presentation skills.  The seventh grade teams will return to the library for an ELA project in January where they will continue to hone their skills.