Judging a Book by Its Quote

It's always wonderful to get sixth grade reading classes into the library for book checkout.  The sixth grade teachers are open to exploring new ways to get books in the hands of our students, and this has led to some creative book promotion lessons.  Last year, I explored the idea of a "book drive thru" type lesson with Mrs. Whalen, a sixth grade ELA teacher.  We had previously conducted large-scale genre tastings with her classes and were looking for a way to slightly pare down that activity.  The idea of a "book drive thru" was to give the students just a taste of many books to see what they would be interested in reading.

The lesson idea stayed on the shelf for awhile until Mrs. Reid decided she would like to bring in her reading class for the activity.  The books for the activity (approximately 50 titles) were scattered around the library.  Each book was accompanied by a laminated quote from the book and a response sheet.  Quotes from each book were located by using Goodreads and the quotes were made more colorful by using an online quote generator.

Each station contained a book, quote, and response sheet.

Students received a sheet where they could record the titles of books they encountered.  There were spaces provided so they could indicate if they definitely wanted to read the book, maybe wanted to read the book, or didn't want to read the book.  Students were also asked to leave a short response to the book's quote--it could be a word, phrase, or picture. 

Students kept track of the books they were interested in reading.

Once students had the instructions, they were free to move around the library and visit with books that looked appealing to them.  Students could work independently and at their own pace on the activity.

Students left plenty of great feedback on the response sheets!  It was really interesting to see how they interacted with the books' quotes through words and pictures.

Books for students to peruse were scattered all throughout the library.

Students visited books that looked interesting to them.

Each station had a book, quote, and response sheet.

Students used words and pictures to respond to a book's quote.

It was interesting to see students' feedback on each quote!

It was especially interesting to see how students used illustrations to create their feedback.

Students found new books of interest through this activity.

Mrs. Reid's class spent about 25 minutes visiting with the books.  I circulated through the room and talked to students about the titles from the activity that I had previously read and enjoyed.  Students were also eager to share book recommendations with their peers.  Hatchet was a book loved by many of the students.  One student had even left a detailed recommendation on the feedback sheet!

Students utilized the feedback sheet to recommend books to their classmates.

At the end of the activity, students were invited to check out a book (either from the activity or from the library itself).  Most students had a book in mind right away!  They were asked to keep their sheet from this activity as it might give them ideas for books they would be interested in reading next.

All in all, this activity successfully introduced students to new books of interest.  They enjoyed seeing a variety of titles, working at their own pace, and moving around the library.  For next time, I would change the feedback sheet to instruct students to leave recommendations for books they have already read.  I'd also encourage students to work in the vicinity of others--there was great discussion going on as students talked about books they loved!

Robot Finch Takeover!

November/December 2018 was an especially busy time in the Iroquois Middle School Library!  We were lucky to be awarded with 10 robot finches thanks to the loan program offered through BirdBrain Technologies, the company which manufactures the robot finches.

A robot finch is a hands-on tool which allows students to hone their computer coding skills.  The robot finch can be controlled with many programming languages (we chose to use Scratch because students had some familiarity with it).  The finch comes equipped with two wheel motors, LED lights, a temperature sensor, buzzer, and touch sensors.  These capabilities provided students with seemingly endless programming opportunities.  The hands-on nature of the robot finches also made it fun and easy for students to see their programming skills come to life!

Students were able to program the robot finches by using Scratch.

In order to maximize the amount of time students were able to spend with the robot finches, Mrs. Lambert and Mr. Kwietniewski were gracious enough to bring their STREAM classes into the library for a finch coding project.  Between both teachers, there are 24 sections of STREAM, meaning upwards of 400 students in grades six through eight enjoyed class time with the finches.  We decided that each group would have three class periods to explore the finches.

On the first day of the finch project, students received a brief introduction to the finches, including how to set up the finch on the student laptops, how to properly care for the finches, and which Scratch coding commands would be useful for their programs.  Students were then instructed to work in groups of 2-3 to complete a finch tutorial.  This packet, adapted from the finch education website, introduced students to finch features and some coding strategies.

Students worked on the finch tutorial before tackling challenges.

Some groups even named their finches!

Students enjoyed the hands-on coding experience with the finches.

Once students had completed the tutorial, they were invited to participate in a challenge of their choosing.  It took students varying amounts of time to complete the tutorials; some groups finished in one class period, while others needed multiple periods to finish.

There were five coding challenges the groups could choose from: traffic light, dance party, music maker, remote control, and drawbot.  Each of the challenges were adapted from beginner level Scratch lessons found on the finchrobot.com website.  Before starting each challenge, students were encouraged to do their best, as outstanding challenge outcomes would be video recorded for the Robot Finch Hall of Fame!  There were a number of groups that were able to tackle multiple challenges during their project time in the library.

Mr. K. observes his seventh grade students work on drawing shapes with the finches.

Students work to get the finch through a masking tape maze.

There were some truly remarkable coding projects created by our students!  Some of the best projects created came about by students who were committed to bringing an idea to life, or by those that took risks by exploring a variety of the finch's capabilities.  Many of these dedicated students visited the library during study hall to further perfect their coding projects.  All of the recorded projects can be found on the Iroquois Middle School Library website here.

Students worked on coding projects in order to be inducted into the hall of fame!

In the video above, students used the finch's buzzer feature to play the tune "Africa" by the band Toto.

Students from this video created a maze out of all of the Harry Potter books in the library.  They activated the finch's touch sensors in order for the finch to complete the book maze unassisted.

On the last day of the project, we invited all students to participate in a survey about their experience coding with the robot finches.  The feedback received will be helpful as we move forward with STEM/robotics-related activities and curriculum.  We will be able to incorporate student suggestions into these offerings.  Of the 381 survey respondents, 99 said they were interested in extra coding opportunities (and there were 160 students who said maybe)!

Overall, we were very pleased by the creativity and effort displayed by the STREAM students.  The robot finch project was a great way to celebrate #hourofcode and Computer Science in Education week.  A special thank you to Mr. Kwietniewski and Mrs. Lambert for making this possible!

Fiction Genrefication Project

Fall/Winter 2018 ushered in many changes to the organization of the Iroquois Middle School Library.  After genrefying the biography section last year, I now felt confident in tackling the larger task of genrefying the library's fiction section.

Genrefication is the process of moving a library's collection into topic/subject areas, rather than adhering to other traditional organization structures.  There are clear benefits to genrefication; namely, a genrefied library makes it easier for students to find the materials they are looking for.  Students frequently ask to be pointed in the direction of books about a particular subject or genre.  Now they will be able to target specific fiction sections that are of interest to them!

As with the biography genrefication, Paul Kloster and Christine Tempestoso, the librarians at Orchard Park Middle School, were a great source of knowledge and inspiration during the fiction genrefication process.  They were kind enough to share their planning documents and some helpful suggestions.  Patty Lebrenz from the Erie 1 BOCES Library Automation Team was instrumental in cataloging help.  We spent a full day together updating the fiction records in the library catalog!

Utilizing the suggestions from the Orchard Park librarians, I selected nine different genres for the fiction section.  They are:

• Adventure
• Animals (including fantasy and realistic stories that center around animals)
• Fantasy 
• Historical Fiction
• Horror
• Mystery
• Realistic Fiction
• Science Fiction
• Sports Fiction (realistic fiction centered upon sports)

Placing the books into the appropriate genres required a little legwork.  Instead of pulling all of the books from the shelves, I used Follett Destiny to download a spreadsheet of all of the fiction books in the library.  Utilizing the Destiny catalog, I was able to determine what fiction genre to place each title in.

This spreadsheet came in handy when Patty Lebrenz, Erie 1 BOCES library automation expert, came to the library to help with the cataloging.  We were able to update all of the fiction call numbers to reflect the new fiction genres.  In Destiny, we also added a location which displayed the book's genre as well.

Once the catalog was updated, new spine labels were created that displayed the book's genre as part of the call number.  To make the process of locating books even easier for the students, each genre was assigned a color.  The appropriate colored label protector was placed over each spine label. 

As these supplies are expensive, I was lucky enough to receive a generous $250.00 grant from The Iroquois Foundation to cover the cost of 3,500 new labels protectors!  This will keep the library genrefication efforts afloat for many years to come.

A generous grant from The Iroquois Foundation
funded the fiction genrefication project.

3,500 labels and 13 book stands were purchased with the grant.

We were now ready to utilize the spreadsheets and updated spine labels to make physical changes to the fiction books.  Working on one genre section at a time, Ms. Marcheson, Mrs. Ekstrum, and I pulled all of the fiction books and attached all of the new spine labels!  This project couldn't have happened without the hard work of Ms. Marcheson and Mrs. Ekstrum.

Each fiction book received a new spine label and color coded label protector.

With the sorting and labeling of books complete, our focus was now on the organization and signage accompanying the revamped fiction section.  New shelf labels were created, along with new signage to appear on the tops of each shelf.  This updated signage should make it more efficient for students to find the fiction books they are looking for.

The sports fiction books with yellow labels.

The realistic fiction books with light green labels.

The mystery books with blue labels.

The fantasy books with purple labels.

The adventure books with pink labels.

The science fiction books with orange labels.

The historical fiction books with dark green labels.

The animal fiction books with brown labels.

Since the genrefication and reorganization of the fiction section, students seem to find the books they want quicker and with more ease.  Students are especially excited that all of the horror and sports books are in separate sections, as there is a high demand for both of these topics.

Another benefit to genrefication is that I am able to see which sections do not contain many books.  This will help to target collection development efforts in the areas that need more attention.

Special thanks to The Iroquois Foundation for making this possible!

Iroquois MS Competes in First Lego League

On November 17th, 2018, seven sixth grade students from Iroquois Middle School were the first students to ever represent Iroquois at a First Lego League (FLL) competition.  The regional competition for Buffalo area schools took place at the Nichols School.  Our entry fee for the competition was covered thanks to a generous donation from Dr. Michelle Kavanaugh, director of the WNY STEM Hub.  We were very appreciative of the change to compete.  Mrs. Ferger and I had a great time advising this wonderful team!

There was plenty of planning and preparation leading up to the competition.  We held informational sessions about FLL during lunches.  Interested students needed to apply by providing a parent signature and also a paragraph explaining why they want to join the team.  We stressed that FLL isn't a club in the traditional sense; instead, it requires a high level of commitment.  Once the team was selected, we met for 1.5 hour meetings 14 times leading up to the competition.

For those unfamiliar with FLL, it is a three part competition.  The spontaneous "Core Values" section assesses how well team members work together as a group in order to perform a specific task (mainly a team building activity).  Team members must then discuss how the Core Values of Lego League can be applied to school and other settings.  The Core Values of Lego League are as follows:

We are a team.

We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.

We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.

We honor the spirit of friendly competition.

What we discover is more important than what we win.

We share our experiences with others.

We display Gracious Professionalism^® and Coopertition^® in everything we do.

We have FUN!

- See more at: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalues#sthash.cVFMw5M0.dpuf

We are a team.

We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.

We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.

We honor the spirit of friendly competition.

What we discover is more important than what we win.

We share our experiences with others.

We display Gracious Professionalism^® and Coopertition^® in everything we do.

We have FUN!

- See more at: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalues#sthash.cVFMw5M0.dpu

We are a team.

We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.

We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.

We honor the spirit of friendly competition.

What we discover is more important than what we win.

We share our experiences with others.

We display Gracious Professionalism^® and Coopertition^® in everything we do.

We have FUN!

- See more at: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalues#sthash.cVFMw5M0.dpuf

- Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
- Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
- Impact: We apply what we learned to improve the world.
- Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
- Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.

Practicing Core Values challenges during a team meeting.

Core Values practice was a success!

The "Project" section is more of a traditional science project.  Students are given a topic to research first.  This year, the theme was "Into Orbit" and teams were challenged to find a way to improve the lives of astronauts.  The team shares their innovation with a group of people who can benefit from their research.  They then must create a short presentation to show the judges what they learned through the research process.

The team decided to tackle the problem of space trash as the basis of their project.  Through research, they learned that space trash can threaten the safety of astronauts because it could tear a hole in their spacecrafts or spacesuits.  In order to work on an innovative solution to this problem, they contacted an expert.  One of our students has an uncle that works as a contract engineer through NASA!  Mr. Jarrod Bleckinger, an Iroquois graduate, was happy to share his outer space expertise through a Skype visit with our team.

Skyping with engineer Jarrod Bleckinger.

Team members prepared great questions for our Skype visit.

After consulting with Mr. Bleckinger, the team decided that creating solar powered lasers would be the best way to zap space trash.  They created a project board to present their innovative solution, and then prepared a skit to share their findings with the FLL judges.

The team prepared an informative display about their project.

Last but not least is the "Robotics" component.  Students are honing their computer programming skills in order to train a robot to complete missions.  Each mission is worth a predetermined amount of points, so the team that accumulates the most points will win this section of the competition.  This part of the competition requires a lot of trial and error; it is difficult to get the robot's programming just right in order to complete the missions.

The programming for each mission was done on a computer.

Attachments and adjustments were made to the robot prior to competition.

There were many missions the teams could choose to complete.

The team preps the robot for a round of competition.

During the competition, it was very exciting when our team's robot was able to successfully complete three missions!  This was the best our robot had ever performed.

Although no awards were won by Iroquois this year, it was a great season of teamwork, friendship, and exploration of real world science and engineering.  Iroquois hopes to be back at Nichols School again next year for another competition.  In the meantime, some of this year's Lego League participants are keeping their robotics and science skills sharp by participating in the middle school's Bright Minds Club and STREAM class opportunities.  Mrs. Ferger and I will be exploring ways to make FLL bigger and better next year!

Iroquois First Lego League Team 2018

Alan Gratz Author Visit

When I heard that Alan Gratz, a New York Times Bestselling Author, would be visiting Buffalo for the WNY Book Expo, I knew he would be a great candidate for an author visit to Iroquois Middle School.  Thanks to Kim Krug (organizer of WNY Book Expo and owner of Monkey See, Monkey Do Children's Bookstore), we were able to secure Mr. Gratz for a visit!  Not only would Mr. Gratz visit the Middle School, but he would visit the fifth grade Intermediate School and select high school students as well.

Visit Preparations
At the Middle School, preparations and publicity began for the visit as early as September.  As part of library orientation, all students visited the library for a video scavenger hunt.  One of the videos featured the "fun stuff" that the library had planned this year...it was a perfect opportunity to announce the author visit.  From this point on, there was a LONG waiting list for all of Mr. Gratz's books.

A screenshot from the library orientation video announcing Alan Gratz's visit.

In the weeks leading up to the visit, Ms. Chernowski and I hosted an Alan Gratz trivia contest for all fifth grade through eighth grade students.  Interested students picked up an entry form and used Mr. Gratz's website to find the answers to the trivia questions.  Eight lucky students won a copy of Grenade, Mr. Gratz's latest book!

Entry form for the trivia contest

The students weren't told of this, but we had embedded an extra perk into the trivia program.  Each student who chose to enter the trivia contest was invited to an exclusive meet and greet after Alan Gratz's author assemblies.  There were approximately 50 students that entered the trivia contest.  Each of these students received an invitation to the meet and greet event.

A copy of the invitation to the Alan Gratz meet and greet.

On the afternoon prior to Mr. Gratz's visit, students worked on getting welcome signs ready for both the front foyer and the library.  Sixth grade students in the library for study hall were eager to help with this!

Working on decorating the library's whiteboard.

Making a welcome sign for the front foyer.

The completed library whiteboard!

Author Visit Assemblies
When Alan Gratz came to Iroquois, he was scheduled for two assemblies in the Intermediate/Middle School: one for fifth and sixth graders, and another session for seventh and eighth grade students.  During each assembly, Alan Gratz was introduced by a student.  The students who were chosen to introduce him were students who had read (and loved!) a number of Alan's books.  This made for a special experience for these two lucky students.

Alan Gratz's introduction during the 5th/6th grade assembly.

Two Alan Gratz fans were chosen to do the assembly introductions.

Keeping the attention of hundreds of middle schoolers is no easy feat, but Alan Gratz's presentations kept the audience engaged from start to finish!  The "choose your own adventure" format that Mr. Gratz used to structure his presentation gave the students ownership over the content of the assembly, and kept them interested in seeing what would be discussed next.

Alan Gratz's "Choose Your Own Speech" was a huge hit!

Students voted on which story they would like to hear more about.

After the speeches, students were invited to have their books signed by Alan Gratz.  A number of books were purchased prior to the event, so students were happy to get their books signed personally.

Alan Gratz met with students after each assembly.

Students were excited to get their books autographed.

The special meet and greet for the trivia participants took place after the second assembly.  The students were provided with snacks and the opportunity to have a casual chat with Alan Gratz.  He graciously answered the questions students asked him about his life and books.

Students met in the Middle School Library for a meet and greet.

After the meet and greet session, Mr. Gratz was off to the high school to speak to a select group of students.  His high school session was as well received as the middle school assemblies were!


A Really Wonderful Day!
Looking back on the author visit with Alan Gratz, I cannot think of enough great things to say.  His presentation was one of the most engaging and thought-provoking author sessions I have seen in my twelve years as a librarian.  The feedback Ms. Chernowski and I received from students and staff was overwhelmingly positive.  It will definitely be difficult to top this year's author visit.  Thank you Alan Gratz for your willingness to visit Iroquois.

It was great to meet Alan Gratz!

Mr. Gratz and Ms. Chernowski during our 11/7 visit.