September at The Cube

Ever wonder what Teacher-Librarians do? Here's a snapshot of my month in The Cube at CHS.

Readers Needed

Mrs. Heather Lamb, the Teacher-Librarian at AV Cato, and I are looking to partner CHS and AV Cato classes as Book Buddies. The logistics have yet to be worked out as we're waiting to get teachers' input; however, we envision alternating read-aloud sessions via Google Hangout between classes or students on a weekly or bi-weekly rotation. This can be any grade level or subject area as reading and relationship are life-long skills that affect us all. If you're interested in your classes participating, please let me know!

Take a Chance on Banned!

Across the country this week, librarians, book sellers, and authors are celebrating Banned Books Week, a week carved out this time of year to spread awareness about the freedom we have as Americans to read whatever we deem appropriate for us to read. As basic as this seems to us, BBW reminds us that not all people around the world enjoy this freedom. Additionally, drawing attention to frequently challenged books in our schools and libraries across the country reminds us that censorship from one means restriction for all.

This month, we will be featuring books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Fault in Our Stars, and many books from today's most popular authors that have appeared on the ALA's Most Frequently Challenged list. We are asking CHS students and faculty to "take a chance on BANNED" by selecting a wrapped book from our display and reading it to determine why the book was challenged and if they agree with the decision. Students are tweeting their ideas to #CHSCubed. The Cube Prize Patrol is lurking the hashtag for particularly well-structured responses.

For information regarding Castleberry ISD's book collection policy, please click here.

September @ The Cube

Reflections on 9th Grade Orientation

This is the first time in 12 years as a Teacher-Librarian that I've made Freshmen Orientation completely a hands-on task. As such, I thought it called for a moment of reflection.

Soooo...this was good. It was. At the end of two days, I feel like I've done more than reinforce the stereotype of boring libraries to 300 kids. Every student was engaged every period from bell to bell.

     

• Did it work perfectly? No
• Did they leave knowing what I needed them to know about the library? I hope so.
• Was it my most successful orientation? Absolutely!

First period Day 1 was a COMPLETE disaster! Students don't have access to YouTube, so my screencast video of how to search on the OPAC wasn't accessible. The ThingLink contained waaaaay too much information, and the ipads needed to access the audiotour were locked in the cart to which the key had disappeared. Talk about a lesson plan going south.

Thankfully, Mrs. Skinner and her first period students were all SUPER gracious, helped me breathe through the mess, and promised they'd come back for do-overs. By second period, though, an AP came to the rescue with lock-cutters, I revamped the ThingLink and questionnaire, and I decided to run the Destiny video from the library Smart board. (Why I didn't think of that to begin with, I don't know.) 

Even though things were running a heck of a lot more smoothly, it was just too much. We never had time to puzzle the activity, and every period ran out of time to play the formative assessment--a Kahoot quiz covering what they'd learned that day, so they left without me knowing exactly how much was gleaned from each station.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Skinner suggested that I nix the MakerSpace station to preserve time for the more need-to-know stations, and I thought that a good idea. To ensure each student received the information I needed them to know, I also changed the puzzle activity to a simple activity rotation. Day 2 went much better all the way around; however, I felt a bit of that not-enough feeling when a student asked me at the beginning of first period, "Do we get to do the MakerSpace today? I heard that was really fun!" DOH!!! 

At the end of Day 2, Mrs. Offenbaker's feedback was to give the ThingLink to the classroom teachers as an in-class pre-teach the day before in preparation for them coming to the library the following day. I liked that idea too. 

At the end of the day, here are my successes:

• Students had fun in the library! (ALWAYS a win!!)
• Students interacted with library equipment: Smart board, Destiny catalog, ipads, etc.
• Students learned the layout of the library and how to locate books in a genrefied system.
• I didn't talk all day....snoooooooozzzzzzzzzzzze....
  And...here are my takeaways:

• Keep the station rotation to ensure every student is presented with the information I need them to know.
• Consider partnering with English 1 teachers to Pre-Teach the ThingLink information prior to orientation day to allow time for lesson closure and formative assessment.
• Consider scheduling a "maker" day orientation with various projects students could choose from paired with a blogging reflective piece to cover the English TEKS in lieu of trying to cram it in with definite need-to-know information.

Even though we ran out of time on both days, I guess the biggest testament to a successful orientation was that Monday morning, The Cube was teaming with freshmen. I'd call that a win!

The Cube Welcomes CHS Class of 2020

Welcome Class of 2020 to The Cube at Castleberry High School. The resources on this page will be used today during your orientation.

The Cube Audio Tour

Please scan the QR code below and begin your audio tour at the entrance to The Cube. Follow the audio prompts to learn important information about each section of the library available for your use.

The Cube's Policies and Procedures

Click on the picture below to connect to a ThingLink of The Cube. Mouse over each of the targeted areas. Each target provides information you and your friends need to be successful in The Cube. Please read each target and fill in the blanks on your note sheet.

How to Locate Books in The Cube

Watch the following video that will walk you through searching for a book using Destiny, our online catalog. THEN, follow the directions below the video to complete your station task.

After you have completed the video, please visit The Cube's catalog search computer (located by the printer) and use Destiny to find a book of your choice. Write the title and call number on a scratch sheet of paper located under the computer screen. Find the book in the stacks (shelves of books), and bring both your scratch paper and your book to Mrs. Daily for her to sign.

What's The MakerSpace

MakerSpace Experts will be creating yarn pom-pom bookmarks while you learn about all that's available for student use!

When You Complete Your Station Task...

...return to your group table and determine what the MUST know information is about your station. You're group is counting on you to give them the information they need to succeed in The Battle of The Cube!

Secrets of a Former English Teacher

 April is National Poetry Month. I need to confess something here: this.is.NOT.my.favorite reading celebration. In fact, I've never even drawn attention to it before. I'm not hatin'; it's just really not my thing.

I've tried to like poetry. I tried in third grade when I was required to keep a poetry notebook of all the poems I memorized and recited in class. I tried in seventh grade with "Casey at the Bat," which...honestly...I did enjoy...somewhat...but it's too dang disappointing every time Mighty Casey strikes out. I must have also been somewhat impressed with this quirkiness because I still remember it 23 years later:

One dark day

In the middle of the night

Two dead men got up to fight.

Back to back, they faced each other

Drew their swords and shot each other.

I don't remember much about poetry in high school other than studying meter, which is sure to snuff out any spark of enjoyment that might have abounded. I finally drew the "I'm out!" line in college where as an English major, I was determined to conquer my beef with the writing form and took an American poetry class. When the professor's interpretation of Whitman's "Song of Myself" did not, would not, could not EVER...in a box with a fox even...align with mine, I cashed it in for a British short story class and haven't looked back since...

UNTIL NOW...

The Cube at CHS is encouraging our students to...

Each folded pocket (origami instructions here) contains a poem--some long, some short, some classic, some modern, some funny, some sad. The idea is for our patrons to pick a poem, read it, and share reflections or thoughts via #CHSLionReads or #CHS_Lions.

If you'd like to join in the Poem for your Pocket festivities, you can find tons of ideas here, here, and here.

In the mean time, enjoy a few more pics from our pocket wall!