A Golden Idea
The Golden Book Award: Clever way to reward a student, class or grade.
Take a discarded book and place a long ribbon through the middle of the book so the ribbon extends three feet on the bottom and 3 feet at the top of the book. Then glue some of the pages, the front and back cover together so it no longer opens and the ribbon hangs out. Spray paint the entire book (but not the ribbon) gold. Hang this special “Golden Book Award” on the classroom door of anyone or any class that has done an outstanding job in the library. Rotate the award each week. You can also do the same with an old computer mouse or mouse pad and award the “Golden Mouse” to a class that has done a fantastic job with research or catalog searches. You can have several book or mouse awards-simply spray paint one gold, one silver and the last one bronze.
WEBSITE MATCH
Match your school’s teachers with their favorite websites.
Ask the teachers in your school to choose their favorite educational/informational website. Print out the home pages of each. Ask for each teacher to supply a photo of him/herself or if you have staff pictures on your school’s website, print those off.
On a bulletin board place the pictures of the teachers on one side and the websites on the other side using tacks. The students must match the teachers to their favorite sites. You can also use Velcro or string or have the game used as a fun center. You can also ask teachers the reasons they chose the sites.
TOPSY TURVY TITLES
For a whole lot of fun, take classics and give them a new title. It sparks new interest in old favorites and gets kids cracking up at the same time!
Scan the covers of some of your favorite books and the kid’s favorites too. Photoshop out the titles and post book covers on the library wall (you can also photocopy the covers but use blank paper over the title so that it doesn’t appear on the book cover.) Put pencils and paper out and below each book cover have a small bag or box. Have students think of creative and clever new titles for the books based on what they see on the cover. If you want something even more challenging, have students guess the original title and the author for extra points. Post all the newly created titles and have classes vote on which they like best. Feature the real books and their covers in a special display area after the contest is over.
AN EDUCATIONAL WAY TO WAIT
Need to fill a minute before a teacher picks up his/her class? Play this super quick activity.
Use while waiting to get in line or even to line up.
Ask …
If you checked out a fiction book, stand up.
If you checked out a biography, stand up.
If you checked out a book where the author and the illustrator are the same person, stand up.
If you have a book with more than 20 chapters, sit down.
If you have a nonfiction book, sit down.
If you have a poetry book, spin around.
If you have a book from the 300 section, take a bow.
If your book has a table of contents, clap your hands.
If you worked on the computer today, smile.
If you have a book from the 900 section, raise your hands in the air.
QUIET PLEASE
Need an easier way to keep things quiet in the library? Toss out the bell and stop flickering the lights, if you’re working with younger kids this little library ditty does the trick.
Sing:
I love book (slowly)
And they love me (slowly)
I get them free at the library (hold long that eee sound and string it out)
Read then once (fast)
Read them twice (fast)
Library books are oh, so nice. (voices stop after that)
BOOK INSCRIPTIONS
Increase student circulation and excitement in the library with this clever idea.
Tape or putty a piece of sturdy colored paper in the interior of the book cover. Put a student’s name and date on the paper noting that it’s his/her favorite book or he/she recommends it. For example: This is Rayna Fox’s favorite book, September 24, 2010 or This book is recommended by Lucy Lesniak from Mrs. Yanamoto’s 5th grade class, May 10, 2009.
You can add names if several students like the same book. Kids will seek out these books because their friends have read them or older brother or sister, or they just like seeing their name in print. My students who graduated to middle school would come back sometimes to see if “their book” was still on the shelf. You can also include a few sentences of why the student is suggested others read this book. If you have room in the book add a little digital picture but make sure when the book is returned that the picture hasn’t been “altered”, i.e. mustache, blackened tooth, goatee- hey, just putting it out there, because it will happen.
This method seems to work better than the typical book reviews we spotlighted on the walls or on the morning broadcast. I did meet a rebellious media specialist who wrote the favorite book inscriptions without the paper and in permanent marker to add a bit of school history and memorabilia to her collection- that’s cool!
MAKE A BOOK SPECIAL
You have to try this- your kids will freak out (in a very good way) when they find a little saying in the book they’ve checked out.
When my friend, Becky Becker www.Beckysboxofpuppets.com returns a library book she wedges a little card the size of a business card into it that says something special. I thought her idea was marvelous and could work for the school library. I used index cards and put saying like: You’re an awesome kid or make someone smile, today or isn’t this book funny. When they came back into the library some of the books had the cards still in them, some did not. The best story was this- I was shelving and a piece of torn notebook paper fell out of THE PHANTOM TOLLBOTH. On it were the words: If you’re reading this book you are really smart. I didn’t write that- but someone else had. Becky’s tradition goes on! Try it in your own school.
Tips: 1. I only use a handful of chapter books. 2. Put the card as close to the spine as possible and use white cards. 3. Don’t let your students know it’s you putting the sayings in because sometimes… it won’t be.
