Books ROCK! Contest

 

Books Rock! Contest

• Planning:

• Decide the length of time the contest will take place

• Decide rock requirements

• Must it include specific elements?

• Must both sides be included in the contest?

• Where will students be required to turn in their completed rocks?

• Promotion:

• Produce flyers with information on the turn-in date, date of judging, requirements for the rock painting entries, and prizes for winners

• Request time to announce the contest on the morning/afternoon announcements

• Discuss the contest and its requirements with students during their scheduled library time

• Preparations:

• Create and produce flyers

• Select a team of judges

• Acquire prizes (either using budget money or through donations)

• If using a budget, select items to purchase and create a PO to be submitted

• If requesting donations, reach out to volunteers or PTO for donations

• Determine the needed amount of rocks for students who participate in the contest

• Purchase or obtain donated rocks 

• Paint a rock to match a character or scene from a picture book that will be read to students. 

• Procedure

• Begin promoting the contest by announcing that the library will host a Books Rock! contest. 

• Place flyers for patrons to take in an accessible location in the library

• Supply homeroom teachers with fliers for their students to take home

• Read a preselected picture book to students. 

• After reading the book, show students the painted rock you created depicting a character from the book (or a scene from the book). 

• Share with students information about the Books Rock! contest, including the requirements for entering the contest

• Share information on how the rocks will be judged and what the winner's prize(s) will be 

• Pass out materials to students who are interested in participating in the contest

• Payoff

• More students will be drawn into the library

• Provides a creative outlet for students who might not participate in other school activities 

• Promotes a positive relationship between library personnel and students

• Promotes a positive relationship between library personnel and staff

Family Literacy Night - The Three Little Pigs Elementary

 Family Literacy Night - The Three Little Pigs

Elementary

Planning

• Discuss and decide on a day and time for Family Literacy Night with the administration

• Develop a plan for determining the number of families that will participate

• This will determine the number of supplies needed

• Determine the amount of staff that need to attend to assist

• Determine items to be used and approximate cost of items if needing to purchase

• Develop a plan for the flow of evening events

• Will snacks and drinks be served? If so, where will these be located? Where will they be stored until the event?

• Determine if a prize or prizes will be awarded. If so, determine what the prize(s) will be and how will they be acquired. 

• Determine if families will be receiving any promotional reading materials

• If so, what will need to be created and distributed?

• Determine version(s) of The Three Little Pigs to be used 

Promotion

• Verbal promotion among teachers 

• Verbal promotion among students 

• Create a flyer 

• Add information to social media websites

Preparations

• Generate a google form for parents to fill out if they will be attending. Decide on the latest day parents can register. This will allow time to determine the approximate amount of supplies needed. 

• Create and send out a google form or digital sign-up sheet for teachers to volunteer to attend and assist. 

• If there aren’t many teachers willing to attend, extend the invite to PTO members or other volunteers. 

• Obtain supplies needed for building 3 different structures similar to those in the story The Three Little Pigs by RH Disney

• Find one or two more versions of The Three Little Pigs. Example texts are: 

    -The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

    -It's Not The Three Little Pigs by Josh Funk

• Secure snacks and drinks if part of the event. 

• Secure prize(s) and store for the event. 

• Create and print promotional reading materials. This could include statistics on the benefits of reading to children and children being exposed to reading culture. 

Procedures

• Welcome everyone into the building and guide them into the library. Families may enjoy snacks and beverages while waiting. Promotional material may also be available at tables for families to read. 

• Begin the event by introducing and reading the story of The Three Little Pigs by RH Disney. 

• After reading, share how some classic stories have been modified into other versions. Introduce the second version of The Three Little Pigs. 

• After reading the two books, conduct a short discussion about the differences between the two stories. 

• Share with families that they will have an opportunity to attempt to build one of the three houses in the original version of The Three Little Pigs. 

• Divide families into three teams and distribute supplies. Families will have 20 minutes to build their houses. If needed, divide into more than three teams (additional materials secured prior to the family night). 

• After teams have had 20 minutes to build their houses, each team can elect one or more team members to discuss their building strategy.

• One by one, each team will bring their house to the “testing zone” to be tested against the wind force. If the house stands for a minimum of 20 seconds it’s a winner!

• After all of the houses have been tested, award the houses that were able to stand for a minimum of 20 seconds. 

• Thank all the families for coming out and making Family Literacy Night a success. 

• Pass out promotional materials and any other goodies that have been chosen for families to take home.

Payoff

• Provides an opportunity for the librarian to build community relations.  

• Provides an opportunity to promote the library. 

• Provides an opportunity to involve families in a reading culture.

Find out more about The Three Little Pigs STEAM lesson by clicking the following link: 

https://inventionlandeducation.com/steam-lesson-plan-three-little-pigs-design-challenge 

Cosmic Comics

 Cosmic Comics

Planning

• Decide the approximate time frame for students to engage in this activity

• Decide on the type of comic strip generator to be used

• Discuss with teachers if there are any cross-curricular connections that can be used while engaging in this activity

Promotion

• Verbal promotion among teachers to aid in tying in cross-curricular material

• Verbal promotion among students 

• Create a flyer and/or add information to social media websites

Preparations

• Collect various short age-appropriate comic books or comic strips to share with students

• Ensure accessibility to the correct amount of operating computers or Chromebooks for students 

• Gather information about how comic books or comic strips are created

• Verify and become familiar with how the comic strip generator will be used (including the need to register or log in to the website) and determine if students will be able to download a copy or if the comic strip created must be virtual

Procedures

• Day 1

• Share with students a few comic strips

• Discuss what elements a comic strip has (framing, text bubbles, images) and why people may like them

• Share with students that they will be making their own comic strips and to begin thinking of ideas

• This would need to include what type of characters, plot, setting, etc.

• Provide students with paper to begin planning out their comic strip story

• Day 2

• Read some comic strips to students

• Discuss the elements they find appealing

• Have students share some of the ideas they came up with for their own comic strips

• Show students a video from Make Beliefs Comix on how to use the program to create their own comic strip 

• Note: Pixton is another excellent comic generator but isn’t free  

• Allow students time to finish planning their comic strip

• Day 3

• Provide students access to desktops or Chromebooks to begin creating their comic strips.

• Students will need to log in to Make Beliefs Comix using their school email

• Allow students time to become familiar with the program options. 

• If possible, lead students through the creation process again by displaying the screen on an interactive whiteboard. 

• Students may begin creating their own comic strips once comfortable navigating the program. 

• Day 4

• Provide students access to desktops or Chromebooks to continue creating their comic strips.

• Assist in accessing the website if necessary and logging in 

• Allow students time to continue creating their comic strips and provide guidance as needed.

• When students are ready, assist them in printing a copy of their final product. 

• Day 5

• Some students may still need to finish their comic strips. Allow those students to finish their creations. 

• While others wait, they may be reading comic strips. 

• Once all students have finished creating and printing their comic strips, students may trade their creations and read each other work. 

• Have students leave notes on post-its of reviews on the comic strip they read

• Remind students to be kind and only leave positive remarks about workmanship 

Payoff

• Provides an opportunity for the librarian to collaborate with teachers 

• Provides students with a creative outlet

• Provides students an opportunity to view a genre they may not be familiar with

• Provides students the opportunity to learn about different technology tools

Bookmark Contest

 

Bookmark Contest

• Planning:

• Decide the length of time the contest will take place

• Decide bookmark requirements

• Must it include specific elements?

• Must both sides be included in the contest?

• Where will students be required to turn in their completed bookmarks?

• Promotion:

• Produce flyers with information on the turn-in date, date of judging, requirements for the bookmark, and prizes for winners

• Request time to announce the contest on the morning/afternoon announcements

• Discuss the contest and its requirements with students during their scheduled library time

• Preparations:

• Create and produce flyers

• Select a team of judges

• Acquire prizes (either using budget money or through donations)

• If using budget, select items to purchase and create a PO to be submitted

• If requesting donations, reach out to volunteers or PTO for donations

• Determine the needed amount of bookmarks for students who participate in the contest

• Purchase or create bookmarks 

• Procedure

• Begin promoting the bookmark contest by announcing that the library will be hosting a bookmark contest. 

• Place flyers for patrons to take in an accessible location in the library

• Supply homeroom teachers with fliers for their students to take home

• Create a lesson on discussing the history of bookmarks to share with students on scheduled library day

• Allow time to discuss the history of the bookmark

• Share the requirements for entering the bookmark contest

• Share information on how the bookmarks will be judged and what the winner's prize(s) will be 

• Pass out materials to students who are interested in participating in the contest

• Payoff

• More students will be drawn into the library

• Provides a creative outlet for students who might not participate in other school activities 

• Promotes a positive relationship between library personnel and students

• Promotes a positive relationship between library personnel and staff