ABCs of DCGMS Library: F is for Follett Book Fair

So many new things in the DCGMS Library this year--and today's post reminds us of one of them. Today's post is brought to you by the letter F for Follett Book Fairs.

Such a great experience all around--especially for students who had a voice in the books that were available to them at the fair. When options were sent, students voted in Literacy Studies class, and it was always surprising to see what kinds of books they were most interested in having on their fair. What a great way to get kids interested in visiting the fair with their families!

Once the fair arrived, it was an easy set-up and students could begin browsing, talking about books with one another and plotting their purchases. Students and adults both commented on the clean, streamlined, "older" appearance of the fair, and many families visited the fairs when they came to fall and spring conferences. Overall, a great experience for so many!

Our Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 Follett Book Fairs are already on the calendar--hope to see you there!

ABCs of DCGMS Library: E is for Everybody Up!

Today's blog post is brought to you by the letter E, and we're celebrating a variety of activities that got everybody up and moving around in the library.

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Throughout the year, students in Literacy Studies class were up and moving around, sharing their work and their learning with one another. Students participated in both physical and digital breakouts, which required them to find and work through clues located around the library; they explored using a variety of STEAM activities; they shared book trailers with one another; they responded to one another to wrap up their learning in partner conversations. Take a look at some of their experiences:

ABCs of DCGMS Library: D is for Database Tic-Tac-Toe

Today's post is brought to you by the letter D as we take a look back at our databases tic-tac-toe work.

Earlier in the school year, Literacy Studies students had the chance to work in the newly genrified biography section to choose a person of interest. Once they'd selected a person, students worked to complete a tic-tac-toe based on our AEA databases.

Throughout the year, students worked at different times in a variety of databases both in Literacy Studies class along with their language arts and social studies classes. Our tic-tac-toe activity was designed to encourage students to explore and become familiar with databases they maybe weren't as apt to use when first given a task. 

You can read about the full database tic-tac-toe work in an earlier blog post, and stay tuned--our next ABCs of DCGMS Library post will include the follow-up to the students' work!

ABCs of DCGMS Library: C is for Censorship & Banned Books Week

Today's ABCs of DCGMS Library is brought to you by the letter C as we look at censorship and Banned Books Week. Over the years, there have been a variety of ways we've taken a look at censorship; you can read the posts HERE.

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Conversations with students about challenged and banned books are always engaging as many are unaware of how common challenges are across the country. Often students are surprised to learn that books they've read or are familiar with have been challenged.

One activity to recognize Banned Books Week 2018 was to meet with several advisories to share information about the history of Banned Books Week and look at recently challenged titles.

And library displays encouraged students to take a look at censorship as it relates to the library.

ABCs of DCGMS Library: B is for Book Trailers

The ABCs of DCGMS Library brings to you the letter B today and features book trailers as a way to promote reading and pique students' interest in books and authors.

One of the regular components of the Literacy Studies class was showing book trailers to encourage students to try a new genre, new author, new series, or new book. Sometimes trailers featured newly published books recently added to the library; other times, the trailers highlighted titles that may have been in the collection for a while. While many trailers teased students with plot points and cliffhangers, some were author interviews.

Below are a few of students' favorite trailers--as determined by the holds and requests for the books!

The ABCs of DCGMS Library: Brought to You by the Letter A

Now that we're firmly into our summertime break, it's time to roll out the summer theme for the blog: the ABCs of DCGMS Library.

Photo by Diomari Madulara on Unsplash

Every few days-and of course in alphabetical order!--we'll feature something related to the DCG Middle School library and the work and the activities there. So without further ado, let's start with the letter A and the All Things Reading Symbaloo.

Access the Symbaloo HERE

Also accessible from our library main page, the All Things Reading Symbaloo is a place for students to visit when they're interested in finding read-alikes for their next reads, browse collections of online books and audio books, and visit official websites for several authors.

Maybe you're looking for something to read and aren't sure where to start? Try the upper left-hand corner of the Symbaloo or click on a popular author--you may just find what you're looking for! 

Happy reading!