{"id":82489,"date":"2014-10-09T01:30:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=82489"},"modified":"2014-10-09T00:07:15","modified_gmt":"2014-10-09T05:07:15","slug":"teaching-in-our-uk-school-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=82489","title":{"rendered":"Teaching in our UK School Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Suzanne Schultz Pick, Senior Assistant,\u00a0INALJ UK<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Teaching in our UK School Libraries<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Suzanne<\/a>We all know that libraries in schools are important for students, but do we really know how\u00a0to use them effectively? Sometimes the school libraries are run by Teaching Assistants, or\u00a0a teacher who if manning the library shelves half the time while working for the English\u00a0Department the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve seen in Primary Schools, students are often given tasks on computer software by\u00a0the lead of their classroom teacher. Many of these resources are paid through by the school\u00a0and set with a specific outline in mind. Some teachers ask students to research using Google\u00a0searches or requesting that students simply \u201cpick a book\u201d and do their own informative\u00a0brochure based on the content of their chosen topic.<\/p>\n

In Secondary Schools, some libraries are in disarray without any real direction for students to\u00a0find books that would interest them. Often teachers require students to \u201cpick a book\u201d and do\u00a0a project or book report on what they\u2019ve read. Without someone to guide them through their\u00a0own knowledge of the materials, or even current, popular teen titles, students really don\u2019t\u00a0know where to begin. Many, many times students are at a loss for what book to pick, what\u00a0would be interesting to them, and what books are available and tell a story about a topic they\u00a0would find worth their classroom reading time.<\/p>\n

As far as research goes, most of the times, despite our best efforts as teaching or learning\u00a0support staff, students will resort to a Google search rather than using the reference books\u00a0that are within arm\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

We have so many reluctant readers in schools now, that I\u2019d hate to think that teachers or\u00a0teaching assistants don\u2019t have any lessons curtailed for the library.<\/p>\n

I find it quite sad that the school library, as small as most of them may be, are not used\u00a0to their full capacity. That is why I\u2019ve listed some activities that teachers can use in the\u00a0classroom during their visits to the library.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Research skills lesson using fake websites<\/a> \u2013 A nice PowerPoint\u00a0that demonstrates why we shouldn\u2019t trust every website full of\u00a0information, no matter how authentic it may seem.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Library Challenge Cards<\/a> \u2013 These cards are probably very similar\u00a0to what English teachers may already use for their students\u2019\u00a0reading for pleasure assignments. These cards encourage students\u00a0to be interested in the author and characters of their books.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Maths Murder Mystery 11 – Death in the Library<\/a> \u2013 A nice way\u00a0to incorporate the internet into a math lesson with fun. Students\u00a0must solve five mathmatical clues to figure out who of the 32\u00a0suspects are guilty.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Library Treasure Hunt<\/a> \u2013 I always loved using treasure hunts and\u00a0web quests with students in my library. It gives them a sense\u00a0of freedom to explore the internet. This treasure hunt asks for\u00a0students to use books instead of Google, so they can answer the\u00a0questions on the treasure map.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Struggle for Votes for Women<\/a> \u2013 this activity for Secondary\u00a0Students is a good way to engange learners in history while\u00a0using various library resources. The lessons include a newspaper\u00a0clippings, cartoons, and prompts for debate on the issues of\u00a0women voters.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Graphic Novel booklist for KS1 & KS2<\/a> \u2013 I\u2019ve noticed that many\u00a0Primary School Students aren\u2019t even aware of graphic novels,\u00a0so having these kinds of resources available really help reluctant\u00a0readers. Even if your library doesn\u2019t have funds for a lot of new\u00a0books, just letting students know that these books are out there\u00a0is something they can research and find interest in for outside\u00a0reading.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Hunger Games<\/a> \u2013 Being a huge fan of the films, I would\u00a0definitely incorporate these novels into a Secondary School\u00a0lesson. Not only is it modern, so students can relate to the work,\u00a0but they are big, action-packed blockbuster movies that will\u00a0be useful for students to write essays, or engage in classroom\u00a0debates on the differences between the novels themselves and the\u00a0film adaptations.<\/p>\n

Whatever activity you do decide to use in your school libraries, just\u00a0please remember to use the libraries. They are there for more than just\u00a0holding books that get neglected on the shelves. Many students don\u2019t\u00a0have the luxury of a bookstore or internet access at home, so using the\u00a0library in school is their only time to open up their world to technology\u00a0and literature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Suzanne Schultz Pick, Senior Assistant,\u00a0INALJ UK Teaching in our UK School Libraries We all know that libraries in schools are important for students, but do we really know how\u00a0to use them effectively? Sometimes the school libraries are run by Teaching Assistants, or\u00a0a teacher who if manning the library shelves half the time while working…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":60449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,6300,4501,5900,5474,5902,6592],"class_list":["post-82489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-children","tag-childrens-librarian","tag-inalj-uk","tag-school-libraries","tag-suzanne-schultz-pick","tag-uk-school-libraries"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Suzanne-Schultz-Pick1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-lst","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}