Guest Blog Post by Reba Gordon
Sometimes I wonder if I am doing enough in my library. I’m convinced I need to always have big and bold projects and initiatives. (Author Visits! Book Tastings! Contests!) Lately I’ve found that sometimes the quietest ideas have the loudest impact.
I was recently asked to step in and teach a weekly mini 30 minute “discovery course” in the library. I was stumped. What on earth was I going to do in the library that wasn’t just Mrs. Gordon teaching about databases again or explaining the Dewey Decimal system to 8th graders. (Which, granted, I think is fascinating, but this was supposed to be “fun.”) I started looking though my ideas file filled with all the things I planned to do “at some point” to try and find something that was unique and would hold their attention. I decided to go with…Painter’s tape!
First, I gave them permission to come up with games that can be played on the floor. They came up with tic tac toe and hopscotch and then got busy taping down a massive Hopscotch and tic tac toe grids. There was something tremendously fun for them to tape the carpeting. They had ownership of the games and came up with their own rules. (See tic tac toe using hands and feet below.) I was joyously surprised that there was so much buy-in and excitement from playing such low-tech and rather simple games.
Not all of my students are competitive or physical, so I tried to find a way to include everyone. I encouraged my artsy kids to create painter’s tape art on the doors. Now we have an ever-changing art display in the library.
Since they had worked so hard on the hopscotch, I left it on the floor and something amazing happened. Without fail, it caught the attention of every student and adult who walked through the library, and 9 out of 10 people took a turn playing hopscotch!
This was a very low-stakes project that had a huge impact on my community. It brought more people into the library to see what was going on, which was the perfect opportunity to share all the new books we had on display!
How are you thinking out of the library lesson box ? Connect with Reba Gordon on social media, @reading_reba.
Check out my book reviews and ideas for your classroom or school on Instagram, @edtechease.
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