School Library Ideas Archives - Page 2 of 3 - So Blessed to Be a Teacher

(EVEN MORE!) Freebies for Your School Library on Teachers Pay Teachers!

(Disclosure: This blog post contains several affiliate links, and if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.)

(Note: This blog post also contains NUMEROUS just-because-I-love-you links to MANY free products on Teachers Pay Teachers, and if you click through and download the free products, nothing particularly exciting happens for me, but you get the FREE TpT resources! Wahoo!)

So…I’m sorry it has been a really, really long time since I’ve published a post. I’ve been, you know, teaching and momming and stuff.

And then, when I didn’t write for awhile, I felt like I needed to prove that I was not a total blog delinquent by making sure my next post was worth the long wait…

…and…here it is! It’s time for another list of FREE PRODUCTS that you can find on TpT and use in your school library. I have over 50 goodies to show you today! (If you’ve missed my other lists of freebies, click here and here to cash in on over 80 other free TpT products available for librarians!)

I’m back! Let the freebie spree commence! YEAH!

Makerspace / STEAM

Here’s a quick and easy and science-y activity that your students can try in your makerspace! Teaching Tidbits and More with Jamie designed this freebie that lets kids experiment with making 3-D shapes out of card stock and seeing which shape is best at holding up books. It’s a great challenge for the library, since you probably have a book or two kicking around! 🙂

And here’s a super fun STEM challenge for the media center – Build a Gingerbread Man Trap by Smart Chick. It would work well with so many gingerbread-themed read aloud books!

Looking for a way to keep track of what’s going on in your makerspace? That Library Media Teacher has created this free product that includes both printable and digital surveys that students can fill out to share what types of activities they explore when they visit the makerspace!

Coding

Get your little library learners’ minds ready for coding with this hot dog themed offline coding activity by iGameMom STEM Learning!

And here’s another free activity courtesy of Teaching with Jackie. This one is just spectacular for practicing coding skills without devices. I tried it with my first grade students last year and I could almost see the lightbulbs lighting up above their heads as they started to understand the basic idea of coding!

If you want to take screen-free coding to the next level, you’ve got to try this free resource by Tess the Krafty Teacher. This product will help you get started with using a Code & Go Mouse to teach your students about coding! She also has another awesome freebie that’ll get you going with Bee Bots.

When you’re ready for your students to begin with online coding activities, check out this freebie from Mrs. J in the Library, which will help you get your students started with Scratch and Lightbot!

Library Rules and Etiquette

Kids love the “David” books by David Shannon! This printable activity by Little Miss Librarian helps students to think about proper library procedures by inviting the students to imagine that David takes a trip to the library! Your beginning-of-the-year review of library rules can be so much fun as your kids can imagine good choices and bad choices that David might make at the library!

Using a Card Catalog

Practicing with an online card catalog is a must in the library today. Help your upper elementary students gain proficiency with a card catalog with this free product from That Library Media Teacher. (After all, the better they are at finding stuff in the library, the less you have to find for them!)

And here is another free resource that can help your students as they use the card catalog! That Library Girl has put together a free form that will assist your kiddos by giving them an easy way to record the information they find when they look up a book.

Dewey Decimal System

Here is a free printable by Pooley Productions that can be used when your students study the Dewey Decimal System!

This amazing freebie from Kathryn Garcia – Made for Learning can be printed and used as a puzzle OR a bookmark! Either way, it provides a fun way help your library students learn more about Dewey Decimal call numbers.

For the Little Guys and Gals

This is a derivative of an image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Give your younger students a chance to practice with a basic table of contents with this freebie by Christine Reed!

This free activity by Katie Blair Young asks students to figure out whether books are fiction or nonfiction and why. It’s great for reviewing fiction and nonfiction with your littlest library students!

ABC Order

With this autumn-themed alphabetical order freebie by Differentiation Station Creations, your students can practice the essential library skill of using ABC order!

Or, during the holiday season, your students can try this alphabetical order resource by Bright Buttons! 🎅

And Deanna Cappucci has designed a cute free product so that your students can practice ABC order by alphabetizing each other’s names! (In the library, I could see this working well with first AND last names so that kids can get the idea of alphabetizing books by authors’ last names!)

Students can practice alphabetizing to the 2nd letter with this Earth Day ABC order freebie, available in More than Math by Mo’s store.

And here is a fantastic set of ABC order task cards! Thanks for the freebie, Erin J Murray!

Research and Reference Books

This fun activity by Darlene Anne challenges students to be creative while also getting some practice with a dictionary and/or thesaurus!

And this printable activity by Teaching with Tamara allows kids to practice their dictionary skills while looking up some homonyms. When I SAW this resource, I knew it would be JUST RIGHT for this CURRENT blog post! 🙂

3…2…1…blastoff! Give your kids a chance to practice their research skills and learn about the planets with this freebie by Imaginative Teacher! Students could use this activity to practice with encyclopedias, and the product also includes a list of suggested websites the kids can use to research this topic!

Or your students could use reference books, along with other library resources, to do some totally fun animal research with this free product from The Library Patch!

Book Review Activities

Asking your students to recommend books to classmates can get kids excited about checking out books from the school library. Here is a cute Halloween-themed book review template designed by Kim Miller that you can have your students fill out to share their favorite library books with their friends!

Looking for other book review options? Here is another great and free book review form by Amanda Rose Resources! Or try this book review freebie by Josie’s Place!

Fun and Fantastic Stuff

I don’t know about you, but I have a few students who are constantly telling me, “I forgot it was library day! I didn’t bring my book!” The Swamped Teacher has developed a freebie that will help with this very situation. By printing out these reminders and making them into magnets to send home with your students, you’ll help students and families remember to return library books!

Do you want to get your library students curious about some of your favorite books? This free, printable sign by Library Learners will give you an excuse to start chatting it up about a favorite title!

Here are some simple, cute, FREE forms you can send home with your students who have done an excellent job in the library. This freebie by Andrea Walkup makes it so easy to acknowledge students for good choices in the media center.

This free product from The Librarian’s Literature Links gives you a super-easy way to give classroom teachers information about what went on in your library class each week. The form includes a spot to point out star students, students who struggled, and students with overdue library books, as well as some basic information about what you did with the whole class. I’m planning to try using these in my school library this year!

Bookmarks

For a FREE, cute, and library-ish birthday gift for your students, how about these free birthday bookmarks, courtesy of Library Learners?!

ElementaryVibes has designed these free bookmarks featuring the Good Egg, the Cool Bean, and their friends. (How adorbs!)

Here are some lovely bookmarks you can personalize with your students’ names by The Organised Teacher Collective!

Perfect for your first day of library – here’s a set of reading-themed bookmarks by Brittany W!

Here are super cute animal-themed printable bookmarks, by Nicole and Eliceo, and some adorable ocean-themed printable bookmarks by Let’s Learn S’more!

When you are teaching your students about “Just Right” books, Little Mrs. M has three varieties of free, printable bookmarks that you can give to your students. She’s got free Valentine’s Day themed bookmarks, free St. Patrick’s Day themed bookmarks, and free spring-themed bookmarks! Wahoo!

And…the seasonal bookmark fun continues! Check out these free, printable, Christmas-themed bookmarks by I Teach! And these free, printable, 100th-day-of-school-themed bookmarks by Michelle Dupuis Education! And how about these free, printable, Earth Day-themed bookmarks by Let’s Learn S’More!

Library Decor

Get a start on decorations for the fall with this autumn-themed reading poster by AJ Amazing!

Next, from Librarian Vickie, we have some posters that you can use to teach your students about different genres!

Encourage your library students to read with this printable “READ” banner set by Josie’s Place! Or here’s a “READ” poster set by Erin E Townsend!

I love these seasonal posters by Project Based Learning with Elle Madison. There are tons of cute options that you can print and use to decorate your library (or any space) throughout the year!

And for more all-year-long-decoration fun, you can download this free product from Primary Teacher Solutions by Mark Johnson. These posters show children reading during each of the twelve months of the year!

That Library Girl has a super-cute idea for a media center bulletin board that encourages reading…and may or may not involve a giant inflatable pool toy! Check out her Smarties-themed bulletin board freebie here!

And…here’s a free product from my store that you can use to decorate your library! I call these “Strive Stars” because I’m hoping that they will inspire kids to strive to do great things. This set includes nine printable pages, each containing a large star with an encouraging message along with a smaller blank star (just to make your display more visually appealing). Designed to save ink but still make a colorful display, these understated black-and-white stars can be printed on bright printer paper before you cut them out. (I like me some Astrobrights, but any colorful paper will work!) The set includes some stars that have a Christian theme as well as some with messages that would work in any school setting.

Clip Art

Teacher-librarians always need book clip art for different projects, so download this free clip art by Allison Fors that includes opened and closed books!

And here is some gorgeous clip art of kids reading by SchoolBoxTreasures! Perfect for library newsletters, overdue slips, worksheets, or whateva!

Let’s Hear it for Teachers Pay Teachers!

TpT really is a beautiful place. I just highlighted over 50 FREE products for librarians, and there are so many more terrific resources available there that will help your school library to be the best it can be. Feel free to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store (or the stores of any of these great TpT teacher-authors!) so you can discover other nifty resources that will help you save time and increase the overall awesomeness of your library!

**Thank you so much to the Teachers Pay Teachers teacher-authors who gave me permission to include links to their free resources in this post! For more freebies, click here and here to check out my other posts about free resources for your school library. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss my next post!**

Disclosure: The banner below is an affiliate link. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support of my blog!

The 2018 Teacher-Librarian Stores Catalog is Here!

Since you all know I’m a book person, I guess it doesn’t come as a big surprise that I am also a catalog person. (Well, at least I was when I was a kid and didn’t notice all the clutter that goes along with being on mailing lists!)

I remember afternoons as a kid, sitting there and thumbing through the glossy pages of the JCPenney catalog, looking at all the pretty things set up on pretty pages. I don’t subscribe to many catalogs anymore to try to avoid unnecessary piles of paper in my house (as opposed to the necessary piles that already take up too much space!). But now that back to school is approaching, I do allow myself to flip through the occasional back-to-school circular…and I also spend some quality time with the digital (so, not glossy, but still pretty) Teacher-Librarian Stores Catalog by my TpT colleague Mrs. J in the Library!

TpT is awesome, but let’s face it – it can be overwhelming sometimes! If you go to the site without a specific resource in mind, but instead you just want to window shop to find inspiration and ideas, there is a ton of stuff to wade through. I just typed “library” into the search bar and got 42,236 results. What?!

Mrs. J in the Library has been compiling this catalog for several years now to help offer school librarians a simplified, streamlined process for shopping for Teachers Pay Teachers materials for their school libraries. This year, it features ten teacher-authors who specialize in resources for the library/media center, and each page is full of clickable links to fabulous products that will work well in the school library. The catalog also includes back-to-school tips and ideas so you can do a little PD while you are browsing.

I am excited that my store is part of the catalog this year! Feel free to download it and look at the beautiful displays of libraryliciousness…without cluttering your desk.

(I will be doing the same!) 🙂

A New Life for Used Books

I love working in a school library, but one of the parts of my job I have a tough time with is saying “thanks, but no thanks” to some of the donations that come in. I think most teachers and librarians LOVE books, and even when you’ve already got two copies of one particular Clifford book, it’s hard to say “no” to a third. I mean, it’s a book! It needs a reader, and for a reader to find it, it needs to live in a library, right?

As a result, in my early years at my job, I collected quite a mountain of donations that I thought I would maybe, someday, possibly catalog…but obviously that extra time never presented itself and many of the donated books just sat there, waiting and lonely.

Then, one day, these books got a new chance at life when I heard about a fabulous organization that can turn used books into a library for people who may never have had one before. The African Library Project builds libraries in different African countries and fills them with books collected through book drives held around the United States. By working with this organization, my school was able to build a school library in Ghana.

Image courtesy of the African Library Project

Spreading Literacy, One Book Drive at a Time

According to their website, since Chris Bradshaw began the African Library Project in 2005, they have helped to build 2384 libraries in the countries of Kenya, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Malawi, Swaziland, Botswana, Nigeria, Lesotho, Cameroon, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana (which is where the books from my school now live!). In order to help the African Library Project start an African library, a U.S. school (or organization, sports team, Scout troop, family, or awesome person) must collect at least 1000 books and $500 to ship the books. The U.S. groups and schools are paired with a site in Africa, which is neat because the U.S. groups will know exactly where their donations are going.

When I heard about the ALP and signed up to do a book drive at my school, the mountain of extra donations to my school library became our book drive’s very first donation. In a few weeks’ time, thanks to more book donations from students and volunteers, we had collected way more than the required 1000 books. It was then time to sort through the books to identify books that would be a good fit for our Ghanaian partner school, since the ALP has guidelines about what types of books are best to send. We found 1000 good ones and donated the others to other charities that collect books.

Since I work at a Catholic school where the students wear uniforms, a couple of “dress down days” was all it took to raise the $500 needed for shipping the books. The ALP has a pretty cool and cost-effective way of getting the books to Africa. Each book drive is packed up by the U.S. school or organization and mailed USPS to a warehouse in Louisiana. Then, a whole bunch of book drives from all over the nation are shipped by boat to Africa. It usually takes about $250 to mail 1000 books to Louisiana (when we did our book drive, we hit that figure almost on the nose), and then the ALP asks the folks behind each book drive to send another $250 check directly to the ALP, which, together with the money from other book drives, funds the boat trip to Africa.

Building Awareness and Library Skills While Building a Library

It obviously felt good to know that my lonely donations were going to be loved by children who may not have had an opportunity to love too many books before. But I wanted to make sure that my students benefited from this project, too, so I tried to help raise my students’ awareness and give them a chance to use their research skills during our book drive.

I had my seventh and eighth grade students use library resources to do some research about the country of Ghana, and then they wrote and illustrated picture books to share what they had learned with my younger students. I also spoke to all my classes about libraries around the world, explained that access to books is limited in some parts of the world, and tried to help my students realize how blessed they are that they are learning to read and that they have access to information. (I mean, really!?! How amazing is it that most Americans have access to THOUSANDS of books at their local public library, not to mention all the reading material online! What a blessing that we take for granted so often!)

Overall, my experience with the African Library Project was wonderful, and it was a great feeling to know that my school was a little part of this amazing project that is spreading literacy. Since we ran our book drive in 2013, other teachers in my school have held book drives to support other great organizations, so I haven’t been able to get a second ALP book drive together at school, but it is definitely something I would like to do again! There is something so special about the idea of one school helping another and one library getting another one started.

How awesome is it to think that somewhere in Ghana, that extra copy of a Clifford book that started out in a box in my library is helping to bring the joy of reading to a child?!

For more information or to start your own book drive, please visit the African Library Project’s website.

Tomorrow is June!

Whoa, baby! Vacation is really almost here! Actually, it probably IS here for some of you lucky teachers!

But for those of you who have to put in a few more weeks like me, I thought I’d direct you to a freebie in my TpT store that might be helpful for a couple of those last library classes! I made this free product around this time last year, and I just updated it today with one new printable worksheet. So now, it includes three no-prep, print-and-go worksheets that work like a charm during those last few totally crazy weeks of school.

Click the cover image below to grab a copy!

That’s it for today! I’m sure you have an awards ceremony, spring concert, faculty meeting, banquet, field trip, field day, exam, classroom cleanup, or library inventory to get to…so I’ll see you next time! 🙂

Copyright Resources for Teachers and Librarians

This image is a derivative of a CC0 image courtesy of StartupStockPhotos on pixabay

The internet is overflowing with information and media. There is just SO much content out there, and much of it is just a few clicks away! As someone who remembers looking at documents on those old microform machines for my own school assignments, I am, frankly, a little jealous of today’s students. (However, I did get to say the word “microfiche” from time to time, and our students don’t, and it’s a pretty fun word to say. So there.)

The downside to so much information that is easy to access and free? It’s easy to access and free, so kids can forget that it does not belong to them. Just because you CAN copy and paste and download words, pictures, songs, and videos from the internet in less than 5 seconds doesn’t mean you should. And if you do, it does not mean they are YOURS.

On the other hand, all those words, pictures, songs, and videos ARE there to be read, seen, heard, and accessed, and some of them, such as those in the public domain, are even available for almost any type of use. As teachers and librarians, we want our kids to find and use information, and although we don’t want them to misuse others’ creations, we certainly don’t want them to be afraid of finding and using media and information. We want to help our students learn to synthesize information and create new content, all while being respectful of others who have also created content.

With the complex nuances of copyright law and the ever-changing nature of technology, helping kids with all that can be a daunting task. But, I figured I’d take a stab at helping you help them!

This image is a derivative of a CC0 image courtesy of rawpixel on pixabay

Below, you’ll find links to some resources you can use to help your students get on the right track when it comes to copyright issues.

Disclaimer: I am NOT an attorney, so I cannot attest to the accuracy and validity of any information that can be found on any of the websites/resources I’ve linked to below! At the time this post was published, these websites and resources provided information that, based on my experience as an educator, may be useful to teachers, librarians, and students.

Copyright and Creative Commons Resources for Educators

Common Sense Education – The Common Sense Education organization has created several fabulous videos and lesson plans that can help you teach your students about copyright, such as this Copyrights and Wrongs lesson – all available for free! That particular lesson was designed for high school students, but it could be adapted for middle schoolers, and there are other lessons for younger students on the site as well. (You do need to create an account to access these lessons, but it’s easy and free, and there is bunch of other cool digital citizenship stuff there too that you might be able to use!)
Copyright Kids – Copyrightkids.org, created by the Copyright Society of the USA, is a kid-friendly site that kids can use to explore basic information about copyright law. In the past, I have asked students to visit the site to learn some background info on copyright and then take the Copyright Challenge. I would love to see the site make some updates, since I haven’t noticed any changes in the 5+ years I have been using it, but overall there seems to be a lot of useful information that kids are able to understand.
Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright – This resource, available on the Library of Congress website, shares great info on copyright geared for children, including an interesting (well…interesting for geeks like me) timeline of the history of copyright.
Copyright Term and Public Domain in the United States – Cornell University – When your students already have a basic understanding of what “public domain” is, this chart by Cornell University’s Copyright Information Center can be used to help students determine whether works are part of the public domain.
CC0 image, courtesy of JaneMarySnyder on Pixabay
Teaching Copyright – TeachingCopyright.org is a project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and it provides teachers with five lesson plans and other resources that you can use to educate your students about copyright.
Creative Commons – Hit up CreativeCommons.org to give your students the basics on Creative Commons right from the source. I enjoy this flow chart available there that breaks down the different types of Creative Commons licenses.
Can I Use That? A Guide to Creative Commons – This resource by Gail Desler clarifies questions you and your students might have about use of images with Creative Commons licenses. It’s very thorough, and as you read it, you’ll find links to many other fantastic resources that will add to your understanding of copyright.
Finding Copyright-Friendly Photos for the Google Images Generation – This article by Kathy Schrock can be found in eSchool News, and it’s an awesome introduction to helping kids find photos to use in their school projects. It has a great overview of Creative Commons and also provides links to some sites that have free images that students can use in their schoolwork. (If you are still looking for more lessons and resources related to Creative Commons and copyright, Kathy Schrock has compiled a monster list of these types of resources on her website, Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything.)

I hope all those links will help you get started in the tricky task of teaching kids about copyright!

(By the way, the photos used in this post are thanks to the generous photographers out there who upload their photos with a CC0 mark onto pixabay.com – a website that just so happens to be another great place to visit when discussing copyright and Creative Commons!)

Ten Terrific Read Alouds for Kids in Kindergarten!

(Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links, so if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.)

I love kindergarten! It seems like every year, the kindergarten kids have the most enthusiasm and energy of any of the classes, AND they obviously win the “cute” award, so I always look forward to that library class. (It also doesn’t hurt that the fantastic kindergarten assistant visits the library with the class to help keep them in line!)

It is always very obvious which read aloud stories are hits with the kindergarteners and which books aren’t their favorites. Keeping twenty five-year-olds engaged during read aloud time can be a tall order…EXCEPT when I’m reading one of these books to them!

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas

We might as well start with this high energy book for your high energy students! The kids love this because A) it’s silly B) it’s cute and C) I let them jump around during the story. (How can you read the line, “Jump up and down on chicken’s sofa!” and make the kids stay still?)

Is Everyone Ready for Fun?

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

This one is fun, AND it’s a perfect start to a library behavior and etiquette lesson. After I read this story, we talk about shelf markers, and taking on the role of the pigeon, I ask the kids if I can do a bunch of things with my shelf marker that I clearly should not do. The kids, who are now used to responding “NO!” when the pigeon asks about driving the bus, continue to yell “NO!” after each of silly questions I ask about what I can do with my shelf marker. (Me: Should I pretend my shelf marker is a hat? Kids: NO! Me: Can I swing it around? Kids: NO! Me: Just ONE swing-er-oo? Kids: NO!) Soooo much fun!

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent

The kids will love this story about a caterpillar and a polliwog growing up and changing! This one is perfect for spring. (And…we’re finally getting there! Spring is in sight! Yay!)

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog

Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony

Here is another really cute story, and it emphasizes the importance of being polite and using manners. Last year’s kindergarten class voted it one of their most favorite read alouds! (If your students like this one, you could also try out a few other adorable stories about Mr. Panda, including I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda and Thank You, Mr. Panda.)

Please Mr Panda

SCHOOL PRODUCTS SUPER SALE! SAVE $10 OFF ANY ORDER OF $50 OR MORE! Plus Get Free Shipping On Orders

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett

This book is more fun than a barrel full of an undisclosed number of monkeys! It has interactive moments built right into the story, so it will keep your kids on the edge of their carpet squares.

Count The Monkeys

Leon the Chameleon by Melanie Watt

Here we have the story of little Leon the Chameleon, who always turns a different color from all the other chameleons (which makes him feel sad in the beginning of the story, but turns out to be a very good thing in the end). You can use this story as a springboard for talking about what it is like to feel different, and how our differences make us unique.

Leon the Chameleon

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

With Dr. Seuss’s birthday right around the corner, I had to include my favorite Dr. Seuss classic in this list of read alouds! It’s the best book ever written with fifty words or less!

Green Eggs and Ham

Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

As a school librarian, when I find a book that kids love AND it takes place in the library, I know I have a winner! Library Mouse is the story of a mouse who lives in a library and writes books at night, so it even inspires kids to become authors!

Library Mouse

A Pet for Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

My students enjoy the Fly Guy books we have in our library, and this one is my choice for the best read aloud in the bunch, mostly because it is larger than the others so everyone can see the pictures! The kids love this story of Fly Guy’s quest for a pet.

A Pet for Fly Guy

You Will Be My Friend! by Peter Brown

This is the story of one day when Lucille Beatrice Bear decides that she WILL make a new friend, right then and there. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t go well at first. This one inspires A LOT of giggling!

YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! (Starring Lucille Beatrice Bear, 2)

I hope my list gave you some new ideas that you can share with your students. What are your favorite books to read to kindergarten kids? Feel free to add some more suggestions in the comments!

Disclosure: The banner below is an affiliate link. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.

(More!) Freebies for Your School Library on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Happy New Year, everyone! If two of your New Year’s resolutions for 2018 are to save money and to treat your students to brand new resources in your school library, you definitely found the right place to start!

I wrote a post a few months ago with links to over 40 free downloads from Teachers Pay Teachers that can be used in the school library, and so far, it’s been the most visited post on my blog. I have been digging up more awesome free Teachers Pay Teachers products lately, and since we’re now almost halfway through the school year, I figured you guys might be ready for another list of fabulous freebies!

I tend to get a little enthusiastic when I go on my free download sprees…I apologize in advance if I seem a bit giddy. (But…ALL THIS STUFF IS FREE! FREE! FREE! IT COSTS NO MONEY!)

Are you ready to shop til you drop? (Or, in this case, point and click a lot of times?)

Parts of a Book / Text Features

This awesome product by Wife Teacher Mommy will help you teach your students about text features! It includes a great Venn diagram that will help kids understand the similarities and differences between a table of contents and an index!

I downloaded this freebie by Anderson Academics for my students when we were reviewing using a glossary. It includes a nonfiction article about bats complete with a little cute mini glossary, so it gave my students good practice working with an informational text and referring to the glossary as needed. Love it!

Fiction/Nonfiction

Here is a cute freebie by inourlibrary that you can use to help your students understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction!

Disclosure: The banner below is an affiliate link. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.

Shop Fat Brain Toys - A Smarter Way to Play!

Enjoy $5 Off Orders of $35 or More with Code OZ-8253

Reference Books

When it’s time to introduce different books in the reference section of your library, save time by using this already-made PowerPoint presentation by Jessi Olmsted!

And try this resource by Oak Roots and Arrows! It includes signs that explain each type of reference book!

Download this free worksheet by The Introvert Teacher to give your kids some practice with their dictionary skills!

And for more dictionary practice, how about a free dictionary packet by Struggling Learner Resources?!

Makerspace

Mrs. J in the Library has put together this fabulous product to help you get your students started using littleBits in your library makerspace!

Avoiding Plagiarism / Citing Sources

Here is a cool slide show game by Created for Learning to teach your students about plagiarism!

And this phenomenal guide to the MLA format by Presto Plans will help your students understand the right way to cite their sources!

Using a Card Catalog

Check out this product by The LibraryFox that will give your kids a chance to practice using their online card catalog!

And to give your students more practice with the card catalog, here’s a freebie by Library Princess!

Poetry

Get your school involved in Poem in Your Pocket Day with this free resource by More Than a Worksheet!

Library Decor

Is it time to add something new to those library walls? Just download, print, and hang these Dewey Decimal signs by Little Library of Learning!

Or this pack of reading-themed signs by Aylin Claahsen!

Or this cute library sign by Hello Literacy!

Or this library rules banner by Mister Librarian!

Or these signs by Staying Cool in the Library that encourage students to have a growth mindset!

Or this owl-themed reading sign by Kelly Benefield!

Or this “Reading is Thinking” banner by Sarah Barnett – Mrs. B First Grade!

Or these signs with inspirational quotes by ATBOT the Book Bug!

Or…all of them (because…they’re FREE!)

Extension Activities Designed for Specific Picture Books

If you read How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky with your students, download this free resource by The Library Patch!

This resource by Trina Deboree Teaching and Learning includes some terrific ideas and activities to go with Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems!

Every year, I read Read It, Don’t Eat It! by Ian Schoenherr with my first grade students, so I was thrilled to find this resource by The Librarian’s Literature Links that I can use with the kids this year!

This cute booklet by Staying Cool in the Library goes with the popular picture book Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman!

This sequencing activity by Little Miss Librarian is designed to be used with another great library read aloud: Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss!

This awesome freebie by Kathy Goosev Howell will knock your socks off! It has activities to go with not one, not two, not three, but SEVENTEEN picture books. Definitely something for everyone in this free product!

Seasonal/Holiday Activities

For Groundhog Day, your students can color these free bookmarks by Let’s Learn S’more!

Thanks to Sweetest Seconds in a Day, your students can practice their ABC order with this cute Valentine’s Day themed product!

And here are some fantastic Valentine’s Day themed bookmarks by Luv2Educate for your students to color!

This Valentine’s Day resource (by me!) will help your students practice differentiating between a fiction call number and a nonfiction call number!

Cover images by Krista Wallden and Kim’s Creations

For St. Patrick’s Day, More Than a Worksheet has a free research scavenger hunt for your students!

And ATBOT the Book Bug has some really fun St. Patrick’s Day bookmarks!

The unCommon Library has created a fun, free, fall-themed game for your library students to play – The Dewey Dash!

Little Library Learners’ pack of Thanksgiving-themed library resources is so cute! I didn’t discover this product until after Thanksgiving, but I will definitely have it on hand for next year!

Fun Stuff

It’s always great to have reading-themed coloring pages kicking around for those kids who finish their work quickly, and here’s a fantastic free set of coloring pages by Kathryn Garcia – Made for Learning.

And here are some superhero-themed bookmarks by A Sunny Day in First Grade for your students to decorate!

This product by Lake Loon Learning Resources consists of little signs that say things like, “Pick me! Pick me!” and “Read me. I’m great!” You can print them out and stick them next to books on your library shelf to get kids interested in them! Such a creative and fun idea!

And here we have a library-themed song by Debbie Clement – complete with the audio file and the lyrics! So cute!

Clip Art

I am so excited about this find! Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs has amazing free clip art sets to go with popular nursery rhymes, including a free Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe set, a free Hey Diddle Diddle set, and a free Baa Baa Black Sheep set. I can’t believe how adorable (and free!) they are!

I hope your library bag o’ tricks is overflowing with new stuff! 🙂

And next time that bag needs a little more replenishing, don’t forget to visit my store, and the Teachers Pay Teachers stores of all the other teacher-authors featured today, to stock up!

**Thank you so much to the Teachers Pay Teachers teacher-authors who gave me permission to include their free resources in this post! For more freebies, check out my other post about Freebies for your School Library, and don’t forget to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss the next one!**

Disclosure: The banner below is an affiliate link. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.

My Spectacular, World-Famous Fiction and Nonfiction Song!

Well hello! You’ve stopped by at a fabulous time because I am about to reveal my SPECTACULAR, WORLD-FAMOUS Fiction and Nonfiction Song!

(Please keep in mind that “spectacular” might be a tad bit generous, and that it is only “world-famous” because I am publishing it on this blog, right now, which could, in theory, be read by people living around the world.)

I sing this in my school library when it’s time to review the difference between fiction and nonfiction. I teach fiction and nonfiction in kindergarten library each year in December, so I borrowed the “Jingle Bells” tune when I wrote the lyrics for this little gem.

Ahem. Here we go!

Fun, right? (By the way, I did have to adjust the Jingle Bells melody a little to make it work, so “We” in lines 2 and 6 is a little grace note, and “don’t want them to end” and “love nonfiction too” pick up the “jingle all the way,” if that makes sense.)

Feel free to sing it in your classroom or library to help your students learn the difference between fiction and nonfiction!

(Sorry, but please DO NOT feel free to make a recording of it and/or turn this song into the top forty hit that it clearly has the potential to be. Hee hee.) 🙂

Disclosure: The banner below is an affiliate link. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.

Thankful for You!

Hi there! As we approach Thanksgiving (what?! just two more weeks?!?!), my list of things to be thankful for is even longer this year because I am so grateful for everyone who has visited my TpT store or my blog.

That includes you! 🙂

Blogging and TpTing are still new for me, but so far so great. I really enjoy writing these posts, creating teaching resources, and meeting new people along the way. It’s so surreal to check the stats and find out that people around the world have clicked over to check out this very blog!

Here’s an itty bitty token of my appreciation – a free teaching resource! I’m working on parts of a book with one of my library classes, so I made a Thanksgiving-themed printable worksheet about using an index.
Go ahead and grab a copy by clicking here!

I’m also sharing the gratitude love over at my Teachers Pay Teachers store by having a 15% off sale from now until November 12th. Feel free to check it out!

May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving (and always)! 🙂

Disclosure: The banner below is an affiliate link. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.

Boo! A Book Care Freebie for You!

Just a short post today to say “hi!” – and “BOO!” – and give away a free library printable!

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I could never have too many resources for teaching about proper library book care! In kindergarten and first grade, I pepper my year with lots of reminders about how to take care of a library book, so it’s great to have resources that will work at different times of the year. With Halloween right around the corner, I put this worksheet together for my first graders:

Click here to download it!

For an easy peasy library lesson, you could just read a spooky story, remind your students not to scare their librarian with bad book care choices, and put them to work on the worksheet during book checkout time. 🙂

Enjoy! 🙂