Celebrate National Library Week

National Library Week

If you have been a follower of this blog for any length of time, you are well aware of the importance I have placed on literacy- getting students to read, to enjoy reading and to get books in their hands.  Next week will provide you as classroom teachers another great opportunity to weave literacy in your lesson plans.  April 8-14 is National Library Week. It is one of the annual events sponsored by the American Library Association. (www. ala.org). With the use of the Internet and all that it has to offer, many students may believe that the library has become obsolete. There are numerous activities that you can use to demonstrate to your students the importance of the library and how valuable the librarian can be. The American Library Association has created a web site that will be helpful in the planning of activities. You can access it at www.atyourlibrary.org

There are many civic and education minded non- profits out there that have been established to aid in promoting literacy in schools and to encourage students to read. I had the opportunity have lunch with the founder and executive director of one such organization.  “K is for Kids Foundation Inc.” was established in Southwest Florida by Mrs. Karen Clawson to encourage today’s readers. The organization seeks to obtain donations of books as well as funds to purchase books and give these books to school students. Clawson calls her events “fun raisers” and in a short period of time her organizations has been quite successful getting books into the hands of school children. The program has a teen advisory council and the organization has been successful in obtaining a donation of bookshelves from Target. Aside from individual donations, thousands of books have been donated by Book Warehouse. So far books have been donated to 19 schools that serve over 15,000 students.

A similar program was recently initiated in North Carolina. Book Harvest is a nonprofit organization that placed news and gently used books in places easily accessible to children. They include, school, after school programs, Head Start program, health clinic waiting rooms, etc. (you   get the picture.) To date this organization has provided over 45,000 books to children in North Carolina. For more information, check out their web site at http://www.bookharvestnc.org/contact_us

The Harvest Book Company in Suburban Philadelphia is a huge buyer of second hand books. They often donate books they cannot sell to area charitable organizations. For more information you can contact them at webservice@harvestbooks.com

More tips for getting kids to love reading. It starts at home!

http://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/reading.htm

This site has free printable book logs and reading charts for parents to help motivate children to read.
There is also an excellent list of tips for activities to do at home. From the methodical to the zany it is crucial for everyone, parents, siblings, teachers, librarians, civic organizations and the government to encourage young people to read.

Don’t forget to thank your librarian both in school and at your local public library.

READ!!!!

National Library Week

Celebrate National Library Week April 10-16, 2011

B.O.O.K (Body of Organized Knowledge)

When we think of a library we usually think of books. But today’s libraries offer so much more. Students can gain access to the Internet what will open up infinite possibilities to explore and obtain information, much more than any school library could ever hope to hold.  Libraries often subscribe to periodicals when students can read about other points of view, see pictures of people and places from around the globe.

National Library Week, sponsored nationally by the American Library Association, is a great opportunity to arrange for a class trip to your school library or your community library. It is adventure when students can read the great classics (Mark Twain, Shakespeare) or read about the latest interest sites and games. Perhaps they can obtain a CD that will help them learn a new language. Books can expand the horizons of students, challenge their intellectual capabilities.

Students can also get an opportunity to learn what a fantastic resource a librarian can.  She or he is not just a resource for the sources for your next term paper or book report.

Suggested Activities:

§  Great opportunity for a Read- A- Thon.

§  Have students dress up as their favorite literary character.

§   Hold library trivia contest.

§  Scavenger hunt (Who can find the oldest book in the library, the most books by one author).

§  Invite a local author to speak about their work and what it takes to write a book.

§  Have students “write and publish” a book and donate it to the library.

Libraries are in integral part of any school’s curriculum and community libraries should be a focal point of a town. They can provide outreach services such as assistance with a career search, getting into college, and tax preparation information.

Get involved! Happy National Library Week!