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Reflections from A Middle School Librarian
Time for the promised TARDIS card tutorial! As an added bonus this tutorial shows you my method of making standard card blanks. This is the first tutorial I have made, so if you have any feedback do let me know so future tutorials might be improved... In order to avoid sounding like a broken record I'll let you know right here that you need to be quite precise here. It'll really show in the results. On with the tutorial - Allons-y! These are the tools used. With one exception - the glue marker. How I could forget such a useful object is beyond me. Tools and materials: TARDIS blue cardstock - A4 or 12" square Black cardstock - scrap is OK White cardstock - scrap is OK White printer paper Self-healing cutting mat Clear quilting ruler Metal ruler Rotary cutter Craft knife Bone folder Glue stick Glue marker Glue tape Fine silver paint or gel pen Black fineliner - 0.1 Pencil The first step is to make the card blank. Start by cutting an 8"x6" piece of TARDIS blue card. Keep the scraps, you'll need them later. The best way to make the larger cuts is with a quilting ruler and rotary cutter. The cuts are kept straight and it's very easy to line things up precisely (don't use a craft knife with a quilting ruler, you'll kill the ruler). Using the bone folder, score a line at the 4" mark on the long side. If the paper is textured, score on the side that will be the inside. Fold along the line and, with the card folded, run the flat of the folder along the crease to sharpen it. Cut the top inch from the side that will become the front cover, and prepare for one of the trickier sections. Keeping in mind you will need to erase later, rule a pencil line one inch from the top in line with the previous cut(not shown in the picture). Measuring up from here rule a line at 3/8", 1/8" and 1/8". This should leave 3/8" at the top. As per the lower left section of the picture above, n the lowest ruled section draw vertical lines 1/4" from each side. In the next section draw lines 1/2" from each side. In the top section draw lines around a 1/4" section at the centre. Join this to the tier below with a diagonal line. Cut around this outline using a metal ruler and craft knife. You may find it easiest to cut small sections away. Erase the remaining pencil lines. Cut a section of black cardboard 1/4"x3.5", or slightly shorter if you prefer (see right side pictures). Write on the card with a silver paint or gel pen as shown. Stick in place with glue stick or marker. Cut a 1/4" square of white card. Stick to form the light at the top of the card. That's the top section complete! Next, on to the front. Cut four 1.5" squares, four in blue, two in white. Cut a blue strip 1/8" wide and at least 4.5" long. Don't worry if it curves a bit, that's fairly unavoidable. Cut it into three 1.5" sections. Using a glue marker, stick the strips on to form a window pattern. On the front flap of the card, stick the blue and white squares. They should be 1/4" from the edge of the card and 1/8" from the top, bottom and other squares. You can use any kind of paper glue here, but glue tape doesn't have a drying time so you can continue on without fear of shifting things. Repeat for the other side. Cut a piece of white card or printer paper 1"x3/4" and write on it with a fineliner as shown. Glue it to the centre left panel. While you're at it, why not add a silver doorknob? Congratulations! The front is complete. The rest should, by comparison, be very easy. The pop-up that will form the inside is a map fold. There's a great tutorial for it on this website (link replaced Feb 2015) which I doubt I can improve on. Use an 8"x8" square. The tutorial uses a rectangle, but squares are fine. If you put it in your card you'll likely find it's marginally large. No worries! Cut off 1/8" and get the added bonus of an extremely tidy visible end. Use glue tape on one side and stick the folded paper in with the centre line 2.5" from the bottom. Be sure to get the point right into the fold of the paper. Put glue tape onto the other side, press the card firmly shut, then re-open... Ta-da! It's bigger on the inside! With Adelaide's famous Christmas Pageant on tomorrow and as I'm also preparing a lot of work for a stall I'll have at St John's Anglican Church Christmas Fair (Friday 16th November, 6p.m., Church Gardens at 379 Halifax Street, Adelaide) I'm in a very Christmassy frame of mind. I twisted together sparkly pipe cleaners and made a wreath to make a Christmas TARDIS. That concludes my first tutorial! I hope you liked it - I expect I'll make more in future. If you use this tutorial, either as-is or with modifications, I'd love to see what you do! Please do not use this to produce items for sale. Do, however, feel free to share the tutorial further. By all means use the first or last image as a link, but please link to this blog for the rest of the tutorial. P.S. The link marked as replaced in 2015 was changed as the original site was now just throwing particularly dubious looking ads. Sorry about that, and hopefully the replacement will stay... if it should fail again, search 'map fold tutorial', there are quite a few about - Heather
50+ "non-traditional" careers for library science grads, from research and information management to web design and nonprofit work.
Think you can’t take the librarian out of the library? You’d be wrong! Read on for eight kinds of opportunities for online librarian jobs!
This is the ultimate paper boxes craft which is great for kids of all ages. We are starting with sheets of colorful paper, learning how to make a paper
For the past five years, I have been slowly improving and managing the “Grammar House Cup”, our Harry Potter-themed, inter-homeroom competition. (More on that later. But come on… if YOU had exactly four homerooms in your middle school, wouldn’t you do this, too?) And for all five years of the “GHC”, I wished I could find a way to play Quidditch. But for a while, I couldn’t figure out how to do it WELL with the limited space of the classroom (and while engaging ALL the students instead of just some). This past May, I finally figured it out and beta tested it with all of my 7th and 8th graders. I got the supplies from the gym teacher, grabbed my recess whistle, and took students outside. (This activity was actually part of our final exam review!) There are a zillion ways to adapt this game. Feel free to modify the instructions below to YOUR grade level, subject area, or course content. (This doesn’t HAVE to be about grammar!) Why play "quidditch"? Low prep on the teacher's part (aside from maybe finding the hula hoops and dodgeballs) Students get to be active (and review concepts at the same time) Both athletic and non-athletic students have a place in the game What you’ll need: A large space (outside, a gymnasium, etc.) 6 hula hoops 2 dodgeballs (or similar) A premade list of questions you will ask students 1 yellow, gold, or orange Easter egg (or container) 1 harder question, written on a slip of paper Optional, but suggested: a whistle or attention-getter Optional, but suggested: 2 small dry erase boards and markers (1 set for each team) Sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses for yourself, especially if you’ll be outside for several class periods in a row. (Trust me. I got my worst sunburn of the year on Quidditch day!) Students need: Totally optional: pen and paper to take notes on the questions you ask, especially for the teams of students on the sidelines. Student Players/Roles: 6 Hula-hoop-holders (students became the moving goal posts) 2+ Keepers, at least 1 defending each set of 3 goals 3+ players per team on the field; they start in the center of the field, backs to each other, facing the goal they want to score on. 2 Seekers, 1 per team Everyone else is divided into 2 teams; they sit on the sidelines, answer my grammar questions, and yell strategy to their on-field teammates. (NOTE: I divided the two teams. However, once in teams, students were happiest when I let them decide who would be in what position, AND I gave them the option to “sub out” and change roles at the halfway point, in case someone want to enter or exit field play.) Setup: Prep the Golden Snitch. Remember that gold Easter egg? Take the slip of paper with a hard question on it, tuck it in the egg, and hide it in your space when students can't see you. (Or, send a trustworthy student to hide it.) Explain the game to students. Drawing a diagram helps. Make your explanation quick so they can spend time assigning players to roles and getting outside. It's a little chaotic the first few minutes, but after one “turn” of grammar-question-and-gameplay, they got it. How to Play: First, get everyone into position. This is honestly the only hard part! Moving excited students is like herding cats! Ask a grammar question from your list, loudly enough that everyone can hear. (See my example list below.) The teams on the sidelines huddle and come up with their answer. On-field students are allowed to help IF they're willing to risk the other team hearing. (I suggest a time limit. Also, it's up to you if you accept the FIRST correct answer, or if you let both teams “win” the round just by producing the right answer.) The team(s) with the right answer gets to move players on the field. The 3+ students in the middle ALL get to take ONE giant leap forward (think long-jump without the running start). Wherever they land, they must stay until the next correct answer, when they can take another leap toward their goal. This is where the strategy comes in. When one field player is close enough to one of the three goal hoops that he thinks he can make the shot, his teammates can give him their one dodgeball, and he can attempt to throw it through the hula hoop, being held by a goal post student from the same team. The hoop holders can move their arms, but not their feet, to help; the opposing team’s keeper tries to block the shot. Once a shot has been attempted, all field players of that team have to “reset” back to the middle of the field and start over, trying to advance toward their hoops. (Thus, there's some risk involved in attempting a shot). To be honest, most of my students DID make their attempted shots, but it was fun for them to get points. If you want to make it harder for them to make the shot, there are many ways to do that (like spreading out the distance of the field more). Game play continues until we run out of time. The team with the highest points wins. Meanwhile, the golden snitch! As soon as I ask the first question, the two seekers run off to start looking for the hidden golden snitch. (Yes, I gave them a boundary line to stay within.) When a seeker finds it, that seeker must come back to me and attempt to answer the question that is hidden inside. A right answer gets them additional points for their team; a wrong answer gets zero. Once the snitch has been found, I made all students stop, sit in place, cover their eyes, and badly sing obnoxious songs (like the ABCs or the HP theme song) while a trusted student went and hid the Snitch again. Repeat the process, using the same seekers OR new ones that the team chose to swap out. Other Pro Tips: Bring a camera, or get a student on the yearbook staff to bring one! This can get pretty funny. Use choral response to get all students across the field to repeat the correct answers back to you. This is one way to ensure students are still listening, participating, and learning. Encourage kids to strategize which students are in particular roles on the field, based on their strengths. Sample questions I asked: What does AAAWWUBBIS stand for? What are the three kinds of verbals? What's the difference between active and passive voice? Explain why Mrs. H wants to Hulk-smash things when students write “should of”. Give me a correct example of a complex sentence, including punctuation. Give me a correct example of parallel structure. What is a predicate? What is a participle? Sing a prepositional phrase used in a song. Trick question: how many Harry Potter books are there? (As you can see, I occasionally got off-topic, ha!) About the Grammar House Cup Read more about the GHC in this blog post. ALL of the grammar lessons, game boards, quizzes, and tests in my Grammar House Cup program can be found here. Do you have suggestions or ideas? I would love to hear them in the comments!
Get creative with Post it Notes! We love all these fun Post it Note ideas: Post It Notes are wonderful - how did we ever live without them? You can write a note and stick it anywhere for yourself or someone else to find. We are wowed by some of these amazing and creative ways to use a simple sticky note! Check out all the cool ideas below for all sorts of brilliant post it note DIY ideas. 1. Post it Note Party Decor | Angus Fergusson 2. Post It Calendar | Giddy Giddy 3. DIY Post It Note printed message | Studio DIY
Procedures, routines, printables, anchor chart examples, and mentor texts to support reading independence while launching reading workshop.
About The Project I was commission by Playaway Preloaded Product s to do a live art installation at the 2018 American Library Association Annual Conference . This conference is a hub for passionate librarians and educators that are advocates for literacy and impacting lives. The event
So this is a summer program we’ve been hosting for 5 years now. I’ve always saved this one for the week of 4th of July–the idea being I don’t put too much work into this on…
#Happiest When I'm Reading Shirt, Book Shirt, Book Lover Tee, Book T-Shirt, Funny Reading Shirt, Book Tshirt, Librarian Gifts, Comfort Colors Welcome to our shop! Discover the perfect blend of comfort and style with our premium Comfort Colors 1717 t-shirts. Ideal for everyday wear, our tees are made with high-quality fabric that gets softer with each wash. 🌟 Product Details: - Brand: Comfort Colors - Style: Unisex 1717 T-Shirt - Material: 100% ring-spun cotton (soft-washed garment-dyed fabric) - Available Sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL (see sizing chart in product images) ✨ How to order: Choose your preferred shirt size and color. Specify the number of shirts you want, then click "Add to Cart." Proceed to place your order. At checkout, include any extra details in the "Note to Seller" section. If you forget, no worries—just send me a message on Etsy after completing your order. 🎨 Printing Method: Our t-shirts are printed using Direct-to-Garment (DTG) technology. This method ensures: - Vibrant Colors: Bright and durable prints that won't fade. - Soft Feel: The design is printed directly onto the fabric, maintaining the shirt's softness. - Eco-Friendly: Uses water-based inks that are safe for the environment. 🧼 Care Instructions: To keep your Comfort Colors t-shirt looking great: 1. Machine wash inside out with cold water. 2. Tumble dry on low heat or hang to dry. 3. Do not use bleach or fabric softeners. 4. Avoid ironing directly on the print. ##Processing is 2–3 days. First Class Shipping is 5-6 business days (after processing time). ##RETURN POLICY *I DO NOT ACCEPT exchanges *Cancellations are accepted if the order has not been shipped or printed. #Please contact me with any questions or issues.
Practice numbers and counting with this adorable Free Printable Counting Fireflies Activity. You're definitely not going to want to miss this engaging and hands-on preschool math activity. Grab yours today! I'm so excited to share
EEEK! We started opinion writing last week…only my favorite writing genre to teach! I’ve got my favorite mentor texts ready to go, and even found a few new books I can’t wait to use! Throughout this post, you’ll find Amazon Affiliate links. This means I receive a small commission if you purchase something through that ... Read more
free LDS clip art and illustrations
Fill in your info below to get the 5 minute storytelling scripts There are 6 pre-written scripts to use and share!
Are your students working on a research project or essay? Help them learn the steps to research and inquiry.
I'm DONE!!!! My report cards are DONE!!!! Now, just to get through the next 9 days :-) We've got a little ice cream theme going on because I've sort of promised my students an ice cream party next week. If you saw my post last week you know that we have been working on choosing between addition and subtraction. My students are getting better and enjoyed the strawberry math station, but it was time for a new one. So, here's what I came up with... Students roll 2 dice then decide if they want to add or subtract the two numbers to get a number. Then they cover the number on their card and take turns with their partner. As you can see, I have included 3 "I can..." cards. One is in color and the other 2 are black and white. I LOVE using colored pages, but the option to print in black and white is nice too especially on colored paper :). Why 2 black and white "I can.." cards you ask? I added one to give the option to color the ice cream scoop rather than cover. I'm using both this color and black and white this week. I've got a class set of black and white ones copied to introduce the game and play in small groups as a whole class and a colored version in a math station drawer. Now for a little freebie... I thought I would use this as a little assessment page. Who knows maybe I'll need to change a comment or two on those report cards. Let's hope not!!!! You can pick up a free copy by clicking on the picture. Enjoy! If you're like me, you LOVE freebies. You can find many more by heading over to Manic Monday. If you are working on this skill and would like a copy it is available in my TPT store. As usual, I'll send a copy to the first two followers who comment on this post. Don't forget your email :)
School library events can help you make your library the center of your school. Read these five reasons for planning events for your school library.
Ah! Does anyone else get excited when the ALA announces the Newberry and Caldecott winners each year? I do! I've never participated in a Mock Caldecott or anything mainly because I'd just rather read the winner or winners--depending on how busy my book situation is ha! You can get a copy here! Here's the rundown on this years book: Jordan, a smart kid with crazy artistic talent, his going to be the new kid at a fancy private school. Yikes! It's always hard being the new kid. He is paired up with a friend to show him around and during his first day finds himself with Andy, not the nicest kid in school. Because he is quick on his feet, Jordan finds a nice friend group. Now while this is a surface skim summary, Jordan and his friend ___ struggle with the fact that teachers can never remember their names and assume their athletic abilities based on their skin color. There are in's and out's and up's and down's but the book portrays what it's like to be a regular African American kid in a rich white school. This year's Newberry Award Winner is New Kid by Jerry Craft and every page of this book eye catching and awesome! It is definitely worth reading. I am so glad that they chose this graphic novel (!!! what! what!) and I love the story. The main things that I love about this book is that they are 1. SO FUNNY--so of course you are going to keep reading 2. Relatable--Jordan (the main character goes through so many 3. SO much DISCUSSION--this book is jam packed with things that need to be discussed in today's classrooms. I also spotted this at the book fair--so keep your eye out for New Kid--it's completely worth it and your students will love reading this Newberry book!
In my AASL Knowledge Quest post, I take a look at how to transform your library space, even if you have a tight budget. There's lots of tips and advice.
As we approach Winter Break, I realized I haven't written many blog articles lately. I moved to a new city and started in a new-to-me library this year. I've been too busy to do much blog writing beyond my infamous New Releases posts and a couple of random book reviews. I'm about 10 book reviews behind, and they may never get written at this point. It's been an exhausting few months, but Winter Break looms large and lovely on the horizon...only one more week to go!
A free printable set of ocean animal cards to compare and sort the creatures from the book I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean and bonus memory game to download and play at home with your kids.
As educators, and especially as educators of children with disabilties, it's my humble opinion that our most important role is to preserve the dignity of our students. Of course, we must teach them, but first
Alright, guys. This is the big one. The biggest party program I planned during my time as a teen librarian. I was so happy to be able to pull this off (with great success!) before leaving my job…
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Comme je n'arrive pas à trouver un angle d'attaque pour le post sur les bibliothèques hollandaises je me suis dit que j'allais f...
