Language Lounge- Lunar New Year

 I don't know about you- but when I can find resources that are pretty much done- I am grabbing them!

Also- don't let my blogs/videos fool you.. if you know anything about High School- you know that the spring semester there is testing.. and some testing.. and some testing.. and oh yeah there is TESTING.  There is also lots of testing that happens in the library.  I am having to get creative in how I collaborate and work with teachers.

I posted about Language Lounge HERE-----> for Celebrating Friendship

Next up- Lunar New Year- My amazing friend Kathleen (she is a wealth of information) had curated all of the information- I just put it into a Canva Slide that matched my other items.

I did this with our LIFE Class (learning in a functional environment) today- and they loved it!

Couple of things:
-for the LIFE class I only did the listening and reading
-I did the reading piece as a whole group
-The listening piece the students worked in groups of 4 or 5 to complete

For this one:

Listening- Watch The Great Zodiac Race- and then retell the story using worksheet (I had these already cut apart and put in ziploc bags) I also had two different options- one with less words (I do plan to laminate these.. but haven't gotten that far yet)

Reading- Followed directions to create their own Chinese Lantern

Writing- Writing a story about their own family traditions

Speaking- Reading the story they had written about their family tradition using Adobe Spark

Share Lunar New Year by akbusybee

You can find the TEMPLATE HERE-------> LUNAR NEW YEAR TEMPLATE

Share Lunar New Year worksheets by akbusybee

TEMPLATE FOR LUNAR NEW YEAR WORKSHEETS-----> HERE 

Next up in the Library is World Read Aloud Day.

Library Shelfie Day

 Every year on the fourth Wednesday of January- Library Shelfie Day is celebrated.

If you are reading this blog the day I wrote it- you realize that it is actually a Thursday.

Our school district had been closed for the past 3 days due to terrible road conditions from the ice and the snow.  BUT.. I still want to celebrate- so we are celebrating today!

Of course taking a picture in the shelves is fun- but I also work with high schoolers so they need a little more incentives to make their way down to the library on their own.

So today I am inviting students and staff to:
-Stop by the library for a shelfie- students can't have their phones- so I have a poloroid that they can then take the photo with them
-If students and staff take the picture AND check out a book they can roll the dice for a prize!

Prizes include that were free
-free book
-jeans pass (for staff)
-buttons- I have collected these over the years
-bookmark- something else I have collected over the years

Prizes that were cost:
-stickers- but I have been collecting these.. AND I had lots of awesome people donate these at the beginning of the year
-poloroid film
-croc charms
-snacks (but I always find good deals!)
-Sonic drink for staff- but I also use the app and coupons

I plan to use this roll the dice in the future as it was SUPER easy to set up.  Anytime I can get staff and students into the library is a good day!

CANVA TEMPLATE for rolling the dice----->HERE

Share of Shelfie Day by akbusybee

Language Lounge

I am currently on day 4 of staying in the house due to the weather outside being extremely cold and the roads being terrible.  Crossing fingers that we get to head back to school tomorrow- but we will see what the forecast holds.  I know I have friends from all over that laugh at us Texans when bad weather hits.. but our roads and houses are not built for this (those bridges and overpasses get scary!)

I haven't blogged as much- but I post almost daily on various social media platforms with Adventures in Library Land- The items that I mention in this video you can find below with Teamplate Links

I am getting caught up on all the things (I did actually rest for 3 days.. but now my body says I need to get things done)

First- tomorrow- January 28th is Library Shelfie Day- I am offering prizes for both students and staff that come in, take a picture and check out a book.

But- this blog is all about our new Language Lounge that secondary librarians are beginning.  In 2024 I was able to see a great presentation that librarians in San Antonio were doing called the Telpas Cafe- this supported students that would be taking the TELPAS test. I loved the idea, but didn't know where to start.  At our last two PLCs with our district librarians we have learned from Mesquite how they did this and got some great hands-on experiences.  We are now working on our own and calling them the Language Lounge.

The TELPAS covers Listening, Speaking, Writing and Reading.  I will share what I create (and I know they will change over time.

Couple of Notes:

*I am creating these for high school students that are ESL or ESOL- but this would be greart for anyone

*This will be done in stations of no more than 4 to a group

*Stations will last 15-20 minutes

The first one I am doing is called 

Celebrating Friendship

Listening- we are reading a Crankstein Valentine by Samantha Berger- and then students will complete a cause and effect activity

Speaking-Students will use Adobe Express to Animate a Character and will read what they wrote for their Valentine Card.

Reading-students will follow the directions to create their own Valentine garland.

Writing- students will create a Valentine card.  We work with our local Keep Irving Beautiful and one of the projects they do is to have cards donated and then they pass out to our local nursing homes. 

You can find my Canva TEMPLATE for presentation HERE------->

Sharing Celebrating Friendship Language Lounge by akbusybee

Worksheets to go along with the Celebrating Friendship Template-------->HERE

Share Celebrating Friendship Writing/Reading by akbusybee

Are you doing something like this?

World Read Aloud Day is coming up- and I am SO excited!! I am doing activities on campus- but the pool that I also work at is doing a Splash of Stories event that night as well!