Book Creator for Teacher Librarians

Mira Campbell

Mira is an Elementary Teacher-Librarian and Special Education Teacher at FH Miller Jr. PS in Toronto. She has 15 years of experience as an Educator. Mira loves being a Book Creator Ambassador and Digital Lead Mentor with the Toronto District School Board.

Mira is passionate about using technology and trying new ideas with her students! She hopes they see her as a teacher who takes risks and that it encourages them to do the same! She loves how technology enables her to support all students, gives them a choice in how they demonstrate their learning and allows them to connect and share ideas globally. Book Creator is the perfect tool to achieve all of that!

For more library projects, you can follow Mira on Twitter @CampbellMira

Meet the author

Contents

Inspiration . . . . . . .

Collaboration . . . . . .

Choice & Voice . . . . .

Bring to Life . . . . . .

Feedback & Reflection . . . .

Authentic & Global Audience .

Resources . . . . . . . . . .

Project Overviews . . . . . .

11

18

36

46

54

62

72

80

Don't forget to tag @BookCreatorApp and @CampbellMira on Twitter with your projects!

The Heart of the School

The Library Learning Commons (LLC) is an exciting place to be and often called “The Heart of the School.” As educators, we need to deliver a variety of content to groups of learners with different needs and learning styles, while also engaging and motivating them to achieve their best. The goal is to make the LLC a place students want to be!

Teacher-Librarians (TL’s) are instructional leaders whose role encompasses much more than signing out books. We support the school and the community in a variety of ways including co-teaching, arranging author visits, resource selection, technology integration, professional development, school-wide initiatives, hosting parent nights and more! Library Partnership time is when a Teacher-Librarian and Classroom Teacher collaborate and co-teach. It is an incredibly valuable and rewarding experience for both the students and the teachers. Through this we have done many multidisciplinary library projects over the years that include drama, art, creative writing, media literacy, math, science, coding and even an escape challenge! We have transformed the library into a Book Café and hosted many book fairs! By doing so, we maximize the short period of time we have with students in the LLC.

TL’s are always looking for tools that are versatile, can be used for any subject or grade and can support a diverse range of learners. My go-to tool is Book Creator. From the first time I used it, I instantly loved it! Over the years all of our best projects have incorporated Book Creator. It’s extraordinary to watch how students begin with a blank page and very quickly you see their personality, imagination and creativity emerge. Book Creator has evolved over the years to meet the needs of schools. Input from teachers and students always drives these changes. Throughout this book you will see all the creative ways our students have used Book Creator and really pushed the limits of what it can do! I hope it inspires you and gives you new ideas to try with your students!

Introduction

Potential

Challenges

Teacher-Librarians and classroom teachers each bring their own expertise and experience to Library Partnership time. This type of collaboration can be very powerful and extend a student’s learning when it is successful. However, there can be some challenges.

TLs need to be able to deliver a variety of content, across the grades, to groups of learners with different needs and learning styles. We want to engage and motivate them to achieve their best so that the LLC becomes an exciting place students want to be!

In the library, we often have limited time with the students which can make it more challenging to complete projects and to build relationships. It's helpful to find ways to extend the learning back into the classroom.

It can also be challenging to plan rich learning experiences with the classroom teacher during a busy school day. Sometimes, we need to get creative and think differently about what collaboration looks like. It doesn't have to be side-by-side planning at school. Collaboration can be done asynchronously through a shared document.

Above all, for the teacher partnership to be meaningful and successful, it is very important to have mutual respect and to honour each others’ strengths and experiences, just as we do for our students.

ROAR!!

Introduction

How to measure

success

in the LLC

There are several ways to measure success beyond the curriculum expectations. Teacher-Librarians strive to make the library a place that students are excited to be and to learn. Student engagement is critical for learning and success.

Student Engagement

Honour students’ experiences & voices

Multidisciplinary project with deep learning

All students feel successful and complete part or all of the project

Positive response from school community & beyond

Introduction

FH Miller Book Café