Procedures and Routines.....CRITICAL!

Know What You Want Them To Know!

In previous posts, I have mentioned routines and procedures. Even if your year has already begun, know what routines and procedures are non-negotiables for you. What MUST your students do EVERY TIME  (well, most every time) to make your library run as smoothly as possible? Mine were:

• How they entered. In one school there was an open checkout entrance/exit and a class entrance/exit (I labeled the doors so they could easily see which door they should use). What they did with their books, Where they sat/lined up.

Class Door Sign        Open Checkout Door Sign     

• How they exited. Leaving the area neater than they found it (clean up). Where they lined up to wait for their teacher. 
• How they checked out books. Check in and checkout procedures. All of my libraries had a check in station with a computer and a checkout station. Sometimes they were both on the circulation desk, sometimes not. Open checkout and class times sometimes had different steps depending on the library set up. 

Make sure you take the first few weeks and really focus on routines and procedures. Be the model for them on what you want them to do. What does it look like and sound like when they do something? When my classes lined up, I would say, "Straight as an arrow. Quiet as a butterfly. Hug your books to your chest like a treasure." Stand how you want them to stand, so they know what you expect. Point out students who are modeling the behavior you want to see them doing.

At the beginning of the year, after I knew my class schedule, I would set alarms on my phone to ring 3 minutes before the end of the class time, to allow us time to clean up and line up. This kept me on schedule and it let the teachers know I would have their class ready to go. If they were late it was on them, but if I was behind, it was on me. In this day and time of the :03 class schedules (i.e.: Lunch at 10:03), I felt is was more important to end class a bit early, teach the routines, let them get used to the alarm sound and begin cleaning on their own, than to take my class to the last scheduled minute. A few months in, when I saw the classes cleaning up faster, I would change the time to 2 minutes before the end of the class time. Of course, this means I hear up to 10 alarms in one day (which makes you feel a little like Pavlov's dogs), but it is well worth it when the kids respond to the alarms on their own and know what to do! This is a copy of one of my favorite schedules:

One reason my procedures were successful was because the media center was organized and everything had a place. It wasn't always immaculate, but kids saw the library organized and learned to respect and expect it to be that way.

Example: Books kids checked in had a special cart, labeled (to understand why these are the labels I have, see previous blogs about library organization, shelves and collection) and near the check in computer. 

Check In Cart Labels

**I didn't realize I did not have a picture of the check in cart with my labels! UGH!! Sorry.
This is where they go from Top Left to Right: K level books, Level 1 books, Series books
Bottom Left to Right: Fiction Picture books, Chapter Books, Non-fiction books

My table area always has baskets for each table with the materials needed for the activity they may do for the lessons I teach that week. Sometimes, if no materials were needed, I would remove the baskets to prevent the opportunities for off-task behavior, mess or destruction of materials. I tried to have out only what was needed for the week. 

Consistency and practice of your routines and procedures will make your year run much more smoothly. At first, you might feel like giving up or it is like being in the movie "Groundhog Day" from repeating yourself so much, but it is SO WORTH IT!! Believe it or not, the children come to expect and respect your routines and procedures and when new students enter, they learn them quickly from the other students! 

Take some time, get to know what you want and expect your library to look like and sound like. Put those procedures and routines in place. You will be so glad you did! 

First Week....Nervous??

Starting with an Apology

So, I looked back at my last post and realized I did not tell you about TWO important parts of my planning!!! YIKES!! I am SO SORRY!

First, here is the link I use to create my yearly planning. It is a plan....I do not follow it exactly. I teach what I need to teach when it fits my schedule. This is just a guide I use as a checks and balance system to be sure I have taught all the skills I should have taught. It stays in my lesson plan book so it will remind me to look at it every now and then to keep on track.

Yearly Elementary Curriculum Map

The second item I forgot to show you was an actual lesson plan. *Samples at the end of this post.

One thing I incorporate into my lesson plans is called "The Wiggles". At the Primary (especially) and Elementary levels, it is important to give the kids an opportunity to "get it all out" so they can focus on the story and lesson. This way, you can say, "You all had a chance to get your wiggles out, now it is time to be still." I use reading parody songs, Go Noodle and other learning songs to have them get their wiggles out. Here are some examples of some I have used the first week of school:

All About Those Books

Usher's ABC's

Trolls - Can't Stop the Feeling

If you plan your time right, they will not be sitting still for long. Giving them time to wiggle also gives you a few moments to get organized before the lesson begins. Many media specialists do not have a lot of time between classes, so this will afford you a bit of time to get things ready to roll.

**The first week, you will have to do the wiggles with them to show them what it looks like and what it sounds like. 

This way, as the year goes on, you will be afforded those precious minutes. 

Spend most of your first media class time showing them procedures:

-Where to come in

-Where to sit

-How to sit

-Introductions 

-How to leave the table area

-How to line up to leave

-Where to line up to leave

*In one of the previous posts, we discussed having a set plan in place for traffic flow. You need an easily identifiable place to come in, sit down and line up. It makes transition time run MUCH SMOOTHER!

This Clifford poster was a designated spot where classes lined up to leave. It wasn't near a doorway, there was room for other classes coming through or open checkout kids to get around. 

In one school, I had risers where the kids sat during story time. After the story, we would move to a table area to work on an activity and checkout books. The kids "earned" the right to sit on the top riser.This made it more special and safer. Plus, it motivated them to earn their way to the top!

Here is a sample of my first week's media lesson plans:

Here is the book used in the lesson plans below.

It is always good to have a plan. Some of you may not need to write as much as I did. My district wanted lesson plans just like the classroom teachers. Even if you aren't required to have lesson plans, at least use a monthly/yearly outline to keep yourself on track. 

HAPPY PLANNING AND 

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

Lessons Plans.....The love/hate relationship!

I couldn't have said it better than Rick Riordan! Even though we are not in a "classroom" setting (although my libraries - all 4 of them - have had a classroom setting within them), librarians should plan their time wisely. Especially in this day of schedules on the :03's and sometimes over 9 classes per day, we need a plan!!

Where to begin.....

Having a GREAT lesson plan template is where I found my "happy place" when it came to creating lesson plans. There may be others out there, but https://www.commoncurriculum.com  has been my "go-to" lesson plan template and lesson plan book for years now. What sold me on this website was the drop down standards menus for each state, content area and grade level! It made lesson planning SO MUCH EASIER!! Plus, you could share templates and lessons with others and you can go back and look at past lessons without having to keep dusty three-ring binders lying around and taking up precious space! This site is also FREE, which makes it all the sweeter to use! 

Once you have your account set up, then you will want to set up your template how you want your classes to work.                           I color coded my grade levels and set it up with what the district/school required me to have in the template. (left)         To me, "Learning Goal" and "I CAN" statements are very similar, however, my district required them both.                              The magnifier under standards is where you can find the drop down menu for the standards list. 😊

 Most of the time, your administration will tell you when you have to begin seeing students. I did not do my "Rules" lesson until I knew I would see all the students in a week. This way I knew all the classes had been through the introduction. Take into account how long your classes are before creating your plans. You ALWAYS want to have time to read aloud! It is a good idea to hold off on checking out books until the second week of classes. This way it gives a chance for the classes to be more settled. Plus it gives you time to get your materials ready for checkout. 

                                                                                                   If we started on a Thursday or Friday, I would have the kids create a word wall about the library. With Kindergartners and first graders (sometimes Pre-K) I would write the words the students gave me, but second graders would work together in pairs to come up with words. One year, I took the words they gave me and made a word cloud bulletin board and another year I had t-shirts made for my clerk and me. Then I would read a story about the library (of course). Here are a few samples of short stories for the first few days. You can also let them draw pictures of what they think of when they hear the word library.

Hopefully, your start to the year goes as planned. Being organized and having a plan is the way to go. The next post will be ideas about how to work your check in and checkout procedures and the materials you may want to use to help it flow smoothly. WELCOME BACK!!📖