Teen Tech Week 2012 was Tech-tacular

I think that this was the best Teen Tech Week (TTW) ever. I enjoyed all the activities, and I think the kids did too. Let me give you a daily wrap up of each event. 

MONDAY:
I thought that I would start TTW with a movie and popcorn. That way if students forgot that it was TTW, they could visit the library for a special event that needed no preparation. I didn't ask anyone to sign up for the movie. I just held two showings so that every interested student would be able to view it. Below is a shot from the Oscar winning animated short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore created by William Joyce
The kids really were enamored with the movie. The theme is so pertinent to show in a library. It is all about the power of the story, and it begins in the French Quarter only a 15 minute drive from school. 

TUESDAY:

I had to convince them that it would be a good idea, but I got Jon and Pamela Voelkel to skype with us. They were reluctant because they didn't know if the medium would work for their type of presentation. The Voelkels have visited PFTSTA twice. The first time we were taken by storm when they arrived larger than life with their two daughters in tow. They bring the Mayans to life in words, song and pictures. The second time we were prepared for their antics, but it was equally as much fun. I thought a skype session would be a great venue. They prepared their room with some fake trees, so it looked like they were sitting in a forest even though it was a winter wonderland outside their window in Vermont. One of our students is of Mayan descent, so he came to tell the Voelkels some stories from his father. They shared some history of Mayan technology. There were lots of questions about life in the days of the Mayans and their books. 
Book 2 in the Jaguar Stones series by Jon and Pamela Voelkel
(You can find PFTSTA mentioned on the last page of the acknowledgements)

Pamela tweeted out about the skype session and had taken a picture of me after we were done with the students. I take lots of pictures on our end of every skype session. This was the first time that I got to see me on the other person's end. 

WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY:
On Wednesday and Friday, students signed up to create a Mech. I found the templates on-line. There were 27 choices. The students picked the one they wanted to create, and I had it printed and ready to go when they walked in the door. This created a big mess, but it was also a big hit. We don't do many crafts in our library, so this really was a treat. 
Each Mech had to be cut with scissors and an exacto knife to get the notches  
This colorful Mech was made by Tyler Libert

This is what the tables looked like after the students left the library for 4th period
THURSDAY:
I found this idea on Twitter. Someone had tweeted a picture of book spine poetry. I thought the students would have fun making their own poems. Again the library was a mess when the students left, but we had a blast. Want to make your own book spine poetry? Try it during National Poetry Month in April. 
An example of the poetry that the students created
Many of the books were used multiple times because their titles lent well to a poem
It was an exhausting week, but I think it was a success. Find more photos posted on the library website.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Holidays from BRiMS and Bookmarked

I run two book groups at Patrick Taylor. My high school book group, Bookmarked , was created in the fall of 2007 which was my second year as librarian at the school. The students really wanted a library club, but the square footage of the library was so small that I could not imagine how any students could do any actual library work. Instead I created a book discussion group. Not only did we meet to talk books, but I tapped these students to help me with fundraisers and special programming like Teen Read Week. Helping me with these special activities seemed to appease the members. I waited until February of 2009 to institute a book discussion group for my middle school students called BRiMS, or Books Rule in Middle School . Both of the groups meet during lunch, and this year, the school added a third lunch. Now BRiMS is made up of only 6th and 7th graders. Bookmarked has 8th-12th grade students. This has actually worked well because in 2014 and 2015, Bookmarked lost a lot of members w...
Read more

Banned Book Week: Students Make Comments Pro & Con Censorship

Image
This blog post is being designed as a lesson for the English I students at PFTSTA. The teachers and I have collaborated on an activity to celebrate Banned Book Week (BBW). Many times in the past during BBW, I have invited the 8th graders into the library to discuss the banning and challenging of books in schools and libraries. I usually show some videos and share books owned by our library that have been banned or challenged somewhere in the US. This activity always spurs great discussion among the students and teachers. This year we wanted the students to create a written response to the presentation. We thought there was a real world connection if we had the students post their opinion online as a comment to someone writing about censorship in schools. The teachers and I want the students to learn how to compose a well thought out comment that is supported by evidence and concrete details. How more real world could it be than having the students comment directly on their librar...
Read more

Students Weigh in on Banned Books and the Freedom to Read

Image
Every year, for Banned Book Week, I prepare a lesson for our 8th graders. It was always teacher directed with discussion until last year . The English I teachers and I created a lesson for the students that included research and writing. I pulled the materials that I wanted them to read, and the students would write a very short essay declaring their belief in the need for teens to be able to exercise their freedom to read what they want to or the need for certain books to be taken off the shelves of the library or pulled from the English curriculum.  Above is the slide presentation that I have made for the students. Included in the slides are several videos that I thought would get the students thinking. There are slides with links to specific articles that we want the students to read and use for the concrete evidence to support their stance. A rubric is included at the end so the students know exactly what is expected. The teachers and I want the writing to have a...
Read more