1. Children’s Books and the Classroom Teacher – How a Librarian Can Help
NMLA Mini-conference
Spring 2016
Jane Mouttet
Instructor - DACC Children’s Lit Certificate
Librarian - Mesilla Valley Christian Schools

2. Agenda/Topics to Be Covered
How to Learn more about what is taught in classrooms
Ways of Sharing
Resources
Classes available at DACC
How many of you are:
-school librarians
-public librarians
-academic librarians
-special librarians
Some of these items will be geared more for school librarians but hopefully all of you will glean something you can use.

3. How to Learn What is Taught
Monthly surveys
Attend teacher and department meetings
State Standards -
Courses - Children’s Literature and the … Curriculum
The best way to help teachers is to know what they are teaching:
A copy of the survey I use is available on web site.
Attend teacher and department meetings to interact with the teachers to find out what they are currently teaching.
Teachers have to follow standards - at our school each teacher has a curriculum guide for each subject taught. State standards are available on the web.
I teach 3 courses at DACC aimed at different levels. Primary for grades K-2, Intermediate for grades 3-5, and Middle School for grades 6-8. In these courses my students explore the standards and find books to help meet those standards. I try to make all assignments applicable to the real world. We will discuss the courses more at the end.
We’ll talk more about DACC courses in a little bit.

4. Ways of Sharing – New Book Preview
When I have new books, after they are processed but before they go on the shelves – they go out for teacher preview at a teachers meeting. Teachers has first shot at check-out of these books.
You could host an after school preview time and offer food to get the teachers to come in.

5. Ways of Sharing – Back to School In service time
Brochure – The MVCS Library – Helping Students Learn
I have a brochure I pass out at back to school in service. I am also allowed a time slot in the agenda if I request it.

6. Ways of Sharing – Caldecott Lessons
I have the kids spend several weeks looking at and comparing Caldecott books – using the criteria for the award. Students get excited about the about the books and take the information back to their teachers.

7. Ways of Sharing – Animoto Videos
Student created Videos
I found a list of books with potential to win the Caldecott and enlisted the help of our fifth graders to take a look at some of the books and create Animoto videos. We brought the entire elementary into the library to view these videos. Not only did the teachers learn about new books, the students learned a new presentation tool.

8. Ways of Sharing – Monthly Calendar
Available through Chase’s Book of Annual Events, daysoftheyear.com, or a monthly list provided on LM_Net. I send this list out to our faculty monthly. I also try to plan some special events or trivia questions around some of the dates. You could also pair the dates with books in your collection and share the books with the teachers along with the list.

9. Ways of Sharing – Web Site or Blog
Book Review Blog
Library Web Site
I use my blog to highlight books new to our school library, books I want to add to the library, or the “lonely lit” in our library.
My school library web site contains links to many things – local public library, Land of Enchantment Book Award information, databases, World Book Encyclopedia Online, my book review blog, and links to web sites to assist teachers/students in research projects. It also contains a blog with short posts about current happenings in the library.
Both are works in progress as any web page should be.

10. Ways of Sharing – Displays
Door decorations – promoting specific books. I have done door decorating contests with a theme which have the students and teachers sharing ideas about books.
Interactive bulletin boards with trivia questions on a genre or series of books.
We also do book character dress-up days. Last year we did a general one during Children’s Book Week. This year we did a Dr. Seuss character dress-up day at the time of his birthday. We also did a Winnie the Pooh character dress-up day in honor of Eeyore’s birthday this week.
These things allow teachers to learn about children’s books not only from me but also from their students and each other.

11. How have you shared books with teachers?
Discussion time

12. Resources
Horn Book
Library Sparks
Christian Library Journal

13. What other resources do you use?
Discussion time

14. Classes at DACC Children’s Literature Certificate
Over 5000 children’s books are published each year. It is next to impossible for any one person to read every children’s book printed in a year. But by taking children’s lit courses you can be introduced to some of them.
Most of you probably had at least 1 children’s lit course as part of your library degree. DACC offers a number of children’s lit courses. In fact we have a Children’s Literature Certificate program.
-Intro courses – Children’s, YA, Multicultural
-Books for Boys
-Genre courses –Native American, mystery, historical fiction, poetry, fantasy, picture books, myths and more
-Children’s literature to complement the curriculum
-Book award books
In these courses you not only read books you haven’t read before, but you also learn about books from your classmates.

15. Contact Information
NMSU –
for course registration contact – Nora Bernal (575) Office: Central Campus - LRC 265H
Mesilla Valley Chr. Schools –
Links to workshop resources – Jane’s family web site
ESSA includes funding for school libraries and librarians under Title I, Title II, and Title IV.
To date the state of New Mexico has not included libraries or librarians in their guidelines. Talk with your Director of Federal Programs. Get him or her to send a letter to PED in Santa Fe requesting that those guidelines be updated to include the new federal allowance for school libraries and school librarians.

16. Q&A
Question and Answer time