BubbleUp Take5: Instagram, read-alouds, purposeful making and more

This week our Take5 has a bit of a library focus (surprise: I'm a librarian!), but There are take-aways for classroom teachers as well. Strong school library Instagram accounts and great read-alouds, meaningful makerspaces, a fun inquiry activity, and creating a menu of lessons -- check it out and share what's been sparking your interest!

---

Instagram is a great tool for connecting with your students and the school community. It's also a fantastic way to find inspiration from colleagues around the world. BookRiot's post 50 School Libraries to Follow on Instagram offers a list of awesome and relevant Instagram accounts.

I'm a big believer in reading out loud to children. And not just small children who can't read independently yet. I think we need to keep reading to kids as long as they will let us! This list of Read-Aloud titles for K-5, curated by the Hello Literacy Instagram community is a great jumping off point, offering both picture books and chapter books.

As part of the AASL Induction Program, I have been inspired to think about the idea of makerspaces with a purpose. Librarian Gina Seymour is a leader in this area and her piece on the Demco Ideas & Inspiration blog is a great place to learn more.

I ran across the #5ClueChallenge on Joyce Valenza's NeverEndingSearch blog. Students create short videos with 5 clues about a person, place or thing and viewers use the clues to guess who or what the clues reference, pausing the video if need be to research bit-by-bit. It's a fun, meaningful way to incorporate inquiry into learning. The 5ClueChallenge web site includes a whole range of already created videos you can task your students with solving, before asking them to try their hand at making one themselves.

Building collaborative relationships is one of the biggest challenges of working as a school librarian. Kelly Hinck's piece for the AASL KQ Blog offers a great way to collaborate within a flexible schedule. She offers an a la carte menu of lessons for each grade level tied to the curriculum every month; teachers can choose all lessons, just a few, or even none if the ideas don't fit into their instruction that month. While Kelly is an elementary librarian, I can see this working across levels. I also think this menu model offers an innovative way to bring classes into a library makerspace.

What have you been reading lately?

​-Gretchen

---

You might also like:

• BubbleUp Take5: Reading, Writing, Speaking → Literacy (April 29, 2018)
• It's Not Your Grandmother's Library: #LibraryHourbyHour (February 4, 2018)
  
• BubbleUp Take5: Our Most Popular Posts for Librarians (July 18, 2017)