I recently attended the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL) annual conference in Williamsburg, VA. I love attending professional conferences and VAASL is one of my favorites. I like to connect with other school librarians from around the state to talk and learn and share ideas. The biggest theme running through the conference was that truly, and perhaps more than ever, school libraries are important and valuable. They matter. What else matters in relation to libraries? That's where my five take-aways from the conference come into play.

Early in the school year, our Reading team approached my co-librarian Susanna and I asking if they could regularly bring their students to the library for a quick lesson and book checkout. We jumped at the chance to develop this natural partnership and began to plan the first skills lesson: visualization. We chatted with our reading colleagues, did some searching on the web, and pulled together several different activities for our students with the goal of encouraging them to use all of their senses. These strategies could be used on one day or split apart to re-emphasize the skill over several days. 

Longtime readers of BubbleUp Classroom may recall that my secret librarian admission is that I'm not a huge fan of book talking. In a quick conversation with a student, I may offer short book talks, describing a few titles at the shelf. However, book talking five books to a class of 30 students, leaves 25 of those students without one of those compelling reads. So, I'm constantly looking for other ways to share books with kids -- ways that get as many books as possible into their hands, giving them lots of choices. This posts offers a few strategies to work into your routine as you aim to connect readers with great books.

Librarian Lara Ivey is​ an inspiring, energetic force. Just four years into her library career, she won the James Regional Librarian of the Year Award for 2018 from the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL) and serves as a leader on projects for both VAASL and the national organization, the American Association of School Librarians. We are excited to share a bit of her story in this week's BubbleUp Take10.

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!

We are thrilled to be featured on The Answer Key Podcast. This was a wonderful opportunity to talk with host Sandra Brennan about 21st century libraries and the power of collaboration.  Plus, you know we are podcast obsessed so getting a chance to be in the studio and see all the bells and whistles behind the scenes was ah-mazing! So grab your earbuds and give it a listen. Yay! 

This week's Take5 is all over the map (in a good way). We've got strategies for improving your grading practice. Seriously, it doesn't have to suck out the essence of your soul. We've got practical ideas for using Design Thinking in your classroom to stretch kids into problem solving as well as the BAAR strategy for creating a safety net for kids at the secondary level. We also focus on the news of the day, recent teacher strikes by taking a closer look at the have-nots in public education. Far too many of our schools and buildings are falling apart. The proof is in the pictures. Lastly, to end on a positive note - a powerful infographic about the multifaceted work of school librarians, because well, librarians rock.  Happy Tuesday.