Stations Provide Choice and Exploration During Book Checkout

How Stations Can Provide Choice & Exploration During Book Checkout, While Reinforcing Curriculum Goals. 

Osmo Tangram Station

On a typical day in the library, our K-2 students spend the last 10-15 minutes of their 30-minute library class freely checking out books. Since transitioning from a classroom middle school teacher to elementary library media specialist last year, I often struggled with how to engage some reluctant students during this flexible time. While most students used this time to locate and read books, inevitably a handful of students in each class would forget to return a book (which prevents them from checking out a new one). Others sought to play hide and seek in the stacks, or watched the clock until this time ended. My classes share the space with a second media specialist's class, resulting in upwards of 45 students using the space at a time for checkout. This can pose some real management problems if the students are not engaged. Given our situation, the other media specialist, Erica, and I began to explore how we could incorporate open choice stations during book checkout time. These stations, which would be aligned with our learning commons curriculum goals, would engage students through free choice and exploration.

We rolled out stations with little to announcement or instruction:

An hour of code computer station ( 6 computers)

We decided to roll out the stations over the period of a couple months, with little to no announcements or fanfare each time a new one was introduced. By taking our time with introducing the stations, we were able to see how the students engaged with them, allowing us to plan considerations for future stations. By providing little to no introductions, we attempted to prevent large groups of students from simultaneously flocking to a new station during book checkout.  We also wanted students to take ownership of how they engaged with the stations, and to learn independently through exploration. My inspiration for this approach was the "hole in the wall" in New Dehli, where Sugata Mitra learned that children working in groups could teach themselves to use a computer without any formal instruction.

Listening Station (1 of 3)

Our first stations were simple and aligned with literature appreciation:

Our first stations to be introduced were the "Readbox" and listening stations. The Readbox had been introduced last year as the only station during book checkout (link to blog post). At this station, students can scan a QR code next to a book to view a 30 second ChatterPix review of it created by a peer. At our listening stations, students in groups could read along with a book on a tape. Along with providing comfortable bean bag chairs for quiet reading, we saw an immediate transformation in how students engaged during book checkout time. The need to manage student behavior during this free time dropped significantly. Students who forgot to return a book could immediately join a listening station or explore the Readbox. Other students who quickly found a book had choices to engage in if they wished to read it at a later time. 

Our Readbox of student created book reviews

1 of  3 quiet reading spaces

Students watching/reading along with Bookflix videos

After finding the students engaging well in the initial stations, we next introduced our final literature appreciation station - the Bookflix Station.  We logged a row of 6 computers on to the Scholastic Bookflix database. Initially we chose a specific Weston Woods video ahead of time for the students to watch, but quickly found that students learned from each other how to navigate the site and find the stories that interested them. After seeing our own "hole in the wall" experiment work we no longer selected the videos for students and allowed free choice.

Bookflix home page

After building a culture of engaging in free choice stations, our next ones involved greater use of technology and focused on collaboration, tech skills, and problem solving:

After a month of rolling out our various literature appreciation stations, we placed two Osmo Tangram stations in the library without any explanation. When groups of students inevitably found and flocked to these stations, we discussed common sense rules for taking turns, sharing, and collaborating.  These two Osmo stations became so popular, that we had to introduce a new rule to our stations - you must check out your book before engaging in a station. This rule helped prevent students from waiting until the last minute of library to check out their book (an unintended consequence of our stations that we hoped to avoid.) Given the success of the Osmo Tangram station, we added three new Osmo stations. This included one "Newton" station, and two Coding stations. While occasionally we will need to intervene in groups that struggle to take turns, I have been  incredibly impressed and thrilled by the level of collaboration and teamwork seen at these stations. Our final station to be introduced was during the Hour of Code week, when we logged another row of 6 computers on to Kodable. Again, we provided no instructions and allowed the students to explore and learn together. 

Osmo "Newton" Station

Our Takeaways:

It has been a wonderful experience watching the "hole in the wall" experiment succeed in our library learning commons.  By providing these free choices during book checkout, we have tapped into a significant amount of time each class to provide learning opportunities aligned with our program goals (literature appreciation, technology skills, digital citizenship, communication collaboration and innovation, and inquiry).  Students are excited to use the space and explore together, and while some students still choose to engage in off task behavior from time to time, these occurrences are significantly reduced. The balancing act at this point is to not detract from the experience of checking out books during this time. For the most part, we find that some students need simple reminders to find their book before engaging in a station. Whether it's avoiding large groups or having a diversity of interests, we also find that for the most part students tend to spread themselves well across the library without being assigned a specific station. Some students still decide to read quietly or together with friends on the bean bad chairs and not engage in any station.

In the week leading to our holiday break, a 1st grade student asked me if she had library class on December 23rd. When I asked why, she told me with a somber expression that her family was leaving for Disney World on the 23rd, and she didn't want to miss library. If for that student, her elementary school library can compete with Disney World for her interest, then I like where we are heading.

How to use Scratchjr as a multimedia presentation tool for your K-2 students!

I can't believe it's been over 6 months since my last blog post! The adventures in library rolled on, but a brand new adventure in fatherhood eclipsed the blogging time! When we last left off, I had blogged about my decision to use Scratchjr during Hour of Code month in December. The posting explained how Scratchjr goes beyond introducing the concepts of coding to early readers, by empowering students to share their learning, and create and publish their own interactive multimedia projects. With Scratchjr, you don't just learn to code, you code to learn. Today's post picks up where we left off, at the end of the Hour of Code month.

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By the end of the month, after 6 brief library visits, the Kindergartners were presenting their creative wordless fiction stories that they coded, while the 2nd graders were coding interactive presentations that taught the kindergartners about an animal they researched. These students had never used Scratchjr before, and now they were harnessing its power to share their learning with their peers in a breakout event. 

Some examples of student work and our breakout event:

2nd grade students present their animal projects that they coded in Scratchjr. They are presenting to a kindergarten class that has library at the same time, and had not yet begun their coding unit.

A kindergartner teaches his peers how to code at a breakout event in our library. He is teaching fellow kindergartners from a separate library class that had not yet begun their coding unit.

These are some more samples of  the animal projects created by our 2nd grade students at the end of their 6 library visits.  

I was blown away by how the students picked up programming in Scratchjr, and harnessed its power to create authentic and meaningful work that they shared with their peers. 
Here's how we got there:


Lesson 1 (20 minutes): Before handing out the iPads, I used SMART notebook to introduce the concept of coding in Scratchjr. I placed images of the some basic movement blocks on the notebook page, and turned on the "infinite cloner", so that students could add the blocks to a line of code by dragging the image with their finger on the SMART Board (see below). We discussed what programming is, and reviewed the meaning of the movement blocks. Students raised their hands to come up to the SMART board, and create a line of code for the teacher to act out. Students then volunteered to act out the code themselves. After this initiation activity, students received their iPads and were directed to the app. I walked them through this basic intro lesson lesson from these Scrathjr playrgound resources. 

The SMART notebook page mentioned above. The blue movement blocks have the "infinite cloner" turned on.

Lesson 2 (20 minutes): We played the same SMART board initiation activity from last class, "program the teacher", and I acted out movements that students selected on the board. Students then volunteered to act out new code as well. I then walked the students through the second basic lesson from the Scrathjr playrgound. 

Lesson 3 (20 minutes): I introduced my students to their main goals for this coding project. K-1 students would create their own wordless picture book stories using Scratchjr. 2nd grade students would create an interactive presentation about an animal that they were already researching that month. Before coding, I shared the wordless picture book Flora and the Flamingo with my K-1 students. 2nd graders watched student work samples on YouTube posted by Jacob Lee. I introduced some new Scrachjr blocks to students and let them begin their projects. 

Instruction slides from the SMART notebook file

Some new blocks I previewed

Lessons 4-6 (about 1 1/2 hours total): I reviewed the project goals at the start of each class (see images below) with K-1 and grade 2 on the SMART Board. I reviewed some various coding blocks with each class, and created some examples of what students could do in Scratchjr by mirroring my iPad (using an Apple TV). K-1 students also read some additional wordless picture books. Mostly, I stepped off the stage and gave the students time to work.

SMART Board slide with goals for 2nd graders

SMART Board slide with goals for K-1 students

Lesson 7: The break out event! My students presented their projects to the students from the other library class (we have two library media specialists each teaching at the same time, but not always to the same grade level). My colleagues' students had not yet begun learning to code in Scratchjr (we have only one iPad cart). Her students learned about Scratchr from mine, while enjoying their fiction stories (K-1) and presentations about animals (2nd grade).


Learn more about Scratchjr online, and post below with any comments or questions!

Why my K-2 students will be using Scratchjr during the Hour of Code month

There are plenty of wonderful coding apps and websites out there for elementary school students. Common sense media has a great list for students ranging from 5+ to 15+ on their website. Code.org has excellent resources for introducing both plugged and unplugged coding activities, and taps into student interest with Minecraft and Star Wars themed tutorials with their Hour of Code. With all the choices out there, it can be overwhelming to pick a programming language or tutorial to begin with. What is best for you and your students depends on your own unique needs and goals. For our library learning commons, that means we will be introducing the free app Scratchjr to our K-2 students.  Here's why:

Scratchjr goes beyond introducing the concepts of coding to early readers, by empowering students to share their learning, and create and publish their own interactive multimedia projects.

My after school K-2 Code Club students creating their own games and videos with Scratchjr

Unlike some of the other drag-and-drop block coding apps and websites designed for K-2 students, Scratchjr really does require some pre-teaching and direct instruction before the students can run with it. However, once the students understand the basic concepts and become familiar with the graphical programming blocks, they become empowered to create and express themselves. The opportunities to tie Scratchjr into the general curriculum and Common Core are endless.  

Jacob Lee (@TeachingJake), a first grade teacher, has posted some amazing Scratchjr videos designed by his students, in which they use their knowledge of programming to tell personal narratives, and even share their understanding of math and science concepts.

Jacob Lee's 1st grade students sharing their understanding of subtraction

With Scratchjr, you are really hitting the top of both the Bloom's pyramid and the SAMR model:

I have not yet introduced Scratchjr to my library students, however I have been running an 8 week after school session on Scratchjr with our K-2 students.  During just 8 1-hour courses, our students were able to learn about and use almost every programming block. During this after school club of mixed grades, students were tasked to create their own interactive games and videos. Here are some examples of our students' work:

A Code Club student codes his own version of "Crossy Road"

A Code Club student codes a race

For teachers looking to get started with Scratchjr, I recommend the following resources:

Start unplugged with printed (or projected) scratch motion blocks.  We had the students work in groups to program their friends' movements using printed cards with Scratchjr graphical blocks. We also used these blocks on the SMART Board for a teacher led "Programmer Says" Simon says game at the start of each class.  We often introduced a new block of code to the class this way.  

Our Code Club students programming their friends with Scratchjr cards

If you are pressed for time and cannot follow the extensive Scratchjr curricula, I recommend using their activities  as a quick way of introducing new concepts in Scratchjr.  We often began our classes with a new activity from this page, having the students follow along and replicate the same code on their iPads. This was sometimes a challenge as the Kindergarten students often needed more guidance than the 2nd graders. I had a co-teacher for this class, and typically one of us would instruct in front of the class, while the other assisted students in need. Afterwards, the students were challenged to use the new concepts to design their own original video or games.

Our code club students following along on a whole-class activity

Having taught the original web-based Scratch program to students in upper elementary and middle school, I was incredibly impressed by the Scrathjr spin-off for the younger users. We will be introducing Scratchjr to our K-2 library students this December, and plan to challenge students to share and express their learning in creative and new ways.  More posts and updates on our journey with Scratchjr to follow!

Interactive Bulletin Boards with "Makey Makey" hardware and "Scratch" programming

A goal of getting the students and staff excited and curious about our transition to a library learning commons led me to this idea:

It's an interactive bulletin board that brings together the power of "Makey Makey" and "Scratch" to teach the viewer about the new curriculum of our library learning commons.  

I had worked with the Makey Makey invention kits and Scratch coding program with students in my summer camps and continuing education courses to program cardboard musical instruments and even cookie jar alarms:

Having a handful of these awesome devices around meant that I could spare one to create this bulletin board without denying my students the opportunity to tinker with one in a maker station.  

The Scratch program that runs this board is incredibly simple, and anyone could learn how to create one of their own after minimal exploration of the program.  Simply use the "when key is pressed" block under the "events" category.  Record the new sound you want to play (using the top sound tab), and insert it with a "play sound" block found under the "sound" category.  Be sure to attach the aluminum foil (or whatever conductor you use) to the correct output key on the Makey Makey, complete the circuit with an "earth" conductor, and voilà, you are good to go!

I hope to update this interactive Makey Makey bulletin board throughout the year, and to eventually get my students involved in the programming and construction.