Silent Book Club: The Why

Silent Book Club: The Details

Silent Book Club: The Questions

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• Poetry Display: Create a display of poetry books in your library. This could be arranged by author, theme, or genre. Add some interactive elements like post-it notes or bookmarks for students to leave their favorite poems or poetry recommendations.
  • ​Consider moving beyond traditional poetry books by highlighting novels told in verse!​ See some of my favorites listed below. ⬇️
  • Take this one step extra with a book tasting focused on novels in verse and/or poetry. Give students time and space to notice and note the various ways authors can use poetry and verse to communicate ideas and experiences.
• Poem-a-Day Challenge: Encourage students to write and share a poem every day during National Poetry Month. You can provide prompts or encourage students to find their own inspiration. They can share their poems on a bulletin board, in a digital space, or during a lunchtime open mic session.
• Poetry Slam: Host a poetry slam in your library. Invite students to perform their favorite poems or their own original works. You can set up chairs, provide snacks, and invite judges to give out prizes for the best performances. This has been the biggest hit for our school library!
• Poet Visits: Invite local poets or spoken word artists to come speak to your students. They can give a performance, offer a workshop, or talk about their writing process. This can be a great way to introduce students to the power and possibilities of poetry. Reach out to your local bookstore or NANOWRIMO groups as a starting place.
• Found Poetry: Encourage students to create found poetry using old books, magazines, and newspapers. They can cut out words and phrases and arrange them into a new poem. This can be a fun and creative way to explore language and meaning. The most popular of these is creating Book Spine Poetry. We host a competition each year.
• Poetry Writing Workshops: Host a series of poetry writing workshops in your library. You can invite local poets or writers to lead the workshops or work with your English teachers to develop a curriculum. These workshops can cover topics like form, rhyme, and imagery.
• Poetry Walk: Take your students on a poetry walk around your school or in a nearby park. Encourage them to observe their surroundings and use their senses to create a poem inspired by what they see, hear, and smell.
  • ​An alternative: Post poems all around the school building for students to read with QR links to them being read aloud.
• Poetry Podcasts: Create a poetry podcast where students can share their favorite poems or their own original works. This can be a fun way to reach students who may not be comfortable performing in front of a live audience.

Resources and Links

• A lack of diversity in resources: students need access to a range of materials that represent diverse perspectives and experiences in order to develop empathy, respect, and a deeper understanding of themselves and others.
• A lack of awareness, training and support for library staff: Library staff need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote social-emotional learning and support students. Implicit biases can also impact students' sense of belonging in the library. Library staff should be aware of their biases and strive to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.
• A lack of cultural responsiveness: School libraries should ensure that resources, services, and programs reflect the diversity of their student population.

1. Conduct a survey or focus group: Consider asking students directly about their experiences in the library. Conducting a survey or focus group can provide valuable insights into how students from different backgrounds perceive the library and what they feel can be improved upon. Make sure to include all stakeholders!
   1. ​Example Microsoft Survey for Students
2. Audit library resources: Take a critical look at the resources available in the library, including books, magazines, online resources, and programming. Are there materials that promote stereotypes or biases? Are there gaps in representation and voices that are missing? Make an effort to diversify the collection and ensure that all students can see themselves reflected in the materials available to them. There are two great resources to help you look into the diversity of your collection:​ 
   1. ​MackinVIA Tag Report - allows you to run your collection through an analysis tool and pull percentages of representation
   2. Follett Diversity Analysis Tool
   3. Diversity Audit with Oregon Library Association Webinar

• Collaboration and Communication: When students work together to plan and implement library programs, they have to listen to each other's ideas, give and receive feedback, and work together towards a common goal. This helps them develop skills in teamwork, communication, and collaboration.
• Responsibility and Leadership: When students lead library programs, they take on responsibility for planning and executing them. This helps them develop leadership skills, and learn to take ownership of their projects. They learn to set goals, plan tasks, and manage their time effectively.
• Empathy and Understanding: When students plan programs for the school library, they have to consider the needs and interests of their peers. They learn to appreciate the diversity of opinions and perspectives, and to consider the feelings and experiences of others.
• Self-awareness and Reflection: When students plan and execute programs, they have to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses, and work to improve their skills. They also have to evaluate their programs and learn from their successes and failures.

Further Reading

1. Educators need help. The world of education is in dire need of more support from our leaders. Financially, emotionally, with time…It was a common theme in conversations. While we were all so happy to be back together in person and sharing good work leading to collaborative connections, every conversation seemed to include the same worries of not having enough <insert needs here>.
2. Teaching empathy is crucial and we are all needed to do the work. SEL is nothing new to education (it's just the naming of things that have changed). I’ve always believed in the power of teaching these skills directly and embedding them into our curriculum, but I’m so glad to see us all come together with this in the new normal post-pandemic.
3. Stand up and follow through. Be the educator that doesn’t just talk the talk. The world needs walkers and runners. The best conversations I had this week were with fellow educators who did the projects, wrote the grants, put in the work despite being scared of the fallout. We cannot live in fear or in the 'have nots'. I know it's hard. I'm in it too. We need to rely on one another to keep pushing forward because students deserve it. This leads me to...
4. Find your people. Validation is important in a solo position like librarianship, tech coaching, etc. It feels so good to connect in job-alike moments with others who are just as passionate as you. Keep those connections up post-conference. ❤️
5. AI is here. We need to learn how to tap the potential instead of living in fear of students cheating with it. Librarians need to be on this train as it leaves the station! We are in the perfect position to help teachers learn about AI and help students navigate the nuances of using AI for workload.

My Presentations at FETC

FETC Mega Share (from Eric Curts)