I went to a fantastic session at the Texas Library Association Conference in 2024 about passive programming, led by Elizabeth Herndon, Rebecca Gruen, and Nancy Limmer, and I put a ton of their ideas into practice the following school year. Passive programming is essentially what you put out for people to engage with - but you don't have to be standing there or directing anything about it while it's happening. It's an invitation to come in and create, which is my favorite thing ever. Mini ContestsI started out with Mini Contests in the library. Full of success with my new 3D printing skills the past spring, I decided to 3D print prizes for various contests we would run in the library - and we would rotate the types of contests, so it could speak to artists or word-o-philes or photographers and builders. When the 3D printer developed a crisis of self in late October, that threw a wrench in our prize plans, but we did have some fun contests worth repeating. In fact, I'd argue that you get more participation when students and staff know what to expect because they've seen examples before. In my previous school district, we had Special Spot Photo Contests each year, where families took photos of students reading books related to their environment. For example, a family on vacation to the Grand Canyon might submit a photo of a student reading a book about the Grand Canyon, or a student reading a book about butterflies might be photographed in her back yard. I shifted that to a Literary Pets Photo Contest in the fall, where students submitted pictures of their pets "reading" books. I added all the pictures to a Google Form and invited staff members to vote for their favorites, and then I 3D-printed an articulated octopus and some stackable cats and a flexi dog for our top three prize winners. We ran a book-themed tissue box contest, but we didn't get a lot of entries. This might have been better suited for elementary students, or more successful if I already had the tissue boxes available to decorate at a station. We also had a sticky-note waffle drawing contest - an idea I got from the TLA presenters (above). I added each new entry to the display as they came in, which encouraged more students and staff members to create their own. I had my student Library Aides vote for their favorites, and then (since we had a tie), I asked a few regular student library visitors to add their votes to the mix. We 3D printed some waffle prizes for those winners, too. We were going to have a Word Invention Contest and a Spooky Story Contest and more, but we had a giant jam in the 3D printer that paused our prize-making for a while, and then November through May was pretty much a blur, so we never got back to the contest thing. Lots of goals for next year, though! Activity StationsI love STEAM and maker mindsets and having lots of options for creating in the library. However, some materials are really messy and need some supervision, so I can't have them out all the time unless I want to spend most of my time cleaning them up afterward (which I do not). Still, there are lots of activities we can have out in the library to engage students that don't require direct supervision or assistance. I found that when I vary what I have out, it keeps it fresh and interesting for students and it doesn't clutter the space so we continue to have lots of room for library lessons and visits. Some of the passive programming stations I've had out this year include:
I save some of the more complicated materials, like jewelry making, crochet, washi tape, calligraphy, button making, Shrinky Dinks, and Perler beads for designated Maker Days, when I have time to pull all the materials out and supervise them for the day. Resources: Maker Mindsets - a Rationale for Reluctant Teachers Introducing a Maker Mindset to Students - Beginning of the Year Activity Hosting a Schoolwide Maker Day - Elementary Picture Books with Maker Mindsets
0 Comments
While I have been an advocate for STEAM instruction and Maker Mindsets for years, I have my middle school library colleague Jacqui Isser to thank for this particular model. Jacqui maintains a really gorgeous library newsletter she creates in Smore, and attentive student readers of the library newsletter will pay attention to upcoming Maker Days and check in with her to get passes to attend. I offer a lot of building and arts activities for students on a regular basis through passive programming stations, but my Maker Days offer a little something extra. Here's how I set it up: I schedule Maker Days about once a quarter, on Fridays. I would like to offer them more often, but our school calendar is really packed and it becomes challenging to find a time when there isn't an assembly or field trip or other conflict that would keep a lot of students from attending. I advertise upcoming Maker Days to my Library Club students first, with information at the club meeting and in their Club Google Classroom. Then I'll add signage in the library so that regular library visitors know it's coming. I print passes in advance, and students can pick up passes starting the Monday before the Maker Day (they tend to lose them if I give them out any sooner). Students are able to leave any class with teacher permission AND bring one friend from that same class. They need to have their class work complete to attend, and they can stay for 20 - 40 minutes (at the classroom teacher's discretion). I try to schedule Maker Days so they are near the end of a six-week grading cycle - that last day the testing and review is finished, but some students are needing to make up work to turn in, so the teacher isn't starting new content yet. This allows students to attend Maker Day without missing class content. Our school day has eight periods, so my passes say students can attend at any time between 2nd and 7th periods. That gives me all of 1st period to drag out all the materials, and all of 8th period to put it all away. I teach library lessons, but I have a flexible schedule, so I clear everything else on Maker Days so I can supervise, replenish materials, iron Perler bead projects, and so forth throughout the day. |
Jamie Wright
I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of students and families in IA, CT, NC, MO, TX, and Canada. I love being a teacher-librarian! Categories
All
Archives
March 2025
|