A Middle School Media Center

What a day it was visiting a middle school Media Center!  I just happened to visit on a day when there were multiple functions going on in the library.  First of all, the Book Fair was that week, so students were in and out throughout the day.  It was nice to see students coming into the library excited to look through the Book Fair merchandise and purchase new books for pleasure reading. I was impressed by the amount of traffic the Book Fair received.  Second, some Counselors from the high school came to talk to the eighth graders (rising freshmen!) about registering for high school classes.  Each eighth grade English teacher brought their group of students to the Media Center where, on their computers, they followed the School Counselor through the process of registering for classes, and they listened to a presentation on different courses of study and class requirements.

During these activities, the librarian, Ms. S, wasted no time jumping between working with me, teachers, the counselors, and students.  I noticed she had excellent multitasking skills, and she was attentive and supportive to her patrons and me.  She gave me an overview and specific examples about budgeting, explained to me what it was like to be new in the library field, gave me advice on managing time and a “new” library, and told me about technology, technology repair, circulation, new books, cataloging and much more.

Another especially meaningful conversation I had with Ms. S dealt with the Principal’s support of the Media Center.  Ms. S explained how lucky she was to have a Principal who valued the Media Center and understood its invaluable role in the school.  I felt I learned so much during the few hours I spent at the middle school, and I hope to volunteer there in the future if possible!

 

First Classroom Observation

Today, I had the opportunity to complete my first classroom observation for the semester.  The teacher a observed, Mrs. Johnson, teaches one Freshman English class and two AP Language classes.  I observed the Freshman English class, which was beginning a new unit on short stories today.

This was, by far, the best observation experience I ever had.  Mrs. Johnson was enthusiastic and engaging, and she showed compassion for each of her students.  The first thing I noticed was the way she treated all her students as individuals; it was evident that she has gotten to know each unique personality.  She adapted her lesson to many different learning styles, and  the students seemed interested in the lesson. I observed the following activities:

• Students took a quiz on mysteries (closing the unit on this genre)
• Students played a “Sherlock” game in order to relax after working diligently on the quiz
• Mrs. Johnson and the students reviewed literary terms together using study cards and a presentation
• Instructor gave a unique introduction to short stories that caught students’ interest
• Instructor passed out copies of a story and read it aloud. Students followed along on their handouts
• The story was a cliffhanger, which was a word they added to their vocabulary list
• Students participated in a poll to determine what they thought the ending would be
• Students used leftover class time to read books they chose

This class and instructor were simply amazing! I was only there for two hours, but I felt as if I learned so much from Mrs. Johnson. After class, I stayed and spoke to her about a few things I learned in my Reading and Literacy class, for I noticed Mrs. Johnson implemented much of what I’ve learned into her classroom.  If I have time, I hope to visit Mrs. Johnson’s Freshman English class again.