PRACTICUM LOG

Rebecca Beatty
January 25, 2016-March 11, 2016
Monday 1/25/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
Today was my first day at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. I will be in the library
at Edyth B. Lindner Elementary, working with the librarian, Sally Hall. When I first
arrived at the school, the library was being used for a meeting. Sally said that she
encourages other faculty to use the library for meetings as part of her role as library
advocate. Because the library was being used, the third and fourth grade morning
library periods met in the hallway outside their classroom.
Every class has one library period each week, and they generally follow the same
format: First, Sally reads to the class for about twenty minutes. Then, the students
have the opportunity to check out books (usually 1-2), play quietly, or read. There
are small toys and games throughout the library.
Later, Sally gave me a tour of the school, including preschool through fourth grade
classrooms, administrative offices, and special classrooms. She also showed me
around the library, including the easy readers, biographies, fiction, nonfiction,
"perfect for first grade" chapter books (mostly leveled readers), paperback racks,
magazines, new books, and the desk/study areas. I met the principal and vice
principal, as well as some teachers.
We briefly discussed the library's rules:
1. Be kind to others
2. Always share
3. Leave the library the way you found it
The students are generally able to follow the rules, but sometimes need reminders
to be quiet. If an older student has to receive multiple warnings, Sally will ask them
to sit at a table for the remainder of the library period.
Sally has created a monthly newsletter for the library. While other teachers in the
school have their own webpages, Sally has found that she has a greater response
with the printed newsletter.
We discussed some of Sally's responsibility and role in the library. While there are
two volunteers who occasionally shelve nonfiction, she is the only staff member to
work in the library. However, the school gives her a great deal of freedom in how the
library is run. For example, she is able to order books and materials according to her
best judgment rather than adhering to set guidelines. Sally reads every book that
circulates in the librarythis way she is able to check its quality and provide better
readers advisory for the students. The school has a decent book budget, including
some funds from the Sycamore public school district. Book purchases are based on
student and teacher needs, as well as reviews from Booklist and School Library
Journal. DVDs are occasionally purchased for teacher use, but the majority of library
materials are books.

Toward the end of the day, I observed the 4 th grade book club. This book club (and a
similar book club for 3rd graders) is open to any student in the grade and takes place
during their lunch period. Students can bring their lunches into the library and
discuss as they eat. This month, the students were reading A Cricket in Times
Square by George Selden. Sally provided cookies, candy, and gave students a taste
of liverwurst (featured in the story). The students shared whether or not they liked
the story, and why, and briefly answered questions about the plot and characters.
There was a lot of giggling and fun, but this mostly seems like a great way to build a
community within the school and promote student ownership of their library. This is
an idea I would love to incorporate into my future career as a school librarian.
Lastly, I observed two 1st grade class periods in the library.
Tuesday 1/26/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
In the morning, there was a teacher devotion held in the library. All staff members
are assigned to lead a fifteen-minute devotion throughout the year (one each
week).
I also had the opportunity to observe in Mrs. Klosters 1 st grade classroom during
reading time. She used a big book (The Mitten by Jan Brett) to make connections to
prior learning and discuss open-ended questions. The entire class read the story
together as Mrs. Kloster pointed to each word. Her method of working the book
(pulling academic concepts from the story) could be adapted for use in the library.
I observed a 3rd grade and a Kindergarten class during their library periods.
We went over each step of processing new books. I currently work in a public library
where I do only one step of this process, so it was a good opportunity to see it from
start to finish (finding bib record, adding books to the catalog, stamping, taping, and
shelving).
I was able to read EBLs information literacy scope and sequence, based on AASL
Learning Standards for 21st Century Learners (which I am currently
studying/discussing at Kent State! Great to see the standards in real life.) and
technology policy.
We also went over the planning process for library periods. Each week, Sally
chooses book(s) for each grade levelthese are sometimes based on prior
classroom instruction, but are generally just high quality literature and good readalouds.
Something that really struck me today was the fact that Sally isnt required to
submit reports or statistics to school administration. Instead, she has an open-door
policy for administrators, staff, parents, and students, and they are able to see the
results for themselves. Its exciting to be in a school where the administrators are
also advocates for the library, which I realize is not often the case.
Wednesday 1/27/2016

7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
I am starting to get more involved in simple daily tasks, such as shelving,
straightening, and shelf-reading whenever there is down time.
Today I visited a kindergarten classroom during center time. Each student had their
own map that told them which of six centers to visit that week. Mrs. Baker sat at
her table with a reading group while the students worked independently on tasks
involving reading, writing, patterns, coloring, cutting, and gluing. Mrs. Baker gave a
few reminders to work quietly, but I was amazed at what the students were able to
accomplish on their own.
Back in the library, I have started to do the check-in and check-out process for each
class period. Today we had K prep (the late birthday students are given an
additional year to prepare for kindergarten), preschool (3 and 4 year-old classes)
and 2nd grade. We then took the 2nd graders to an assembly about proposed changes
to the school building and campus.
Thursday 1/28/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
After the usual shelving and straightening, we worked on planning next weeks
library periods.
I visited two classrooms during reading time: Mrs. Andersons 3 rd graders (reading
Trouble River by Betsy Byars) and Mrs. Williamss 4th graders (reading Snow
Treasure by Marie McSwigan). Both were reading a chapter book as a class. In 3 rd
grade, they discussed the first two chapters and vocabulary words, then played a
game similar to hangman. The 4th graders read two chapters together, taking turns
reading the different parts of the dialogue while Mrs. Williams read the narrative.
After each chapter, the students wrote a summary and drew a picture in their
journals.
We had a K-prep and K class visit the library today. I also had some free time to read
and review books prior to their circulation in the collection.
Friday 1/29/2016
7:30am-3:30pm
Today I spent some time straightening and shelf-facing books before the open house
on Saturday.
In the morning, there was a chapel service held in the gym for K-3 rd grade. The 4th
graders go to the middle school for their chapel.
It was a busy day in the library and I did all of the circulation for each library period
(4th, 3rd, 4th, K, K, 1st, 2nd, 2nd).
There was a special staff lunch today. Each month the teachers from one grade level
collaborate to serve lunch to the entire staff.

Monday 2/1/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
I spent some time in the computer lab today. At EBL, the media instruction is kept
almost completely separate from the library (there are some differing opinions on
this from the staff). Each class went over some guidelines for Internet safety and
discussed different scenarios. It was amusing that the students primary Internet
safety concern before this discussion was identity theft! The students also worked
on a government brochure, a longterm project that involved technology both in
research and design of the brochure. The classes with a few free minutes at the end
of the period worked on Type to Learn or Code.org.
Sally was out today and the assistant principal, Mrs. Tate, was the substitute. I was
able to continue doing circulation and to pull a teacher collection of multicultural
books for social studies.
Tuesday 2/2/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
Today I visited a K-prep classroom, a smaller class of young five-year-olds. They
were going over the letter B, then read Eric Carles Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do
You Hear? Lastly, they began working on their class book based on Polar Bear, Polar
Bear. It was interesting to see the differences in classroom managementall of the
students who would normally be the youngest and least mature in their class were
placed together. One child was also a selective muteshe would speak to her
friends and parents normally, but not to other adults. The teacher was able to work
around this by asking her some questions directly and having her tell a friend the
answers to other questions. I tried to follow a similar tactic when this student visited
the library over the next few weeks.
Back in the library, we took down the January displays and posters and decorated
for February. Themes included Groundhog Day, Valentines Day, Presidents Day,
and geese (with puppet).
I started reading during the afternoon library periods. For kindergarten, I read
excerpts from a nonfiction book about maps as an introduction to Henrys Map by
David Elliot. I also did the circulation for students books.
Wednesday 2/3/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
This morning I visited a 2nd grade classroom. Students were finishing up various
assignments from math and social studies and moving on to free reading time. This
class has a reading reward system where the students get stickers and prizes
according to the number of pages they read. Ive already noticed which classes are
more encouraged to check out library books and spend their time reading. While
some classes spend their library time playing and do not check out books, this 2 nd
grade class regularly stops by the library throughout the week. Several students
visited the library daily. Clearly the students use of the library isnt entirely based

on the librarian or the collectionthis has to be a collaborative effort between

librarian and teacher.
I ran several library periods today: K prep, 3 rd grade, and two 2nd grade classes. The
K prep class was much easier to check out books to now that I am familiar with
most of their names. Sally doesnt have students bring in library cards. Instead, she
has a list of students names in each class and searches for them by name rather
than scanning a barcode. I read The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen to the older
students.
Thursday 2/4/2016
7:30am-3:30pm
There is a school-wide learning fair going on in the gym today and tomorrow. As
each class visits the gym, the students will stand by their projects and explain them
to the rest of the class. Parents will come in this evening to look at the projects. The
projects can be based on any subjectrobots, Taylor Swift, dogsand participation
is voluntary except for the 3rd graders who all do a project on Cincinnati.
I did the reading and check-in/check-out for all classes today: 4 th, half-day K, K, K
prep. I read the book Rags: Hero Dog of WWI by Margot Theis Raven to the 4th
graders.
We looked at books for next week (poetry books by J. Patrick Lewis, who is visiting
the school at the end of the month).
Friday 2/5/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
I spent the day down at CHCAs Armleder campus in Over-the-Rhine. This school is
in a historic 5-story building that houses PreK-6 th grade classrooms. The library here
is only open two days a week (Monday and Friday). In that time, each class has a
library period. The librarian, Arnice Smith, is a retired library manager from the
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. She was honored as one of the
2007 Freedom Heroes at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and
won the New York Times Librarian Award in 2005 (she was the first African American
Ohioan to win this award). It was such an honor to see her in action.
It was evident that Arnice had set clear guidelines for student behavior at the
beginning of the year. Each period followed a similar procedure to those at the EBL
campus: reading a story aloud, finding books, checking out, and playing or reading
quietly. Arnice also has some additional duties in the school, including teaching
students songs for chapel (during library period) and monitoring lunch and recess.
Arnice has her 5th and 6th graders write book reviews every three weeks. These
reviews follow a short-answer format, with each question requiring a minimum
three-sentence answer. One student who did not complete his book review on time
spent his recess time writing it in the library.
There were some clear differences between Armleder and the north campus. For
example, Arnice was not given a budget for book purchases during her two years at

Armleder. Because of the major differences in socioeconomic background between

Armleder and EBL students families, the Armleder library rarely receives book
donations (contrasted with the frequent large donations of like-new books from EBL
families). Arnice has used her own funds to purchase books from the public librarys
used book sale.
Arnice was a dynamic storyteller, ran a tight ship in her small library, and gave me a
warm welcome. Im definitely glad for the opportunity to observe her at Armleder.
Wednesday 2/10/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
Yesterday was a snow day, so there was quite a bit to check in and shelve this
morning. There was also a meeting held in the library for parents of 2 nd and 3rd
graders, and kindergarten testing going on in the teachers lounge, so we
volunteered to help with grading and cutting out materials in the teacher workroom.
Later, we had the K prep class out in the hallway and read to the four-year-old
preschool class in their classroom. We were back in the library for the afternoon with
PK3, PK4, and 2nd grade.
Thursday 2/11/2016
7:30am-3:30pm (8 hours)
I started the day with the regular checking in and shelving routine. There were
Valentines Day parties happening throughout the school today, so a few classes
missed their library periods. The other students were very excited about the parties
and getting to wear red and pink instead of their school uniforms. While they were
well-behaved during the story, each class got a little noisy during quiet play time.
I read Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? by David Levinthal to 4th grade. This class was
a little rowdy for me last week, but showed me much more respect today (or
perhaps I had more confidence). I read Teachers Pets by Dayle Ann Dodds to K and
K prep.
We organized the racks of paperback books by series during our free period.
Friday 3/11/2016
8am-12pm (4 hours)
Today was my last day at EBL (making up for a snow day last month). It feels like I
havent been here in a long time. The library is decorated for spring.
This week, there will be extra chapels on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. Kim Vaught,
a visiting pastor, will lead the chapels based on the theme of Amazing Love.
Friday is the busiest day in the library! Eight classes had their library period today,
and we read Irish folktales for St. Patricks Day next week. While each story was
fairly long, the students stayed engaged, quiet, and listening. My time at CHCA has

impacted my expectations of students and inspired me to read for longer periods of

time. The students truly soak up the experience of listening to a story read aloud,
and Ill be applying this in the near future.