Tag: picturebooks

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Page Count: Picture Books in Middle School

Tech Fun In The Library

When people think of picture books, they often imagine elementary classrooms and early readers. But here is something I have been happily reminded of this year: middle school students still love picture books, and they benefit from them in powerful ways.

I was not sure how my middle school students (grades 7 and 8) would respond to participating in a Mock Caldecott Medal this year. Would they think it was too young? Would they take it seriously? As it turns out, they absolutely rose to the occasion.

At their age, they were mature enough to thoughtfully evaluate the books using our four criteria: Art Technique is Good, Art Helps Tell the Story, Artwork Matches Mood, and Artwork Meant for Kids. As they read through the titles on our mock list, I could hear them debating artistic choices, discussing how illustrations supported the text, defending their scores with evidence, and even questioning the mediums used for the artwork. They were asking whether an illustrator used watercolor, collage, digital art, or mixed media, and discussing how those choices affected the overall impact of the story. They were not just reading. They were analyzing.

Picture books are uniquely powerful for middle schoolers for several reasons.

First, they spark great conversations. Because the books are shorter, students are more willing to jump in and share their opinions. Before you know it, they are pointing out small details in the illustrations or arguing about whether the artwork really matches the mood of the story.

They also let students dig deeper without feeling overwhelmed. A picture book might look simple, but there is often a lot going on beneath the surface. The combination of text and illustrations gives them more to notice and more to talk about.

And honestly, they are fun. Middle schoolers still enjoy being read to. They still like flipping through beautifully illustrated pages. Giving them access to picture books reminds them that reading does not always have to feel heavy or complicated to be meaningful.

Our Mock Caldecott experience did more than introduce students to new and engaging picture books. It also gave them an understanding into how the Caldecott process works and helped them appreciate the artistry behind the books they may have once rushed past.

Most importantly, it reminded all of us that picture books are not defined by age level. They are defined by the power of storytelling. And middle schoolers are more than ready to engage with that power.

If you need a Mock Caldecott lesson plan you can find one in my TPT store.

Arnie the Doughnut Lesson and More…

Tech Fun In The Library

There is much more to being a library teacher than simply reading a book. With all the duties we have in the library, on top of lesson planning, there are times when it can seem overwhelming trying to figure out what to teach next. Yesterday was one of those days for me. So, I went back to my planner (I use Planboard Chalk because it is free and easy to use) and looked at what I did last year in January. I found this easy lesson for Arnie the Doughnut that the kids loved. Remember lessons don’t always need to be a complex dog and pony show. It is okay to share a good book and then give students something fun to do that ties into it that doesn’t take a lot of prep work.

Arnie the Doughnut by Laurie Keller

I love this book and so do the kids. I use it with my first grade classes and they are always asking if we can read it again. For this one I simply went and found a free coloring sheet online. I typed in “Arnie the Doughnut coloring sheet” and found this one by Scholastic. It was perfect.

Since my admin wants the library to be “a class” I try to add more to their lesson than just a coloring sheet. Since we were reading about a doughnut I chose to use a worksheet that started with the letter D. Again I searched for free letter D worksheets and found one I liked. Then I simply printed the coloring sheet and the letter D worksheet back to back. And just like that I had a fun lesson (and educational) to go with the book.

Potato Pants by Laurie Keller

Once you find a good book it is then easy to find other books by the same author to use in your library lessons. Laurie Keller has written so many good books it is easy to keep going with her books and add more fun lessons to your classes.

Potato Pants is always a hit. I also use this one with my first grade classes but it could easily be used with younger or older students. There are tons of fun ideas you can use with this book to have kids decorate and make potato pants. Some people use actual potatoes and put fabric on them. Some use pictures of a potato and add fabric clothes. I choose to use an activity where kids color the clothes on their potato and other fruits and vegetables in a coloring page format.

The activity I like to do for this one takes a couple visits but the students have a blast working on it. I found this lesson idea on Facebook from the Clever Librarian. No cost other than your time to draw some fun looking fruits and vegetables. Don’t worry if you are not an artist, I definitely am not, but found it easy to draw these funny looking pictures from the students to color. It does take a bit of prep work to make the little Potato Pants coloring pages but once you do it one year, save the template and then you have it for years to come.

Once you have drawn your different fruits and vegetables on the coloring pages. Staple the edges along the long side of the paper to make a book. Cut the pages in half but not all the way across. This way the top and bottom can fold open and then the outfits are interchangeable for the different fruits and vegetables. My classes love showing each other how they colored their pants for the different pages. It is definitely an activity worth adding to your lessons.

Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller

Do Unto Otters is a wonderful book to use for an SEL lesson. We can never give students too many reminders about how to treat others kindly and with respect. After we read and discuss this book I use my Google Slides reading Companion activity. Prep time for this lesson is super easy. All you have to do is add it to their Google classroom, make a copy for each student, and assign.

This lesson is a tech related lesson so students get to practice library skills and some basic tech skills at the same time. As students go through the lesson they will do predictions, story elements, and write three ways they can be friendly, considerate, kind, honest. Then at the end they can use the scribble line tool to solve a maze. This is just another way to keep students engaged and learning in the library.

Shop for your copy of Do Unto Otters here.

I have give you three books by Laurie Keller to use but you can find more and use some simple ways to add fun and learning to your library lessons. I hope these ideas were helpful to you as you continue your journey to make your library a special place of learning and fun.