Table Of ContentSCHOOL LIBRARY STORYTIME
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Just the Basic Series
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Written and Illustrated by Patricia A. Messner and Brenda S. Copeland
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SCHOOL LIBRARY
STORYTIME
JUST THE BASICS
Written and Illustrated by
Brenda S. Copeland and Patricia A. Messner
Just the Basics
Copyright 2013 by Brenda S. Copeland and Patricia A. Messner
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion
of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from
the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Copeland, Brenda S.
School library storytime : just the basics / written and illustrated by
Brenda S. Copeland and Patricia A. Messner.
pages cm. — ( Just the basics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61069-202-1 (hardcopy) — ISBN 978-1-61069-203-8
(ebook) 1. Elementary school libraries—Activity programs—United
States. 2. Storytelling—United States. 3. Children—Books
and reading—United States. I. Messner, Patricia A. II. Title.
Z675.S3C755 2013
027.62'51—dc23 2013000170
I SBN: 978-1-61069-202-1
E ISBN: 978-1-61069-203-8
1 7 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5
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CONTENTS
Series Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
1 September . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 October . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3 November. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4 December . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5 January . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6 February . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
7 March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
8 April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
9 May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
V
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SERIES FOREWORD
School libraries are places to read, to explore, and to fi nd informa-
tion. When kindergarten students fi rst visit a school library, they are
told that this is the place where they will learn answers to their ques-
tions and that they will learn how to use the library to fi nd those an-
swers. And, as students grow and mature, the school library does
indeed become that place for them, but we know that does not just
happen. It takes a community, and that community is the library staff.
The library staff must be knowledgeable, hardworking, and service ori-
ented. They must possess a certain amount of basic information just
to keep the library up and running.
Basic information is important information. It is often critical and
in some cases not readily available. Running a school library well re-
quires the assistance of several key individuals (library aides or clerks,
volunteers, paraprofessionals, and technicians), in addition to the pro-
fessional school librarian. Training these assistants to do the tasks re-
quired is time consuming, and often school librarians and district
library coordinators have to construct their own training materials as
well as do the one-on-one instruction at each library site.
In order to facilitate and help expedite this training, we offer this
series of short, concise, and very practical books to aid in the training
necessary to prepare assistants to help: organize, equip, and furnish a
media center, manage a school library; prepare and circulate materials,
and perform many other tasks that are necessary to the smooth opera-
tion of a school library today. The Just the Basics series is written by
professionally trained and certifi ed building-level school librarians
working currently in the fi eld. As we roll out this series, please let us
know what you think. Do we need additional topics? Is the series us-
able in training situations? What comments do you have?
Please contact me at [email protected]
SHARON COATNEY
Senior Acquisitions Editor
Libraries Unlimited
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
VII
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INTRODUCTION
Library Store Hour is one of the most favorite extra activities primary
grade students participate in during the school day. Teachers rejoice in
the diversion of taking the students to the library for a story. Students
enter with pent-up energy and wiggly bodies. Library staff stands at atten-
tion ready to wow the next group of young readers with picture books
tucked under their arms. In the following pages, we hope to give some
hints on how to make this time both manageable and exciting. This book
contains a collection of stories and activities for use throughout the
school year. Hopefully, they will be a spark for some very creative proj-
ects. Use these as written or spring off on your own. Remember, the
youngest students in the school are excited about reading books. We
want to harness this all-important natural resource. Even the oldest stu-
dents will enjoy a good story if chosen carefully and presented well.
Probably the fi rst and most asked question is h ow do I read to stu-
dents and keep them hanging on to each page. Here are a few things to
keep in mind.
1. Read through the book ahead of time. If the story is too complicated
or the pictures do not lend themselves to being viewed in group
setting, then lay aside and use another one. Some of the best sto-
ries also have complicated names for the main character. When
you read through the text, if you stumble over the pronunciation,
then you will do so during story time as well.
Practice and, if it is still a problem, choose another story.
2. Select stories that excite you. Your excitement will carry over in
your reading. Your voice infl ections will help the students to be
better readers themselves. If the main character looks like your
pet, then play on that as you show the title and front cover. Help
the students connect to the story. Let the fun and excitement
carry the story line to the end. Give time at the end for students
to share how the story made them feel or share connections to
their own lives.
3. Do not rush. Stop often and talk about the illustrations and how
they make the story more interesting. Ask key questions that
help students predict what will happen on the next page. Build
up the suspense and help them see the unexpected.
4. Keep things simple. Do not try to cover too much. Pick out one
point and expand on it. Build on the concept all the way to the
end. For example, if the story lends itself to story sequencing,
IX
