Library / 2022/2023 Impact Report

2022/2023 Impact Report

Librarian

The Vineyard Ranch Librarian sponsors our Broadcast Team. Students meet Mondays after school to create high-quality, professional-looking prerecorded announcements. Students are pushed to write scripts, use inflection and solid voices for recording, and learn to edit their videos in WeVideo. Morning announcements are shared through a link emailed to teachers each morning.
To encourage our students to broaden their reading selections across multiple genres, the librarian transformed the library into a pizza café, and students had the opportunity to do a “book tasting” and participate in a genre reading challenge. Students were challenged to read books from 4 different genres over four weeks for a chance to visit our library treasure box.
Author/Illustrator Janet Stevens and Author Susan Crummel visited Vineyard Ranch on December 5 and 6. The students learned that events that happen around you could inspire stories. The most crucial step is to jot those ideas down, so they aren’t forgotten.
2nd-5th grade students participated in a Battle of the Books. The second grade focused on Fairy Tales, while the upper grades read chapter books. The friendly competition is loads of fun! And a great way to get students to read a variety of books.

22,975
print books in collection

4,690
ebooks books in collection

25,771
print books checked out

1,756
ebooks books checked out

Teacher

Fourth and fifth-grade science teachers brought their students to the library to begin their unit on soil properties. The librarian read aloud This House is Made of Mud/Esta casa esta echa de lodo by Ken Buchanon. The students then observed the properties of wet and dry soil to determine the best for building.
Kindergarten spent the week describing the physical properties of matter using their five senses. In the library, we extended that by popping air popcorn and explaining its texture, shape, scent, color, and size. Then, they got to take a baggie of popcorn home to taste later!
The librarian incorporated a spooky lesson using the Chris Van Allsburg book, The Widow’s Broom. In the story, the magic broom is helpful; however, the neighbors are afraid of it and believe it to be bad. The 4th grade students listened to the book and responded using Chromebooks. Students discussed topics such as bullying and the importance of open-mindedness.
To celebrate Earth Day and Poetry Month, students used articles from News-o-Matic about environmental or endangered animals to create Found Poetry. Students chose words or short phrases from the article to arrange into a poem. They came out spectacular and were displayed in the hallways of our school.

Lesson Spotlight

The librarian taught an interactive lesson with "The Spider and the Fly" poem. Students made inferences, discussed complex language, and responded using Chromebooks. Then, students used "The Spider and the Fly" as a model to create an original comic strip using Canva. The criteria included choosing a predator/prey relationship and writing at least one metaphor and simile in their product. Students' knowledge of predator/prey relationships and figurative language expanded after this lesson.

Collaborator

In library PLC group time, five NEISD librarians worked together to plan a lesson on a science objective for second grade. The collaborative effort resulted in a TEKS-based study focused on observing, describing, and recording patterns of objects in the sky. The lesson was delivered to 20 second-grade classrooms in NEISD.
The librarian and Library Instructional Coordinator, Landa Langford, worked together to plan a first-grade research unit. Then, our librarian worked with our first grade teachers to adapt it to work best for their classrooms. Students used PebbleGo to gather information and take notes on an animal of their choice. Then, they used their notes to write a research paper.
The librarian and the first grade team collaborated to create a research project that students presented as part of their Reading Restaurant. Students worked over several weeks and used multiple sources to create a lap book on how technology has changed our lives. The end product included the research and photographs of their activities during the research process.
The librarian and the IIT worked together to promote Wonderbooks to our dyslexia population. Wonderbooks are read-along audiobooks purchased this year with money from the North East Education Foundation grant. They worked as a team to help those students choose the perfect Wonderbook to take home and read. Wonderbooks popularity has grown tremendously.

Collaboration Spotlight

The Librarian and GT teacher created a full-day project for GT fifth grade students to develop a Holiday Parade with robots. The students began by completing an application for one of the following careers: coder, engineer, product designer, advertiser, and news broadcaster. They were selected based on their application and abilities. On the day of the project, students collaborated with their teams to complete specific assignments. The coders coded their robot to navigate a parade route. The engineers built the skyscrapers that appeared on the parade route. The product designers created balloon art showcasing different holidays to float above the robots. The broadcasters wrote scripts and provided commentary as the parade was recorded. They also worked on editing the final video product. One full day was used to make their p

students posing with balloon float props

Campus Leader

The librarian conducted a PD for teachers on Learning Ally. All teachers were trained to add books to their students’ bookshelves. They were also taught from a student’s point of view on how to view the bookshelf and read on an iPad or Chromebook.
We celebrated ten years of excellence at “The Ranch” with a school anniversary party. The librarian served on the Denim and Diamonds Committee to help plan the celebration.
The GT teacher, Mrs. Williams, and the librarian collaborated to present Canva to the staff. Canva is a district-paid program that students and teachers can utilize in their classrooms. The team learned how to create and implement digital word walls to video creations with green screen capabilities using Canva in their classrooms.
The librarian helps to manage the social media for the campus. She created a folder in our Staff Shared Drive where teachers can share photographs of campus activities and post them.