One Club becomes Two
It became clear that if students didn't want to appear on camera then they didn't get as much out of the club. I had already planned to start a Year 5 book club after I got through Book Week in Term 2, and I decided to allow those Year 6 students who weren't connecting with the Library Llamas to join as well. The new club, the Pink Fluffy Unicorns (yes, the boys voted for that!), is run using the key ring challenge format that was so successful last year. I now have around 14 students in the Library Llamas (more manageable) and 40 in the Pink Fluffy Unicorns (!).
One thing that I'm proud about is that both my book clubs have students in them that are dyslexic and/or struggling readers. They're often brought along by their more bookish friends, but they stay because they're comfortable in the club and are able to read and discuss books at the level that is right for them.
Playlists
Initially, the kids all wanted to set up their own themed 'channel' within our channel. So far though, I've not had any of them do a second video on the same theme! Lately, I've been encouraging students to make videos that tie in with two areas:
- Llama drama - scenes based on books
- Llama listens - a short book review with our llama puppet (which they get to name).
We also have 'Book Buzz', which is the interviews we've done with visiting authors and illustrators. I've enjoyed these interviews and the kids have done really well with them. The feedback we've had from our guests has been positive too, with one saying that they felt so special when asked to be interviewed.
The other playlist we have is 'Double Trouble', which has more in-depth book reviews, done by two student librarians (not necessarily Library Llama members) wanting to earn their gold certificates. I do give student librarians the option of getting their gold certificate by doing written book reviews, I am careful not to require on-camera appearances as that can disadvantage shy students.
Llama Drama!
One of our Year 2 classes really enjoyed this video:
Apparently, several of the students went around afterwards yelling "Roar!, roar!, roar!" all around the playground! They also tried it in the Reading Wonderland, where the video was shot, but were told off by Esther (our library assistant who unfortunately hadn't seen the video!).
Lessons from Filming
- One of the biggest technical problems we have is that we often film at morning tea, and it is very noisy outside. I also think we could improve with better camera techniques, so I have contacted our local tertiary institution and am in the process of setting up a visit from a person from their Moving Image team. I think the kids will enjoy getting ideas to make their videos better, I know I will.
- So far, I have turned down one video after we filmed it. It is a fine line, I don't want to crush creative ideas, but at the same time there does need to be a certain standard for our videos. Fortunately, the boys took it well and have gone on to make other, better, videos.
- I accidentally filmed one video where the boys were wearing their name badges! I'm trying to work out if I can blur these somehow or if we will need to reshoot. I do specify that due to privacy reasons all students must remove their name badges, but I'm often busy filming and organising and I obviously forgot to remind them this time.
Author Feedback
One thing that has been a thrill for the students is when they've received feedback from the authors of the books they have reviewed. Here are a couple:
JAKE! This is soooo outstanding! I’m so glad you are digging HILO! pic.twitter.com/1iez5tgQlr— (((Judd Winick))) (@JuddWinick) March 24, 2018
Wonderful review! Thank you library llamas!— Ross Welford (@rosswelford) July 5, 2018
The students are still full of energy, ideas and enthusiasm and I'm looking forward to seeing what we come up with for the rest of the year!
This sounds amazing! Well done for making it happen! We used an online tool this year called Fiction Express and found that bringing technology into our book clubs increased engagement with reading.
ReplyDeleteInteresting tool - I doubt the UK authors would like to get up in the middle of the night to write for my book club in NZ! You're right about technology though, if it appeals to the kids it can create lots of engagement :)
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