April is National Poetry Month! Poetry can sometimes be intimidating to students, but there are fun ways to get them involved in appreciating and creating poetry.
This article from School Library Journal is packed with a ton of unique ideas for helping students uncover the delights of poetry. Some of these ideas include:
The Goth-O-Matic Poetry Generator: This site “can help you build your own shadowed and unearthly opus. It’s easy to convey your own emotional abyss with this insidious wonder, expressing the dark and tormented path on which you tread.”
Steps for writing a “Where I’m From” poem: “This poem encourages tolerance and awareness of our own personal experiences and can be rewritten over and over again.”
Plus, the article describes initiatives different libraries are taking to incorporate poetry into student activities. It’s always encouraging to see the cool things that happen in libraries across the country.
“The YALSA Legislation Committee wonders if you would share an example of a time you helped mobilize teen participation for a social justice or advocacy cause. We’re collecting examples!
It could be an example of a time you encouraged high schoolers to write a letter to their school board, or an example of the time you took a group of teens to your local representative’s office to advocate for library funding.
We want to know what you did, how, and why!
Have you heard? In celebration of the upcoming announcement of the 2017 Teens’ Top Ten (TTT) nominees on Thursday, April 13th, during National Library Week, 50 sets of the 2017 TTT nominees will be given away to libraries in need generously funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. And applications are open now! You can apply for the giveaway via the online form by May 1, 2017. To be eligible, applicants must be personal YALSA members and work in a library within 20 miles of a Dollar General store. Other eligibility requirements also apply. Learn more and apply here.
2017 Teen Read Week Site
Make sure you keep an eye on our Teen Read Week site at teenreadweek.ning.com early next week, during National Library Week, for an update featuring the 2017 theme! This year’s Teen Read Week will be celebrated October 8th-14th! So, don’t forget to sign up for an account to get the latest news, if you haven’t already. Continue reading Latest YALSA News!→
“I am working on a presentation at the end of April on boosting our youth NF collection and want to see what everyone is doing out there. The more we can share, the merrier!
So far, I have seen/heard/done:
CATALOGING
Grouping NF in larger non-dewey order using BISAC or METIS
Combining non-fiction and picture books together under broad categories
Simplifying NF by radically shortening Dewey numbers and creatively replacing Cutter # (so all football books become 796 F; all baseball books become 796 B)
DISPLAY
Lots of face-out displays in or on top of shelves
Creating “book bundles” with 2-4 related NF books inc. bios and poetry and/or mixed bundles of NF and fiction
Include in “blind date with a book” and “mystery read” packs
OUTREACH
Include NF in all grade specific booklists
Include NF in booktalks at school
Include NF in book collections sent out to schools, day care sites and etc
PROGRAMMING
Display NF books in all STEM/STEAM programming
Include NF in any passive programs or room scavenger hunts
What else do you have?
I will share results on the Tiny Tips blog in May!
A library person was asking for information on activities her anime/manga group might do. There were several suggestions, and I am passing them on here, because several of you have these groups or have talked about starting them. This can be a great way to connect to young adults in your community!
Have you done other good things in your library? Share them in the comments!
DIY Bento Boxes or candy sushi
Perler Beads
Paper beads made from manga sheets
Button making/bottle cap magnets
Sushi candles
Anime/manga inspired glass etching
Anime/manga inspired t-shirt stenciling
A lot of things with Mod Podge and manga or comic books you plan on donating like bracelets or picture frames
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
April is National Poetry Month! Poetry can sometimes be intimidating to students, but there are fun ways to get them involved in appreciating and creating poetry.
