WMS Library Arlington VA

Alt text: Promotional graphic for #TLSkyChat featuring Brad Gustafson, smiling in a suit and tie, with covers of his books including Overcoming Education, The 6 Literacy Levers, Renegade Leadership, and Reclaiming Our Calling. Text reads: “Principals + School Librarians = A Powerful Combination. Wednesday 8PM ET / 5PM PT.” The #TLSkyChat logo is at the top left.

Join us next Wednesday at 8pm ET/5pm PT for guest moderator Brad Gustafson who will be leading us in a discussion on Principals + School Librarians = A Powerful Combination!!! 🎤

💬 Thanks to all who make #TLSkyChat a space to learn, share & grow. 💛 You make this community shine! tlskychat.com

Let the 6th grade students who pour over the atlases everyday at lunch know that Model UN is a club they may like and is still open to new members! @apslibrarians.bsky.social @apsva.us @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social #wmsresearches

Talk About Books (TAB) members had A LOT to say today. Love their passion for what they are reading. Today featured graphic novels, classics, "modern classics" & more. Students also checked out books that were talked about as we wrapped up. @apslibrarians.bsky.social @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social

Always fun to listen to student ambassadors touring the 5th graders around. They do a good job describing similarities & differences between the middle school & elementary school library experience. @apslibrarians.bsky.social @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social @apsva.us #wmsreads #wmsresearches

World Geo in today to wrap up & share projects w/ a gallery walk. Reinforced where to find citation support in the research hub and emphasized the active thinking needed when researching and reading. @apslibrarians.bsky.social @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social @suptduran.apsva.us

students discussing projects with each other in the library

students discussing projects with each other in the library

Disciplinary Literacy classes in the library for a convention to showcase their research projects/inventions to "investors." Awesome creativity. Appreciate students referencing the research they did. #wmsresearches @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social @apslibrarians.bsky.social @suptduran.apsva.us

Basketball backboard and net with the words March Book Madness accompanied by basketballs with images of book covers on them.

7 of the 16 March Book Madness titles have been checked out as ebooks or e-audiobooks from our Sora collection. Sweet 16 voting wraps up Friday. Excited to see which books make it to the Elite Eight. #wmsreads @apslibrarians.bsky.social @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social

Messaged students thru Canvas a couple of hours ago that ebook and/or e-audiobook versions of the WMS March Book Madness books are now available in Sora. Just checked, and 7 of the books/audiobooks have been borrowed so far. #wmsreads @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social @apslibrarians.bsky.social

Students need media & information literacy lessons w/ school librarians. They learn to find multiple sources of information & reading original sources matters. Chatbots, like search engines, are tools - students still need to do the work! @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social @apslibrarians.bsky.social

5 boys reading newspapers at tables or seated in windows

4 boys on the floor huddled over atlases

9 boys seated together in comfy chairs and on the floor reading books

The other day, boys scored the majority of passes during 6th grade lunch. They came to read the World Records books, the newspaper, and to investigate the atlases. They sit in groups, pour over the materials together, and debate. @apslibrarians.bsky.social @apsvaschoolbd.bsky.social #wmsreads

The TAB book club had a wonderful author visit w/ KA Holt. Thanks to @jeffersonreads.bsky.social for hosting and @apslibrarians.bsky.social for arranging! The author was relatable and engaging. It was great to get a behind the scenes look at the writing process. @wmswolfpack.bsky.social #WMSreads

Read Accountable by that author if you haven't yet!

The Talk About Books (TAB) book club met today during all grade level lunches. I loved the way so many students thought to bring the book they were going to talk about with them to display while they talked. #wmsreads

This is exactly the kind of content I've been missing from that other platform.

This Chrome Extension Uploads All Your Old Tweets to Bluesky If you're migrating from X to the friendlier skies of Bluesky, you don't have to leave everything behind—Porto is an extension for Chromium browsers that imports all of your old tweets to Bluesky auto...

This article pointed me in the right direction: lifehacker.com/tech/use-por...

I pulled my posts over using the chrome extension Porto. I couldn't leave years of school library advocacy behind.

Working my way through some AI pd and thinking about how I will use the district approved tools in my capacity as a school librarian: teaching students, collaborating with content teachers, administering the program, and curating resources.

Modeling appropriate & transparent use of generative AI using Copilot. Asked the ramifications of teens' inability to identify news, entertainment, ads & opinion. Discussed results w/ Civics tying to their current learning. @BoykinBryan @Miranda4APS @APSLibrarians @APSsocstudies

Civics honing in on discerning news, opinion, entertainment & advertising. This was supposed to be the foundation of a media bias lesson, but it's become the whole lesson. Small steps w/ authentic content being shared. @BoykinBryan @Miranda4APS @APSLibrarians @APSsocstudies

6th grade lunch. The students love to read in the windows after they've eaten in the cafeteria. Full house almost every day. #wmsreads @BoykinBryan @wmspta_wolves @APSLibrarians @APSVaSchoolBd

1st TAB meeting of the year was a big success. So many students came to Talk About Books during their lunch. The running record took up 2 pages! @BoykinBryan @wmspta_wolves @APSLibrarians @ArlingtonVALib #wmsreads @APSVaSchoolBd

8th gr student told me all about Ink Girls by @mariekeyn Said even tho set in Renaissance, freedom of the press is a modern issue. Then she got it from the stacks so I could read it. #wmsreads @BoykinBryan @APSLibrarians @wmspta_wolves @APSVaSchoolBd @MsHanReads

Civics students learning about misrepresentation & manipulation & practicing gathering evidence online to support their conclusions. Overheard as they research: debate about reliable websites. @BoykinBryan @wmspta_wolves @APSLibrarians @APSVaSchoolBd @VATeacher32 @APSsocstudies

Civics students determining if select photos are taken out of context by doing searches online. One student, "This is too hard." Yes, this is challenging, but with practice & resilience, it will get easier! @BoykinBryan @APSLibrarians @wmspta_wolves @APSsocstudies #BeConsistent

Developing resiliency when doing research is a hard concept to teach - students must do the work & experience the process. Working with 7th gr science this week at the beginning of their science projects. #wmsresearches @BoykinBryan @APSLibrarians @APSscience @APSVaSchoolBd

Co-teaching w/World Geo will set students up for research success this year and beyond. Emphasis on navigating databases & utilizing multiple sources for information. @BoykinBryan @APSLibrarians @wmspta_wolves @APSsocstudies @APSVaSchoolBd #wmsresearches

8th gr Sci projects begin. Shared a "Why We Do Science Projects" presentation & then some resources to get started. Next week, keyword searches & effective research strategies. @BoykinBryan @APSLibrarians @wmspta_wolves @SuptDuran @APSscience #wmsresearches

First round of orientation with 8th gr Eng shows *many* students are listening to books. Looking forward to incorporating audiobook booktalks into future classes. #wmsreads @BoykinBryan @APSLibrarians @wmspta_wolves @MsHanReads

Many students were fascinated listening to Ms. Scott talk about Candy J. Cooper's narrative nonfiction book Shackled during orientation. It was checked out 1st period, so she also described our book hold/request process. #wmsreads @BoykinBryan @APSLibrarians @wmspta_wolves

Day 2 of 6th gr Social Studies passion project research. Students using books in the library in addition to online research, & learning the expectations for creating proper citations using @noodletools. @BoykinBryan @wmspta_wolves @APSsocstudies @MaryKaderaVA @APSLibrarians