Today's Media Tip comes from guest blogger, Angela Causby at Archer's Lodge Middle
Scavenger Hunts, Bingo and Bazinga - Oh My!
Quick & Easy Media Center Activities for Middle School
Activities in the media center can be a fun way to teach students where things are located by making them actually locate. Students enjoy these as they are able to navigate around the library (movement-yay!), they can be a little louder than normal (noise-YAY!) and the winners usually receive a prize (CANDY!!!!).
PART ONE: SCAVENGER HUNTS
If your library is divided where there is a jump in books, you probably have experienced the confusion over why the fiction books start with author’s last name of C. To remedy this, scavenger hunts throughout the year with with sixth graders and at the beginning of the year with 7th and 8th students to refamiliarize themselves with the media center. Media assistants have also had projects based around the creation of their own scavenger hunt. Seldom is there a time limit as they are all rushing to return to their seat to win, however, sometimes it is necessary to give a two minute warning.
Scavenger Hunt where students pull books:
This is a tricky one, unless there is a lot of help re-shelving. It also requires several different forms so there are plenty of books for students to pull just in case there is not time to reshelve in between classes. Each group of students are given a different form where they must go and collect a variety of books from around the library. Students then must all return to their table, sit down and raise their hands to check for completion and of course to the victor goes the spoils.
Samples of forms used:
Scavenger Hunt 1
Scavenger Hunt 1
A. Books about weather are found in Non Fiction 551. Find and pull a book about tornadoes.
B. Find and pull a fiction book written by Gary Paulsen.
C. Find and pull any book from Story Collections.
D. Find and pull a fiction book written by an author whose last name begins with Col.
E. Find and pull an autobiography by someone whose last name begins with G.
Scavenger Hunt 2
A. Find and pull an autobiography for any sports figure found in Non Fiction in 921.
B. Find and pull a fiction book written by Karen Hesse.
C. Find and pull a Battle of the Book’s book.
D. Find and pull a fiction book written by an author whose last name begins with WOO.
E. Find and pull a book about dogs.
Scavenger Hunt where students place cards in assigned area:
This scavenger hunt is almost like an easter egg hunt in how it is performed. Students sit in groups. One student in each group is elected to be the gatherer at the end. This is usually the person it is felt has the most knowledge of the library. Each group is given six individual call number cards (three fiction/three nonfiction) to place around the library where a book with that call number would be located. They place them on the shelf, not in between books or in books and books are scattered over the library to make students have to look around. The gatherer stays at the table as they hold the master list for their table. After the group has placed the cards correctly around, the gatherer then goes behind them and locates all cards. If the cards have not been placed correctly this can be a tricky task and why students are made to pick up after students. If they want to win they need to make sure they are as easy as possible to locate. Walk around to make sure they are not all placed in one area. Several sets of these are made as well on bright paper so cards can be easier to locate on shelves, although there are two sets per color.
Samples:
Individual Card Set A:
921 BAR
|
F ABR
|
741.5 JOL
|
F KOR
|
031 RIP
|
SC SCA
|
Master Set A:
921 BAR
F ABR
741.5 JOL
F KOR
031 RIP
SC SCA
|
Individual Cards Set B:
F COL
|
550 STE
|
F YEP
|
398.2 SCH
|
F RIO
|
973 BOY
|
Master Cards Set B:
F COL
550 STE
F YEP
398.2 SCH
F RIO
973 BOY
|
PART TWO: MEDIA CENTER BINGO
Another easy and fun activity is media center bingo. Using a Bingo Card generator, generate as many cards as needed for your needs. Once again, I typically do one per table, so 9-10 in my case. Each table is given a card, red chips, pencil and paper. I am a little mean so I use no free space, no corners, just five in any direction. Along with using books, use other topics found around the media center on posters or just knowledge that the students have about the media center. Instead of pulling books, students write their answers down on the paper and then it is checked for correctness. This is usually the activity where the first one who finishes is not the winner as they usually have to go back and fix an answer.
Sample Bingo Card:
Part Three: Bazinga!
A really fun way to end the semester or start back after break is to play Bazinga! To do this, first generate a list of 10 relatively easy - or at least you think so- questions ( you do not need a lot as the reaction over scoring tends to take the most time.)
My ten questions usually include:
- What is your librarian’s name? (This is even better if there are two)
- What is it called when you turn in a book?
- What are the hours of the media center?
- What must you bring with you every time you go to the library?
- Where do fiction books begin?
- What is your log in for Destiny?
- How many books are you allowed to have checked out at one time?
- What is the name of the research process we use at our school?
- Name two ways you can search on the catalog?
- What tells us where a book is located on the catalog?
Divide class into groups 3-5 is preferable depending on class size. Each group starts with zero points. It is best to display points on the Smartboard or a whiteboard as it can be hard to keep up. Starting with the first group ask the first question. For an incorrect response, you go to the next group with no points taken away. A correct response allows the group to select a card of their choosing from the Bazinga Board.
The bazinga Board contains pockets filled with “rewards.” Some popular choices are:
Of course, you can fill the others with your usual point totals just to keep students on their toes. Points are awarded per the card selected. The game proceeds until all questions are answered OR until each team has had at least one individual question OR until time is up. This is a fun game to keep students engaged the whole time and to make sure they know some basics of the library.
These are just a few fun things to do with students instead of lecturing when they visit the media center.
Thanks Angela for sharing these great lessons - If you have an idea to share please let me know!