Library Orientation
In the past few weeks I’ve had a lot of librarians reach out to me asking what I do for library orientation. This blog will discuss various ideas you can do to get students excited about the library, as well as share important information with them. *Please make a copy of any of the documents linked in this post if you want to edit.
Google Slides: you can always do the tried and true presentation option. I’ve done it this way before when I didn’t have much time. Here are two examples you can make copies of if you want to go this route: ORMS Library Orientation and Virtual Library Orientation. Including your Bitmoji, active links, QR codes, cute transitions and backgrounds can keep students’ attention and share the information you need. It can also be another opportunity for students to “sit and get” so to speak, meaning they get a lot of that in class. Orientation can be a fun way to get them up and moving, but if you do use the Google Slides option make sure you end with a tour and check out so kids can move around and see the library for themselves.
Family Feud: I love playing this as students’ first introduction into the library. It creates an environment of fun, excitement and shows that MY library isn’t one where SHUSHING happens a lot. If you click on this Powerpoint presentation you will get the game already set up with transitions, music, etc. All you need to do is change your questions to fit your library. I put the students into two groups usually (please try and stay away from boys vs. girls. It can exclude non-binary students, as well as also make students feel like they have to fit themselves into one of those two categories and they might not be ready to do so just yet). I use a buzzer from Lakeshore Learning Store, but you can get one from Amazon here. I usually have a prize the winning team can get.
Breakout Games: Escape Rooms, Breakout Rooms, games, etc. are a fun way to create teamwork between students in classes. It also promotes outside-of-the-box thinking, race against the clock and lots of exploration of the library to find and solve clues. Click here for some ideas I’ve done in the library, as well as BreakoutEDU.
Goosechase: This app is super fun to create classroom or whole school scavenger hunts, however, due to COVID I haven’t used it in over a year. I have a presentation I’ve created, but might be outdated since apps do evolve and change frequently. Feel free to take what I’ve used and make any changes as you find them. I highly recommend using Goosechase, even if it’s not for your library orientation. Goosechase for Teachers, Goosechase for Students.
Bitmoji Classroom/Library: Last summer Bitmoji classes were the THING. I’ll be using Canvas this year instead of my linked up Bitmoji library, but I still think they can be adorable and it has all your links in one place, one of the strongest cases for someone to keep using one. Here are some links to get you started if you wanted to go the Bitmoji route: My Bitmoji Classroom, Bitmoji Templates, Bitmoji example.
Here’s a list of apps you can use to share your library orientation with and then you can play a quiz-style game to see if they retained the information: Kahoot, Quizizz, Poll Everywhere, Quizlet. I’ve also used the website Riddle to create a “Find Your Favorite Genre” personality quiz. The students love doing this magazine-type quizzes and you can create your own!
Please comment or message me what you’ve used for Library Orientation in the past or what you’re using this year. (I’m sure there’s some I’ve forgotten that I’ve done before and I’m always looking for new ideas!)
