It's Time For Book Spine Scary Story Month!

 

Canva Lesson Link

*Disclaimer Information at the end of this post.

Each year around this time our ELA, ESL, Read 180, and Inclusion classes begin their unit on narrative writing. To introduce the basic tenets of narrative writing our ELA, ESL, Read 180, and Inclusion teachers sign up for a day to bring their classes to create Book Spine Scary Stories.

Book Spine Scary Stories are similar to Book Spine Poetry. Students find a few books, stack them on top of each other and the titles of the books read from top to bottom create the poem. To create a Book Spine Scary Story students need to find 4 to 8 books (all from different genres otherwise they will grab a handful of books from the same shelf 🙄) and stack them so they create a scary story when the titles are read from top to bottom. Their stories must meet the definition of a scary story:

A scary story is a narrative designed to evoke fear, suspense, and unease in the reader or listener through eerie, unsettling, or supernatural elements.

Included with meeting the definition of a scary story students also need to follow four other guidelines:

1. Find at least 4 books but no more than 8 books. 
2. Arrange the books from TOP to BOTTOM
3. Get your teacher's approval before submitting your story
4. Put books back on the TOP of the SAME COLOR shelf

Clarification of guidelines 3 and 4:

Guideline #3: Once students' stories have been approved, they take a picture of their Book Spine Scary Story with their Chromebooks (we are a 1:1 school) and upload it to the Canvas (our LMS) Google Slides assignment created by their teacher. They must also write their story when submitting their picture as the spine label often obscures some of the title. 

Example:

Guideline #4: Once students have taken a picture of their Book Spine Scary Story they put each book on the TOP of the shelf that matches the color on the spine label of the book. It should be noted that my library is genrefied and the books have been shelved by genre. This keeps students (mostly) from shoving books back on the shelves anywhere and makes it easy for me to quickly shelve most of the books during the 5 minutes between classes. 

*Side Note: It is absolutely exhausting shelving books for 8 days but the payoff from the learning taking place and the relationship building that happens with teachers and students is well worth it. 

Foremost, students should HAVE FUN, BE CREATIVE, and HELP EACH OTHER

The kids LOVE this activity! They start out thinking that the activity is super easy. "What could be easier than stacking a few books together"? Once they get started they realize they really need to think about the plot, setting, characters, and other narrative writing guidelines. The amount of interaction, engagement, and discussion between students is AMAZING! There are often audible exclamations when students finally have a story they have finished and are excited about showing their teacher and friends. 

This week I am preparing for the Book Spine Scary Story madness by removing all of the books from the tops of the shelves so that students have space to create and return the books they have pulled off of the shelves. This usually takes me about 2 days if I don't have too many interruptions. 

Here are a few pictures of the action from last school year (22-23):

Once all the students have submitted their stories, each teacher chooses the top two stories from the combined pool of all their classes. The teachers combine their Top 2 into a collaborative Google Slide and send it to me. Then I create a Google Form to send out to the entire student body, teachers, and staff so they can vote for their favorite story.  The top three winners receive a gift bag donated by the PTA filled with goodies, swag, and gift cards to popular fast food restaurants.

The fun this year (23-24) starts on Monday, October 2nd. Please let me know if you have any questions!

*DISCLAIMER:

• I am a high school librarian at a 9th grade only school
• I do not have scheduled classes
• I do NOT have an aide
• This is my 31st year in education

HERE is the voting form from last year (22-23). You are welcome to vote if you would like to 😀:  

NGC Library LitBox Subscription Program

 

I learned about the LitBox subscription program at the April 2023 Texas Library Association Conference in a session presented by Morgan Green-Griffin. Morgan was the recipient of the 2022 Young Adult Reading Incentive (YARI) Award for the Teen LitBox subscription program she developed for 6th- 12th graders at the public library of Coppell, TX.

The LitBox subscription is similar to a BarkBox or other monthly subscription service. Like BarkBox the contents of the LitBox match the theme of the month. Each LitBox contains one to two books, an informative trifold brochure, and some swag and goodies.

Because of a limited budget and because I was unsure about how the LitBox program would be received by students, I chose to limit the number of NGC LitBoxes to 10 per month. On August 28, 2023, I sent out an informative flyer about the NGC LitBox subscription program and the subscription form for September using the Announcements feature of the NGC Library Canvas course. Nine students (with a little arm twisting from me) signed up to receive the very first ever NGC LitBoxes. I expect more students will sign up to receive an NGC LitBox now that they have seen what a LitBox actually is. 

The theme for the September NGC LitBox was Hispanic Heritage Month. Included in each box were two books, an informative Hispanic Heritage Month trifold brochure, Lucas Skwinkles Salsagheti, Mexistuff stickers by Efrain Tinoco, and an Amate art kit (bark paper, acrylic paint set, information about the history of and how to make Amate Art, and a glitter pencil). 

How did I choose the books?

During library orientation, students completed a Reading Genre Personality Quiz. Using their answers I found books that fell within the theme of Hispanic Heritage Month and that also matched their reading personality.

How did I create the informative trifold brochure?

I created the informative trifold brochure by slightly editing the one created by Morgan Green-Griffin. Morgan was quite generous and provided me with editable copies of all of the LitBox brochures she created in Canva! 

How did I choose what swag and treats to include in the NGC LitBox?

I looked at what Morgan Green-Griffin included in her LitBoxes and duplicated or substituted items while remaining true to the theme.

How do you pick which students get the NGC LitBox?

Students who are interested in receiving an NGC LitBox must subscribe every month. Students who receive an NGC LitBox must submit a brief book review to be eligible to receive any future NGC LitBoxes. The first 10 students who subscribe and meet the eligibility requirements will receive the NGC LitBox for that month.

What will be in the October NGC LitBox?

The theme for the October NGC LitBox is SPOOKY! The box will include two books from our library collection, an informational trifold brochure, a costume, scary coloring sheets, spooky buttons & stickers, and treats. 

24-25 UPDATES

October NGC LitBox 2024:

• Organizing LitBoxes each month is a detailed process:
• Plan the topic/theme for the month
• Design the tri-fold brochure
• Decide the “swag” needed for each month
• Ordering or soliciting “swag” items
• Create a Google Form for students to register for the LitBox
• Create and schedule an announcement in Canvas announcing registration is now open
• Review each student's Genre Personality to match books with the student and the theme
• Checking student’s checkout history
• Pull two books that match the Genre Personality and the theme for the LitBox month for each student
• Check books out through Destiny for each student
• Design, print, and fold the LitBox informational brochure
• Fold boxes, pack with tissue paper, and pack all the LitBox items
• Look up 8th period room numbers for each student
• Deliver LitBoxes to students

Amanda Chacon started her litbox program this year. Instead of using library books from her collection, Amanda purchased books for students to keep. I love this idea! Callie Dawson, my district's high school librarian and lead librarian, did this type of litbox last year.

2024-2025 NGC LitBox Themes:

September: Graphic Novels and Manga

October: Spooky

November: Kindness

December: I Survived!

January: New Year, Sustainable You

February: Kaleidoscope of Diverse Joy

March: Seeds of Strength: Women's History in Full Bloom

April: Chill Vibes Only: Your Stress-Free Survival Kit

May: Animal Antics

What questions do you have for me?

Questions from Readers:

From the Future Ready Librarians' Facebook Group: I have a question about funding the Litboxes.

How do I pay for the items in the NGC LitBoxes?

This school year (23-24), I purchased most of the items myself, through donations, or with Library Supply funds. Morgan Green-Griffin did quite a bit of community outreach asking for donations. The items included in the December LitBox were almost entirely supplied by the Hutto, TX Department of Emergency Management, Police Department, Fire Department, and the Department of City Services. Next school year I plan to seek more community support.