Springtime Activities in the Library
What is your favorite season in the library? Fall features new book deliveries, a fresh start to the school year, crayons that haven’t been mutilated. Winter is cozy, with holiday lessons and fun ideas for bulletin boards (and maybe snow days). But, Spring offers a promise of the end of the school year in sight, getting back all the books (yay) but still time for some fun lessons. (Yes, yes, you may think Summer is the best, but many years I have come in to do drudge work, such as weeding…and I don’t mean in the garden, in the boiling hot summer for no pay!)
Spring Books to Read
My lessons, especially in the younger grades, almost always start with reading a book. You can read both fiction and nonfiction books about spring topics. It’s a good opportunity to discuss the difference, or point out text features. Think gardening, ladybugs, frogs, hungry caterpillars, butterfly life cycles.
I have a spring-themed bulletin board, with color scans of book covers attached to popsicle sticks. They form “seed packets.” I incorporated them into an existing bulletin board set, but you could make the soil portion out of brown construction paper. Add cut-outs of flowers, butterflies, worms, etc.
Ladybugs, Anyone?
How about some ladybug activities? They’re somehow less creepy than other bugs, am I right? With their bright red color and cute spots! Many primary grades study ladybug life cycles in the spring. They lend themselves to crafts too. Read a ladybug book first. Then, it’s not a “craft,” it’s a literary response project! At least that’s what I told my principal!
Read here for more ladybug ideas:
Ladybug Activities in the Library
Spring Reading Comprehension
Reading passages are always more fun when they have a theme. Try some Spring reading comprehension texts. In this Google Slides deck, students are asked to read some paragraphs and answer questions, or ascertain what a certain word means or just draw on their background knowledge. If answered correctly, a butterfly spins around, or a piece of a butterfly image is put into place.
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Click to play this brief video preview of Spring Reading Comprehension.
Here are some other fun Spring activities (links in captions):
You may want to hand out some Spring bookmarks. These are available in full color, as small gifts (maybe for kids who have returned all their books) or in black and white. Students can color them in at the end of class. So what is your favorite season in the library? Is it Spring?
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