Learning Commons Lowdown
January 2017
Tex Hill Students Collaboratively & Creatively BREAKOUT!
Breakout EDU is an educational version of the Escape Room concept, where teams work together to solve theme-based puzzles, codes and clues to "break out" by unlocking a series of locks on breakout boxes.
6th Gr. students "saved Shakespeare," while 8th Gr. students leveraged their recent reading of the novel The Outsiders to break into the boxes.
The image with this blurb features student feedback about their Breakout experiences. The LC is planning more Breakout experiences during the spring semester for other grades and content areas.
Collaborative Instruction
See below for highlights of January 2017 collaborative projects and activities in the LC:
Search APP Commercials: The Final CUT!
6th graders were challenged with "selling" their peers on using the LC's Search APPS versus Googling everything!
Skills & Concepts related to the project:
- Collaboration & teamwork
- Design Thinking
- Persuasive Techniques - in writing & advertising
- Storyboarding & scriptwriting
- Video production
All completed commercials will be screened in February in the LC and made available for the campus to view.
Reconstructing Reconstruction: Civil War Newspapers!
Students had the option to use Google Docs or Discovery Education Board Builder to create their newspapers. Students conducted their research using the LC's various Search Apps, gathering multimedia and building background knowledge for their original newspaper articles.
Reform Movements Project
Beginning with building background through watching short video clips about the different movements, LC Librarian Ms. Diaz then shared the best resources to use for research.
The session wrapped with each student taking an individual "activist personality" survey, and chose reform movements most interesting to them as the basis for their research teams.
"Currently Reading" Interview:
Each forthcoming LC Lowdown will feature a Hill reader and share what s/he is currently reading!
Click here to read 7th Grader Joaquin G's "Currently Reading" Interview!
LC Digital Resources to Support English Language Learners (ELL)
Through the state's TexQuest digital resources and district-level resources, NEISD provides all students and teachers a rich collection of videos, images, and audio files, as well as a variety of print resources.
Most digital resources can be translated into multiple languages and provide text-to-speech access, and can also access instructional material by TEK.
Teachers, explore this Slide Deck to learn more about different features available for specific digital resources.
See this ELL Digital Resource Guide for an overview of the resources that are available to support students and teachers.
All these digital resources (aka Search APPS) are accessible from home using the district's username/password for each resource. To view password information from home, students first login to their NEISD GOOGLE ACCOUNT and then click this link: Home Access.
In February: Read-Aloud-a-Thon & MORE!
African American History Month @the LC:
- Hip Hop Workshop is BACK!
- Read-Aloud-a-Thon
- Show the Love: Kindness Conversation Hearts
Idea Lab Activities:
- Make a Knitmark!
- Origami Paper Hearts
- 3D Heart Printing
JANUARY LC STATS
Total # of Books Circulated/Checked Out
Print Books: 531
OverDrive: 244
Total # of Classes Served
- Instruction
- Activities
- Collaboration
- Checkouts
Average # of Individual Students Served Daily
Follow the Learning Commons on Twitter & Instagram!
Twitter: Follow @TexHillLC to stay informed about great resources, events and activities happening 24/7.
Instagram: Follow @TexHillLC to see a visual gallery of the LC's happenings in real time!
Learning Commons @Tex Hill MS
Email: tdiaz4@neisd.net
Website: http://neisd.libguides.com/welcome_hill_library
Location: 21314 Bulverde Road, San Antonio, TX, United States
Phone: 210.356.8004
Twitter: @TexHillLC