#3 - Free Choice

Makerspaces

    As libraries continue to change and grow makerspaces are a great addition to help libraries continue to do that. As a future school librarian I think that makerspaces are a great addition to school libraries too. People may ask, What is a makerspace? A makers-ace is “a collaborative work space inside a school, library or separate public/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high tech to no tech tools.” (makerspaces.com), it’s a place for students to create, explore, and tinker. For this post I will be focusing on makerspaces within a school system, as I hope to one day have one in my future school library.

  Why should we have makerspaces in libraries? Makerspaces provided spaces provide children with places to create, investigate, design, learn, and more. Makerspaces “foster play and exploration, support opportunities for learning, nurture peer to peer learning, work with community members as true partners, and develop a culture of creating.” (Hamilton, B.J., slide 7). In a makerspace children can create and design on their own from something they have imagined, the teacher can have idea cards/pages/instructions for the children to use, or an assigned topic or project for the children to complete. 

I first got interested in makerspaces by an Instagramer Jessica Golz (@teachergolz). Jessica Golz is an elementary school librarian who does so many things with her makerspace. She has taught lessons and used things like coding robots, using devices (chromebooks/ipads) for stop-motion videos, and even a sewing machine! She used the sewing  machine after reading the book Loot with a group of boys in her book club (Instagram, @teachergolz). 

Now, a makerspace does not have to have all these ‘high-tech’ options if your school cannot afford them. You can use things like legos, paper towel/toilet paper rolls, play doh, popsicle sticks, and more ‘basic’ items, these can be even donated to your makerspace. These items can be placed somewhere in a corner of a classroom or a library if space provided, or even on a cart (see picture to the right). 

Materials can be found in many different places depending on what materials you want. “Garage sales, thrift stores, Dollar stores, craft stores, and hardware stores have many inexpensive supplies.” (Brown, B.) You may also be able to get donations from parents, other teachers, and especially retiring teachers. Other more expensive items may be able to be purchased from your school, if your school is not able, you can make a grant proposal such as DonorsChoose. 

Here are some links to other blogs that have lists of materials you could use in your makerspace:

- Welcome to My Makerspace by Brooke Brown, originally from Teach Outside the Box

- Makerspace Resources from Renovated Learning

- Makerspace Starter Kit from The Daring Librarian

- There are also many many resources from teacherspayteachers.com 

The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM also has a wonderful post, Makerspace Manual for K-12 Schools. This post has great information on how to create and set-up a makerspace in a classroom or library. The post also includes a GIANT list of supplies, and more resources. 

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Readings for this week:

The readings for this week were myths, parables, and tall tales. Myths, especially Greek myths, are some of my favorite types of stories to read and learn about. “Myths are stories that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins, while others are completely fictional.” (PBS.com) Myths are also tales that can explain the world around us. A parable is “a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson” (dictionary.com). Tall tales are “narrative that depicts the wild adventures of extravagantly exaggerated folk heroes” (britannica.com). I have taught about tall tales like Paul Bunyan when I taught first grade. 

My readings for this week are below:

Myths: 

-Egyptian myth: Isis & Osiris

-Egyptian myth: The Story of Ra: Creation Myth

-Persian myth: Susku & Mushu

-Irish myth: The Banshee

-Irish myth: The Children of Air

-Greek myth: The Three Sisters of Fate

-Greek myth: Daedalus & Icarus

Parables: 

-Greek parable: Hercules at the Crossroads

-Persian parable: Akhfash’s Goat

-Bible parable: The King and the Scribes

-Bible parable: The Good Samaritan

-Jewish parable: The Rooster Prince

-Quran parable: The Spider’s House

-Quran parable: The Hamlet in Ruins

Tall Tales: 

-Pecos Bill by M.J. York

-Miss Sally Ann & The Panther retold by Bobbi Miller

-Paul Bunyan retold by Steven Kellogg

-Anansi and the Spice

-Davy Crockett

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Resources:

britannica.com (2022). Tall tale. Retrieved from britannica.com. https://www.britannica.com/art/tall-tale 

Brown, B. (n/d). Welcome to My Makerspace. Retrieved from https://blog.teacherspayteachers.com/welcome-to-my-makerspace/ 

dictionary.com (2022). Parable. Retrieved from dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/parable 

Golz, J. [@teachergolz]. (2020, February 11). Highlight of my week. Celebrating the end of our book club by teaching these rad dudes to sew. Instagram. Retrieved from Instagram app.

Hamilton, B.J. (2014, June 21). Growing Learning Communities Through School Libraries and Makerspaces-Creating, Constructing, Collaborating, Contributing. The Unquiet Librarian. https://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/2014/06/21/growing-learning-communities-through-school-libraries-and-makerspaces-creating-constructing-collaborating-contributing/ 

makerspaces.com (2022). What is a Makerspace? Retrieved from makerspaces.com. https://www.makerspaces.com/what-is-a-makerspace/ 

PBS. (2005). Myths and Heroes. What is a Myth? Retrieved from pbs.org. https://www.pbs.org/mythsandheroes/myths_what.html