Putting Your Student Assistants to Work: Helpful Hints and a Quasi-Curriculum
Are you having trouble finding things for your student workers to do? Would you like your student assistants to be able to help you better? Come to this session to hear one LMT's experiments, failures, and successes - and be ready to share your own!
Marie Slim LMT, Troy HS, Fullerton Joint Union High School District
My blog URL: http://slimlibrary.blogspot.com/
My school's website: www.ilovelibraries.com (my Good Idea! is listed at "My Teacher's Project" - disco ball and Earthquake Picture Books)
11/21/07: Many of you inquired about the information in the hot pink spiral bound book that I passed around at my session. It was created by Nina Jackson, National Board Certified Library Media Teacher from Franklin Classical Middle School (6-8 grade) in Long Beach, CA. Nina has given me her files and allowed my to put them on this wiki. I re-named them with "NJ" at the beginning so they would be easier for me to find and to give Nina the credit she deserves. She's given her okay to share them so woohoo for all of us!!
Nina Jackson's Files:
NJ_Baum.ppt 
NJ_Behavioral Syllabus.doc NJ_Camera Assignment.doc NJ_Camera example.doc NJ_Catalog Assignment.doc NJ_DRAWING.DOC
NJ_Fiction Book Review.doc NJ_Fiction Reviews.doc NJ_Internet Assignment.doc NJ_Internet Evaluation assignment.doc NJ_Internet Worksheet.doc NJ_Internet evaluation form.doc NJ_Internet lesson--short version.ppt NJ_Library Worker Application.doc NJ_Mission Statement.doc NJ_Non-fiction book.doc NJ_Picture Book.doc NJ_PowerPoint Assignment.doc NJ_Preparation for camera assignment.doc 
NJ_Shelving Chart.xls NJ_Shelving Test.doc NJ_Spreadsheet Worksheet.doc NJ_Spreadsheets.doc NJ_Spreadsheets.ppt NJ_Syllabus Quiz.doc NJ_Syllabus.doc NJ_Work Chart.xls
11/17/07: I will be adding your suggestions from today's conference session IN RED. Such great ideas! It was a pleasure! I learned a lot. - Marie
11/18/07: I listed those helpful hints, suggestions, and even a couple of the questions below. Feel free to edit this wiki. If you forget the password, download the presentation document: 
CSLA_Student_Assistant_Presentation_small_file.pdf
Debby Stanley's Research Process Downloads - a couple of you asked for these - I asked Deb and she gave me her URL.
Here are the slips that I use for Works Cited (Deb Stanley is original author): 
Works_cited_slips_all_4.jpg
I put the 3 website slips on one page and copy them in yellow, 2 database slips and copy them in pink, 3 Encyclopedias and copy in blue, and 3 books and copy in green. Then I know if students are using a variety of sources - you just check the colors!
File for this wiki's presentation (70 pages - yikes!): CSLA_Student_Assistant_Presentation_small_file.pdf
Numbers in parentheses refer to page numbers in the above document.
A) Intro
b. Who you are
c. Tips and suggestions off the bat
B) Recruiting Students
c. Light behind the eyes
d. Morning announcements
e. Don’t underestimate SPED students, ELL students and kids with purple hair
f. 1-2 per period
g. Seniors who need 5 period day
h. Make friends with counselors, send notes
C) Getting to know you
i. Attendance scantrons
ii. Lost and found
iii. Teachers’ boxes
iv. Who to go to in case of emergency
v. Regular mail
vi. Other VIP’s
D) The First Week Student Assistant Scope and Sequence First 7 days.doc (19-20)
a. Tour of the library
i. Different sections of library
ii. Where to find things like staplers, staples, pencil sharpener, glue, etc.
i. Check computers and push in chairs
ii. Return stray books and magazines (sorting shelves)
iii. Discard trash
iv. Scantron to attendance
v. Shelve books, read shelves, straighten and front books Shelving_log.doc
vi. Help all students
vii. Staff the desk
viii. Printer paper
ix. Warm body counts
x. Fill out the clipboard
E) Everyday tasks Duty Areas Fall 2005.doc Duty Areas Template.doc (23)
a. Clipboard – big deal (go through for 5 days straight!)
b. Circulation - some teacher-librarians not comfortable with this
c. Shelving – if it’s mis-shelved it’s LOST!!!
i. Change sections at the quarter or semester
d. Paper for printer
e. Paper clips
f. Staples
g. Trash cans
h. Attendance scantrons
i. Teacher correspondence
j. Photocopies
k. Pushing in chairs
l. Cleaning up - ask for custodians' treated yellow cloths!
m. OPAC searches
n. Cut up papers using cutting board
o. Scanning
p. Laptops
q. Neat up books on carts
r. Have a sign-in sheet for taking roll - like signing in for a job
s. Have a manila folder with a calendar. Every day the student records what they did on the calendar. This wil be very helpful for grading!
t. Library pockets with each student's name on one, but different tasks in the pocket to "change up" what each student does every day!
F) Competencies – make a list, post it and keep it current (who knows what) Competencies_fall_2004.xls (24-25)
G) Special Tasks
H) Grading – get a grading program and put one student in charge.
I) Teaching and Manuals
i. Circulation
ii. Passes
1. Straightening quiz
2. Fronting quiz
3. Reading fiction shelves
4. Reading non-fiction shelves
5. Sorting books (fiction, Reference, non-fiction, special collections)
6. Shelving fiction (on a cart)
7. Shelving non-fiction (on a cart)
8. How to access databases on library website
9. How to access Library Experience homework on library website
10. How to access calendar on Library website
11. TA's use shelving tags and parent volunteers check them - use as one component of grade (amount of books shelved and accuracy)
J) Projects/Assignments
K) In my absence Letter_to_teachers_Slim_absence.doc Slim_absent_student_log.doc Sub Plan 2004-2005 4-20-05.DOC
L) Field Trips CSUF_Field_Trip_Pics.doc (68) CSUF_OCPL_Itinerary.doc (69) Fullerton_College_Trip_Pics.doc Fullerton_WhittierPL_Itinerary.doc Library_Club_Field_trip_Permission.doc
a. Public libraries
b. College and university libraries
c. Classification systems, policies, databases
d. Small = school van
e. Huntington Library
M) Rewards
a. Birthdays
b. Pizza / Crazy Bread / Ice Cream parties Pizza_party.doc (70)
c. Awards
d. Letters of recommendation
e. Pictures
f. Fun Fridays – radio – rated G
g. Notes home
h. Remember holidays and special occasions
i. Gifts - Bath and Body Products or local Coffee Shop (not Starbucks :-) cards) Local coffee shop will donate, Starbucks will not - "Write to corporate"
j. You are giving them job skills and library experience - they can become paid pages in public and academic libraries (some have!)
k. Library Scholarship - one deserving senior (donations, she may use fines - ask your administrators)
l. Casual Friday (no work to do on Fridays if they did all their work for the week).
m. Allow to do homework.
n. Send "good citizen" cards home.
o. Give students respect.
Other issues:
- Couselors that dump kids on the library - liability for school!
- Not having the ability to "fire" kids - also a liability!
- Parent volunteers - have a designated day when they can come. Parents train other parents. Parents can process and repair books. Parents can monitor at lunch and assist with OPAC searches. Make sure parents are fingerprinted and TB tested. At some schools parents are not allowed (take a bargaining unit member's job -even though the school won't staff it!)
- No time to train them!!! - That's the worst part. I train one student and then have them write up the process. Then I have other students read through before the attempt some kind of new concept. SEE Students_Teaching_Students_Daily_Tasks.doc
-How to motivate? Reminders of grades, this being a job, give projects and assignments, show them the "big picture" - what you want the library to be for each student, Remind them that they are there to serve others, remind them about letters of rec and real library experience they are getting. Have parents sign expectations sheet.
-How to get more students? Ask, nag, make friends with counselors.
-Laptop management - require ID cards - that YOU KEEP while laptop is out to them (in library only)
- When having students clean, make sure they wear gloves or use hand sanitizer - some of the books are very "loved"
- What is the best way to clean a book?
This is more than you probably want but . . .
All students no matter how uninterested in "life" are curious about something and most students have a passion. Students who are aids are often not "academically inclined." That said survey the kids to find out what they are interested in. Next have them do a mini-research project about what they really care about. Set the parameters for this. For example: one visual; one print source, an audio recording, etc. Have the student complete it in a visual presentation like power point or picasa or something. Have day where the students work will be presented on the school monitors and invite parents to come see.
Student will learn about all the things they need to know about the library and they will get to something they really like. Hum, a win, win situation.
This will also help you in collection development etc.
And it will put the library in the spot light.
All the library stuff they need to know they can learn from doing this project.
Sarah Passonneau
Media Resources Coordinator
Orange County Department of Education
200 Kalmus Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714)966-4208
Man, I couldn't get anything done If I didn't have my student library aides. I usually have some students who are "broken birds" out of PE, but most of my students have requested to be an aide. They usually think it is going to be easy, but I work my kids fairly hard. Most are surprised to find they end up enjoying their time in the library.
This quarter I have 12 student aides, 4 of whom are returning students who enjoy working in the library. They view the library as a student power center on campus (rightly so IMHO). I have a rotating jobs board with 8 jobs, 2 projects and 1 free day. The jobs are filing, cleaning, mending, data entry, circulation, sorting cart, reading shelves, shelving. I explain to them that because many of the jobs are dull, ticky work that must be done correctly, and that these jobs are exactly the same jobs that I do, I will give them a free day where they can put their heads down and no one will ask them to do anything.
Each student is assigned 2 sections in the library (one fic and one nonfic) that are their responsibility to keep in order. I try to give students sections where they show an interest in the subject matter or if they are on an IEP/504, I give them the sections that are not used as frequently, or a large section such as the 398.2's, so basically all they have to think about is alpha order. Students shelve throughout the library, not just their sections. They must do either a research project, or a book review to be posted on my blogs. This quarter I tried something new which is not going as well as I had hoped (the school2school wiki project) so that will have to be revamped to be an inschool project. I have weekly Dewey worksheets the student do, which teach web evaluation, boolean logic ( junior higher's love the word boolean)and other information fluency skills. I am currently revising them, since we just switched over to Infocentre and lost several sorting features that I used to use.
I use my student aides as AR reading log monitors, they love knowing the password (Power Baby, Power).
How do I recruit my aides? By beginning in 7th grade, using students to do circulation before school, during break, and at lunch. Students who wish to be library volunteers must take the time and make arrangements to attend a one hour training that is held after school. This generally gets rid of the uncommitted. These are usually the same students who become my Knights of the Round Library Table club members, who are in charge of the fundraising for the library.
Megan Fuller
Aptos Junior High
http://www.aptosjr.pvusd.net/library/
Works_cited_slips_all_4.jpg
mrs. slim read poster.jpg
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