Include at James Island Elementary with Beth

While visiting Beth Hale in her library at James Island Elementary School one could tell include was all over her library.  The new books showcase is right at the entrance of the library, on the covers on these new books were many diverse faces of different backgrounds and genders.  Beth explained that her current collection development revolves around diversifying her collection to make sure all of her students feel included.  James Island Elementary has a diverse population of many ethnicities, religions, and socio-economic statuses.  Every year Beth does a Read Around the World unit with her second graders to expand their minds and encourage them to learn about different cultures and countries around the world.  

I got the opportunity to observe Beth expanding the minds of her second graders, for story time she chose to read a biography and autobiography of Malala, both being picture books.  Throughout the stories, Beth would talk with her students about the country of Pakistan and the inequalities women face around the world specifically in education.  After the two stories, Beth worked with the students to locate England and Pakistan on the globe.  With her third grade group, Beth read the story The Wump World which dealt with environmental conservation and pollution.  Throughout the story Beth discussed these topics with her students and they brainstormed possible solutions.  With both classes Beth included issues from different cultures and around the world to help her students be more globally aware of the world around them.  

Include was also present in the maker stations found all around the James Island Elementary library.  There are a total of 10 stations, each with its own maker materials and instructions.  There is no one way fits all when it comes to how students learn.  By providing a variety of stations, Beth has included many creativity preferences for her students.  Below are a few examples of the maker stations found around the library. 

Beth's fixed schedule is packed full, it makes it hard for her to collaborate with classroom teachers.  The art, music, and PE teacher are at JIES three days a week and at another school two days a week, this leaves the library special area schedule full of classes.  If Beth needs to collaborate with a teacher, they communicate through email.  She supports science the most when she can through her library lessons.

A challenge Beth faces when implementing include into her library is working with some controversial topics from around the country and world.  Beth wants to make sure her library is inclusive with its materials, but working with younger students she wants to make sure the topics covered in her lessons does not make anyone feel uneasy.   Overall Beth is doing a great job with include in her library, she was shocked to hear everything I picked out in just eight hours that is inclusive to her students.