Scavenger Hunting Around the Library!

In the beginning of the year, the second or third time I see kids in the library, no matter what grade, we go on a LIBRARY SCAVENGER HUNT! I think it is so important for kids to rediscover parts of the library that they don't visit as much (Wait - you mean there are more books than Dog Man and the Who Was series?!?) and to get excited about new genres and types of books. BUT, I don't want the library tours to get stale year after year! So, I have developed four unique scavenger hunts for grades 1-4. Read on to hear all about them!

Fourth Grade: QR Code Question Hunt

These kids, for the most part, are already pretty much pros at the library. We don't have a crazy transient population at my school, so the majority have been with me for at least a couple years already - I think this year, out of 120 fourth graders, 10 were new to the school. So we have some experience under our belt!

The fourth graders explore the library through QR code-driven questions. There are 11 cards with numbers and QR codes scattered throughout 11 sections of the library. (We don't actually have 11 sections - I break up larger sections into smaller parts because of the way our library is set up, so we end up having 3 non-fiction, 1 biography, 1 graphic novel, 3 fiction, and 3 everybody/early reader questions.) Each group of 1, 2, or 3 students is given an iPad, a paper with 11 blanks and a QR code on the bottom, and a number to start with so there isn't a huge backlog at number 1 (or at the first one someone sees). They scan the QR code using the iPad, which takes them to a Google Slide I put together of some sort of question that relates to the shelf or section. They write the answers down on their sheet and move on to find the next number!

To give you an idea of what the questions ask:

Questions in the non-fiction section: What makes a book non-fiction? (This one includes a link to the answer at DK Find Out) Name 2 topics you might want to read to learn about this year; and How much taller do astronauts grow in space? (This includes a link to the answer at Smithsonian).

Questions in the fiction section: How are books organized in this section?; Name 2 series in this section you haven't read yet; and How do you know it's a fiction book?

For early finishers, I have a QR code at the bottom of the page leading to a final challenge: Find the two catalog computers, the check-in computer, and the check-out computer, and unscramble the words posted on them to make a phrase ("I love library books!").

I love this hunt because it's a good way not only to remind kids where everything is, but also gets them looking at books they might not necessarily pick up! Just today I had a fourth grader tell me, "I want all of these books!"

Third Grade: Seesaw Photo Hunt

This was new for me this year, and I have to say, as I get more and more comfortable with Seesaw, I get more and more excited about it! This was AWESOME and of course parents were super excited to get photos in the middle of the day!

I posted an assignment to Seesaw with six empty photo frames, labeled "a fiction book that is just right for you," "a non-fiction book that is just right for you," "a biography," "a graphic novel", "a picture book", and "the return bin." I am SO glad I included the return bin, because a lot of kids were clueless! Biographies were difficult for them to find too, because at the beginning of third grade they haven't been required to read any biographies. 

Kids edited the template on Seesaw by taking a photo of themselves with each item and moved the picture around to fit in the frame. ADORBS!

Second Grade: Sticker Hunt!

This is the first year my second graders have been allowed to choose books from ANYWHERE in the library, since I restrict first graders mostly to easier books. This is SUPER exciting! But, it also means that second graders have the most to learn about the library and the most exploring to do. Hence: The Great Sticker Hunt!


I broke my library up into 8 sections that I wanted them to find: 3 parts of the fiction section (because of the way my bookshelves are set up, it just makes sense to have 3 parts), 2 parts of non-fiction, biographies (this is the hardest for them to find, since they aren't really sure what they are!), graphic novels, and easy books (I might change this for next year, because "easy" is a difficult connotation when often there are some kids still reading in that section).

  In each section, I taped a yellow piece of paper to a shelf saying, "You've found the ________ section!" with a sheet of stickers from the dollar store. Students had to find each sticker and place it in next to the correct section on their sheet. Then, they practiced our skill from last week: Finding just-right books! They had to find one book that is just-right for them in that section and write the title on their sheet next to the sticker. This was tricky for some sections, like the Easy section, so at some points they just wrote a title of a book that looked interesting.

First Grade: Character Hunt

Last but not least: First grade!

We did a tiny bit of exploring the library together last week while we talked about the "purpose" of reading with the PICK acronym for good-fit books. We walked over to the first grade "read to learn" and "read for fun" sections (our easy readers/picture books/early chapter books and easy non-fiction section) and they chose a good-fit book from one of those two sections. Well, today they were directed to explore the first-grade sections of the library with a hunt of their own: for book characters hidden around the library!

I hid ten stuffed characters around the library. Six were in the first grade read for fun or read to learn sections that we looked at last week, and four were in other important spots to know: the Student Picks bookshelf, the New bookshelf, the return bin, and our shelving cart. Each character was holding a letter that students needed to record on a sheet next to the correct character. When they finished, their sheet spelled out "I LOVE BOOKS!"   We were able to debrief and discuss why the four other areas were important to know!

I am super proud of the different ways we explore the library and how engaged my students were all week! What other ways do you use to help kids explore the library??