A WHOLE NEW WORLD: THE MAGICAL WORLD OF THE ELEMENTARY LIBRARY

At an early age, the world of books and stories sets the foundation for children to learn about the world around them and also dive right into fiction and fun. At IC, our libraries serve the role as a multi-faceted resource that connects with our students through interactive activities, and teaches them about all kinds of literature and necessary research skills, all while having access to visual, literary, and audio components in the spaces provided.

This spring at the elementary school library, librarians Luna Freidy and Mona Soubra worked on putting together a phenomenal series of read-alouds and events connected to IB PYP program, Arabic, French, and English multilingual community fostered here at IC. From March 13 till March 23rd, the elementary library transformed into a fairytale wonderland for the yearly Reading Weeks and Francophone Literature Festival.

“The reason why we chose fairytales is because the students must discover all genres of literature”, Mona Soubra says. Some fairytales are stories passed along by word of mouth over hundreds of years and now authors are able to take these stories and compile them into their adaptations or retellings. The theme of fairy tales was chosen because of the diversity in stories and how it fits right in with the international language and culture found at IC. “Not everything is written, some of those stories are orally passed along”, she adds on. Along with the diversity in stories and sharing the conversation on different modes of storytelling, there is also a creative component relevant to our world today. “We also tried to add technology and advancements, stories that have changed with perspective with time. Like a twist.”, Luna Freidy says. For example, one of the stories read across the elementary school classes during the Arabic

Reading Week was a twist of the traditional Little Red Riding Hood fairytale– except this time Little Red has a cell phone and the wolf has access to a motorcycle!

Particularly, hosting Reading Week at the library and having such rich events is necessary for students at an early age. “Having these events especially for elementary students is very important because they like these things. “Having a library as a center will make it special and make them remember it more”, says Freidy. The set up of the library reflected the age group and the bright and inviting environment reflected the theme. Throughout the library, different centers of different books and fairytales were set up based on culture and language to show children the range of narratives that span different cultures around the world. In addition, the Francophone Festival was also incorporated into the theme with a creative twist, with it’s own station and books that are part of French culture and literature. Lined up by the reading carpet were interactive white board and chalkboard stations addressing the PYP character traits and intuitive questions to build conversations between the stories being told and the ideas of the students listening to them. The Reading Weeks consisted of a read aloud, interactive discussion within the story, and ended with students going around the set up stations to learn more about the genre and connect with books that stand out to them. “We work vertically with the students, by classes. That’s allowing us to see and make the learning of the students more visual, something that aids their skills in a way that’s not the same as being in the classroom”, Freidy explains.

Overall, Reading Week was a total success and sparked a significant conversation on the role international stories and reading play in making a well-rounded student. The elementary school library is looking forward to it’s upcoming events, and to always be a friendly space for knowledge and learning outside of the classroom.