About the store
Hi! I’m Sonya and the creator behind The Library Patch. As a retired elementary school librarian with 12 years of classroom experience and 19 years in the school library, I know firsthand that being the only librarian in your building, or even your entire district, can be hard. There’s often no one down the hall to bounce ideas off of, no team planning library lessons with you, and very little extra time to create everything from scratch. That’s where I hope to help.
After decades in schools, I design resources that are engaging, flexible, and realistic for real library schedules. Everything in my store is created with busy librarians and elementary teachers in mind—easy to use, thoughtfully planned, and ready to implement without extra prep. Thanks so much for stopping by The Library Patch. I’m truly glad you’re here—and I’m here to help.
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Reading Interest Inventory / Reading Survey for Elementary
Do you have your students complete a Reading Interest Inventory at the beginning of the year? Your elementary students will love this reading survey, now available in both print and digital versions. Matching the right book with the right kid is vital for positive reading experiences! This is a perfect activity for the first few weeks of school. Differentiated with BOTH primary and intermediate reading surveys, this comprehensive project will help you to better understand ...(1) your students' a
2nd - 7th
English Language Arts, Library Skills, Reading
Summer Reading Program | Editable Camping Themed Reading Challenge & Logs
Skip the boring summer reading program and send your students home with something they’ll actually get excited about! This unique, camping-themed Summer Reading Challenge is perfect for elementary librarians and classroom teachers who want to make summer reading genuinely fun for kids and parents. Instead of tracking minutes, students complete reading activities that make reading an adventure. Read a joke book. Read a recipe. Read in a tree. Read in the bathtub. As kids complete each activity,
PreK - 5th
Library Skills, Reading
Discovery Journal: Mayflower Voyage and Pilgrims
Students will love reading, responding, and researching facts about the Pilgrims and their Mayflower Voyage. A total of ten journal pages include title questions, informational text boxes, and questions for student response, all in an appealing format that students will love. This Discovery Journal includes the following pages1) Who were the Pilgrims? 2) What did the Pilgrims pack for their trip? 3) What sea route did the Mayflower take? 4) What are the parts of the Mayflower? 5) What would the
2nd - 4th
Informational Text
CCSS
W.2.7
, W.2.8
, W.3.7
+2
December Holiday Word Search and Sort
Students will have fun finding fifty words associated with, not only Christmas, but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa too in this December Holiday Wordsearch! After searching for the words in the puzzle, challenge students to research the words so they can sort them into their correct December holiday.
Happy Holidays from The Library Patch!!
3rd - 6th
Discovery Journal: Iroquois People of the Longhouse
This Discovery Journal encourages students to read, research, and respond to five different facets of Iroquois life: shelter, food, clothing/tanning, jobs, and ceremonies. Students learn best when they are given tasks that require them to search for new information, process that information, and then manipulate that same information. This Discovery Journal does exactly that with the five following activities.
Page 1 - Iroquois Shelter: Students need to respond to three questions and create capt
3rd - 5th
Informational Text, Native Americans, Reading Strategies
All About Me Freebie
An All About Me Freebie for your big kids. Each of your students' answers to this questionnaire will give both you and the rest of your class a little insight into each students' personality.
With questions like ...
* What would you like to do in your free time?
* What three wishes would you like to come true?
* What super power would you like to have?
You are bound to learn something REALLY interesting about them!
Perfect for Back to School, Student of the Week, or simply to build classroom
3rd - 6th
Writing
Research Short: Money Around the World
This quick research activity requires students to search for and record the name of the currency of different countries. After researching, students will conduct an Internet search for a currency converter, and then write down the value of each foreign currency.
This Research Short is perfect for reviewing keyword searches and information scanning. Consider using it to practice the utilization of either online or printed encyclopedias.
Aligns perfectly with 2013 Reading Street - Grade 3, Unit
3rd - 5th
Informational Text, Library Skills, Reading
Also included in: Research Short {BUNDLE}
It's Elementary - Bibliography for the Youngest Students
Bibliographic annotation doesn't need to be hard! What's really important is that our youngest students learn that they need to record WHERE their facts are coming from! We as educators need to be sure that our new readers and writers respect other's works and have a good solid foundation in information literacy and attribution. Plagiarism is real ... even if you are in elementary school!
K - 4th
Library Skills
Reading Help for Parents
Help your parents help their son/daughter while reading at home! Reading at home is absolutely the secret ingredient to student success. We all know that kids who read for at least 15-20 minutes a day will show the most growth academically. Research also shows that when parents read and discuss books with their child, success surges. However, sometimes parents are not sure how they can help. Here's a single page document that you can send home with your kids. It's full of tried and true strateg
K - 5th
Reading Strategies
Animal Research Websites for Kids
This FREE download includes my top ten favorite animal websites for kids. Once your download this freebie, open it up, and you will have a fun and INTERACTIVE bibliography. Each of the website pictures is clickable. Simply click on the pix, and you'll be at that website! This tool could be a perfect solution for your students. All the best websites in just one spot. Happy researching :) ??? Need an Animal Research Project ???A Fact File Animal ReportMy First Research Reports: Great for your Lit
K - 6th
Informational Text, Library Skills
Penguin Research Resources: A Clickable PDF
Your friendly neighborhood TpT librarian has put together a clickable bibliography for you ... centered around one of our favorite cold weather animals, the penguin. This FREE download includes my favorite nonfiction titles, kid-friendly websites, and videos that relate to all different aspects of the penguin. Each of the resources is clickable. Simply open your PDF file, click on the pix, and you'll be at a book description, a website, or a video! Happy researching :) Looking for a Shared Resea
K - 5th
Informational Text, Library Skills
Summer Reading Program | Editable Sunshine Themed Reading Challenge & Logs
Send your students home with a summer reading program they'll actually be excited about! No minute-tracking required. This sunshine-themed Summer Reading Challenge is perfect for elementary librarians and classroom teachers who want to make summer reading feel less like homework and more like an adventure. Instead of logging minutes, students complete reading activities that make every book (and every reading spot) count. Read a joke book. Read a recipe. Read by the beach. Read under a table. As
PreK - 5th
Library Skills, Reading
Also included in: Summer Reading Challenge - Reading Activities and Logs
Research Short: Laura Ingalls Wilder Biography
This mini biography project requires that students research vital information about the children's author, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Ten different questions will encourage your students to utilize the concepts of keywords and scanning. This project can easily be completed in under forty-five minutes.
There is also a follow-up short response question. Students are asked to ... "Use text based evidence to support this statement. The events and experiences that Laura had were very important to her as
3rd - 5th
Library Skills, Reading, Writing
Also included in: Research Short {BUNDLE}
ABC Research Page
Need a quick research activity that could be done in just one sitting?? Looking for an activity that kids can do independently when their work is done?? How about a twist on an old standby ... ABC Research?? You know - when kids have to find an example or fact about a topic that begins with each letter of the alphabet. The kids always love the challenge! This handout creates a record sheet for their research.
1st - 5th
Library Skills, Reading
Polar Bear Research Resources: A Clickable PDF
Your friendly neighborhood TpT librarian has put together a clickable bibliography for you ... centered around one of our favorite cold weather animals, the polar bear. This FREE download includes my favorite nonfiction titles, kid-friendly websites, and videos that relate to all different aspects of the polar bear. Each of the resources is clickable. Simply open your PDF file, click on the pix, and you'll be at a book description, a website, or a video! Happy researching :)
K - 5th
Informational Text, Library Skills
Digging Synonyms with Thesaurus
Just a few quick pages for your students to practice their thesaurus skills! These three unique printable worksheets require students to utilize a thesaurus to locate synonyms for some of the most common words in their writing. Each worksheet comes in two different versions ... same format, different words ... for a total of six printable sheets.
After students complete their assignments, the sheets can be saved for future writing projects, as they now have loads of synonyms for those "boring"
2nd - 4th
Library Skills, Reading
Also included in: Elementary Library Skills and Resources Bundle #1
Country Research - England Landmark Scrapbook
Country reports don't need to be boring! This project provides students with the task of creating scrapbook pages for famous English landmarks. This research project is built upon the following student task:
Imagine that you have just returned from a vacation in England. You took lots of great pictures while on your trip. You want to put the pictures of the famous landmarks in a scrapbook to share with your friends. But every good scrapbook page must have a good journal entry! Your job is to r
3rd - 4th
Geography, Library Skills
Research Short: Be Instrumental
A perfect lesson for introducing or reinforcing the concepts of website reliability and hyperlinks. This mini webquest has students use the website: www.sfskids.org maintained by the San Francisco Symphony to locate the names of instruments belonging to different families and then record a fact about one of the instruments.
Be sure to take a few minutes to speak with the students about whether or not a website created by a professional symphony would be a reliable source. Have the kids take not
2nd - 4th
Informational Text, Library Skills
Also included in: Research Short {BUNDLE}
Showing 1-18 of 18 results
About the store
Experience
Hi! I’m Sonya and the creator behind The Library Patch. As a retired elementary school librarian with 12 years of classroom experience and 19 years in the school library, I know firsthand that being the only librarian in your building, or even your entire district, can be hard. There’s often no one down the hall to bounce ideas off of, no team planning library lessons with you, and very little extra time to create everything from scratch. That’s where I hope to help.
After decades in schools, I design resources that are engaging, flexible, and realistic for real library schedules. Everything in my store is created with busy librarians and elementary teachers in mind—easy to use, thoughtfully planned, and ready to implement without extra prep. Thanks so much for stopping by The Library Patch. I’m truly glad you’re here—and I’m here to help.
Teaching style
I am a very “unquiet” librarian. My library was a constant buzz of kids, laughter, questions, conversations, gaming, computer use—and, of course, books. I believe students learn best when they are actively engaged, exploring ideas, and answering their own questions rather than sitting quietly on the sidelines.
I also believe that today’s librarian must stay responsive to the ever-changing world of education. When we grow, adapt, and keep learning, we’re better equipped to support both our students and the teachers we collaborate with every day.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Ahh… if only I had something impressive and nationally recognized to list here! I don’t. But I have been called “The Best Librarian Ever” by a few little ones, told that I’m “pretty cool,” and lovingly known as that awesome book lady. Not exactly fancy honors—but I’d choose those sweet titles over a plaque any day.
My own education history
* Bachelor's in Elementary Education ~ Potsdam SUNY
* Bachelor's in English Literature and Writing ~ Potsdam SUNY
* Master's In Elementary Education ~ Potsdam SUNY
* Master's In School Library and Media ~ Mansfield University
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