Exploring the Library- QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Well, school is up and off to a running start! The media center is no different. We have been busy preparing for students to take full advantage of all our services! In doing so I decided to try something completely different from what our students are used to and at the same time use our magnificent new ipads to acquaint them with the library. I began to read all the school library blogs I could find trying to get some fresh ideas. Did I mention how much I love library blogs? So, I came across the blog belonging to the Daring Librarian (quick shout out because she's awesome!) She had done a QR Code Scavenger Hunt with some of her middle school students. She even had the resources she used linked for download! Doesn't get much better than that! I used the same format she had developed but adjusted most of the questions to work with my library.  This would definitely be a lesson for my 3rd-5th grades. After that I began working on my QR Code clues. That part was the most time consuming but it was also the most fun! I had a mixture of picture, video, and voice clues. I posted the clues around the library near the section that the clue referenced.

Once I had the lesson set up I decided to divide the questions into five different groups. I have the links posted below. This would allow collaboration and prevent all groups being at the same clue at the same time.     Now it was time to roll out the lesson!

I spent a good amount of time explaining and modeling the details of the lesson and showing the students which app to use (I really like the red laser app for scanning but anyone would work) and expectations of working in a team. I then divided them into teams according to the different color Popsicle sticks on their tables. I assigned one student to be the "leader" (the leader was in charge of reading each clue and recording the answers). The ipad was rotated around the group so each student could have a turn scanning because of course that's what's most important to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. So how did they do?

Well, my fifth graders did the best. They worked well together and fully understood the assignment. Fourth grade was okay but did require a good amount of assistance. When it came to third grade, I had to do whole group modeling for the first two questions, but after that they went off in their own groups. With every grade, I traveled from group to group checking for understanding and offering assistance.

The activity did take two sessions to finish but was a big hit with all the students. Not only were they able to use awesome technology, but they learned a lot about the library in the process. I will certainly use QR codes throughout the year given the success of this lesson!

Links for QR Code Scavenger Hunt Groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5