LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER

In all grades we have been reading the Show Me nominees and also the books Twist of Fate and Patriotic Pals, written by our visiting author Chris Stuckenschneider.

This Week Kindergarten- Trees are our theme this week.   We will play with the book Tap the Magic Tree, by Christie Matheson.  

Students will make trees with their arms as the trunk and their ten fingers as the branches.  They will follow interactive actions from the book as it is read.  Then we will read Our Tree Named Steve, by Alan Zweibel.

First Grade- Students in first Grade are learning Narrative writing in their classroom curriculum this week We will talk about memiors today and read Our Tree Named Steve by Akan Zweibel and Mr. Cornell’s Dream Boxes by Jeanette Winter.

We will discuss memory writing and 1st person narrative.

Second Grade- We are beginning an author study with Second grade in honor of National Poetry Week. I have fallen in love with books by the author, Julia Donaldson. Today we will read The Gruffallo.  We will discuss its many turn of events.  We will then watch the movie and make comparisons.  Students will love this book.

Third Grade.- We will look at Overdrive today, our ebook check out system.  We will look at Destiny more closely and discuss advanced searches.

Fourth Grade- In honor of National Poetry month, Students will create a bio poem, they will write it out from the hand out and transfer it to a google doc.  Next week we will create a Wordle with it.  I will demonstrate the process on the smart board

(First name)-

(Four adjectives that describe the person)

Son or Daughter of (your parents names)

Lover of (three different things that the person loves)

Who feels (three different feelings and when or where they are felt)

Who gives (three different things the person gives)

Who fears (three different fears the person has)

Who would like to see (three different things the person would like to see)

Who lives (a brief description of where the person lives)

-(last name)

Fifth Grade- Students will look at Overdrive today.   WE wil begin the storyboard process for our digital narrative storytellings.

This week Kinders will celebrate Elmer Day as described in the book Elmer by David McKee. We will discuss how we all have our differences.  Students will color a picture of Elmer as seen in the book and write the emotions Elmer is expressing from a worksheet. If time we will play ” Spagetti” a drama game with the Elmer emotions sheet.

1st grade-  We will talk about Biographies .  We will discover the biography section and read aloud from their choice on the shelf.  We will quiz

2nd Grade- Fiction/ Non Fiction.  We will read aloud a Non Fiction true story called Zarafa, We will look at another NF story , Daisy Rothschild.  We will read Giraffe Trouble by Jean Craighead George.  We will discuss the differences between these True Stories and the Ficiton Stories. Though both  could go either way.

3rd Grade-  We will discuss Nonficiton and NF Call Numbers.  I will show them how to read a NF Call #

4th- We will film their Pledge plays this week

5th- Students will story board their All About Me digital story.

Kindergarten- The read aloud for Kindergarten is That is Not a Good Idea” by Mo Willems.  They will check out from the easy reader carts.  They will recite their computer log in numbers to me as we begin to memorize them.  Students will go to Starfall on the computers

1st grade-  After circulation we will read Bears are Curious by Joyce Milton.  We will discuss this non fiction book and review the facts we learned from the book.  We will discuss the importance  of nonfiction books . Students will cut out a bear from a pre-made template. They will write on the bear, one fact they learned from the read aloud and out discussion.  This is a beginning research activity.

2nd grade. – Second grade will read in buddies this week and take reading counts quizes

3rd grade-  We will begin our unit on library management.  We will study fiction call numbers from a Smart Board lesson.  Students will find their author shelf.  As they check their books into me, they will tell me the box their book goes in.

4th- After check out, students will continue to work on their pledge projects.

5th grade-  Students will be introduced to the ” All about me : Project.  We will watch my sample and a few samples from the previous year. They will begin to work on their writing for the unit.

Kindergarten- This week we read Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by  Doreen Cronin.  This lively book soon turned into an instant play! .  We divided students up to play the cows, the farmer, ducks and hens.  Kinders really got into it!  We also did a few Yoga stretches and a quiet time read aloud where students lay on their back with eyes closed to imagine the story read to them,

1st grade- We read The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson.

Students thought about how things would be different if there were no fence.  We talked too about equality and everyone being the same.  Then we read Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman!  Boy was it crazy.  This book has a definite RAP beat to it, so we all got in a circle and students moved to the beat.  One at a time, a student was to get in the middle to show us their moves.  It  was a great lesson in taking turns and showing the fun side of their personality along with acceptance.  They loved it.

2nd grade.- We read from various Titles with Civil Rights theme and students took Reading Counts quizzes

3rd- Students took a pretest for me today on Library skills.  I will use this as data to develop my SLO ( Student learning objective)  unit on Library skills.  We read “Show Way” by Jacqueline Woodson in honor of MLK DAY

4th – Students finished their Pledge of Allegience definitions and descriptions.  They began practicing their video performances.

5th- Fifth grade looked at wordless books today.  We talked about the first 10 pages or so of THE Arrival by Shaun Tan.

They all wanted to take this one home.  I then gave pairs their own wordless book to figure out and share if they had time.  They really enjoyed this.

My focus for the first part of this semester for all grades but 3rd grade,  will be on Visual Literacy.  We will explore how the study of illustrations will build their skills in critical thinking and understanding of a text.

This week Kinders will hear the Pierre The Penguin by Jean Marzollo

This book will be one of their first introductions to NF. We will compare it to other fictions books we have read and also to Tacky the Penguin which they have heard in their classrooms.

Last week we began learning YOGA poses and will continue to do so after our Read Aloud.  I will read The Happiest Tree

and students will do the yoga exercises that go with the book. Last week they checked books from the fiction stacks.  This week we will discuss book care.  They will share about the different ways they took care of their books. They will color a book care booklet to take home.

1st grade– First grade will learn big words this week along with our Read Aloud, The Obstinate Pen by Frank Dormer.

We will first do the visible thinking routine called See, Think Wonder to get some ides of the quirky tale of the pen that had a mind of its own. Then they will  begin to figure out what obstinate means!  This is a laugh out loud book and they could come away with a way to describe some of their own behaviors!  Students will hear a short read aloud in their level before circulation.  Afterwards they will attempt to log into RC independently and quiz.

2nd grade- Our read aloud for 2nd grade this week is Kamishibai Man. by Allen Say.

 

 

They will paste a map of the world in their journals and color the country of Japan.  We will discuss paper theater and the relationship of the storyteller and his or her audience.

 

Third grade–  Third graders will take a pretest today about their knowledge of the library and where to find resources.  This will begin a new unit of study for third grade on resources from the library, which ones to use and where and how to locate them.  After circulation we will watch the smart board presentation on fiction call numbers.  Students will practice on the smart board and then they will locate the shelf where they would file their own library book.  they will line up to leave today in alphabetical order.

 

Fourth Grade– and Fifth grade- Students today will begin a unit of study ” Understanding Visual Art”  Before tackling a Mock Caldecott activity to evaluate picture books, we will evaluate images and think of pictures as visual stories that express emotion. First they will take a pre test about their knowledge of illustrations by answering the questions below about a photograph from the library of congress Child labor Committee Collection. or photograph

 

Our first study will be Photoraphy Study. We will look at Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems and discuss how the cartoon drawings in these books are superimposed over photographs.  We will look then at other books with photographs to illustrate.  Stranger in the Woods and Lone Bench in an Empty Park.

We will look at The National Child Labor Committee Collection from the Library of Congress and or Lewis W Hines photos of child labor in the united states. Our discussion will generate around social issues  We will discuss the following essential questions

* What do you see in the picture?

* What are the people in the picture doing, thinking, looking at and saying

* Why did the photographer take this picture? What was the photographer thinking?

* What is outside the frame?

* What makes this picture important?

* What is the story being told by the picture?

What questions do you have about the picture?

This unit of study is taken from Jan 2015 Library Sparks “Technology and the Winner is..Visual Literacy” by Boni Hamilton

 Fifth Grade– Pledge of Allegience.  We will view the clip from Red Skelton today on You Tube.  We will discuss the pledge and Read aloud from The Pledge of Allegience, in our library.  Students will then use the dictionary and thesaurus to write their own definitions to Key words in the Pledge of Allegience.  If time today, we will film their responses, or will do this next weekl

 

 

H

 Kindergarten– New Christmas releases- 

Read Alouds-  A Flower in the Snow, by Tracey Corderoy, Willow and the Snow Day Dance, Denise Brennan Nelson, SkippyjonJones, Snow What Judy Schachner, Splat the Cat and the Snowy Day Surprise Rob Scotton, Bad Kitty Christmas, Nick Bruel

First Grade Author study- Jan Brett-continued  Instruction on Reading Counts Program.

Read Alouds– : Hedgies Surprise, Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve, Gingerbread Friends, Twelve Days of Christmas, The Hat.

Resources– Entry in the author encyclopedia in our reference section, Jan Brett Website.Resources- Author encyclopedia, Kyvl, Jan Brett’s Website, Jan Brett power point, Jan Brett website , Lesson plan for Hedgie’s Surprise, Jan Brett Author study, Jan Brett on e themes

Second Grade Tomie De Paola Author study–

Read alouds- The Legend of Old Befana, Legend of the Poinsettia,  Merry Christmas Strega Nona, Jingle the Christmas Clown

Resources- Tomie De Paola Website- 

 

Third Grade– Eve Bunting Author Study and continued Destiny Quest instruction They will complete a treasure hunt for books found in our library.

 Read Alouds- Smokey Night,  December, Night Tree, The Day Before Christmas 

Resources– Eve Bunting Web site

Fourth Grade   –Christmas and Holiday Advertisements  How does the media effect us during this time of the year.  Students will discuss advertisements and talk about their implications on the viewer. We will visit The Literacy Shed and watch Christmas themed advertisements.  We will compare and Contrast .

Resources– The Literacy Shed

Fifth Grade– the Christmas Truce– we will read and compare two text about this factual event during World War I.  We will read Christmas in the Trenches by John Mccutcheon and Shooting At the Stars a new version from John Hendrix, on the iPad.  We will do the lessons and watch videos of the events from the Literacy Shed.

Resources The Literacy Shed

The last few weeks have been a Whirlwind. Our newscast team got off to a great beginning and created a short episode.

Kindergarten-  This week we will visit Russia for our world wide study.  first we will get out our journals and paste our world map on the first page.  We will look at the country of Russia and color it carefully on our map.  Later we will recall the places we’ve visited already this year and mark those places too.  “Hermie the Worm” in New York, “The Mouses Wedding’, Japan, Anansi,”Africa and today’s story “The Stubborn Turnip” a string tale, based on a Russian folktale. The story today comes from “Handmade Tales, Stories to make and take”. All students will practice telling the tale,  We can also act out the tale ourselves.

Grade one and grade two- Read aloud Billy Brown and the Belly Button Beastie.  We will discuss the elements through the story and students use a storytelling rope to retell the story. They can create their own rope with elements if time and place in their journals.

Grade three-and four  Today, students will study a variety of Fairy Tales and look for elements of the framework of storytelling.   I will select a variety of fairy tale picture books from the 398.2 section of the library.  One book will be given to a pair of students.  Each group will spend five minutes looking over their story to locate and identify the following information.

Beginnings that differ from ” Once upon a time” – Endings that differ from …. ” and they all lived happily ever after” – Settings, including the country of origin- Main characters, both heroes and villains- Hero’s quest and or magical elements encountered along the way.

Each group will quickly identify aloud the title and author, show the cover and read aloud the beginning sentence. then move along to settings, characters, and quests and finally endings.

Place a poster paper folded into 5 sections at each library table, each group will place one of the elements they discovered.  Each poster then can be unfolded and will  become a springboard for a new retelling.

Fourth grade will be looking for and research their famous Missourian for their Living History reports.  Some third grade students have not been on Destiny yet.  We will use the above lesson as a back up to these two needs.

Fifth grade –  We will try again the Genius Hour assignment that failed miserably last week. With the changes I’ve made and shortening the learning curve, I hope to have success.   If all fails , I will print out the assignment and students will keep it in their note books.  This is the trials and tribulations of the technology lesson for every teacher, though worth it when it finally turn out right.

October still remains the busiest month in our school. This week we are focusing on Red Ribbon Week. Students will be designing door ways and posters, writing stories and poetry to top off the festivities.

This is also the first week for our Newscast team.  We will be scurrying through the hallways gathering pictures and interviews for our weekly digital production.  I want to add  a few more segments this year, and I am excited to get the kids feedback.

During PT conferences, I was able to get a few lessons  and ideas together for a new concept I have for our library.  More about that in the 5th grade lesson.

Kindergarten and 1st grade will meet Rita Read a lot.  She is a new puppet to the library. She and I will perform a duo puppet script from Fun Puppet Scripts for Schools and Libraries.  Our puppet will get her permanent name from the script and will visit often. Kindergarten Students will use their cards to log in to the computers today and visit San Diego Zoo website.

( change of plans) Students listened to Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson.  We had a great time with this book.  Each page took us on a visual discovery.  We also talked about setting, beginning middle ( there were two great events in the middle) and end.

1st grade.  We will read The Ghost Eye Tree by Bill Martin Jr. Students will help each other to fold and tape or draw  their own ghost eye tree for display in the library.

2nd grade  We will read The Ghost Eye Tree by Bill Martin Jr.  Students will quiz on the book.  They will make their thermometer to designate their annual RC goals and paste them in their journal.

3rd grade  Students will paste their barometers in their journals.  I will show them how to use Destiny and card catalog today.  They will try it out and look for books on the shelves.

4th grade- Students will discover Wonderopolis and research the Wonder of the Day.

 

5th grade- Students will begin a Genius Hour Project today called ” I am an Expert”.  Their assignment will be posted on Google Classroom.  Students will begin today by logging in to Google Classroom and registering using my class code.  More on this project as the months continue, with pictures I hope!

(We had no luck with Google Classroom this week. I changed things and reworked the site, but it was just too much for the little amount of time we had.  New plans next week.  Fingers crossed!)

The next two weeks are two of the busiest in our school year. Red Ribbon Week, PBS celebration, Missouri Day, Parent Teacher Conferences, Halloween and a visit from the Missouri Reading Initiative.  Library lessons will reflect that too as we play catch-up in all areas.  Hopefully we can get all our classes up to speed and even with each other.  Our read aloud stories will come from our “Show ME” readers list.   We have just a few more to go and I will post our results to you all in a future blog post.  If we have time we will also read from a favorite holiday (Halloween type) story.  On my “to-do list”  are two of my favorites.

 

To confess to everyone,  The Ghost Eye Tree is at the very top of my VERY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER!!!!  I can’t wait to read it, and don’t mind reading it all 30 times through the week!   Did anyone besides me realize that?

I had a student last week ask me when we were going to read it.  It was a great moment!  Wow, how can you assess that kind of connection or understanding?

I’ve had some instructional inspiration during my weekend jog around the web.  I am always on the look out for new ideas so when visiting Scholastic Teachers this weekend, I found Kriscia Cabral‘s blog.  Immediately, I connected.  I am excited to begin using some of her ideas in my curriculum.  Glad to say, that I have in place, few of them, so you can see how pumped I am to be inspired even further!

I also visited The PICTURE BOOK Shed.  This is one of those places that I bookmarked for a later visit some time ago, then forgot about.  So glad to have reunited again.  Watch out students, It will be inspiring a library near you very soon!

 

Lastly, I picked up my Wreck this Journal,  AGAIN! for the umpteenth- millionth time and have decided to OFFICIALLY begin.  To give you the entire picture, ” I hate to wreck it because I love it”, But I want to love you even more, so that is why I have decided to Wreck you!  I think you would be the perfect inspiration for  for our students to document their book adventures.

Students, would you like to join me?   You are officially invited .