Busy Week!

Week of December 8^th,

The “countdown” has commenced!  It’s hard to believe that we only have one more week (after this) until Winter Break!  (Panic sets in now)!!  We enjoyed a variety of new stories, new skills and new ideas here in the Library.  Read below for a recap of this week’s events:

1^st Graders:

Our little buddies are starting to learn about energy and windmills in Science.  I decided to read suggested book by our other amazing Librarian, Ms. Arika.  This is one of my favorites that I’ve enjoyed in years past.  It’s a real story about a young man named William from Malawi who built a windmill and forever changed the future for his village and himself!  “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” is a heartwarming story with beautiful illustrations and this video shows William and his journey.  I’m excited to support the First Graders as they learn more about the science behind windmills, how we can use them and create sustainable energy! 

3^rd Graders:

It’s an exciting week for our friends in Third Grade!  We are on our second installment of “Digital Code of Conduct” and online safety.  Last week we brainstormed different websites that we could equate to "stoplights".  Students discussed the difference between a "green" website (appropriate and educational) or "yellow" (I need adult/parental guidance).  

This week, I introduced (and reviewed for some) our online catalog system and data base.  Rather than just use this as a lecture, I created a SCAVENGER Hunt so students could attempt several different skills using our online system.  What a telling activity this proved to be.  After we moved passed some of the basic issues of logging in (our usernames/passwords are a mouthful!), students were let loose to complete their quest of knowledge.  Interestingly, the multi-step directions were a challenge (as I thought it might) as well as locating non-fiction call numbers.  (Side bar:  I love that kids don’t call the # number “the number sign”, they call it “hashtag”.  Sign of the times perhaps?)  Overall, this was excellent data and feedback for me to see what tasks Third Graders could achieve independently and also with some added guidance! 

4^th Graders:

Many years ago (as a Fourth Grade teacher myself), I loved teaching the Pacific NW Coastal Peoples Unit…and now I get to collaborate and contribute a different aspect of this learning!  This week we read a beautiful retelling of “Coyote in Love”, retold by Mindy Dwyer.  Not only does this book have beautiful illustrations, using a variety of “cool toned” (comments from my students), but myth of how Crater Lake came to be is both creative and compelling.  We revisited the skills of Claims, Evidence and Reasoning and students thought about these questions that required some critical thinking: 

The response was intriguing and most all students felt the color of Blue Star absolutely mattered, and they gave evidence from the text of how the color of the lake would change.  I’m excited to build on their prior knowledge and help them dig deeper into this amazing unit. 

Overall, it was a busy and bombastic week full of learning and thinking and READING.  Next week I will be sure to include the TOP 10 books to read over Winter Break!

-Mrs. Bethel 

Gobble Gobble

Week of November 24^th,

Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  It’s been a whirlwind of weeks here in the Library.  I realized that I had not seen my students for three weeks…THREE WEEKS! ACK!!  With the Book Fair and Veteran’s Day…we are finally back to a routine here at school. 

First Graders enjoyed a fun Read Aloud this week:  "Bear Says Thanks" by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman.  For anyone interested in a darling character with fantastic stories including morals and friendship, you’ve found your series!  This text was a great way to connect with my primary readers about the celebration of family and friends.  The First Graders enjoyed the cheerful rhythm to the text, learning how we can share and delight in all the wonderful things we have to be thankful for. 

Third Graders enjoyed a festive read aloud that compares two families over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Students giggled, laughed and connected with the characters of each family.  “The Perfect Thanksgiving” by Eileen Spinelli was a “perfect” way for kids to reflect on the author’s message.  Students showed evidence and reasoning from the text that the author conveyed the idea of togetherness and family as the most important aspect of the holiday.  What’s perfect for you is different than what’s perfect for others was a consistent theme students were able to pull from the story.   

Fourth Graders were working on a few “house-keeping” items in Library this week.  We began dabbling in ‘Brainology’ and digging deeper into mindset.  Students were able to reflect on their mood using the Mood Ruler (or meter, a four quadrant grid that designates energy and feelings).  Looking ahead to next week, we will enjoy a fun text written by Aaron Reynolds (same author as “Creepy Carrots”).  Students will hone their skills using the Claims, Evidence and Reasoning technique to gain deeper meaning of text. 

Enjoy this long weekend and the Thanksgiving holiday.   Happy Turkey Day!

-Gobble Gobble

Mrs. Bethel

Week of November 3rd, 2014

Lions, Tigers, BEARS…Oh My!  No, we’re not putting on a theatrical performance of the Wizard of Oz (at least not this year).  First Graders were hard at work this week choosing animals for their Research Reports.  I’m lucky to work with two fantastic and very skilled Primary Teachers, who have managed to mold and teach 27 (yes, that’s a TWENTY SEVEN), first graders this year.  Just this Monday, kiddos were introduced to this assignment and they were literally chomping at the bit to get started!  First things first:  Find a book!  I pulled almost 100 titles from our non-fiction section in hopes that students would find something to help them either decide on which animal to learn more about OR give them a good head start on their research.  Most everyone walked out of the Library in the afternoon with a great informational text about an animal (or amphibian or mammal) J  Another piece of the learning over the next few weeks will be utilizing a website called Pebble Go! 

www.pebblego.com

What a cool way for young, emergent readers to learn more about non-fiction text features as well as informational text topics.  They’ve got everything from the Presidents, to holidays to animal facts.  One really super cool feature:  

THE SOUND button!  You can simply click on the volume and sound button next to the text and your reader can listen to the text while they read. 

 

November brings a new Virtue focus for us at school and it couldn’t fit better for what we celebrate this month:  SERVICE.  This week with all the classes, this Virtue was introduced and it’s exciting and encouraging to hear how students make connections to this in their own lives here at school and at home.  With the Third Graders, we read a tender and sweet Caldecott Award winner:  A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead and Erin Stead.  Kiddos were able to infer all the ways Amos demonstrated the Virtue of Service and how his friends repaid him when he needed it the most.  I was thrilled to hear of all the exciting and new ways my students were attempting to show Service this week; either at home or here at school. 

Fourth Graders continued their work with note-taking and synthesizing new informational text.  This week was the third week in our Cornell Notes lesson and I’m so pleased with their diligent work and focus.  Taking their highlighted text (from last week), with their partners, they identified KEY words and wrote phrases and lists to assist in their note-taking.  The last exit activity proved to be the most challenging as students pulled together all their information and wrote a succinct and organized summary (3-5 sentences) of what they could glean from the text. 

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures in the LIBRARY! 

Welcome To the Library

Greetings Readers (and students, and parents and educators)...

I’m writing this very first LIBRARY blog entry on a blustery Monday morning in November.  It’s hard to believe that I’ve spent nine (yes, 9!!!) weeks working in the Library and have yet to find my way to posting to my blog.  Well.  This is it:  My first blog as a LIBRARIAN.  (Eek). 

This is my job.  Sharing books (and Information Literacy with kids).  I have the amazing opportunity to share the journey a book can take you on:

 

 

Yes.  Reading was my lifeline as a child.  I absorbed myself into as many books as I could.  At one moment wishing I could invent a way to read and swiftly make it to the bus on time (roller skates with a robotic arm attached to my head holding the book with side mirrors?)  Reading takes you to places you’d never dreamed you could go.  Reading helps you escape.  Reading gives you hope, drive and inspiration to take on a task so big (crazy, wild, hair-brained) that you’d never thought you might accomplish.  How lucky am I that I get to spend ALL my time (ok, only Mondays and Tuesdays right now) sharing the love of reading with kids?    

My hope for this blog is to share about the many adventures we’ve encountered in the Library.  The plan (and of course we all know what happens when you try to make a plan)… is to post weekly with the following topics:

·         Lessons for First, Third and Fourth Graders

·         Top 3 books for the week

·        Trials and tribulations of a Librarian (I mean, wearing cardigan sweaters and reading stories out loud to students might sound horrifying to one person...but let me tell you a thing or two)

I leave you with a thought from one of my favorite authors.  This resonates with me when a child (or adult for that matter) tells me “Oh, I don’t care much for reading” or “eh, reading isn’t my thing”.  I fondly remember what this incredible author said:

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book yet.” JK Rowling

 

This is my quest for the year:  Help that student (who loathes reading) find the RIGHT book.  When I read (and reread what JK Rowling said), it appears so simple, but it's layered with complexity, emotion and is really quite a feat.  So, JOIN me in our adventures this year in the Library and stay tuned for how the journey unfolds!

-Mrs. Bethel