Happy Holidays

It's hard to believe it's already that time of year!  Where did the last few weeks, no...months go? Time flies when you're busy having fun in the Library!  

Read below for a recap of this week's happenings:

First Grade:  Project Blocks (week 3) is underway!  We discussed building planning and construction (previewed text from Non Fiction, section 611 and a few others) and kids included signs and incorporated structures that would need signs – had to give evidence why.  Did you know that Empirical studies show that constructive or block play supports mathematical learning and scored higher/performed better on standardized test of spatial intelligence (Caldera 1999).   

More information to in a separate post, dedicated to Project Blocks, but here's a little background.  The library wrote a grant, submitted and was awarded funds (from the Curriculum Enhancement Committee) to purchase sets of blocks to support STEM learning in the Library.   By incorporating block investigating, students will be able to cooperate with others, develop problem solving skills as well as thinking critically and creatively.  First Graders are using to many new skills from math to engineering even to social/emotional!  Check out our cool STEM structures:

First Grade STEM Structures 

Third Grade:  Special Read Aloud, "Mogie, the Heart of the House" written by Kathi Appelt and illustrated by Marc Rosenthal.  A kindred and tender book telling the story of a real life labradoodle named Mogie who lives in a Ronald McDonald house.  Kids connected with the strong theme of compassion as we shared this lovely tale - what a great way to close out the year!  Also a WCCPBA, a definite must read! 

Fourth Grade:  This week concluded our month long focus on Pacific Northwest Coastal research. Throughout the past five weeks, students researched the daily lives of the first inhabitants of the PNW, created thoughtful notes and lastly recorded their findings on Flipgrid!  #flipgrid 

Fifth Grade:  Check out as usual for these amazing school leaders!  I'm excited to see how much they've accomplished over the break and their academic growth and success in the upcoming year!  

From Mrs. Bethel:
Wishing you and yours a very happy (and healthy) Holiday!  I am grateful to work with such talented and amazing teachers and for the dedicated volunteers in the Library!  

Happy New Year! 

Scholastic Book Fair!

It's that time of year again...

It's that time of year again...

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR!!! 

Bright and early Monday morning we will be busy, setting up the displays to transform the Library into a Book Fair!  We are so lucky in our school to be able to put HALF of the Book Fair proceeds toward our operating budget!  WOW!  Over the 3.5 days that we are in business we will see 22 classes, over 500 students and many many families!  This is the second year that I've experienced the Book Fair as a Librarian, and boy am I excited!  

Something new this year, a very cool APP, check it out:

With this awesome Book Fair APP, you can scan a book cover or barcode and view book trailers, listen to short summaries and determine if the book is at a just right level for your student! Add that to your smartphone today!

Wish us luck as we embark on this busy, hectic and chaotic week!  Fingers crossed for a smooth Book Fair! 

-Mrs. Bethel 

Week of October 19th, 2015

It was a mad dash this week to get in all the objectives and goals and FUN during Library!  Most weeks will include a play-by-play for each of the grade levels and classes visiting.  This week is dedicated to SIX books that Librarians in our district chose for a NEW Award ... The OTTER Award! For more information, read below:

The OTTER Award officially began last spring with a group of Librarians coming together to chose a short order of text that would appeal to the struggling reader, the kiddo who desperately wanted to find a "chapter book" and search in the FIC section (but wasn't quite ready) and the student who just needed to hook themselves onto a new series!  Six books were chosen for this list; they include a variety of genre and amazing authors!  Here are the titles:

In less than two weeks, these books will be available for students to check out and devour!  I'm excited to entice our kiddos and see which new series they fall in love with!  Thanks to the all the dedicated Librarians who put their time and effort into this new endeavor!  

Happy Reading!

-Mrs. Bethel 

Week of October 12th, 2015

What a whirlwind of a week!


First  Grade:
SPECIAL AUTHOR VISIT!!  Our friends in First Grade were fortunate this week to meet an amazing author Nancy Raines Day! She's an accomplished writer with several published books! Nancy shared with us her most recent story, "What In The World, Numbers In Nature" just published last month.  She also read her popular spooky story,"On A Windy Night"
If interested in purchasing any of her books, look to Amazon or Barnes Noble as well as Mockingbird Books (Seattle).  To learn more information about Nancy Raines Day, click here!  Nancy Raines Day

Third Grade:
The Adventures of Beekle - The Unimaginary Friend written by Dan Santat.  I recently brought this book home to my family and it rapidly became one of the NEW favorites.  Beekle, is a charming character with hidden gems of wisdom and sentimental kindness that every kid will connect with! Literally read this book about seventeen times this week and each read found something beautiful and unique and amazing!   Dan Santat is a genius and what our library kiddos wouldn't give to ask him questions about his book! Winning the Caldecott in 2015, definitely a must read!

Fourth Grade:
FLIP assessment is on!  After practicing a trail run through last week, our students were ready to take on the fifteen question assessment!  Using our new technology app of PLICKERS, kiddos were able to answer multiple choice questions using their Plicker card.  All in all, a pretty cool way to take a test!  If you're interested in how your child is doing in Library, stop on by for a chat or send an email. I'm always happy to talk books and reading with you and your family!

Fifth Grade:
GRC (Global Reading Challenge) is up and running!  First meeting is this Wednesday during Lunch Recess and all 4th/5th Grade students are invited to attend!  As per the past numbers, 30 kiddos will get a chance to participate in this amazing team experience.  Don't fret, if you didn't get a chance as a 4th Grader, 5th Grade could be your year!

Note From Mrs. Bethel:
Scholastic Book Fair is coming!  Mark your calendars for November 17th, the Fair will run for three days (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - set up Monday, tear down Friday)!  Any volunteers are GREATLY appreciated!!

Week of October 5th, 2015

It's hard to believe we're already well into the month of October!  The Fall weather has definitely arrived, with that, an amazingly busy and crazy few weeks ahead!  Read below to catch up on Library happenings and tech tidbits!

First Graders
WCCPBA text here we go!  My First Grade friends were able to enjoy an October treat and read At the Old Haunted House, written by Helen Ketteman and illustrated by Nate Wragg, This is a darling tale, full of somewhat spooky, goofy and halloweenish party fun!  Last week, students tackled their first STEM integrated lesson, reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, investigating the properties of a coconut and predicting whether

Third Graders
Peter Brown is a master!  Kids everywhere love his illustrations, his comedic timing and incredible way of showing emotion through color and fun drawing/sketch.  This week we focused on tackling yet another WCCPBA text, "My Teacher Is A Monster" by Peter Brown!  Wanting students to think a little deeper about the characters, I created an Exit Ticket asking students to consider the evolution of the relationship between the boy and his teacher.  Using emotion and colors to describe, students utilized a comic strip style reflection (demonstrating the beginning, middle and end).  When asking kiddos to explain evolution (in terms of story line and text), my favorite answer of the day: "a gradual change".  Wow!  Kids are smart, right?!?

Fourth Graders
We've got PLICKERS!  This week marked the first chance to introduce Plickers to 4th Graders!  For the beginning of year assessment, we are utilizing a new and innovative way to assess students.  Plickers is an amazing tool that lets me collect real time formative data!  Up next week, we will dig deeper and start the 4th Grade Assessment FLIP (Fourth grade Library Instruction Process).

Fifth Graders
As always, these responsible and thoughtful students are choosing amazing books and series!  I'm looking forward to joining forces and combining the two classes to delve deeper into Library Media Technology, iPad APPS and CODE!


A Note From Mrs. Bethel
You're never too old to go back to school!  This Thursday, I started classes in Library Media Program with Antioch University!  My first class, Selections For Collections is a fantastic way to delve into the content of the program!  I'm honored to be able to continue my education and professional development, and thankful to my family and colleagues who are helped encourage me!

Week of September 21, 2015

Here's what went down in the land of books this week:

First Grade:
For only our second week together, these little darlings are just trucking along!  They come each Monday excited and ready to learn more about the Library.  This week we read aloud a WCCPBA text, "10 Rules Of Being a Superhero" by Deb Pilutti.  We brainstormed all the characteristics of a HERO and then related to our own lives and chose a personal HERO of our own!  Check out our vine of some of the lovely illustrations!

First Grade Super Hero




Third Grade: 
It's time to start CODE!

Well, let's say we're dipping our toes in, just for a start!  This week we began our coding journey with an "unplugged" activity.  Students were challenged to use "paper programming" to find the correct algorithm.  (Ask your child what an algorithm means in CODE terms)!  Third graders worked as teams to determine which direction our "Flurbs" (character in our coding) should travel, North, South, East or West! Up n


ext on the coding docket:  "Move it Move it!", an activity where the students will write a program using spacial awareness and coding direction.

Fourth Grade:
"Tell me more, tell me more..." Yes, that's right, I want to learn more about YOU, my students!  This week my Fourth grade friends finished a survey sharing their own personal interests/goals/outside of school hobbies.  Thanks to my teaching partner, Ms. Arika, (credit to her for the survey questions), kiddos were able to ask burning questions of us, the Librarians!  My favorite so far:  "how old are you" and "what was the most disgusting thing you've ever eaten".  Tough call on that one!

Fifth Grade
Continuing with our focus on digital citizenship this week, students agreed and signed our Code of Conduct.  I will continue to work with our Fifth grade friends (even though we only have a precious 15-20 minutes once per week) to help support and prepare them for the opportunities and challenges of using social media as well as navigating the technology in school.  Looking ahead next week:  Reviewing Destiny and My Quest!

A Note From Mrs. Bethel
Hard to believe that we just finished our 4th week of school!  Where does the time go?  I'm excited to be working on new projects in school and at home, which tomorrow are colliding!  I've had the sheer pleasure and opportunity to volunteer with the Ready Set Read program of Tacoma (through the Communities in Schools program) since last winter.  Recently, I was asked to partner with the coordinator and present several STEM lessons at the Washington State Library "All Aboard Kindergarten Advisory Committee" board meeting held in Spokane.  Flattered, honored and a little nervous, I'll prepare to present one special lesson I wrote supporting STEM learning for preschoolers! Stay tuned to hear how it goes!

Here's wishing you have a wonderful week!

-Mrs. Bethel

Welcome Back!!

Welcome to a brand new school year full of learning, laughter and of course, BOOKS!  I'm very excited to be back in the Library, gettin' down with the new literature and new students!

While my weekly blog posting will mostly be about my current adventures teaching 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Library classes, I will also share my trials and tribulations of new goals and challenges.  Because I feel as though when you put it in writing, you HAVE to do it, here are some year goals for me in the Library:

• Read as many books (kid lit) as possible
• Start CODING (teaching CODE) to my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders
• Participate in WLMA, SLJ and more professional development
• Start (really, my fingers are crossed) a Library Media Endorsement
• Read ALL the WCCPBA text
• Read MOST of the Sasquatch Awards
• Laugh (as much as possible) in the Library
• Make our Library a place where every kid (teacher and parent) wants to come visit

The list could go on and on, right?

This was our third week back in school, but first time meeting several of my classes... so happy to have seen all of the curious faces now in the Library!  Here's a quick snapshot of what went down here this week:

First Grade:

Read Aloud "Shh, We Have a Plan" written by Chris Haughten.  A budding designer and well known author ("Oh No George" and "A Bit Lost", shows us a beautiful and funny story about four friends creeping in the woods trying to catch a bird.  Students made predictions based on the repetition of the story plot, and enjoyed a different style of design and illustration!  

Third Grade:

I met many of my 3rd graders for the first time today.  Reviewed Library policies and expectations and the current WCCPBA text for 2015-2016.  Students took a look at all the titles, we've read Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio (ask your child to tell you about Fi Fi, Foo Foo, Oh La La and Gaston)!!  Up next week:  Superhero!  

Fourth Grade:

What a stellar start to they year we've had with these super citizens!  Keeping with the Super Hero Theme, our 4th graders will be digging deeper into what it means to be a Super DIGITAL Citizen!  Ideas shared and taken from the Common Sense Media, we will be discussing how to stay safe online and how to best take on the power and responsibility.  To quote Spiderman: "With great power comes great responsibility!"  

Fifth Grade:

Although I only have a mere 15-20 minutes with my beloved 5th graders, we are jamming as much as we can into our time together.  Before checking out books ranging from Wonderstruck to Non Fiction about Queen Elizabeth and the Tudors, we intro'd CODE and what our first steps would look like when we begin our Coding.  5th graders have some "Library Homework" and will be exploring the CODE website:  www.code.org 

A Note From Mrs. Bethel:

As always, I love sharing new books, chatting about new series or simply enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee!  Come on by the Library anytime and we'll have a chat!  

-Mrs. Bethel

Bittersweet...

It's the last official week of school, and it's bittersweet.  All the students are thrilled summer is almost at the front door, but sad they won't be able to check out books from the Library until next fall.  I was gearing up to host some sort of Library activity that involved a variety of mish mash - but I realized on my commute into work Monday morning, there was something much better I could plan!


There, in rush hour traffic, listening to Sports Radio with my hubby, I wrote the US Open Trivia Research lesson for my 3rd and 4th Graders.  This is a momentous occasion for the NW as it hosts the 115th US Open for Golf!  I happen to live a mere 10 minutes away from the course, and my hometown pride is coming out full force!  What better way to tie in the end of year/research/digital citizenship lessons than this?  I whipped up a few questions knowing my students would need to practice skills of key-word searching and scanning text online.  Overall, it was a hit!  I think we even might have a few new golf enthusiasts interested in researching and learning more (disclaimer:  I am personally a horrific golfer, and it's not even my sport of choice)!

Fourth Graders were able to finalize their digital safety tips by using the app:  Chatterpix (kids).  A few weeks ago, students drafted safety tips with other students as their audience.  They rehearsed with partners and edited to make their tip smooth and clear.  Today, kids recorded a safety tip suggestion and created their own masterpiece!  Try downloading this app - it's FREE!

Our local public library has revealed the theme for the Summer Reading Program!  This year, they've delved deeper into the STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Math).   We are encouraging students to work toward setting reading goals as well as choosing a STREAM activity to complete along with the summer learning.

As we near the end of the year, I'm grateful for many things.  Mostly, to have had this incredible opportunity to stretch myself professional and become a Librarian.    I'm excited to learn more about this craft and amazing job!  A huge thank you to my teaching peer - Ms. Arika!  I appreciate her advice and camaraderie  and hope to contribute in the same way!   Also, a shout out to the lovely parent volunteers, without you...I couldn't function!


Here's to a lovely summer full of ice cold treats, sunny days, playing outside and loads of READING!

Love,
Mrs. Bethel

Week of June 8th

Time flies when you're having fun in the Library!  I'm absolutely SHOCKED with how fast these last few weeks have gone by.  I will see my students only one more time before the end of the year, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that!  This week proved to be just as busy as the last full of digital passport, online citizenship, learning about a new app and researching online, the Women's World Cup 2015!

First Grade:
My students were busy practicing their keyword searches using the Common Core suggested "Game Up"
from Brain Pop!  Students worked to find the perfect three words to properly search for a specific question or subject matter using "Search Shark".  Parents...listen up!  Your kiddos will probably want some screen time this summer after spending time outside and in the sun.  If your children are like mine, they will need some sort of break, why not look into the Brain Pop app on your hand held device?  It's educational and we have a membership through the school.  Come see Mrs. Bethel if you have any questions!  I will also send a list of summer friendly activities and apps to try in my last blog post of the year!

Third Grade & Fourth Grade:

How do you know it's the end of school?  The kids are definitely one indication!!  Third and Fourth Grade students worked quite hard to stay focused and on task during our second to last Library session.  Fourth graders navigated the fifa website (www.fifa.com) to learn more about the Women's World Cup taking place in Canada.  Given several guided questions they were required to dig deeper into this online tool to find the right information.  We also discussed a new APP to use next week (fingers crossed we have the right technology available)!! A shout out to Ms. Arika for sharing this awesome tool!   I demo'd this last night with my own kiddos and they couldn't get enough of it:  Check out "Chatterpix" or Chatterkids. It's quick, easy, kid friendly and best of all....you got it:  FREE!!!!!  What parent doesn't love that?  Next week, Fourth graders will film, record, edit and share digital tips using this new APP!




Community Volunteer Breakfast:  A huge thank you to the dedicated volunteers who make our school run so smoothly!  As a librarian, I couldn't do my job without your tireless efforts and year round support.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring so much for your children, your school and your library!

Enjoy a sunny week!  Here's to the last few days of school!
-Mrs. Bethel

Week of May 18th

What a great week we had here in the Library!  It's crazy to think we only have 5 (yes, that's FIVE) more weeks left of school.  (side note:  Mrs. Bethel is trying very hard to not panic!!!!!)  Kids were busy working hard, researching and checking out the many new books that are coming into our library every day!

First Grade:  

We did the DEWEY this week!  Students worked in pairs to locate a variety of topics by using our Dewey Decimal system.  I introduced the lesson by sharing a cute rap (found on youtube, performed by puppets) that walks us through the classification and organization of Dewey.  Kids then needed to match cards (with pictures and numbers:  100's, 300's, 400's etc) to the specific section in our Non-Fiction area.  I saw improvement during each class and hope that as Second Graders, they will feel confident in finding a few items in our Non-Fiction section!!

Third Grade:

Add caption

Myths, Legends, Fairy Tales...Oh My!!  This week my students dug a little deeper into our catalog to find books to support projects and work on Fairy Tales and Myths.  Thanks to Tim and Moby, our trusty Brain Pop! Kids were able to learn a little more about Greek Mythology and our growing collection here in the Library.  It's hard to resist these amazing books, check 'em out before they're gone:





Fourth Grade:

My students continued the second week of the Mighty Jackie lesson deciding if the text and story was Fact or Fiction!  Due to the ongoing testing (I can't tell who is more excited for it to finish, students OR teachers), we've rescheduled our Library times and our kiddos are just itching to move around.  Today, students accessed and analyzed primary source documents.  They needed to share knowledge and decide as partners whether or not the story was true.  Through research with the New York Times article (from April of 1931) to looking through an artifact copy, the overwhelming response proved the text to be FACT rather than fiction!

A Note From Mrs. Bethel:
Friendly Reminder!!  ALL books are due Monday, JUNE 1st!!!  For some classes we will have one more check out, remember you can always visit the library before or after school AND during recess!  Enjoy a lovely long weekend away, and I'll see you bright and early Tuesday morning!  Happy Memorial Weekend!

-Mrs. Bethel

Week of May 11th

Spring Fever has hit...

It's that time of year: when library books go missing and students begin to long for the Summer days filled with travel, playing outside and no school!!

As we gear up for the Summer, we librarians ask, plead and URGE kids to read read and READ!!  In just a few weeks, we will have our all important due date for Books - Monday, June 1st!  The week prior will be the last week to check out books, so parents and family members...here's where you step in!  Visit your local library to sign your kiddo up for the Summer Reading Program.  In our school, we are fortunate to have the ability to host a local librarian (stay tuned for this date in mid-June), in which he/she will share all the details of the Summer Reading Program with our students.  Make sure to check in with your student's teacher or us here at the library if you need book title suggestions!!

First Grade:

First Graders this week completed the second week of the Everybody Books challenge.  Students were asked to organize (just as a real Librarian would) the Everybody Cover Books they created as actual books. Students worked in small groups to complete the task and alphabetize the covers in the correct order.  What a hit!  Kids loved pretending to work in the Library and showed promise when starting to search for books independently in the Everybody section.


Third Grade:
Lego Man in Space by Mara Shaunessy was focus of this week's lesson.  Third Graders were introduced to the story of Mat and Asad, two high school students who were curious!!  Speaking of being curious, this tied in perfectly to our virtue focus for the month:  Curiosity!   The book, Lego Man in Space was written to depict the story of Mat and Asad and their journey through putting a Lego man into near space.  This is a great tie in to Science and Math and our line of inquiry!



Fourth Grade:
Today we began a two week series of focus on fact vs. fiction while reading the book, Mighty Jackie, The Strike Out Queen by Marissa Moss.  Students are asked to identify features from the text to support their opinion and predict whether or not it is fact or fiction.  Kids will work next week to unveil a primary source document that they will analyze to determine if their prediction was correct.



This week was full of learning and excitement as the 2015-2016 Sasquatch Award Chapter Book titles were announced!  Thanks to my teaching partner, Ms. Arika for sharing:

• Jinx by Sage Blackwood
• Star Wars: Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown
• Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg
• Monster on the HIll by Rob Harrell
• The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson
• One for the Murphy’s by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
• The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata
• The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz
• The 14 Fibs of Gregory K. by Greg Pincus
• Rump by Liesl Shurtliff
• The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
• The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley

Take a look at these VERY cool covers!  I'm very excited to start reading these books - great for my Summer Reading List!

Happy Reading!!

Mrs. Bethel

Week of May 4th

May the Forth Be With You...

Every year around this time, I just giggle when I hear that on May 4th!  "May the force be with you!"  I'm such a huge Star Wars fan (as are most adults born in the 70's)!  However, since the newer movies were released, the re-branding and now with the next film being filmed...I'm reminded how much my students and the younger audience are also huge fans!  If you search for "star wars" in our library catalog, we have over 18 titles just in our library!  How cool is that?  And, half of them, if not MORE are always checked out!

Fourth Grade:  
This week our Fourth Graders were testing in the morning, so I wanted to make sure we had a fun learning activity to help them experience movement throughout Library.  Thanks to my teaching partner, Ms. Arika, I taught my first lesson on Spine Poetry!  Wasn't sure if it would be chaotic (state testing + fourth grader = spicy), but what a pleasant surprise!  This lesson fit the bill perfectly, kids were engaged, on task and came up with some fantastic poetry.  Over the next few days, check out my library twitter account to view a quick snapshot of student work on Vine!

Mrs. Bethel's Library on Twitter

Third Graders focused on completing one more part of their digital citizenship lessons - Plagiarism!  It was fascinating to hear about personal experiences from these young voices and watch them realize that giving credit for others' work is vital when publishing.  We discussed different scenarios in which plagiarizing occurs, what to look for and how to avoid it!  Great conversations about which situations are acceptable, one that surprised many students was this:

Third Grade:

Many of my Third Graders could sympathize with these students.  Most were able to understand that sharing homework in such a way was some form of cheating.  I look forward to continuing the conversation about giving credit for work found and how to turn someone else's words into your own.  

First Grade:

First Graders were a delight this week in the Library.  We focused on one of the many lessons from the curriculum that is vital in helping kiddos locate books in each section.  Together we reviewed what an Everybody book is and where it's found in our Library.  I modeled how each book has the title and call number on the spine of the book, this is how Librarians know where to put the books away and students know how to find the books.  Kinds then worked independently to create their own "book covers and spines".  Next week, they will meet in small groups and organize their covers/spines as a librarian would.  We'll then trounce back to the Everybody section and they'll need to locate the exact spot their books would live.   

A Note From Mrs. Bethel:

Lastly, I wanted to thank all the students and families who were thoughtful and kind to think of me (and my fellow teaching peers) over the last few days.  It's always a joy to experience Teacher Appreciation Week, and I wanted to share my thanks and appreciation for all that parents do for our school and for their children!  

Thank you!!

Erin