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!