Week of April 27th, 2015

 This week we worked on many different levels of digital citizenship, poetry reading and keyword searching. My First Graders are excited to finish their "ouch" poems, look forward to next week when we'll be posting fun pictures of their work.  Third Graders were busy practicing search skills, utilizing key word searching by synonyms or multiple key words to narrow down their research.  Fourth Graders took a nice walk on the more artistic side this week and learned about the different styles of poetry and poems, how to locate a poetry book in the Non-Fiction section of the library.  Many of my students were interested in participating in the Poem In Your Pocket Day on Thursday, April 30th.  Nationally recognized as a day to read poetry with your school, community and friends, don't forget to share your experiences using #pocketpoem!

Yet another week has flown by here in the Library.  I'm desperately trying NOT to panic as we enter into the last few weeks of school.  It seems this happens every year...a mad rush to the finish.  Informal assessments, tools, measurement and lessons all come together as we gear up for the minimal weeks we have left together. For some classes, I will only see them six more times (eek!) and I'm not quite ready for that.  I've created a short list of goals/objectives (perhaps more like hopes/dreams) for the end of school and what I'd love my students to begin their summers with:

I want to ensure that every child has 

• Access to a library or some sort of program to check out books
• An idea of books they want to read over the summer
• A cozy or special place to hunker down with a good book
• The skills to find new books (where to look online, how to locate a non-fiction book or search by title, author or genre)
• A love for reading

Yes, some of these are lofty and perhaps unattainable for each and every kiddo, but a Librarian can dream, right?  What are some of your summer goals for your child?  For your students?  

Have a great week!  

-Mrs. Bethel 

Week of April 20th, 2015

Spring has sprung...or has it?  The weather here in our state has it's ups and downs for sure during the Spring season!!  Torrential downpour one day, the next 70 degrees and all the kids (and parents) are wearing shorts and grabbing fro-yo after dinner!  It's been a week or so since my last update and there's been a flurry of activity here in the Library!

First Graders

We "Shel-abrated" this week with our amazing poets in First Grade.  In honor of Poetry Month, our primary students shared what they had learned so far about poems and dug a little deeper into the different style of writing.  We reviewed haiku, acrostic and free verse just to share a few.  Shel Silverstein
was a focus this Monday and my First Graders loved reading his "Bandaid" and "Ouch" poem.  To give credit where credit is due, I found this idea online (www.firstgradewow.blogspot.com) and my kiddos began drafting their own version of and "Ouch" poem.  Check out the VINE video to see our humorous and creative poets!
First Grade Poetry

Third & Fourth Graders
This is our second week in our Online Digital Citizenship series.  Third Graders learned about the different levels of responsibility we have when we are online.  Students looked into the three categories: self, friends
and family, and larger community and how the responsibility changed for each level.  Fourth Graders discussed the importance of strong passwords and safeguarding your personal information.

Fifth Graders:
Stay tuned for Summer Reading lists, apps and websites to help keep your soon-to-be "Middle Schooler" engaged and avoid the Summer "Slide"!

Staff Members and Teachers
I was very excited (and nervous) to present to our staff last week, sharing how to integrate technology into the classroom.  I attended a seminar back in Febrary with the Institute for Educational Development and was

struck by all the different tools, apps and interactive technology that's available.  My goal was to give teachers at least one "take-away" to feel comfortable implementing in their classroom.  Overall, I received positive feedback and hope that teachers and staff felt it worthwhile!  I'm looking forward to helping support students using these new apps and tools!

Have a great week everyone!  Hard to believe that we're starting the countdown to the last few weeks of school!  -Mrs. Bethel