We have spent a good part of October leafing through good books and harvesting knowledge in the library! We have settled into routines and the students are comfortable with the library layout. By now we have had lots of practice locating books, treating them with care, and reading for enjoyment! Here is an update on the learning taking place in the library! Kindergarten- We read Mr. Wiggle’s Book by Paula M. Craig. In the book, Mr. Wiggle is sad because students don’t take care of their library books (stepping on them, spilling juice, ripping pages, etc.) We then played a game to practice book care. Students were given cards with good and bad ways to treat books, and then had to decide what category they should go in. We also read A Book Is Just Like You! by Kathleen Fox. We talked about the things we have in common with books. Did you know books have birthdays and families too?! We just call them something different. Students then practiced identifying different parts of a book. We had a great time shouting out the names together (“Spine! Front cover! Title Page!”) First Grade- We watched A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon on Storyline Online. Students then drew a picture of Camilla, the story’s main character. Students shared their drawings and we talked about how Camilla changed throughout the book. The students all did a wonderful job of showing what Camilla looked like in each part of the book (when she a little girl, when she had stripes, when she turned into a pill, and even when she turned into a house!) We also reviewed the parts of a book and the different roles of an author and illustrator. Students then took on the job of becoming an illustrator for a story. They were given words from a story and then had to draw illustrations to match. Second Grade- Students learned about our school’s library catalog. We practiced searching the library catalog and identifying the sections books were located in. Students also had to read a book and fill out a story elements graphic organizer. They did a wonderful job of identifying the characters, setting, and plot of each unique story. Third Grade- Students were introduced to the daunting yet incredibly important Dewey Decimal System. We read Do You Know Dewey? by Brian P. Cleary to learn how non-fiction books are organized. We then went on a scavenger hunt to explore the different non-fiction sections of our library. I saw lots of students showing perseverance (a Shaw Core Value) during this activity! It wasn’t easy, but students used the signs in the library and prior knowledge to track down books! We also read some scary stories from In A Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories retold by Alvin Schwartz. We talked about setting the mood while telling a story. We turned off the lights in the library and read in quiet voices to add to the spookiness! Students then had to retell one of the stories we read in the proper order. This was a great opportunity to introduce students to the horror and supernatural genres. We learned that reading scary stories doesn’t mean we all have to celebrate Halloween. Anyone can enjoy scary books! This month I was out for a few days attending a wedding in Michigan, but the students did a great job of staying on task while I was gone! Each class read Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry Allard. In the story, students are not showing respect to good-natured Miss Nelson (spitballs and paper planes galore!) But one day Miss Nelson goes missing and is replaced by mean Miss Swamp. The students begin to regret their bad behavior and appreciate their kinder teacher. Each class was told that Ms. VanClief was missing as well! I kept my plans a surprise so that students could make predictions of what I was doing while gone. And let me tell you, everyone had very creative ideas of what Ms. VanClief was up to! Don’t forget to carve out some time for a good book!
September has come and gone, and we are well on our way to becoming passionate library users! These first few weeks of school were spent creating an enjoyable community. We talked about how to make our library a safe and comfortable learning space for ALL students. Here is an update on the learning taking place in the library! Kindergarten- We had a chance to read our first Elephant and Piggie book of the year. In We Are In A Book! by Mo Willems, students were able to experience the power of reading out loud. This was a wonderfully interactive book that had my students laughing out loud, especially when Gerald and Pigige had us shouting the word "Banana!" We talked about how good readers make predictions using clues from the story. We also talked about the importance of being a good friend. First, Second, and Third Grade- We watched a video reinforcing the rules and expectations of the library. The video used animated minions to show examples of the right thing and the wrong thing to do. We shared quite a few laughs while watching the video. We then reviewed proper book care practices and completed our first quiz. Students did an excellent job remembering safe places to keep books and how to handle books with care! The third graders also made posters about the library rules for younger students to follow. They did a great job demonstrating creativity and depicting specific rules. Last week was only our second full week back in school, and we continued our review on library rules and how to become better readers. I had so many students express their excitement about the new books in the library, and many even volunteered to help me organize them! Here is an update on the learning taking place in the library! Kindergarten- The students and I read Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn and talked about some similarities between our school library and the public library. We learned that they both have story time and use special machines to check out books! Lola kept her library books in a safe place, so we brainstormed some book care rules to help us enjoy our books (keeping our books away from food, not bringing books into the rain, etc.) Students were also introduced to Tumblebooks, where they can watch animated, talking picture books online! First, Second, and Third Grade- Students were split into teams and participated in a library jeopardy game. They had to work together to answer questions about our library rules and our school's core values. They did an amazing job showing teamwork, solving problems, and cheering the other teams on. We also reviewed how to use a shelf marker to keep our growing collection of books neat, tidy, and easy to find!
It is wonderful to be back in the library and see all of our returning faces, as well as some new ones! We have many new books on the shelves and plenty of learning opportunities ahead of us. This year will be filled with creating, writing, inventing, experimenting, and of course READING! For the first week back, every class had a discussion about how we can best embody our school's core values (Respect, Excellence, and Perseverance) when visiting the library. Here is an update on the learning taking place in the library! Kindergarten- The students and I read David Goes To School by David Shannon and then talked about what makes a good student. We colored pictures of David and hung them in the library to remind us about the importance of being our best selves. First and Second Grade- We talked about how we will be challenging ourselves to read more advanced books this year. Students then worked hard on creating their own bookmarks. Third Grade- We participated in a library scavenger hunt. We got to learn about the reading habits of our classmates (who likes to read comic books, who has read a book and seen the movie, etc.) We also completed a library survey to see what genres of books we enjoy reading. Every class was able to meet our newest library resident, Tubby the guinea pig! Tubby has already become a friend to many of our students and has helped teach us about responsibility. We have been learning about Tubby's needs and how we can all work together to care for him. So far we are off to a wonderful start! |
AuthorMrs. Keohane is the School Librarian at the P.A. Shaw. She loves hockey, going to the beach, and reading (obviously!) Archives
March 2020
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