September 26, 2007
· Filed under September
Kindergarten
ABC Letters in the Library by Bonnie Farmer is a good book to introduce all the things you can find in the library. It is also a good way to discuss how books can be found in ABC order by the author’s last name. Today I demonstrated where the “spine” of the book is located and how the address of the book, or “call number” is found at the bottom of the spine. The first three letters of the author’s last name is written on the spine. I tell the kids that maybe some day they will write a picture book and I ask them, “What three letters would be written on the spine of your book?” We go around the room and each student says the first three letters of their last name. During book selection time I ask each student to point to the author’s last name on their book and decide what the call number should be on the spine. The students really enjoy looking at the spines and figuring out what it means, like they are detectives!
First Grade
Today we talked about the role of the illustrator and how pictures help tell the story. I pointed out how the illustrator’s name can be found on the cover of the book. I read Dr. De Soto by William Steig, which was a Caldecott Medal winner. Students always wonder why certain picture books have medals on them and I explain that it was voted best illustrated book that year! As an activity, students were given a worksheet with words but no pictures. The class illustrated their very own story.
Second Grade
Today I asked the students why books need to have titles. Students responded, “Titles can make you want to read the book!” and “Titles might tell you what the book is about.” I showed the class two books that were covered and after reading aloud the stories the class had to come up with a creative, appropriate title. I read Not Norm: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett and Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book by Alexander Stadler. The students wrote their ideas on the SmartBoard and then we had a class vote on our favorite title.
Third – Fifth Grade
This week students wrote a book recommendation for their favorite book and posted it on the library eboard. I modeled what a good book review should include and had the sudents proofread a sample book review before they wrote their own. Check out what other students are reading!
September 19, 2007
· Filed under September
Kindergarten
Today I read What Happened to Marion’s Book? by Brook Berg to review book care. Marion the hedgehog doesn’t take very good care of her books and accidentally spills jam on her first library book!
First Grade
What is an author? Students reviewed the role of an author and listened to Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester. Each student was given a picture and they wrote 2-3 sentences describing the pictures. Many students said they hope to grow up to become an author someday!
Second Grade
Students reviewed and identified appropriate library rules and explained what it means to be a good citizen. I read Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons by Tomie de Paola to discuss the importance of following rules. In this story Big Anthony doesn’t listen to Strega Nona’s directions and finds himself in some big trouble!
Third – Fifth Grade
Students wrote a book recommendation on the library eboard. I modeled what a good book review should include and had students proofread a sample book review and make the necessary changes. Check out what other students are reading!
September 10, 2007
· Filed under September
Kindergarten
Today students listened to Manners in the Library by Terri DeGezelle. We discussed the terms polite, respect, sharing, patience, and responsibility. Students brainstormed what good manners include.
First Grade
We reviewed how to be a good listener and started off with a humorous story Listen, Buddy by Helen Lester.
Second Grade
I reviewed library rules with class and read I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric Kimmel. I reinforced prediction skills and used sentence stips to have students recall the events in the story. Then, students chose an animal and created a class book titled “Animals in the library”.
Third Grade
“You can’t judge a book by its cover!” I find myself repeating this to students many times and today I had students discuss different methods of choosing books. First, I displayed five different books and asked students to choose a book based on its cover. Then, I booktalked each book and asked students if they wanted to change their minds based on what they heard. Students listed different ways of self-selecting a book.
Fourth Grade
Today fourth graders reviewed different sections of the library by being assigned a section and working with a partner to answer specific questions.
Fifth Grade
Fifth graders reviewed Library Lingo which is a vocabulary game using library terminology.
September 5, 2007
· Filed under September, Uncategorized
Kindergarten
Kindergartners were welcomed for the first time to the library media center this week! I taught the students proper book care and library manners. Students listened to Mr. Wiggle’s Book and I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer.
Students learned how to use a shelf-marker to help keep our library shelves neat. A letter was sent home with your child today explaining library policies and asking you to please share your child’s book with each other!
First Grade
First graders were welcomed back to the library with the story The Shelf Elf by Miriam Hopkins. The shelf elf teaches students library etiquette and looks for children with really good library manners. The first graders met our library mascot, the Shelf Elf, and were told that he hides in a different shelf every week to make sure they are all treating the libary with great care! Students will be working extra hard to win the golden shelf elf award!
Last year’s Shelf Winners were:
Second Grade
I read The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy to second graders this week.
Third Grade
Third graders listened to LibraryLil by Steven Kellogg.
Fourth Grade
Fourth graders were asked to finish this sentence: “A good library user knows…” Many wrote the following: how to use the catalog; the difference between fiction and non-fiction; how to do research in the Virtual Reference Collection; how to use a shelf-marker; when to return your book; how to pick a just right book, etc. I told the class that we will be learning many new things about books, research, and technology. Each student was given a folder and I explained how they will be graded: behavior, participation, and skills.
Fifth Grade
Fifth graders were asked to write a list of library rules in order for us to have a successful learning environment. We discussed them as a class and then each student was given a folder to keep their library projects organized. I reviewed grading and highlighted the new features of our library catalog, eboard, and the new blog!
