Super 3--Plan, Do, Review!

Students in Ms. Lopez's 2nd grade class have been learning about a research process that will help them with information needs this year. It is called the Super 3 and it has 3 steps: Plan, Do, Review! Ms. Lopez and I introduced this process to the students on Monday. We learned that each step has a purpose to help us complete research.

1.  Plan
What am I supposed to do?
What do I need to get the job done?
What do I want it to look like when I'm done?

2.  Do
I must locate the things I will need (books, websites, materials etc.).
I  need to ask questions, read, and take notes.
I need to use the information I find to create something.

3.  Review
Did I do what I was supposed to do (checklist)? 
Am I proud of what I've done?
What was hard for me during this process? What did I learn?

Our Project: We used the Super 3 steps to help us create a Weather Dictionary. Check out the pictures below to see each step of the process!

Step 1: Plan!
We worked with our partner to plan out what we needed to do to find, record, and review our information. Books, computers, magazines, and real experts were all suggested resources for us to use!

Step 2: Do!

I showed the students how to use a great non-fiction website called PebbleGo. PebbleGo had all the articles we needed to learn about our weather words. We could listen to the information and read along at the same time. There were also video clips and pictures to help us understand more about our weather word. We learned how to take notes using phrases and then we put our phrases together to write a definition in our own words.

Step 3: Review!

In the last step of our process we used a checklist to review our work. We had to make sure we followed all the directions and submitted our very best efforts. After our definition was complete, we reflected on the Super 3 and how it helped us think about the steps of a research process. The Super 3 guided us to a fantastic final product--our Weather Dictionary!

Summer Reading Celebrations

Congratulations to all of the students who participated in summer reading this year! We had so many students participate that we had to have two days of celebration this week. On Monday, Anna Cromwell from the Durham County Library Main Branch was our featured storyteller for the 1st-3rd grade celebration. She also gave students prizes for being such good listeners and readers.

On Wednesday, students in 4th and 5th grades came to the Media Center and participated in 3 interactive literacy stations. Students created and filmed book commercials for their favorite books using Flip cameras, shared book recommendations with friends on Destiny MyQuest, and learned more about the Media Center through a scavenger hunt.



All students received a certificate, a bookmark, and a new book for their summer reading accomplishments. Special thanks to our 3 parent volunteers: Scottie Hunsberger, Lisa Rakouskas, and Liz Clark. These events would not have been successful without their help!

The following dedicated readers filled out their entire READO boards this summer. I am so impressed with their efforts to read a wide variety of genres and styles!! Congratulations :)

What's the Buzz in 1st grade?

1st graders in Ms. Noble and Mrs. Roach's classes have been learning what it means to do "research" in the media center. Students enriched their study of insects by using the database PebbleGo to learn more about 1 particular insect. Working in partners, students read and listened to information about their insect's body, habitat, food, and life cycle. Habitat maps, photos, and video clips helped us understand how our insect survives in the world. We also learned that it is important to take good notes while conducting research. Writing down details will help us remember what we learned and we can share this knowledge with our classmates.
We were able to cover two of the Information and Technology Essential Standards for 1st grade during this research time:

• Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.)
• Use technology hardware and software responsibly

Curriculum Night

Last week we held Curriculum Night to inform parents about the new Common Core and Essential Standards. My media intern, Mrs. Lehotsky, created the Tagxedo above to illustrate the most important words from the Information and Technology Essential Standards (ITES). As library media specialist, I have the priveledge of collaborating with classroom teachers to integrate the ITES into core curricular areas. The 5 main essential standards we will cover in each grade level are: Sources of Information, Informational Text, Tecnology as a Tool, Research Process, and Safety and Ethical Issues. These standards were written using the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. If you have questions about what this will look like for your child, please contact me or your child's classroom teacher.

Learning in the Library!

School is well underway and all classes have had their initial visit to the Media Center. We had fun reviewing our manatee manners, reading with friends, checking out books, and exploring this blog. Even teachers were a part of the action with an after school training on how to create and manage a classroom blog! Enjoy a slideshow below of pictures from a sampling of classes over the past few weeks. I created this slide show using my educator account on Animoto.