Three Little Pigs Reader's Theater

Last week I worked with another small group from Mrs. Overby's K/1 class on a reader's theater script to support their classroom study of fairy tales. We chose the Three Little Pigs because students have been reading variations of this fairy tale would be familiar with the plot and characters. In our first few sessions the students worked on word recognition and fluency. Next, they moved on to add actions to support our lines. It was hard to do both at the same time and remember to use a louder voice! On Friday they were excited to perform for the class and share their talents. Bravo to all the actors! :)

Penguin Parade!

1st graders from Mrs. Roach, Ms. Noble, and Mrs. Barrow's classes visited the Media Center last week to learn about African and Adelie penguins. Students have been learning about the penguin species in their classroom and this enrichment group allowed them to research one penguin in depth and work on their literacy and technology skills at the same time. Students chose which penguin they wanted to learn more about and then used the PebbleGo database to find their information.

At the end of each research session the students shared their findings with a partner. It was so interesting to hear what our friends learned! 

One day we read an article about how scientists are using penguin robots in Antarctica to study the penguins without scaring them. It was so neat! They call the robot a 'chick cam.' If you would like to read about it and see a video of the chick cam in action, visit this website: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/11/08/362377186/watch-the-robotic-baby-penguin-that-spies-for-scientists

Chick Cam--photo credit: NPR

After the students gathered their research, I taught them how to use the Word Cloud maker from ABCya. I challenged the students to select the key words or phrases from their research to use in their word cloud. Each student typed their own key words and were so excited to see the final product! The Word Cloud maker allows you to choose the font, colors, and layout of the word cloud, ensuring that each student ends up with a unique and thoughtful creation. You can see a few of their word clouds below. After leaving the Media Center, the students went back to their classroom to share what they learned with the class. Great job, 1st grade researchers!

Primary Sources with 5th grade

5th graders in Ms. Lord and Mrs. Roach's classes learned about primary sources this month and how we can use them as authentic resources to learn more about the past. To enhance their study of Westward Expansion, I used a collection of primary sources from the Library of Congress. We followed the guidelines for analyzing primary sources: 1. Observe 2. Reflect 3. Question; and applied these guidelines to analyze a piece of artwork titled: "American Progress."

Next, students rotated through 7 stations in small groups. They took notes about what they noticed in each document and discussed questions with their group. Students analyzed photographs, a map, a sketch, song lyrics, a letter, and an interview. 

After making observations about the documents, we asked students to write predictions about the time period based on the primary sources. Thank you to the Library of Congress for providing such valuable documents that pushed our students to ask thoughtful questions and make connections! The students are excited to see this building in person when they visit Washington, D.C. in March. 

Polar Animals in Kinder

The kindergarten classes have been learning about Arctic animals the past few weeks. To supplement their learning, I worked with a small group from Mrs. Reuther's class to research a polar animal of their choice. We used PebbleGo to read and write up to 8 facts about our animal. The students love using PebbleGo as a research tool and the information is clear, reliable, and engaging. 

After our research was complete, we used the Word Cloud generator on ABCya to create word clouds about our animals. Each student chose keywords from their research and typed those words into the generator.



This activity helped us determine what words were most important in relation to our animal. We were able to integrate multiple technology and literacy skills and the students had fun learning!

1st Semester Reflection

At the end of each quarter I like to reflect on the successes and goals of the library program. This year, I decided to create a semester report to help me compile and share the data with the school community. I strongly believe that a vibrant school library program is one that supports the overall learning in the school and is a hub of creative activity. This report is just a glimpse of the learning, curriculum support, technology integration, teaching, and community involvement that occurred.

There is always room for improvement but I do think we accomplished a great deal in the first semester. I look forward to a 2nd semester of learning at Club Boulevard!

I used Glogster to create the report and may have gotten carried away (much like my students) with the design options offered :) Click on any photo or word cloud to enlarge it.

Gingerbread Reader's Theater

I had fun working with a small group from Mrs. Overby's class this week on a Gingerbread Boy reader's theater. We met Monday-Thursday to practice our lines, learn about acting techniques, and work on literacy skills. We also learned what the words 'script' and 'character' mean--just ask us! :)

Today we performed for Mrs. Overby and Mr. Nicholson's classes. Some of us were a little nervous but we all remembered our lines and did a great job!