Friday, February 27, 2009

News From the Library--March 2, 2009



Rockin' Reptiles by Stephanie Calmenson and Joanna Cole
A Book Review by Oakleigh and Olive


In the Library this week...

Kindergarten--To get ready for our celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2, Kindergarteners heard Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose. I'm always amazed at how the language of a Dr. Seuss book enthralls the children and this time was no exception. Very little wiggling, lots of wide eyes when listening to this charming tale about a moose who above all must be nice to his guests.

First Grade--First graders heard our 3rd nominated California Young Reader Medal book, Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson. Hilda the hippos passion for dancing is driving her fellow jungle mates crazy and it's not until she finds water ballet that things calm down--literally!

Second Grade--Mrs. Seeple's class heard The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend and Mrs. Campbell's class chuckled along with Stanley's Wild Ride by Linda Bailey. (see previous posts for information about these two books)

Third Grade--Mrs. Villa's and Mrs. Lewis' classes both heard The Perfect Nest. Students are having fun "practicing" their voting and learning how to evaluate books according to their own personal tastes.

Our Battle of the Books lunch practice group is doing a fantastic job. The "Big Test" is scheduled for March 25 and the results will determine our team of five.

Fourth Grade--In honor of Dr. Seuss' coming birthday we read The Lorax. I pointed out that the book was published in 1971 and we thought about how prescient Dr. Seuss was about the environmental problems we are now facing.

Fifth Grade--Fifth graders had a great time evaluating websites on our Skills Blog. They looked for accuracy, authority, and currency. No Northwest Tree Octopuses will be saved by these now saavy internet users!k

Sixth Grade--By popular request, we played a rousing game of Library Jeopardy this week!

Friday, February 20, 2009

News From the Library--February 20



In the Library this week....



Kindergarten--Kindergarteners chuckled over Keiko Kasza's My Lucky Day in which a wily pig outwits a fox and ends up with a bath, a dinner, and a massage instead of becoming dinner. We had a chance to discuss how different animals portray different characteristics in literature and this books turns those conventions on their heads!

First Grade--no library due to President's Day.

Second Grade--Second graders in Mrs. Seeple's class heard their second California Young Reader Medal Nominee, the hilarious Stanley's Ride by Linda Bailey and Mrs. Campbell's class heard My Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look. It's going to be a hard choice when voting day comes!

Third Grade--Mrs. Lewis' class loved the illustrations and the rhyming story in their third nominee, Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies. It was fun to imagine themselves as bats and how being at the beach would end at sunrise instead of sunset.

Fourth Grade--Mrs. Edwards' class really enjoyed pulling a topic from our hat and researching it the "old fashioned way" using our print version of the World Book Encyclopedia. After locating their subject, they wrote five complete sentences in their own words. Even though we have all our amazing technology at hand, it still seems important (and for them very enjoyable) to look at a book for information. Mr. Orr's class complete their endangered animal paragraphs which will be soon on our research blog along with pictures of their amazing endangered animal art project.

Fifth Grade--Mrs. Pickles class played a rousing game of Library Jeopardy this week. One team bet all their cards for a "daily double" and....oh, no......didn't know the answer. Good sports all they will remember in the future that the first name of the man who invented the number system for non-fiction books is......Melvil!

Sixth Grade--no library due to President's Day.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

News From the Library--February 16, 2009


(please press play)

Pee Wee Scouts--Blue Skies, French Fries by Judy Delton
A Book Review by Angel and Olive


In the Library this week...


Kindergarten--we had the privilege of watching the second and fifth graders perform on the drums after their drumming residency. What a treat!

First Grade--First graders loved the California Young Reader Medal nominee Stanley's Party (see previous posts for information on the book). It's going to be a hard choice. Three more books to go!

Second Grade--no library this week due to President's Day holiday.

Third Grade--Mrs. Villa's class heard their second California Young Reader Medal nominee, Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies. They loved the moody illustrations and the delightful text about family of bats and their nighttime visit to the beach.

Fourth Grade--Mrs. Edwards class heard one more book in honor of Black History Month--Nikki Giovanni's exquisite Rosa about the bravery of Rosa Parks. We reflected on the legacy of Mrs. Parks, especially in light of our recent presidential election.

Fifth Grade--Mrs. McLaren's class heard Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford.and we had a lively discussion about the bravery of the Greensboro five and how things have changed today. Mrs. Pickles class heard Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and the best comment was the answer to a question by one student. He asked, "I wish there was a sequel to this book." Another student answered, "There is. We have an African American president today!"

Sixth Grade--Sixth Graders heard Riding to Washington by Gwenyth Swain. This is an interesting picture book for older readers and is told from the point of view of a white girl who rides on one of the buses to Washington D.C. to hear Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech. It gives a vivid picture of conditions in our country at that time and at the same time underscores that many white people supported the struggles of African Americans during the Civil Right's Movement.

Monday, February 09, 2009

News From the Library--February 9, 2008


(please press play)

The Old Fashioned Mystery by Carolyn Keene
A Book Review by Olive and Oakleigh



In the Library this week....

Kindergarten--This week we followed the further adventures of Walter and William in Tedd Arnold's No More Water in the Tub. As well as being a fun tale, this story gives students lots of time to make predictions and to recognize rhyme. They also enjoyed coming up with further adventures for Walter and William.

First Grade--We started our annual California Young Reader Medal program this week with a reading of The Perfect Nest, written by Catherine Friend and illustrated by John Manders. This delightful book is the story of Jack, the cat, who has a fondness for omelets. He constructs the perfect nest in hopes of attracting a chicken to lay an egg. He gets the chicken (who speaks Spanish) and a duck (who speaks French) and a goose (who speaks...well...Texan) and between their fights over the nest and the hatching of the eggs, Jack ends up with three little friends instead of his omelet. We have four more books to read before students will vote for their favorite but this one is a favorite already.

Second Grade--Second graders in Mrs. Seeple's class heard California Young Reader Medal nominee, Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look and illustrated by Yumi Heo. This is a lovely story that combines the interesting customs of Chinese weddings and a little girls sadness at "losing" her favorite uncle. In the end, however she discovers she has gained an aunt. Mrs. Campbell's class heard Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Suzanne Watts. This delighful rhyming story shows how Hilda the Hippos dancing causes great trouble in the jungle until she finds water ballet.

Third Grade--Stanley the dog is back! After his party (Stanley's Party), he's been relegated to the back yard and in Stanley's Wild Ride by Linda Bailey and illustrated by Bill Slavin, he makes his escape and ends up on a skateboard! Students love this funny story and it also gives us a chance to talk about the literary device point of view as the book is told in Stanley's voice.

Fourth Grade--In honor of Black History Month, we read This Is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore and James Ransome. This amazing book is a brief history of the civil rights movement told in poetry and illustrated by Jessica Alexander with drawings and collages of real images. It gives students just the right amount of history and the illustrations are a springboard to discussion and questions. It was especially meaningful to read this book this year after our recent election.

Fifth Grade--Fifth graders worked with me on the first part of their web site evaluation project. Together we looked at two websites about the solar system and checked them for authority, accuracy, and currency. Next week they will evaluate two websites on their own.

Sixth Grade-Sixth graders really enjoyed finding the problems in some of the websites they evaulated this week. Using our Skills Blog lesson "When in Doubt, Doubt!", they looked at two different websites and followed our protocol for evaluation. They discovered websites that were appropriate to use for information and some that, well.....were just plain silly!
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