Library Centers

With encouragement and help from my fabulous fellow librarians, my Twitter PLN, and Cari Young's Library Centers blog, I set up library centers this past week and couldn't be happier!  Several of the other librarians in our district had started using centers recently and then the Twitter chat #TLElem was all about library centers this past week!  It seemed like NOW was the time to jump in so I am starting out with a few, and using them for just two weeks.  Due to our schedule, classes come to library for lessons every two weeks, so this way, everyone will have a turn.  

This is what we started with this week:

The Puzzle Table- a definite hit with students of all grade levels!  I'll change this out as the puzzle is completed. 

An ocean themed puzzle paired with ocean related books

The Pop-Up Book Center- FINALLY I have a way to share the pop-up books with students!  Even the books that come with the extra inserts, like this year's Texas Bluebonnet winner Postcards From Camp, are perfect for this table.

The Bookmark Center- students have card stock, markers, crayons, etc to create their own bookmarks.  For the younger students, there our bookmarks to color. Stickers would make a great addition to this center.


The Research Center- here, students are given the opportunity to research a topic of their choice using databases and resources provided by the library. Bubble maps are at the station so that students can document their learning.  Students enjoyed using TrueFlix while here, as well as WebPath Express.  The hardest part seemed to be narrowing the topic, which would make a great library lesson in the near future!  

The Almanac Center- I found a set of almanacs with a question of the day flip chart in the media closet.  The almanacs are a bit outdated, but the students are still enjoying them.  I also added a 2013 almanac to the table for the students to compare.  There are activities to go with the almanacs but the students enjoyed just looking through it on their own for the first time.  I even had a teacher come through and learn a couple of new things!  :)

The Book Review Center- This is something I have done in the past and it fit perfectly into the library centers.  Students will create a speech bubble with the title, author and a short summary of a book they have recently enjoyed.  These will be displayed in the library windows for other students to use when searching for a good book to read.

Leisure Reading Area- The LRA is always an option for students because sometimes you just want to read the book you just checked out!  It was surprising that with all of the new centers, several students in each class wanted to READ.  Love it!  

After one of these girls finished her book, she passed it to her friend and went on to the next one!  

Depending on the grade level, small adjustments had to be made during the week.  When 1st grade came in and enjoyed A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, they had the option of going to a table with butterfly books as one of the centers.  Students used the books to draw and write about butterflies.

As one of the other librarians said, centers won't replace reading books with the students, but it is a nice addition to our library program!  Now for some fine-tuning for week 2 of the library centers!  Any other center ideas??

Morning Book Club Meets Kate Messner

 

 

 

 

Our Curtis Morning Book Club has been meeting each morning before school to read Kate Messner's Capture the Flag. The students have really enjoyed the book and I promised them a "visit" with the author when they finished. This was such a success with our fall book club, who Skyped with Laurel Snyder, that I knew this was the perfect way to end our book club. When students are able to ask the author about their book and writing, it seems to deepen their understanding and connection to the book. We invited anyone who had read any of the books Messner has written to join us, including two homeschoolers who had read Capture the Flag.

It took us about six weeks to read the book and then we were ready for our visit!  The students were able to Skype with Mrs. Messner early on Tuesday, March 5th for an hour!  She shared with students how she began writing and even gave us hints about her new book, Hide and Seek, which students were given the opportunity to order signed copies!  Messner shared pictures of her community and family, which the students loved! Students also enjoyed learning that one of the books she wrote was actually started on a bus ride home from a field trip.  And there were lots of giggles when Mrs. Messner told the students about her "research" that she does for her books, including kissing a frog for her Marty McGuire book!

After she talked to the students about her books and the writing process, the book club members were able to ask questions about the characters in the book, future books, and even which book was her favorite.  It seems authors find it VERY difficult to pick a favorite book, just like you would never choose a favorite child!  :)

Our visit with Kate Messner was a wonderful way to end our Spring book club!  For more information about Kate Messner and her books, check out her WEBSITE.  


We are now anxiously awaiting our Hide and Seek books to arrive so that we can  find out what is in store for the youngest members of the Silver Jaguar Society!

 

Mystery Skypes, Author Skypes, and World Read Aloud Day

This has been one amazing week!  Thanks to my friends on Twitter, I have made some incredible connections which has given my students opportunities to make some incredible connections!  Here is how we have celebrated reading this week:

On Monday, 5th grade connected with students in Oklahoma and Georgia for Mystery Skypes and to share books.  A Mystery Skype is where students have to use yes or no questions or give clues so that each group can guess the location of the other.  Mrs. Pitman's class had experience with this and did an exceptional job guessing where Mrs. Sikes's students were located! Mrs. Myall's class participated in their first Mystery Skype and were quick to figure out that JFK Elementary students were located in Oklahoma.  We were all very proud of the critical thinking skills used during these visits! This is a wonderful way for students to apply their knowledge of maps and geography as well as facts about Texas.  

Also on Monday, Mrs. Waller's & part of Mrs. Christian's Kindergarten classes read Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu on We Give Books with Matthew Winner's students at Longfellow Elementary in Maryland. The classes took turns reading pages to each other. This was the first time some of our students had Skyped and it was great fun!


On Tuesday, our 3rd grade along with Mrs. Zell's and Mrs. Massingill's classes were able to enjoy a visit by local author, Kristin Bryan.  Mrs. Bryan has written the Mrs. Crawdad series which share messages of having a good attitude and embracing the differences in each other.  Students enjoyed Mrs. Bryan's reading of her book and the peek they got into the new book in the series. Mrs. Bryan was kind enough to join in our Skype visit with students in Connecticut while we read One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo. We were very appreciative of Mrs. Bryan's time and flexibility as we moved from one activity to another!





Wednesday, World Read Aloud Day, was fast and furious! Mrs. Pulliam's class had a Skype visit with students in Massachusetts. My Twitter friend, Jennifer Reed connected her students with our students and suggested a great book I was unfamiliar with!  Students took turns reading parts of poems for two voices from the book Messing Around on the Monkey Bars by Betsy Franco.  Students thought this book was a lot of fun to read together, and I was pleased to find an unknown treasure in my library!

Sixth grade students were treated to an author visit with Mina Javaherbin. Mrs. Javaherbin wrote the book Goal, which was a Texas Bluebonnet nominee last year.  She shared some of her new book, The Secret Message with the students, explaining to them about the poem from which she got the book idea. Javaherbin went on to tell the students about her childhood and all that she has seen and experienced.  

She advised them on writing and the collecting of ideas, suggesting to them that they keep all of their writings.  Her family immigrated from Iran when she was young, and she explained how she had to leave many things behind, including some of her early writing.  

Mrs. Javaherbin also encouraged the students to pursue higher  education, even if they aren't completely sure of what they want to be when they grow up.  It was very interesting to hear her perspective on the importance of being good global citizens and understanding the differences in cultures and points of view. The students seemed to really enjoy the visit, as well as the opportunity to ask questions at the end.  

Second grade came in to Skype with Mrs. Gohagon and her students in Connecticut and share the book Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld.  This is a great book to show different perspectives when readers go back and forth on whether the picture is a duck or a rabbit.  What do you think? Can you see both?

Cole introduces his class to the students in Connecticut!

You would think we would be finished with our celebration, with all that we have already done, but NO!  There is MORE!  Second Grade also had an Author Skype Visit with Dori Hilstead Butler, author of the popular Buddy Files books!  Curtis readers LOVE these books, and they are hard to keep on the shelf!  In fact, 3 students had them in their hands when the Skype began!  Mrs. Butler read the first chapter in book 6, The Case of the School Ghost. The students begged for more, but Mrs. Butler told them they would have to check it out and read it to find out what happened!  :)  A few students were lucky enough to be able to ask a question of Mrs. Butler!  It was another awesome author skype!

We wrapped up #WRAD13 with a visit with Shannon Miller's students at Van Meter in Iowa!  Not only did we get to Skype with Van Meter students, but we were lucky enough to be included with their Skype with Mrs. P's Storytime.  Mrs. P is a fabulous story weaver, sharing with students about her neighbor, the Tooth Fairy and her 1100 room mansion that she lives in on an island in Wisconsin.  ;)  She was quite entertaining for the students AND for the adults in the room!  

Reflecting on this week, I am amazed at the times we live in, where we can connect with people all over the country and share our love of books and reading!  Part of how this happens is by creating a PLN on Twitter and connecting with others who share a love of books and technology!  What an incredible week!

Dr. Seuss & Read Across America Day

Curtis students began their celebration of reading on Friday with Read Across America Day!  Students were given the opportunity to "Drop Everything And Read" as well as share reading with others through Skypes.

Our day started with Mrs. Christian's class Skyping with WHS students.  The high school students read Oh, the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss.  The students were all wearing their Cat in the Hat hats and sat and listened to the older Roos read to them!  It was a fun experience for everyone and we hope to do it again!

As fourth grade came in, they prepared to share books with students at JFK Elementary in Norman, Oklahoma and students from Matthew Winner's class in Maryland! The first class shared the new Texas Bluebonnet winner, Postcards from Camp by Simms Taback.  Our students took turns reading pages while the other class listened. When our friends had to leave, we Skyped with a retired teacher outside of Chicago!  Mrs. Barnstable has a cat, Catherine, that enjoys listening in, so our students read parts of the book to them!

 The JFK students shared Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham and Paul Zelinsky with us, which is a very funny book!  Our fourth graders from Mrs. Lyon's class and some of Mrs. Cast's class did an excellent job not only reading, but also with introductions.  I was very proud!! 

 Then Mrs. Hatcher's class, as well as more of Mrs. Cast's class, came in to Skype with our friends in Maryland.  We took turns reading pages from Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon on the We Give Books website. What is We Give Books, you ask? Here is a quote from their website:  "At We Give Books, each time a reader enjoys free children’s books online, they donate a hardcover or paperback book to a child in need through their great campaign partners."

It was a fantastic day of sharing!  Many classrooms participated in their own events throughout the day!  We are now getting ready for this week's celebration....World Read Aloud Day (which we are actually celebrating for 3 days through Skypes & author visits!) Stop back by to check out pictures from WRAD13!

Sharing Books Using Fodey

Example from Fodey Website

I've been looking for ways for the students to share about the books they have read and enjoyed.  During my recent trip to Austin for TCEA,  one of the things I learned about was  Fodey.com.  This is such a fun tool for students to use!  The students insert their own information into the form and a newspaper clipping is produced!  

5th graders used this tool this week to write book reviews for Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Most classes in grades 4-6 have read this book this year as a read aloud.  The students have loved this book!  
Auggie, a ten year old boy, was born with severe facial deformities.  His parents have home-schooled him for most of his life but have decided it is time for him to go to school.  The book is told through multiple points of view, including Auggie's sister, as well as friends he makes at his new school.  It is a touching book with a powerful message!  I have loved hearing the students share their thoughts about Auggie and the book, Wonder!  

We are working on setting up a Skype with 5th grade students in Kansas who have also read the book.  Hopefully we can share our newspaper clippings with them! Until then, we will display them in the library, so stop by to see them!


*Wonder is a 2013-2014 Texas Bluebonnet  nominee!  

Love books? Perfect! It's Book Fair Time!

  After an exciting week at TCEA, learning all kinds of new things to add to our library program, I am now gearing up for our February Book Fair.  I LOVE book fair and have made a habit of having our Spring Book Fair during Valentine's week.  We will have two family events, Family Night on Feb. 12th from 3:15-6:30 and our Books & Breakfast shopping time on Valentine's morning from 7:00 a.m. - 7:45 a.m.  We will stop serving our "light breakfast treat" at 7:30 a.m., but shopping will go on until 7:45 a.m.  All students must have an adult family member with them, and the RSVP slip must be returned by Tuesday so that we can make sure to have enough food. 

The ONLINE BOOK FAIR is open and will stay open until Feb. 22nd.  All orders will be shipped to the school and delivered to your student's classroom. 

Busy End to January!

Whew!  What a week!  There was a lot of fun and excitement in the Curtis LMC this week!  Here are a few highlights:


Monday we celebrated The One and Only Ivan  by Katherine Applegate winning the Newbery Medal and This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen winning the Caldecott Medal.  The students were excited to see what books actually won since we have been looking at potential winners for awhile now.

Wednesday our Morning Book Club had a 
special guest.  January is School Board Appreciation month and Weatherford ISD School Board President Charlie Martinez came to visit Curtis Elementary.  He sat in on our meeting and listened as we read Kate Messner's Capture the Flag.  The book club members were extra excited because we had finalized details for our Author Skype!  We are all very excited about Skyping with Kate Messner on March 5th!



On Thursday, I enjoyed having my sixth graders in the library and talking with them about creating a "reading community" that talks about books.  I shared with them a new "library center" I was going to set up for February, where they can create "Book Talk Bubbles" when they finished a book they were excited about.  I had seen some examples on Van Meter's website and seen Shannon Miller talk about it on Twitter.  It seemed like a great way for readers to share books they had recently finished.  It was an easy set up, and the students that created the Book Talk Bubbles this week did a fabulous job!

And then it was Friday!  Friday, 4th grade classes came in for a Research/Web Evaluation lesson. Many of the grades are working on Informational Text and Research right now, so students (and teachers ;) ) were reminded about some of the extra resources we have available.  TrueFlix was a favorite resource and provides a great opportunity for students to experience nonfiction text features.

We had a great week!  Now it is time to get ready for BOOK FAIR!!  Our Book Fair will be Feb. 11-15, with two family events.  We will have Family Night on Feb. 12th and Breakfast & Books on Valentine's Day.  Look for more information coming home this week!

It's Treat Tuesday!! Reading & Snacking!

It's my favorite day of the week!  The day where I share books and snacks! Thanks to Shannon Houghton for this great meme picture and Niki Barnes for the great idea!

As usual, I start out Tuesday just sure that I won't be able to get this post in on time, and then I finish a book that I must share!!  

 

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson is a wonderful historical fiction story based partly on Larson's own great-grandmother's experience as a homesteader in Montana in the early 1900's. Hattie, who has bounced around from relative to relative after her parents die, is given land in Montana by an uncle she never knew.  Hattie sees this as an opportunity to create a home for herself and not be indebted to anyone.  She has a year to "prove up" the land and meet certain requirements before the land will be hers.  This year proves to be very challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. 

 I loved this book for many reasons!  I loved that Hattie is a strong female character which an incredible will to succeed and a very strong work ethic!  I loved the many other characters that Larson wove throughout this story!  I loved Hattie's ability to see what relationships were worth her time, and which ones weren't!  I loved her ability to be optimistic, even in difficult times!  I loved that this book made me laugh and cry!  And I especially love that through Twitter and The Nerdy Book Club, I find out about exceptional books such as this!!  

And because I loved this book so much, I felt it was only fitting that I pair it with Valentine's candy!! Chocolate hearts & Kisses!  Yum! Yum!

Happy Reading and Snacking!!  

Fall 2012 Library Statistics

Do you ever wonder what goes on in the Curtis Library?  Here is a peek at what we accomplished during the Fall Semester!  Looking forward to a busy Spring Semester!!  

It's Treat Tuesday!! Reading & Snacking!

It's my favorite day of the week!  The day where I share books and snacks! Thanks to Shannon Houghton for this great meme picture and Niki Barnes for the great idea!

I really didn't think I was going to get this in today, but I got a book order in and FINALLY got to read Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex!  This book is HYSTERICAL and I know my students are going to LOVE it!!  In fact, I am scrapping what I had planned tomorrow and THIS is what I am reading to my 2nd and 3rd graders!  

I am pairing this fabulous book with my favorite snack of this time of year- Thin Mints!! (As a side note, I have decided that Girl Scout Cookies should not be sold so soon after New Year's Resolutions have been made! ;)

Back to the book! Chloe is lost in a forest and meets a lion (well she was SUPPOSE to meet a lion!), when the author of the book and the illustrator get into a little disagreement about parts of the book!  I was laughing out loud at this book.  Then I found the book trailer that made me laugh even more!  

What a way to end the night AND what a way to spend my day tomorrow!  Can't wait to share this book!  Happy Reading & Snacking!

Welcome Back! New Beginnings, New Opportunities

Students come back in the morning, and I feel like it is the first day of school all over again.  There is an excitement that surrounds new beginnings... changes we can make, goals we can set, and new books to recommend!  :)  To me, that is one of the best things about being in education-- all of the "new beginnings."  Whether it is the beginning of the week, the beginning of the month, the new six weeks, or the new year, we are given the opportunity to refresh and improve more than once, and I am thankful for that! 

This week I am looking forward to working with 4th-6th grade students on information literacy.  The students are working on reading informational text and researching various topics.  I will be discussing with them how to evaluate resources and where they can find valid, appropriate information related to their topics.  We will look at good sources and not so good sources, and learn how to tell the difference.

With the younger students, I will be sharing with them previous Caldecott winners in anticipation of the newest medal winner. The Caldecott Medal is awarded each year to the illustrator of the most distinguished picture book from that year.  Students will look at previous winners and analyze why the book was awarded the medal.   Then we will look at books published in 2012 that have the potential to win, and students will attempt to predict this year's winner. 

I will also share Kadir Nelson's I Have a Dream with some of my classes and let them talk about dreams they have for this school year. It will be a wonderful opportunity for goal setting! 

This is a beautifully illustrated book that enhances the famous speech by Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr.  I have been anxious to share this with the students since receiving it awhile back, and I hope that they will enjoy it as much as I did when I read the book.  

New beginnings, new opportunities to connect books and readers.  It is sure to be a wonderful week!  Happy Reading!

Holiday Reading

I love holidays for a variety of reasons: spending time with family, catching up on rest AND the time it gives me to read!!  This past week, I have been spending a lot (just ask my husband!) of time reading!  I finished my Goodreads Reading Challenge just in the nick of time (on December 31st!!) by reading a few new picture books I had brought home from school.  Here are some of the books I have enjoyed this week:

Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team
by Audrey Vernick and Steven Salerno 

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book and learning about the Acerra family.  I've had this in my library for a few months and had seen talk of it through my Twitter PLN, so it was one I packed up to read during the holidays.  It is an easy to read book about this amazing family that consisted of 12 boys and four girls.  With 12 boys, who all loved playing baseball, it was a natural fit for them to form a baseball team.  I love reading a book and learning something new.  I didn't know that there were several family teams playing baseball around this same time.  Not only were the brothers great athletes, they also demonstrated good character.  Six of the brothers fought in World War II, and all six came back home.  This book is sure to be a favorite with baseball lovers, but is an enjoyable read for anyone!

Visit the Author's Website for more information about this remarkable family!

Twelve Kinds of Ice
 by Ellen Bryan Obed and Illustrated by Barbara McClintock

 If I could pick a theme for the books that I have read, without meaning to have a theme, it would seem it is FAMILY, which is very appropriate for this time of year when we are surrounded by family!  Twelve Kinds of Ice is a quiet, peaceful book about the coming of winter demonstrated by the thickening of ice.  Living in Texas, this is a book that allowed me to experience winter in a much different way than what I am accustomed to, which is a gift I am taking from this book.
As the first signs of ice appears, one family prepares for another wonderful winter when they will be able to eventually create their very own ice skating rink to share with their family and friends. This is when the "Perfect Ice" has finally arrived.  The joy that this family experiences each winter, waiting through the different phases of ice, helps the reader enjoy  the simpler things in life.  This book is a wonderful example of how to really see and appreciate all that nature has to offer.

On the Road to Mr. Mineo's
by Barbara O'Connor

This is a vividly told tale about the appearance of a one-legged pigeon in a sleepy little town and how it brings interest and excitement to an otherwise boring summer. 
Stella has longed for a dog to fill the empty dog house that sits in her front yard.  When she discovers the pigeon, she is happy to make it her pet instead of a dog.  She has to convince her timid friend Gerald to help her with this quest, which sometimes proves difficult.  She also must beat all the other townsfolk who have their sites set on the one-legged pigeon. 

This was in my TBR (to be read) stack for much too long, and I wish I had read it earlier!  I can't wait to pass it on to a reader when we get back to school! 



Drawing From Memory
by Caldecott Medal Winner Allen Say

Allen Say's memoir is full of information, photographs, and illustrations which show the reader what Say experienced while working to achieve his goal of becoming an artist. What the reader takes away is that setting goals and staying true to the course, regardless of others' thoughts, is important. "Let your dear child journey" is quoted a few times in the book, something that Say first heard from his mother. Amazingly, she sent him off on his own at the young age of 12, and he persevered  This book honors those who helped Say achieve his goals. 

One of my favorite books by Say is The Lost Lake about a boy and his dad who go camping one summer.  The boy has come to visit his father for the summer, and the father is so busy with work that he spends little time with his son.  One morning he surprises his son by telling him they are going camping at a lake that he camped by as a boy.  Although there are challenges getting to the lake, the special time the father and son spend together is just what they both needed.  

Having read the memoir, I wonder if there is some personal connection to the book and the distant relationship between the father and son. 

During this week I have read several other picture books and chapter books, and then finally I decided to make my goals for the new year.  I have set my reading goal for the Goodreads Challenge at 250 books (I read 150 books in 2012), with an additional goal to remember to put all of my books into Goodreads!  :)  My hope is that I will reach this goal quickly and easily and then adjust accordingly!  Happy New Year and Happy Reading!!