News From The Library--April 28, 2008

Aliens Don't Wear Braces
by Debbie Dadey

A Book Review by Taylor and Olive

Also in the Library this week....

Kindergarten--Mr. McGreely decided to plant a garden this year with yummy vegetables but 3 little bunnies have a different idea. Listening to Candace Fleming's Muncha, Muncha, Muncha! made kindergarteners giggle with delight as the bunnies kept getting into the garden despite Mr. McGreely's best efforts. We learned many prepositions as the bunnies went under, over, and through to get to those vegetables. And best of all, in the end we learned the power of sharing.

First Grade--First graders were researchers this week as they prepare to do their animal reports. With the help of my new document camera (thank you, Parent Club!) I showed students the different parts of non-fiction book and how to locate specific information. After that, students chose from our great collection of animal books.

Second Grade & Third Grade--We had fun this week reviewing different types of reference books--encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, dictionaries, and thesauruses. First we used the document camera to look at each book. Then we played "Name That Book" using a Keynote with clues about the different books. And finally, each student was given a scenario of a research problem and had to decide in which book could they find the answer.

Fourth Grade--We continued to work on our Tall Tales this week. Next week, students will be illustrators and we continue to put together our Keynotes.

Fifth Grade--We played a rousing game of Library Jeopardy this week.

Sixth Grade--Sixth graders wrote their rough drafts of their blog postings on their god or goddess. In a few weeks, we'll post their research along with a picture of the ceramic plate they made in art.

Also, on Monday our Cold Spring Team participated in the Santa Barbara County Battle of the Books. Congratulations to our Team: Makala, Katie, Siena, Baylor, and Lauren. These great readers read as many as 30 books, passed a test, and practiced on their lunch hours in order to represent our school. A great time was had by all!

News From the Library--April 21, 2008

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The Witches by Roald Dahl

A Book Review by Ava and Olive

Also in the Library this week...

Kindergarten--Oliver the cat wants to stay out all night. At first it's fun....munching on moths, his owner finally let him in? Of course, but he doesn't want to let her know that he was the one who was concerned. Margaret Beames' book, Night Cat was enjoyed by Kindergarteners, who especially liked Sue Hitchcock's illustrations.

First Grade--First graders were off to Lake Cachuma this week and had so much fun they didn't make it back in time for library!

Second Grade--Using our wonderful new piece of equipment, our document camera, second graders learned about guide words in the dictionary and then using a xerox of an actual dictionary page, they found guide words, pulled a word out of our hat, and found their word on the page.

Third Grade--Last week, third graders heard about little Sweetness and how the sheriff "saved" her and the other other orphans. This week, we read the sequel, Raising Sweetness by Diane Stanley and illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Things at home are a little strange with peanut butter and pickle pie, but when a letter arrives and little Sweetness learns her letters to figure out what "that there letter said" things change. The sheriff's long lost love, Miss Lucy, returns and they all lived happily ever after---even though she doesn't know enough to put the raisins in the mashed potatoes! These charming books are filled with similies and metaphors and third graders had fun finding these literary devices.

Fourth Grade--This week fourth graders worked on their storyboards for their Tall Tales Keynote projects. It looks like we're going to have some real whoppers! Next week they will work on their laptops and begin their projects.

Fifth Grade--Once again we worked on our wiki, Random Research and Wacky Facts, but this time with an audience. We had many visitors from Apple Computer and teachers from around our county who came to see how amazing our students are with our 1:1 laptop program.

Sixth Grade--Sixth graders continued to work on their gods and goddesses research in preparation for their blog posting. Their god or goddess plates are being glazed and fired in art and in the next few weeks I will photograph them so they can be included in their blog posting.
Stay tuned!

News From The Library--April 14, 2008

The BFG by Roald Dahl
A book review by Amanda and Olive

Also in the Library this week....

Kindergarten--Oh,that Mrs. Brown....she has sixty cats and people think she might be just a little batty, but kindergarteners this week loved all her cats and thought she was just fine. In this delightful rhyming story, Cats, Cats, Cats by Lesléa Newman and Erika Oller, students giggled at the antics of the cats and loved figuring out the rhymes. Reading stories aloud like this one are a great way to reinforce the phonics foundation of rhyming words and above all make learning fun.

First Grade--Where else would a mouse go if he wanted to be an artist? Why, Paris, of course! That's just what Henry Mouse does in George Mendoza's and J. Boucher's Henri Mouse. After changing his name and donning the proper artistic outfit and pose, Henry Mouse (now known as Henri) paints his way across Paris with his magical magnetic paints. Unbeknownst to him, whatever he paints disappears when it lands on his canvases. As well as being a charming story, this book is a good way for students to practice visual discrimination as they compare the scenes before Henri paints then and after he paints them.

Second Grade--It's round, it's green, it's fuzzy. What is it? Prairie dogs discover it as it tumbles down their tunnels and what happens next? The Great Fuzz Frenzy (by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel) !!! As funny as this story is and with its fantastic illustrations, it teaches a good lesson about sharing and responsibility to the group as well as resisting peer pressure. It's also a great example of how alliteration can enhance a story.

Third Grade--Diane Stanley's and G. Brian Karash's humorous story, Saving Sweetness, was enjoyed by third graders this week. Told from the point of view of the town sheriff and filled with colorful dialect, this is a really fun story to read aloud. The subtle humor is delightful and it's fun for me as a teacher to see "the lightbulb" go on in the heads of the students as they get the jokes. Next week, we'll read the sequel and find out what happened after the sheriff adopted "all them orphans."

Fourth Grade--We heard our final tall tale this week-- ulius Lester's and Jerry Pinkney's rousing story of John Henry. The illustrations in this book are really exquisite. Next week we will begin writing our own tall tales. Hold on to your hats!

Fifth Grade--We worked again on our wiki this week. After drawing a card from a hat with the name of a reference book on it, students researched and then posted a fact on their page. They are beginning to feel at ease in the wiki environment and even made a few minor corrections on their classmates pages. We are also working on the idea of always citing your sources for information. I'm finding the wiki a great arena in which to cover many of our 21st century library skills and the students really enjoy working on it. They not only have the responsibility for their own page but for the quality of the wiki as a whole.

Sixth Grade--I missed 6th grade this week due to an assembly. Next week we will continue out research on gods and goddesses.

Spring Break 2008

We were on Spring Break this past week. Happy Spring!

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